Finite Verb Puns

Today on grammar class, we were reviewing homework and then this sentence popped up:

If you need additional information concerning my character or ability, you may get in touch with the teacher.

Now, analyzing the clauses inside the sentence we come up with "concerning my character or ability" The teacher marked it down as a non-finite clause, however concerning is a preposition, what is it?

https://preview.redd.it/q00azt2kwh751.png?width=1040&format=png&auto=webp&s=055b374708a972215ffa1bb1bdc306a266323a14

I'm trying to help someone edit a writing sample (AP style, if that matters) and they asked me about this sentence and I'm a little stumped.

"is" could be correct because the following article is singular: "a finite amount."

However the actual subject of the sentence, "natural resources," is plural, which makes me think it should be "are."

Any help is appreciated! Thanks.

Hello everyone! I'm a native Dutch speaker but I'm teaching Dutch as a volunteer to people who live here and want to practice their Dutch. I'm in no way certified or anything I just do it because I like it and it helps others! I'm typing this in English so that everyone might be able to learn from the question.

The question is if there is a rule for when the subject (onderwerp) goes before or behind the finite verb (persoonsvorm).
Because the obvious one is with question:
Ik loop naar huis. (before)
Loop ik naar huis? (behind)

However, there are other moments where the finite verb goes in front of the subject. Like:
1 Daar ga ik niet naartoe.
2 Zo lekker is het niet.
3 Gisteren liep ik weg.
4 Meer wil ik niet.

All the examples have the subject behind finite verb, but what is the rule? I thought it was with a word that stated the time, but that only works with no. 3. The others aren't even time related. Is there a rule? Or is it feel? Because I can do it flawless every time but that's because I'm a native speaker. How do I explain this easily to someone who doesn't understand this yet? They tend to say things like: Dat ik ga niet doen or Daar ik ga naartoe.

How do you explain well that it isn't only with questions but also with different situation? Or is this one of the typical 'Het is gewoon zo' situations?

Can a non finite verb appear reduplicated in its verbal root signing a marû form?

Hi there,

I have a fairly esoteric question which I'm hoping someone might be able to help me with. Specifically with regards to 'consistent' null-subject languages (e.g. Italian & Spanish), I have seen many statements to the effect that: "in pro-drop languages ... infinitives must raise to TP and AgrP and these projections must be present to accommodate the properties of infinitive verbs" (Guasti, 2002).

In general, non-finite verbs in most languages do not raise, the usual evidence being their rightward position of negative adverbs. However, non-finites in null-subject languages seem to defy this trend (compare French "ne rien manger" with Italian "mangiare nulla"). I'm wondering exactly why there is this connection between null-subjects and non-finite verb raising? That one should imply the other is not obvious to me.

The best that Pollock (1989) could offer was: "If [Italian required Verb Movement to Agr] it could be suggested that the pro-drop parameter was involved. We might claim, for instance, that Agr in Italian infinitives is too "rich" (despite its nonlexical nature in infinitives) to undergo Affix Movement. Such an approach ... would seem to predict that all pro-drop languages should behave like Italian with respect to the ordering of adverbs in infinitives."

I can't claim to wholly understand that but Pollock seemed unconvinced and I'm guessing that something else might have been said about this since 1989. Guasti (2002) seems only to assert the connection without explication and I'm struggling to find explanations anywhere else.

I'm interested in adopting the Arabic root system for my conlang but I have no knowledge in Arabic language nor its linguistic backbone to answer this question myself. Could anyone help me?

Okay, in my quest for understanding, I have begun to understand the infinitive better. However, with that said, I'm still really lost.

What exactly is an infinitive used for? Why have them? If it helps clarify what I'm asking, I'm talking about something like this in Wikipedia. I want to have a better knowledge of why, when, and how we use them in English, as well as how they are used in other languages. In particular, I can't seem to get much information about the use of infinitives crosslinguistically; I especially don't get why, if some languages have infinitives that are partially conjugated, they aren't just considered normal verbs.

Any and all explanations, as detailed and rich as possible, are very much appreciated.

Additionally, other non-finite verb stuff has been bugging me. Things like Participles and Gerunds. In Odki (and Igogu), it's a rather simple manner to change a noun to a verb, a verb to a noun, etc. It's a lot like Esperanto in that manner. Would I still need Participles at that point? Can you get away with not having Participles and/or Gerunds? If you don't have them, how would you handle those types of situations where they're used in English?

Also, while I'm aware of stuff like serial verb constructions (I use that in Igogu), I figured I'd just ask if anyone wants to share alternatives to non-finite verbs. I'd be curious to see all the different ways of doing thins differently if anyone wants to share, preferably with some examples from your conlang.

I have tried to understand it for so long but I just don't get it! I am a native speaker of English.

I don't understand why we need to clarify a verb to 'finite' or 'non-finite' .

Can someone talk about that?

Can someone explain the difference, and show some examples? Are there any universal rule, or does it depend on the context/sentence. Are auxiliary verb also finite or non-finite?

I wish to read Loic Merel's "Bornes pour la torsion des courbes elliptiques sur les corps de nombres" ("Bounds for the torsion of elliptic curves on number fields" ). I have the paper but it's in French. Translation ruins the math typesetting. Is there an English version that anyone is aware of.
Thanks.
Ref: Merel, L. (1996). "Bornes pour la torsion des courbes elliptiques sur les corps de nombres". Inventiones Mathematicae (in French). 124 (1–3): 437–449. doi:10.1007/s002220050059.

My favorite thing about Germany is drinking beer.

One of my duties is attending meeting.

One of my guilty pleasures is sleeping in late.

Drinking, attending, meeting, sleeping are these gerunds? if yes then why. it feels like drinking is a verb to me. i am so confused.

Could someone explain why are there 3 verbs in this sentence and why are they written in the beginning of the sentence

Vertrieben werden sollen die Produkte von Apotheken

This isn't homework or anything. My goal is to become advanced in grammar (still have much to learn). The following sentence is from a popular biological article. While I know NOTHING about the content, being able to syntactically understand what is going on does help, which is why I believe that understanding syntax improves comprehension.

The sentence:

"Bacteria and archaea have evolved RNA-mediated adaptive defense systems called clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) that protect organisms from invading viruses and plasmids."

The analysis:

Overall, I'm thinking this sentence follows a SV construction, making this a simple sentence (nothing simple about this sentence! haha).

(Subject) Bacteria and archaea

(Predicate) have evolved RNA-mediated adaptive defense systems called clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) that protect organisms from invading viruses and plasmids.

I am writing the functions of the words. I know "evolved" can be a verb in the past form or a participle, but it's functioning as an adj (i think) in this sentence.

Thanks for any help. I literally am just doing this for fun, and also to become better at this so that I can be a better educator :)

Now, why am I writing this? Mostly honestly, I just had to take my mother to the hospital yesterday and so I need something to distract myself without it necessarily being 'cheery'. Besides, I honestly enjoy doing research papers, and often wish I could take an intellectual job, but I don't have the money for a degree. I've been thinking that perhaps I could just do it for the sheer pleasure of it, and also to expand my own knowledge.

Anyway, I typed this out in a word document just now, and did a single proof-read of it. As I explained in the paper, German has some interesting features that could be used in a conlang, but despite this is rarely taken as a source of inspiration. I happen to be an intermediate in the language, so I know it quite well. Here I tried to summarize the parts that may be of interest to a conlanger, most notably I skipped over things like phonology and semantics. The whole document is a little over 3 pages long in word (double spaced), so hopefully it isn't that long of a read.

So, without further ado, here's what I came up with:

A Summary of German Grammar

Purpose:

The purpose of this paper isn't to teach the language, or give a detailed analysis of it. The purpose of writing this is to summarize the details of German that may be of interest for a conlanger. German has a number of rather unique features, but is rarely drawn upon when conlanging. Thus I am writing this so that someone could get learn about some of the strangeness of German grammar without having to read that much.

Noun Phrases:

The order of a noun phrase is: preposition-determiner-adjective-noun-adjectival clause

German distinguishes four cases, which are as follows:

Nominative: the subject

Accusative: direct object

Dative: indirect object

Genitive: possessive

Prepositions require the noun to be in a specific case depending on the preposition in question. Some, can take one of two cases which results in a change of meaning. The accusative indicates motion towards, while the dative indicates location. For instance, with the German preposition 'in', with the accusative it means 'into' but with the dative it means 'in' or 'inside of'.

Case is primarily marked on the article/determiner. Adjectives take their own markings depending on case, gender, number, and whether a definite or indefinite article is present. The adjectival endings used for when no article is present are the only ones detailed enough to determine case.

There is a fair a

The state also plays a substantial role in the financial markets, crowding out private investment in these areas

This is the third post in a series about my magic systems. I recommend you at least skim the first two before reading on (links below). In this post I am going to explain the first of the three magic systems: Sorcery

--

Post Index

(This will be updated with links when new posts are up)

1. Basic Setting Overview
2. Metaphysics
3. Sorcery
4. Thaumaturgy
5. Spirit-binding
6. Artifice

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For as long as mankind has existed, certain individuals have been born with the gift of sorcery - the ability to sense and interact with mana, and shape it into spells by acts of will. This talent manifests in families, with each bloodline possessing a unique aspect of sorcery. The aspect a sorcerer has governs the kind of sorcery which comes most naturally to them, but with the right training most are able to learn at least simple techniques outside their aspect. The number of sorcerers alive in the world can be estimated to be, at most, in the low thousands, having reached a peak of perhaps three thousand during the height of the Age of Wonders.

Recorded, distinct, aspects number in the dozens, though exact counts vary somewhat since scholars don't always agree on whether aspects can change with the passing of generations or not, and whether two branches of a sorcerous bloodline can have different aspects that have grown apart, or merely different techniques of using the same aspect.

Recorded aspects include: Fire, heat, sun, light, shadows, earth, stone, metal, water, cold, sound, wind, lightning, flesh, animals, plants, mind, emotions, and more - this list isn't supposed to be finite. You may notice there are several areas of overlap, and that's intentional. Aspects are vague and poorly understood in-universe, they don't fit neatly into a diagram (though that hasn't stopped various scholars from trying, of course) and they aren't meant to be balanced against each other in any way. Several of these are archaic as the associated bloodlines have died out, and entirely new ones crop up from time to time. Others may be more specialised offshoots of existing bloodlines. Also note that the definitions are in-universe and may be based on incomplete understanding, and some aspects may be too complex or nuanced to accurately sum up in a single word (in English, that is - in-universe languages like

I can't be the first person to notice this. (edit: I wasn't alone!)

>There is a glut of games with names that end in the suffix "Fall."

So much so, it could have a wikipedia list dedicated solely to this phenomenon.

I first started to notice this trend back in 2015 with a game called Firefall.

Not the 1970s rock band of the same name, but a free to play MMO that while it looked very much like StarCraft and has a similar vibe, didn't seem to show anything falling from above. It didn't last long, then it fell into games history in 2017.

It's not necessarily recent to see media product names ending in Fall, with the obvious Titanfall and Greedfall out there, since even in the 20s, 50s, and 70s you can find books and other media with Fall at the end of it. But definitely in the last few years, Fall has seen a rapid uptick in frequency of video games with similar names.

This isn't just a matter of your run of the mill common name trope, like Sci-fi games with the word "Star" in it, or a war game with "Wars" somewhere in the title. That would make perfect sense. Star Trek, Star Wars, Star Citizen -- that's fine, they actually have stars in the title and in the setting.

MineCraft and StarCraft and WarCraft -- games where you build and craft tend to avoid that Craft suffix these days because they know what it imples, and it would just be apropos.

Fall doesn't seem to have that issue. You can tack the suffix Fall on anything and there you go.

It's not a Prefix or Single Word issue. Your Fallouts obviously don't count because, clearly, stuff is falling out of the air there, and it's about the events of civilization post-literal-fallout. If there were to be published, "The Fall" by Albert Camus, as a lowpoly existentialist indie RPG, that would also get a pass.

It's apparently not a planned event by publishers and marketers trying to do this on purpose -- most of these games I'm about to list are self-published and have little or nothing in common, and only appear on related searches if you only type "Fall."

So there's no conspiracy of Fall Guys out there trying to manipulate the market of mistyped google search results... (or is there?)

What about these games says, "something is falling, and we need our name to reflect the urgent gravity of that situation?"

We're not talking the fall of Rome here. We're looking at some kind of ***Nou

What is the finite verb in this sentence “She tried to help him” ?