Clause combining, or clause linkage, is traditionally analysed on the syntactic, semantic and prosodic (spoken) levels, and the combinations are called complex sentences in many popular grammars. What is widely accepted today is that clause combining or clause linkage should be understood as mechanisms of connecting clauses rather than sentences. Since the clause is the most fundamental grammatical unit, Chapter 5 considers how non-finiteness plays its role in clause combining from the process-relation perspective. Three types of clause relations are proposed: paratactic, circumstantial and participantial. Non-finite clauses act as the bridges in clause combining viewed from the perspective of metaphoric syndrome. Thus, an answer to the third research question (How does non-finiteness function for inter-clausal connectivity?) is provided.

It is pervasive today in studies of the Chinese language for spoken instances to be used to support both spoken and written grammars. As made clear in Chapter 3, spoken and written languages require different grammars. Based on the process relations, controversial constructions in written Chinese are analysed in Chapter 7. These constructions include the following in which non-finiteness plays an indispensable role: serial verb construction, the so-called pivotal construction, existential construction, and other controversial constructions. In Chapters 6 and 7, the controversial issues of non-finiteness in English and Chinese are dealt with from the process-relation perspective and new findings are presented. Thus, the answer to the fourth research question is given.

It seems that non-finite clauses in English can be easily identified with the help of morphological indicators, but the fact is that non-finite clauses are often ambiguous in meaning and intermediate in construction. Chapter 6 revisits the controversial English constructions with non-finiteness according to the definition, construction types and principles proposed in the previous chapters. The process-relation perspective provides a good answer for the controversial issues in the causative and non-causative constructions, the serial verb construction, the absolute construction, and other ambiguous non-finite constructions.

As perhaps the most comprehensive review of non-finiteness so far, Chapter 2 starts by reviewing the mentions of non-finiteness in the early history of English grammar writing (from 1785), then it digs into the studies of non-finiteness in the following theories: morphology-based traditional grammar, typological perspective, form-based generative grammar, meaning-based cognitive grammar, meaning- and form-based systemic functional grammar, semiotic grammar, role and reference grammar, functional discourse grammar, construction grammar and other approaches. A summary of the enlightening views is provided at the end of the chapter.

Chapter 4 is intended to figure out in what contexts non-finiteness can be positioned and identified. With the theoretical foundation in Chapter 3, eight constructions are proposed in which the occurrences of non-finiteness may be predicted. Among the eight constructions, the basic construction is fundamental; constructions of the para-relation of processes, the hypo-relation of processes, and the conflated participant reveal complexity in process itself; constructions of process as primary participant, secondary participant, and circumstance reveal the nexus of functional components, and the construction of the triple participant shows how more than two participants get involved in a construction.

Chapter 3 targets the theoretical issues underlying non-finiteness. It is argued that spoken and written language should be distinguished because they require different grammars. With the wisdom in current literature and with the focus on written language, this chapter elaborates on cryptotype and cline, metafunctions as universal categories, process as the basic semantic unit, clause as the basic syntactic unit, ideational grammatical metaphor as the mechanism, two principles in constructional tendency, the difference between rankshifting and embedding, and a new definition of non-finiteness. Thus, the answer is provided to the question: In what way is the finite/non-finite distinction universal?

This chapter outlines the present-day distribution of languages and language families used across mainland Southeast Asia, drawing on current historical/comparative linguistic research. Overviews are given of what is known in the historical/comparative linguistics of the Austroasiatic, Tai-Kadai, Chamic, Moklenic, Hmong-Mien, and Tibeto-Burman language families, along with surveys of the area's sign languages, classical languages, and writing systems.

This chapter gives an introductory overview of the strategies used in mainland Southeast Asian languages for making verbal predications in the core of clauses. There is an overview of verbal marking including patterns of negation, aspect, and modality. An important feature of the area’s languages is the heavy reliance on serial verb constructions (or multi-verb constructions) for packaging information in clauses and sentences. The chapter surveys various sub-categories of multi-verb construction, including depictive/adverbial constructions and complementation strategies. The chapter closes with a section on valency-changing strategies, including syntactic causatives, reflexives, and reciprocals.