A “finite verb” makes a clause “finite”
“Finite clauses” series: Part 2
We saw previously that “finite clauses” (simplified as “clauses” or “complete clauses” in our content) are the basic building blocks of complete sentences in English.
A complete sentence can consist of one clause, or it can consist of multiple clauses correctly linked together and/or embedded in others.
Before we can start to understand and produce English sentences with linked and embedded clauses correctly, we have to have an idea of what makes a clause “finite.”
The word “finite” usually means “with limits or boundaries in time and space,” and you probably know it as the antonym (opposite) of the word “infinite,” which means “limitless” or “without boundaries in time and space.”
In Linguistics, the term “finite” also shares the word’s usual meaning of “with limits or boundaries,” but it specifically refers to the grammatical quality whereby the core verb of a clause--that is, the verb that represents the core action done by or done to the subject--changes its word form in order to show “tense” and other grammatical information, namely aspect, voice, and mood.
When a verb changes its form to show “tense” and other grammatical information, we call it a “finite verb.” The term “finite,” in other words, refers to the fact that this verb with a changed form shows its “time of action.” It is “finite” because it is “bound by time.” (The “opposite” of a “finite verb” is an “infinitive”--that is, the base form of a verb without a changed form “bound by time.”)
There is always exactly one “finite verb” in a finite clause. For example:
He played tennis at 8 this morning.
The core verb in the example clause above, “played,” is a “finite verb” because it is in a changed form that shows “past tense,” among other grammatical information. (The “infinitive” form of “played” is simply “play,” without the additional ending “-ed.”)
Because this example clause has a “finite verb,” it is a “finite” clause. Recall that complete sentences in English consist of one or more finite clauses. Here, this finite clause happens to be a complete sentence on its own. For example:
He played tennis at 8 this morning, but his friends swam.
In this new example, we can see two “finite verbs”--”played” and “swam” respectively. This means that there are two finite clauses involved.
Recall that complete sentences in English can consist of more than one finite clause, as long as they are correctly linked to or embedded in one another:
[ He played tennis at 8 this morning, ] but [ his friends swam. ]
Using the square bracket notation introduced in Part 1, we can see that the conjunction “but” here links the first clause to the second clause in a grammatically correct manner in English.
We see now that a “finite verb”--the verb representing the central action that has a changed form showing “tense” and other grammatical information--is the key that makes a clause “finite.”
Next, we will look at the other essential grammatical component that makes up a “finite clause,” the grammatical subject.
Our online course devotes its entire opening section to the discussion of “clauses”--both their internal structure and role as building blocks in sentence architecture--because this concept holds central importance in any systematic understanding of English.
If you wish to study this important topic in a more structured way, please join our online course.
是「限定動詞」令「子句」變成「限定」
「finite clauses」（限定子句）系列：第 2篇
我們在上一篇說明了「限定子句」（在我們的免費內容和課程教材中簡稱作「子句」或「完整子句」）是組成英文完整句子的基本單元。
一個完整句子可以只包含一個子句，也可以由多個子句以「連接」或「嵌入」的方法組合而成。
在學習如何正確地使用「連接」及「嵌入」的方法去組合子句前，我們要先了解「限定」子句的關鍵到底是甚麼。
「finite」（限定）這個字的意思是指「在時間和空間上有所限制」。你也可能認識它的反義詞「infinite」，意思正是「無限」或「沒有時間和空間上的限制」。
語言學中的「finite」，與它原本的詞義相若，都有「限制」或「界限」的意思；但它特指子句中的核心動詞 （即表達「主語所做的動作」或「主語所接受的動作」的動詞）要改變字形以顯示「時態」（tense） 及其他文法資訊，即「體貌」（aspect）、「語態」（voice）和「文法語氣」（grammatical mood）。
在英文中會改變字形以顯示「時態」及其他文法資訊的動詞，我們稱為「限定動詞」。
換句話說，「finite」就是指句子中的核心動詞為了顯示其「現實中發生的時間」而改變字形。它是「限定」的，因為它受到「時間」的規範。（「finite verb」的相反是「infinitive」，即動詞的基本字形，是動詞未改變字形前的基本字形。)
每一個「限定子句」中都會只有一個「限定動詞」。例如：
He played tennis at 8 this morning.
上述例句中的核心動詞為「played」。它因為要顯示「過去式」及其他文法信息而改變了字形，因此是個「限定動詞」(「played 」的基本字形是「play」，即除去額外的字尾「-ed」。)
由於這子句包含了一個「限定動詞」，所以它是一個「限定子句」。剛提及過，一個完整的英文句子可以包含一個或以上的限定子句，換言之這限定子句本身已是一個完整句子。又例如:
He played tennis at 8 this morning, but his friends swam.
在這新的例句中我們分別看到兩個「限定動詞」－ 「played」和「swam」。也就是說這句子包含了兩個「限定子句」。
還記得之前提過，一個完整的英文句子是可以包含多個「限定子句」的，只要子句與子句間以「連接」或「嵌入」的方法正確地組合：
[ He played tennis at 8 this morning, ] but [ his friends swam. ]
我用在第一篇中使用過的方括號來劃分子句，大家便可以清楚看到，第一和第二個子句是被連接詞「but」以英文文法中可行的方式連接起來的。
現在我們應該理解，「限定動詞」是指表達核心動作，並會為了顯示「時態」及其他文法信息而改變字形的動詞。而它也正是使子句成為「限定」的關鍵。
下一篇，我們會探討另一個構成「限定子句」的文法元素 －與限定動詞互相配合的文法主語。（grammatical subject）。