> have the function of the predicate in the sentence and may also be called the predicate forms .
The non-finite or non-predicative forms can have various other functions. These forms are also called the verbals.
The non-finite forms or the verbals, unlike the finite forms of the verbs do not express person, number or mood. Therefore they cannot be used as the predicate of a sentence. Like the finite forms of the verbs the verbals have tense and voice distinctions, but their tense distinctions differ from those of the finite verb.
There are three verbals in English: the participle, the gerund, and the infinitive. In Russian there are also three non-finite forms of the verb, but they do not fully coincide with those in the English language ( ïðè Г· Г Г±ГІГЁГҐ, äååïðè Г· Г±ГІГЁГҐ, ГЁГГґГЁГГЁГІГЁГў ).
In English the verbals have the following characteristic traits:
a) They have a double nature: nominal and verbal . The participle combines the characteristics of a verb with those of an adjective; the gerund and the infinitive combine the characteristics of a verb with those of a known.
b) The tense distinctions of the verbals are not absolute like those of the finite verbs, but relative. The form of a verbal does not show whether the action it denotes refers to the present, past or future. It shows only whether the action expressed by the verbal is simultaneous with the action expressed by the finite verb or prior to it.
In the sentence a verbal may occur.
a) singling (without accompanying words)
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Eg. She went away smiling. - Вона пішла , посміхаючись .
Reading is out of question , I can ' t fix my < i> attention on books . - Про читання не може бути й речіб я не можу зосередити свою увагу на книгах.
b) in phrase (ie with one or several accompanying words - an object or an adverbial modifier to the verbal). The phrases form syntactic units serving as one part of the sentence. A phrase should not be confused with a predicative construction. Between the elements of a phrase there is no predicate relation as it does not include a noun or pronoun expressed by a verbal.
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Eg. Not to disquiet his sister, he had said nothing to her of the matter. - Щоб НЕ турбувати сестру , він нічого НЕ сказав їй про цьому .
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c) in predicative constructions.
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Eg. She heard him open the door and go out the yard. - Вона почула , як він відкрив двері і вийшов під двір .
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All the verbals can form predicative constructions. They consist of two elements: a nominal (noun or pronoun) and a verbal (Participle, gerund or infinitive). The verbal element stands in predicate relation to the nominal element. That is to say it stands in the subject and the predicate of the sentence. It most cases predicative constructions form syntactic units, serving as one part of the sentence.
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Eg. The sat down to supper, Jerry still talking cheerfully. - Вони сіли вечеряти ; Джері продовжував весело розмовляти .
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"Jerry still talking cheerfully" is a predicate relation to the noun Jerry, which denotes the doer of the action expressed by the participle.
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Predicative Constructions with the
Non-Finite Forms of the Verb
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The Non-Finite forms of the Verb are more simple and economical expressive means of thought.
Combinations of non-finite forms of the verb with a noun or pronoun standing a front of them form various grammatical constructions.
In English there are three non-finite forms of the verb: Participle, Gerund, and Infinitive. Therefore, there are three groups of predicative constructions. These are the constructions with Participle, Gerund, and Infinitive.
Participial, Gerundial and Infinitive constructions are highly varied. The structure of some of them is foreign to the Russian language, although their meaning can be fully conveyed in Russian with the help of forms, characteristic of Russian. The constructions are translated into Russian by objective, a...
