Tenses in the Finite Moods

Tense:the form assumed bya verb for showing (a) the time at which an event occurs, (b) the degree of completeness described to an event at the time of its occurrence.

Indefinite: denotes Present, Past, or Future time in its simplest form, making no-definite assertion about the degree of completeness or incompleteness to be ascribed to the event, as “I come”, “I came”, “I shall come”.

Continuous: denotes that the event (in Present, Past, or Future time) is not yet complete, but still going on, as “I am coming”, “I was coming”, “I shall be coming”.

Perfect: denotes that the event (in Present, Past, or Future time) is in a completed or perfect state, as “I have come”, “I had come”, “I shall have come”.

Perfect-Continuous:combines the force of the two preceding forms, as “I have been coming”, “I had coming”, “I shall have been coming”.

Person: a verb is in the First person when the subject of the verb denotes a person speaking: in the second person when it denotes a person spoken to: in the third person when it denotes a person (or thing) spoken of.

Complement of a verb

Complementto an Intransitive verb, or to a Transitive verb in the Passive voice, is a word or combination of words, which completes what the verb left unsaid about its Subject. This is called a Subjective complement.

Complementto a Transitive verb in the Active voice is a word or combination of words, which completes what the verb left unsaid about its Object. This is called an Objective complement.

Finite verb and Subject

How to parse Finite Verbs.– the point to be explained in the parsing of a finite verb are shown in their proper order in the following tables:

Kind of verb	Voice	Mood	Tense. Form of Tense
Transitive Intransitive	Active Passive	Indicative Imperative Subjunctive	Present Indefinite Past Continuous Future Perfect Future in the Past Perfect-Continuous

Number	Person	Agreement
Singular Plural	First Second Third	Agreeing in Number and Person with its subject or subjects, expressed or understood.

Examples of parsing finite verbs:

1. James has been fishing all the morning. Has been fishing – Intransitive verb. Active voice, Indicative mood, Present-Perfect-Continuous tense, having “James” for its subject, and therefore in the Singular number and Third person.

2. James and I will be promoted next term. Will be promoted - Transitive verb. Passive voice, Indicative mood, Future tense, having “James” for the two subjects, and therefore in the Plural number and First person.

3. He worked hard that he might win a prize. Worked - Intransitive verb. Active voice, Indicative mood, Past tense, having “he” for its subject, and therefore in the Singular number and Third person. Might win - Transitive verb. Active voice, Subjunctive mood, Past tense, having “he” for its subject, and therefore in the singular number and Third person.

4. You will have got to your house by the time. Will have got - Transitive verb here used Intresitively. Active voice, Indicative mood, Future-Perfect tense, having “you” for its subject, and therefore in the Plural number and Second person.

5. The jury were puzzled and would have been divided in their opinions, if judge had not known well how to guide them.

Were puzzled - Transitive verb. Passive voice, Indicative mood, Past tense, having “jury” for its subject, and therefore in the Plural number and Third person.

Would have been divided - Transitive verb. Passive voice, Subjunctive mood, Future-Perfect tense, having “jury” for its subject, and therefore in the Plural number and Third person.

Had known - Transitive verb. Active voice, Indicative mood, Present-Perfect tense, having “judge” for its subject, and therefore in the Singular number and Third person.

6. So be it. Be - Intransitive verb. Subjunctive mood, Present tense, having “it” for its subject, and therefore in the Singular number and Third person.

Verbals

Verbals are the forms of the verb intermediary in many of their lexico-grammatical features between the verb and non-processual parts of speech.

Infinitiveis the non-finite form of the verb that names the action in its most general sense, without reference to any doer.

Participle is the non-finite form of the verb which is used either (a) as part of a tense and as such preceded by an auxiliary verb be or have, or (&) as an adjective to qualify some noun or pronoun.

Gerundis the non-finite form of the verb that possess the characteristics of noun and verb, - (1) a noun in so far as it can be in the Nominative or Accusative case; (2) a verb in so far as it expresses Present or Past tense, - is in the Active or Passive voice, and (if Transitive) is followed by an object.