Encyclopedia of Chinese Language and Linguistics

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Finiteness
(2,509 words)

1. Definition 

Just looking at a language like English, one easily gets the impression that “tensed” equals “finite” and one may wonder why we actually need two separate notions. However, taking a wider perspective, it becomes clear that tense and finiteness are different after all: not only do some languages (like Latin) have tensed infinitives, in others, such as Dravidian, finiteness is expressed through Mo…

Cite this page
Rint SYBESMA, “Finiteness”, in: Encyclopedia of Chinese Language and Linguistics, General Editor Rint Sybesma. Consulted online on 28 March 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2210-7363_ecll_COM_000292>
First published online: 2016



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