Syntactic functions of finite and non-finite clauses in academic English

Marcela Malá

Syntactic functions of finite and non-finite clauses in academic English

Vol.3,No.1(2010)

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Finite and non-fi nite clauses can perform four syntactic functions in sentences. They can substitute for clause elements commonly expressed by noun phrases or adverbials; they can pre- and postmodify noun phrases, or as comment clauses, be independent of the rest of the sentence. This paper explores the four categories in 100 consecutive sentences in four research articles from psychology and economics published at the beginning of the 20th century and a hundred years later. The fi ndings show that fi nite and non-fi nite clauses postmodifying noun phrases are by far the most frequently used category in the older texts. In the modern texts, however, this category decreases in favour of clauses occupying a noun phrase slot and adverbial. In the disciplines explored, the data also shows that texts are more impersonal and academic English indicates a trend towards a non-fi nite mode of expression.

Keywords:
academic English; syntactic functions of finite/non-finite clauses; primary/secondary predication

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