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Defective Verbs in English. In English grammar, defective verb is a traditional term for a verb that doesn't exhibit all the typical forms of a conventional verb. English modal verbs ( can, could, may, might, must, ought, shall, should, will, and would) are defective in that they lack distinctive third-person singular and nonfinite forms.
This defective modal helping verb exists only in the present and preterit tenses. It is followed by a main verb in the bare infinitive, or by [have + past participle].Both the present and the preterit may be used in combination with [have + past participle] to express a guess or a possibility about a past action (e.g., "she may/might have finished already").
Jun 28, 2023 · English Grammar Modals vs Defective Verbs. Modals are also called Defective Verbs. The term Defective Verbs is used for those verbs which are defective in form. A defective Verb cannot be used in all the MOODS and TENSES. They can be used only in the Simple Present and Simple Past Tense. People also read:
Defective verb. In linguistics, a defective verb is a verb that either lacks a conjugated form or entails incomplete conjugation, and thus cannot be conjugated for certain grammatical tenses, aspects, persons, genders, or moods that the majority of verbs or a "normal" or regular verb in a particular language can be conjugated for [citation ...
May 12, 2024 · May is now a defective verb. It has no infinitive, no past participle, and no future tense. It has no infinitive, no past participle, and no future tense. Forms of to be allowed to are used to replace these missing tenses.
2. The past-tense forms of the modal auxiliaries can, may, shall and will are always used in sentences with past reference. But they are used in different ways. That is because these verbs have dual uses which present a special problem. Just like the past-tense forms of other verbs, they are used to represent present-tense forms 'backshifted ...
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Verb. (obsolete) To be strong; to have power (over). (obsolete, auxiliary) To be able; can. But many timeswe give way to passions we may resist and will not. (poetic) To be able to go. O weary night, O long and tedious night, / Abate thy houres, shine comforts from the East, / That I may backe to Athens by day-light […].
