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According to Oxford Dictionaries Online,

finite ... 2 Grammar (of a verb form) having a specific tense, number, and person.

non-finite ... Grammar (of a verb form) not limited by tense, person, or number.

Modal verbs (can, may, should etc) are always followed by bare infinitives. For example:

We could practice our dialogue.

Here, practice is a bare infinitive and is a non-finite verb and can, by its own nature, does not express tense, person or number.

Does that imply that in sentences like the one above, where a bare infinitive follows a modal verb, neither is a finite verb? If so, am I correct in understanding that we can have grammatically legitimate clauses and sentences even without a finite verb?

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Elzee
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  • I just realized that the original question is paraphrasing Oxford Dictionaries Online, not quoting it. As written, it sounds like a definitive passage from a style guide, but the actual entries merely describe some distinguishing traits of finite and non-finite verbs without explaining actual usage. – Bradd Szonye May 21 '13 at 22:30
  • Perhaps Oxford Dictionaries Online is not the best possible source for grammar information? How about a grammar book? Or is that too radical? – John Lawler May 24 '13 at 21:19
  • @JohnLawler. My grammar books don't address the point in question. Besides, I quoted Oxford to make the definition of 'finite' authentic. I did not realize that some linguists might want to disagree with Oxford. – Elzee May 25 '13 at 09:13
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    Linguists are the ones who write the dictionaries. – John Lawler May 25 '13 at 15:33
  • @JohnLawler. Thanks for that information. I thought they were called 'lexicographers'. It seems as though I've been misled by articles like this. – Elzee May 26 '13 at 11:25
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    You're a level down in the merarchy. Lexicographer is a job title. People with that job must be trained in linguistics. People who are trained in linguistics are called linguists. – John Lawler May 26 '13 at 13:46
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    @JohnLawler. Please define "merarchy". I couldn't find that word in my dictionaries. Then again, I shouldn't assume dictionaries know all the words that a linguist does. But your definition of a 'linguist' is certainly enlightening. Thanks again. – Elzee May 26 '13 at 14:43
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    Sorry, I probably shoulds said "Hyponymy". The point is that all lexicographers are linguists, but not all linguists are lexicographers. It's a job every linguist has to do some of, occasionally, at least in glossing data, but there is an extremely small number of jobs available for full-time lexicographers. It's kinda like any specialty field in a larger one; somebody with a full-time job in X-ray crystallography is certainly a physicist, but not every physicist is an X-ray crystallographer. – John Lawler May 26 '13 at 16:23

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I think you are misunderstanding the meaning of finite. Finite is not a category of verb but a category of verb forms and uses.

Finite forms are those which must take either past or non-past tense (must is anomalous in having the same form for both tenses) and may change to agree with the person and number of their subjects. Non-finite forms, infinitives and participles, do not change with tense of the utterance or person or number of the subject.

In your example, the modal verb could is finite: it is the "past" form of the verb can. (It may not express past tense, but that is another matter.) As you say, it doesn't take a particular inflection which expresses person and number; but no English verb has a complete repertory of such inflections. You will find a little more information at this question.

In fact, the full modals can, may, must, shall, will differ from other verbs in being defective: they have only finite forms, no infinitive or participles.

Every complete clause has exactly one finite verb✲; if there are more verbs strung together, then the first is finite and the rest are non-finite. Consequently, if there is a full modal verb it must be the first in the string.

✲ Except in cases where two or more finite verbs are conjoined: I can and will do it. But these cases really express two or more clauses.

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StoneyB on hiatus
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    Must has no past tense. Instead we write had to. Still, good answer: +1. – Bradd Szonye May 16 '13 at 10:32
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    @BraddSzonye Must has no distinct past form; but the only form it does have may be deployed in either a past or a non-past sense. Granted, use in a past sense is declining; but that is true of all the modals. – StoneyB on hiatus May 16 '13 at 10:42
  • Hm, you're right. Another question points out examples like “He knew that he must go.” It's an uncommon usage but still a familiar one. – Bradd Szonye May 16 '13 at 10:47
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    @BraddSzonye And it's arguable that in sentences like "Well, if we must we must; but I don't think we will", the first must is a "past" form in a present irrealis sense! – StoneyB on hiatus May 16 '13 at 10:59
  • Thanks for pointing out the irrealis mood, which I hadn't heard of before. – Bradd Szonye May 16 '13 at 11:04
  • @BraddSzonye It is widely preferred to subjunctive these days. – StoneyB on hiatus May 16 '13 at 11:05
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    It's simpler to say that the modals have no tenses; after all, they don't inflect or agree, and there is no consistent difference between the official "present" and "past" forms. I'd say that modals are neither finite verbs nor non-finite verbs, but rather auxiliary verbs, and defective ones at that. – John Lawler May 21 '13 at 21:23
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    @JohnLawler Seems to me the full modals have as much "tense" as lexicals; just the "non-past" form has a wider range of applications. But I'd be happier ascribing tense to clauses anyway. – StoneyB on hiatus May 21 '13 at 22:02
  • @JohnLawler That's a reasonable take on it, although it's handy to call them finite for the sake of rules about one root/finite verb per sentence. – Bradd Szonye May 21 '13 at 23:42
  • The rule is that there can be no more than one finite verb per clause, and it must be the initial verb in the verb chain. That works whatever color you want to paint them. – John Lawler May 22 '13 at 03:49
  • That's exactly my point. There needs to be a finite verb per clause. If modals are neither finite nor non-finite, saying as Bradd Szonye said, 'it's handy to call them finite for the sake of rules', would only imply that we are bending the rules while merely calling them finite for that sake does not make them finite any way. So why can't we just say that sentences like the one I have mentioned in the question above are grammatically valid even without a finite verb? – Elzee May 22 '13 at 08:50
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    @Elzee, just curious, what rules do you see being bent by calling "could" finite? I think you're misunderstanding the definition of "finite". The fact that it doesn't explicitly mark the number and person doesn't mean it doesn't have them. Modals in German have different finite forms in the present: "Ich kann gehen"(I can go), "Du kannst gehen"(you can go), "Wir können gehen"(we can go). The fact that these are all "can" in English does not change the fact that "can" is finite in these sentences. – dainichi May 24 '13 at 05:51
  • There only needs to be exactly one finite verb per clause if you write the rule to say "exactly one". If you write it to say "at most one" it's the same rule, except it doesn't presuppose that everything not compulsory is forbidden, which is usually not a good presupposition in dealing with language. Finity is not a matter of fact, but of theory. – John Lawler May 24 '13 at 21:17
  • Request a clarification about present participles being non-finite. The word typing in "she is typing a letter" is a present participle and a non-finite verb whereas in "a good typing speed" it is a present participle functioning merely as an adjective and hence there is no question of it being finite or non-finite since only verbs can be finite or non-finite and not the adjectives. Is that correct? – Elzee Jan 13 '14 at 17:49
  • @Elzee Sort of. In she is typing typing is a component of the construction BE typing in which the tense is realized on the form of BE employed. Your analysis and terminology depend on what you want to do with them. Just for grins, what do you do with the "participles" in the sentence Barbara, bored, spent her days typing? – StoneyB on hiatus Jan 13 '14 at 18:01
  • @StoneyB Interesting. Bored can be a past participle adjective if it is modifying Barbara. And typing can be a present participle adverb if it is modifying the verb spent. – Elzee Jan 13 '14 at 18:10
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The definitions in Oxford Dictionaries Online describe some common traits of finite and non-finite verbs in English, but they overlook the key differences that you'd use to analyze an actual sentence. Wikipedia offers a more thorough explanation:

A finite verb is a form of a verb that has a subject (expressed or implied) and can function as the root of an independent clause.... In many languages, finite verbs are the locus of grammatical information of gender, person, number, tense, aspect, mood, and/or voice. Finite verbs are distinguished from non-finite verbs, such as infinitives, participles, etc., which generally mark these grammatical categories to a lesser degree or not at all....

English is one of the many languages that only inflects finite verbs. However, inflection is not a defining trait, because some verb classes lack inflection for other reasons. The preterite-present verbs are one such class that inflects only for tense.

That class includes the English modal verbs, which have two relevant properties:

  • They do not inflect, except insofar as some of them come in present–past (present–preterite) pairs. They do not add the ending -(e)s in the third-person singular....
  • They are defective: they are not used as infinitives or participles..., nor as imperatives, nor ... as subjunctives.

Thus:

  • Some modals do inflect for tense.
  • Those that don't inflect do so for linguistic reasons, not grammatical reasons.
  • Modal verbs are only used as finite verbs, as the root of the sentence.

Therefore, in the sentence “We could practice our dialogue,” could is a finite verb, functioning as the root of the sentence, that modifies the non-finite verb practice.

John Lawler
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Bradd Szonye
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Modal verbs are usually classed as finite, even though they mostly don't meet a definition of "finite" (nor a definition of "verb", for that matter). They occur where finite verbs occur, so they are granted status as (so to speak) "honorary" finite verbs, for convenience.

Greg Lee
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To further my previous post, modal verbs inflect a speaker's or writer's belief, attitude, or obligation. Therefore, I consider them finite by virtue of their capacity to inflect.

To answer my own question, the modal in the following sentence can be changed to either can, could, may, will, would, must, shall, should, or ought to.

I might go to the movies.

I might / should / could / will / would / shall / ought to go to the movies.

Thanks

James

James Evans
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The idea of the term "finite" verb forms is that the use of such verb forms is limited to the use with a subject. Or shorter: Verb forms connected with a subject are "finite" or of limited use.

Verb forms that can be used without referring to a subject are called infinite verb forms. These are infinitive, gerund and participle.

Résumé

Verb forms with reference to subject: finite

Verb forms with no reference to subject: infinite

Actually the ancient grammariens saw that there are verb forms that contain person endings (first, second and third person) and others that don't contain any person endings.

In Latin this is easy to see. As to English verb forms this clear optical distinction is no longer there. But all the same it is possible to say whether an English verb form is finite or not.

Added: Modal verbs can be infinite because they have no infinitive.

rogermue
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  • This doesn't make much sense. Imperative and interrogative verbs are still finite even though they might not be connected to a subject. What about languages which drop the subject more frequently? – curiousdannii Nov 04 '14 at 06:57
  • In Latin imperatives have person endings. Even without a person ending an imperative is clearly addresses to a person. So you might say the person is implied in the imperative. - I don't understand what problem you see in verb forms in questions. - I think "finite/infinite" verb forms are frequently used grammar terms and it is useful to understand what the terms originally meant. If you think my explanation makes no sense read a Latin grammar as to the meaning of the terms. – rogermue Nov 04 '14 at 07:11