What Are Non-finite Verbs?: WASSCE English Language

Every English verb you have studied so far has had two jobs at once: it carried meaning (the action or state) and it carried tense (when the action happened). A finite verb takes a subject, agrees with it in number, and shifts form to show tense.

But English has another set of verb forms that do something different. They carry meaning but do not carry tense. They do not agree with a subject in person or number. They cannot stand as the main verb of a complete sentence on their own. These are the non-finite verb forms, and they are everywhere in English.

Aminata wants to write a novel.
Writing is her favourite activity.
The letter, written in haste, was full of errors.

In each of these, the bolded word is a non-finite verb form. None of them is the main verb of the sentence — that job is done by wants, is, and was. The non-finite forms are doing other jobs: completing the meaning of another verb, acting as a noun, or describing a noun.

This topic covers all three non-finite forms in detail. Lessons 2–4 cover the infinitive, the gerund, and the participle one by one. Lesson 5 tackles the WAEC-favourite question of which to use after which verb. Lesson 6 closes with the common errors.

This opening lesson defines what a non-finite verb is, names the three forms, and shows what they have in common.

Definition

A non-finite verb form is a verb form that does not carry tense and does not agree with a subject. It cannot stand as the main verb of a complete sentence on its own. The three non-finite verb forms in English are:

The infinitive — usually to + the base form of the verb. to write, to read, to be
The gerund — the -ing form used as a noun. writing, reading, being
The participle — either the present participle (-ing form used as an adjective or part of a continuous tense) or the past participle (the third form of the verb, used as an adjective or in perfect tenses and passives). writing, written, broken, lost

Finite vs non-finite — the basic test

Look at the verb in a sentence and ask: does it change form when you change the subject?

Finite verb:

Aminata writes letters. → I write letters. / They write letters. — the form changes
Aminata wrote a letter. → Aminata had written a letter. — the tense changes

The verb shifts form to match the subject's person and number, and to mark tense.

Non-finite verb:

Aminata wants to write a letter. → I want to write a letter. / They want to write a letter. — to write never changes
Writing is her hobby. → Writing was her hobby. — writing itself does not shift
The broken cup is in the bin. → Broken cups are in the bin. — broken stays the same

The non-finite form is fixed. It does not agree with anything. It does not carry tense. Only the finite verbs in the sentence (wants, want, is, was, are) do that work.

What each non-finite form looks like

For the verb write, here are all three non-finite forms:

Form	Example	What it looks like
Infinitive	Aminata wants to write.	to + base form
Bare infinitive	Aminata can write.	base form alone (after modals)
Gerund	Writing is her hobby.	-ing form used as a noun
Present participle	She is writing* a letter.* / The writing* student is Aminata.*	-ing form used in continuous tense or as an adjective
Past participle	She has written* a letter.* / The written* test is on Monday.*	third form of the verb (regular: -ed; irregular: various)

The gerund and the present participle look the same (writing) but do different jobs — noun vs adjective/verb-form.

What non-finite forms do

Each form has its own typical work in a sentence. We will cover each in detail in Lessons 2–4. The overview:

The infinitive

The infinitive often follows another verb and completes its meaning.

Aminata wants to write a novel. — to write completes wants
We hope to travel to Bo next month.
It is important to study every day.

It can also act as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. Lesson 2 has the full breakdown.

The gerund

The gerund is the -ing form used as a noun. It can do anything a noun can do — be the subject, the object, follow a preposition.

Writing is her hobby. (subject)
Aminata enjoys writing. (object)
She is good at writing. (object of preposition)
Her favourite activity is writing. (complement)

The participle

The participle can be present (-ing form) or past (third form). Both work as adjectives or as part of verb phrases.

The running boy is my brother. (present participle as adjective)
The broken window needs repair. (past participle as adjective)
She is running. (present participle in continuous tense)
She has broken the cup. (past participle in perfect tense)
The cup was broken by Mariama. (past participle in passive)

Why non-finite forms matter

Non-finite forms allow English to do three things that finite verbs alone could not:

1. Combine multiple actions in a single sentence.

Aminata wants to write a novel and to publish it next year.
He stopped running and started walking.
Hoping to win, the team trained every day.

Without non-finite forms, each idea would need its own sentence.

2. Use verbs as nouns or adjectives.

Reading expands the mind. (verb as subject)
The stolen phone was recovered. (verb as adjective)

This gives English flexibility that finite verbs cannot provide.

3. Build complex tenses and the passive voice.

Every continuous tense uses a present participle. Every perfect tense uses a past participle. The passive voice uses a past participle. You have already been using non-finite forms in every lesson of the Verbs, Tenses, and Voice topics — without necessarily naming them.

Worked example

Identify the non-finite verb form(s) in each sentence and name the type (infinitive, gerund, present participle, past participle).

Aminata wants to study medicine.
Reading is her favourite hobby.
The broken cup is on the floor.
She is running to school.
Foday enjoys playing football and watching films.
Worried about the test, Mariama stayed up late.

Work through:

to study — infinitive (completes wants)
Reading — gerund (subject of is)
broken — past participle (acts as adjective describing cup)
running — present participle (part of present continuous is running)
playing, watching — both gerunds (objects of enjoys)
Worried — past participle (adjective phrase describing Mariama); to stay would be the infinitive but here stayed up is the main finite verb

The single most important distinction — gerund vs participle

The -ing form is two different non-finite forms wearing the same clothes:

Gerund = -ing form used as a noun. It names an activity.
- Swimming is good exercise. (subject — noun)
- I enjoy swimming. (object — noun)
Present participle = -ing form used as a verb form (in continuous tense) or as an adjective.
- Aminata is swimming in the pool. (continuous tense)
- The swimming child is my sister. (adjective)

Same spelling, different jobs. Context tells you which is which.

The test: can you replace the -ing word with a noun like activity or thing? If yes, it is a gerund. If you can replace it with a true verb in tense form, or with an adjective, it is a participle.

In Sierra Leone

A scene at a primary school in Wellington shows all three non-finite forms working together:

Aminata loved to teach. Every morning, arriving at the school early, she would prepare her lessons. Teaching Primary 4 was a challenge, but she found it rewarding. By midday, exhausted from the children's energy, she would sit under the mango tree to rest. "I want to be a good teacher," she once told her friend. "Reaching every child is the goal."

Non-finite forms used:

Infinitive: to teach, to rest, to be
Gerund: Teaching (subject), Reaching (subject)
Present participle: arriving (adjective phrase), rewarding (adjective)
Past participle: exhausted (adjective phrase)

The main finite verbs (loved, would prepare, was, found, would sit, told, is) carry the tense. The non-finite forms add detail without taking on that responsibility.

What non-finite forms cannot do

Three things to remember:

1. A non-finite form alone cannot make a complete sentence.

❌ Aminata to write a letter.
❌ Reading every day.
❌ The broken cup.

Each of these is a fragment, not a sentence. The non-finite form needs to be attached to a finite verb or another structure.

✓ Aminata wants to write a letter. (wants is the finite verb)
✓ Reading every day improves your English. (improves is the finite verb)
✓ The broken cup is on the floor. (is is the finite verb)

2. Non-finite forms do not agree with subjects.

Aminata likes to read. / They like to read. — to read is the same in both
Aminata enjoys reading. / They enjoy reading. — reading is the same

Only the finite verb (likes, like, enjoys, enjoy) agrees with the subject.

3. Non-finite forms do not carry tense on their own.

Aminata wanted to write a letter. — to write is timeless; wanted carries the past tense.
Aminata has wanted to write a letter. — still to write; has wanted carries the present perfect.

There are perfect infinitives (to have written) and passive infinitives (to be written) that mark time and voice within the non-finite form. We cover these in Lesson 2.

Common mistake

Three early errors to watch for:

1. Sentence fragments missing a finite verb.

❌ Aminata to be a doctor.
✓ Aminata wants to be a doctor. (or Aminata is going to be a doctor.)

2. Wrong choice of -ing form.

Aminata is good at swimming. (gerund, after preposition at)
❌ Aminata is good at swim.
Aminata is swimming. (present participle, continuous tense)

3. Past participle used as a finite verb.

❌ Aminata written the letter.
✓ Aminata has written the letter. (needs the auxiliary has)
✓ Aminata wrote the letter. (past tense form — finite)

WAEC tests this

Non-finite verb forms appear in WAEC in three main ways:

Choose the correct non-finite form: Aminata enjoys (to read / reading / read). Answer: reading (gerund after enjoy).
Identify the form: a sentence is given and you label the bolded word.
Spot the error: a non-finite form is in the wrong place — gerund where infinitive belongs, present participle where past participle belongs.

This topic underpins much of the grammar work elsewhere on the syllabus. Conditionals, modals, the passive, the perfect tenses — all rely on non-finite forms. Master them here and they pay off everywhere else.

Quick self-check

Identify the non-finite form in each sentence and name the type. Answers below.

Aminata wants to travel to Bo next week.
Swimming in the river is dangerous during the rainy season.
The torn page was thrown away.
Mariama is reading a novel by the window.
Foday enjoys playing football and listening to music.
Tired from the journey, Aminata fell asleep quickly.

Answers

to travel — infinitive
Swimming — gerund (subject)
torn — past participle (adjective)
reading — present participle (continuous tense)
playing, listening — gerunds (objects of enjoys)
Tired — past participle (adjective phrase)

What's next

In the next lesson we go deep on the infinitive — its forms (to write, to be writing, to have written, to be written), its uses (after verbs, as a noun, as an adjective, as an adverb), and the rules for when to is dropped (after modals and certain other verbs).

What Are Non-finite Verbs?