Distinguish between a finite and non finite clause

Question

finite and non finite clause. explain?

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Hmmm, until very recently I never imagined that a non-finite clause was possible, and it's still something of a puzzlement.
A regular (finite) clause has a subject and a verb; a non-finite clause has a subject and a verbal.

So the distinction between the two types of clauses parallels the distinction between the two types of verbs which they employ.

"Finite" has to do with time. A finite verb has a tense. "She likes me." (present tense) "She kicked me." (past tense.)

The infinitive "to go" is a non-finite verb. It has no tense. In the sentence "I want her to go," the main clause "I want" is in simple present tense, and is therefore finite. The subordinate clause, "her to go" uses a non-finite form of the verb (an infinitive) and is therefore a non-finite clause.

Two important features worth mentioning are (1) a non-finite clause is always a subordinate clause; and (2) the subject of the non-finite clause is sometimes very hard (if not impossible) to find.
If my sentence is "I want to go," the subject of both clauses is "I," and only needs to be stated once. "I want" is the main clause; "(I) to go" is the (subordinate) non-finite clause.

Distinguish between a finite and non finite clause

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