Основы теоретической грамматики английского языка

 
Lecture 7.
 
Verbids. 
Outline 
1. The general characteristics of non-finite forms (Verbids). 
2. The Infinitive. 
3. The Gerund. 
4. The Present Participle. 
5. The Past Participle. 
 
THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF NON-FINITE FORMS (VERBIDS) 
Verbids are the forms of the verb intermediary in many of their lexico-grammatical 
features between the verb and the non-processual parts of speech. The mixed features of these 
forms are revealed in the principal spheres of the part-of-speech characterization, i.e. in their 
meaning, structural marking, combinability, and syntactic functions. 
Every verb-stem (except for a few defective verbs), by means of morphemic 
change, takes both finite and non-finite forms, the functions of the two sets being strictly 
differentiated. While the finite forms serve in the sentence only one syntactic function (that of 

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the finite predicate), the non-finite forms serve various syntactic functions other than that of the 
finite predicate. 
The strict division of functions clearly shows that the opposition between the 
finite and non-finite forms of the verb creates a special grammatical category. The differential 
feature of the opposition is constituted by the expression of the verbal time and mood: while the 
time-mood grammatical signification characterizes the finite verb in a way that it underlies its 
finite predicative function, the verbid has no immediate means of expressing time-mood 
categorial semantics and therefore presents the weak member of the opposition. The category 
expressed by this opposition is called the category of FINITUDE (Strang, Barkhudarov). 
In other words, we may say that the opposition of the finite verbs and the verbids 
is based on the expression of the functions of full-predication and semi-predication. 
The English verbids include four forms distinctly differing from one another 
within the general verbid system: 
 the Infinitive 
 the Gerund 
 the Present Participle 
 the Past Participle 
In compliance with this difference, the verbid semi-predicative complexes are 
distinguished by the corresponding differential properties both in form and in syntactic-
contextual function.