Sunday, May 14, 2017

infinitives - Are modal verbs finite or non-finite?

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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