Non-Finite Clauses and Clauses without Verbs

Introduction to English Grammar (2005), Huddleston & Pullum

Non-Finite Clauses

Non-finite clauses are those clauses headed by a gerund participle (-ing), a past
participle or an infinitival construction (plain form).

Construction Example Verb-Form
To -infinitival Perry wants to save the
world
Plain
Bare infinitival Perry might save the world

Plain
Gerund-Participial Perry thinks of saving the
world
Gerund-Participle
Past-Participial Perry has saved the world Past Participle

We won't use the term infinitive, only infinitival clauses and verbs in plain form.

Non-Finite clauses:
Contain a predicate headed by a secondary form.
Do not have a primary tense.
Can never contain a modal auxiliary.
Normally, embedded in a larger construction and aspects of their meanings depend
upon it.
For example:
a. I had long been wanting to go to a camping trip. (It happened already)
b. I am planning to go to a camping trip. (Hasnt happened already)
Can have special subordinators (to and for).
Can lack overt subjects despite not being imperative.
When a non-finite clause has a personal pronoun as subject, that pronoun generally
does not have the nominative case-form.
Under certain conditions, a non-finite clause may have a non-subject NP left
understood.

Subordinators to and for

To-infinitivals are marked by the word to. It is a very particular word and no other item
has exactly the same grammatical properties. Huddleston and Pullum consider to as a
member of the subordinator category.

When to-infinitival contains a subject, it also contains the subordinator for.
Eg: [For Susan to miss class] is very strange.
I can't believe it took so long [for Jason to realize the truth].

For does for infinitival clauses with subjects what the subordinator that does for declarative
content clauses.

Subjectless Non-Finites

Most non-finite clauses have no overt subject but we understand them as having subjects
anyway. We speak then of an understood subject.
We can determine the understood subject in two ways: via syntactic determination or not.

Syntactic determination:

Eg. Rick pretended to fall asleep during his exam.
We understand the subject because of its antecedent. The verb pretend points that Rick is
the one who did the pretending and, thus, Rick is the understood subject

Non-Syntactic determination:

Eg. It is useless to try to argue with her.
In this case, the meaning depends heavily on inference. The interpretation of this sentence
is that it applies generally, to everyone.

Non-finite clauses functioning as adjunct

Eg. [Having read the book first], Alice was not surprised by the plot twist.

Having read the book first is an adjunct whose subject can be found by looking at the
main clause: It was Alice who read the book.
Sometimes, however, the understood subject is not given by a name or an NP.

a. Understood subject given by non-subject NP

Eg. [Always being appointed with the task of shoveling the snow], winter was never my
favorite season.

Even though it is never explicitly stated, we assume the understood subject is the speaker
because we relate my to the subject.

b. Understood subject not given by any NP

Sometimes no NP in the sentence gives us any clue about what we should take to be
the understood subject.
Eg. [Having failed once], is the fear of failure any less this time around?

Only context can tell us that the understood subject is the person addressed.

Finally, some sentences do not have a particular subject intended:
In the long run, [taking everything into account], I think we made the right choice.
[Turning to last week], several numbers provided some reason for optimism.
[Speaking of boyfriends], mine just bought me a new pair of earrings.


Non-finites with an overt subject
When a subject is overtly present in the non-finite clause, its form may differ from that of
subjects in finite clauses:

INFINITIVAL CLAUSES
In to-infinitival clauses, a personal pronoun with a nominative-accusative contrast always
takes accusative form:
Eg. [For themto take your credit card away] was a clear violation.
All she cares about is [for us to be together again].

GERUND-PARTICIPIALS
With gerunds, the case of the subject depends on whether the clause is complement or
adjunct.

1) As Complement: The subject can be either genitive or non-genitive.
a. He insisted on [her/shetaking the lead].
Personal pronouns can be either in the genitive or the accusative case
b. She insisted on [her brother's/her brother being present].
For common NPs the choice between genitive and non-genitive depends on style.
c. She insisted on [there being a counsellor present throughout the interview].
For NPs such as there, the genitive is not possible.

2) As Adjuncts: Subject genitives are not permitted at all. It can only be nominative of
accusative.

He looks up to Ted, [hebeing his best bro].
He looks up to Ted, [himbeing his best bro].
The accusative is markedly informal and somewhat unlikely.


Hollow Non-Infinitive Clauses

There is a type of non-finite clause in which some non-subject element is missing but can
be recovered from an antecedent.
Eg. The pie will be cold enough [for you to eat ___] in a minute.
The new terms take a little while [to get used to___].
The pizza was too large [to eat___ by myself].
It is a question very difficult [to answer___].

The ___ marks the place where an element is missing but understood. The bold elements
are the antecedents that provide the interpretation for the missing NP.
The bracketed clauses here have incomplete structure. This is why they are called hollow
non-finites.

Hollow non-finites:
Are predominantly to-infinitivals
Their missing elements functions mostly as Direct Objects.
Their antecedent is usually a NP.


FUNCTIONS OF NON-FINITE CLAUSES

Functions of non-infinitive clauses vary depending on the type of non-finite clause:

1. TO-INFINITIVALS

FUNCTION EXAMPLE
Subject [To tell you what happened] would break me.
Extraposed Subject It would break me [to tell you what
happened].
Extraposed Object He though it wise [to ask for a sword].
Internal Complement of Verb John wants [to go for a walk].
Complement of Preposition I use high heels in order [to look taller].
Adjunct in Clause I use high heels [to look taller].
Complement of Noun He gave me the option [to repeat the test].
Modifier in NP Hermione has a wand [to conjure spells with].
Complement of Adjective Dean was excited [to get in the car].
Indirect Complement I am too worried [to go to sleep].


Interrogative Infinitivals
Infinitivals functioning as complement to verbs, prepositions, nouns and adjectives can be
interrogative.

FUNCTION EXAMPLE
Complement of Verb I dont know [whether to tell you the truth
or not].
Complement of Adjective Im not sure [how to tell you].
Complement of Preposition I dont know in [whom to trust anymore].
Complement of Noun The decision [whether to go through the
mines or not] falls on the ring-bearer.

Closed interrogatives are introduced by the subordinator whether and open ones (wh-) by
an interrogative phrase. Overt subject is not permitted in interrogative infinitivals.

The meaning of infinitival interrogatives is deontic (similar to the auxiliary should).

2. BARE INFINITIVALS

As opposed to to-infinitivals, bare infinitival clauses occur in only a very limited set of
functions. Mostly as internal complements of certain verbs, with no subject permitted:

You should [bakea good cake]. Complement of Modal Auxiliary
I need you to go[get some food]. Complement of go.
The glasses let me [seeit]. Complement of let.
All I did was [ask a question]. Complement of specifying be

3. GERUND-PARTICIPIALS

Just like to-infinitivals, gerund-participials can fulfill a wide range of functions:

FUNCTION EXAMPLE
Subject [Booking a room before travelling] was an excellent
idea.
Extraposed Subject Its been great [getting to know you].
Object I like [talking about television].
Extraposed Object I think it is useless [trying to reason with you].
Internal Complement of a Verb I recalled [seeing your dog in the morning].
Complement of a Preposition He apologized for [being late].
Adjunct in Clause [Being the last one here], you have no right to
complain.
Modifier in NP I really loved the speaker [presenting on global
warming].

Infinitivals vs. Gerund-participials

While to-infinitivals prefer extraposed functions, gerund-participials are most
commonly subjects and objects.
Similarly, while prepositions generally dont accept to-infinitivals as complement,
many can take gerund-participials.
In NP structure, gerund-participials commonly function as modifiers, but they are
not found as complements
Gerunds are also excluded from being adjectival complements.


4. PAST-PARTICIPIALS

Past-participial clauses only occur in a few specific cases:

Internal Complement of a Verb He [has doneyet another prank].
Modifier in NP [The vases broken by the earthquake] were fixed.


The Catenative Construction

Catenative constructions occur whenever a non-finite clause is an internal complement of a
verb.
The only exceptions being constructions in which the complement can be substituted by
other categories.
Eg. Our goal is [to eliminate the competition].
Our goal is a competition-free environment. (Replaced by a NP)

I'd call that [chickening out].
I'd call that cowardice. (Replaced by a NP)

Examples of Catenative Constructions:
Scott seems [to understand it.]
Scott began [to realize it.]
Scott hoped [to one day be like him.]

The notion of to understand it, to realize it and to be it cannot be equated with any
other type of construction.

Catenatives allow to form chains of verbs:
She seems to want to stop trying to avoid meeting him.

Simple and Complex Catenatives

Complex catenatives have an intervening NP between the main and the dependent verb,
while simple catenatives don't.

Type of Non-finite Simple Catenative Complex Catenative
Infinitival Clause You promised to clean the
pool.
We persuaded you to clean the
pool.
Infinitival Bare Clause You should get rid of the
evidence.
We helped you get rid of the
evidence.
Gerund-Participial
Clause
You recall doing your chores. We remember you doing your
chores.
Past Participial Clause You got accepted into the
fraternity.
We got you accepted into the
fraternity.


Ordinary Subjects and Raised Subjects in Simple Catenatives

An ordinary object is semantically related to the matrix verb, while a raised object is not.
The subject of the catenative verb in the simple catenative construction may be an ordinary
subject or a raised subject, depending on the particular catenative verb selected.

Ordinary Subject Jason wanted to convince Peter
Raised Subject Jason seemed to convince Peter

There are two ways of testing ordinary or raised subjects:

a) Passive Voice
When turned to passive, if the sentence has a raised subject, it will have the same core
meaning as its active form.
Ordinary Subject Raised Subject
Active Jason wanted to convince Peter Jason seemed to convince Peter
Passive Peter wanted to be convinced
by Jason
Peter seemed convinced by Jason
Same No. Yes
meaning?


b) Dummy pronouns: it and there
Dummy pronouns it and there cannot function as an ordinary subject to a catenative
verb.
WANT vs. SEEM
Ordinary Subject Raised Subject
Extrapositional it *I t wants to be obvious the you
like me.
I t seems to be obvious you like
me.
Existental there *Therewants to be a mistake. Thereseems to be a mistake.
Dummy subject
allowed?
No. Yes


COMPLEX CATENATIVE CONSTRUCTION

There are four types of Complex catenatives.

This last structure (bare infinitival) does not have overt indications of where the NP belongs
syntactically, but through testing with passive constructions, insertion of adjuncts, and cleft
constructions H&P prove it belongs to the main clause.


Verbless Clauses

Differ even more from canonical clauses.
Do not express a primary test.
Do not allow for the marking of verbal mood.
No predicator.
Primarily adjuncts.

Type Example NP
Infinitival + FOR I arranged for you to meet the band. NP belongs to the
embedded
Genitive + gerund-
participial
I resented your being more popular. NP belongs to the
embedded
Infinitival + ON I counted on you to bring the food. NP belongs to main
clause
Bare Infinitival I believed you to be better than this. NP belongs to main
clause
1. Verbless clauses as complements to a preposition.

Some prepositions that accept verbless clauses are: with, without, although, if, once, and
while.
Eg. I was watching a 3D movie [without glasses on].
[While in California] I biked to college every day.

Its important to note that [without glasses on] can still be divided into subject and
predicate, [glasses] being the subject and [on] the predicate

2. Verbless clauses as adjuncts

Verbless clauses with subject + predicate can function as adjuncts:

Eg. [The truth finally revealed], we had nothing else to hide.
My friends, [many of them lifelong companions], were at my party.