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Richard Nordquist. Updated on July 03, 2019. 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 ...
may. 'may' is the model of its conjugation. 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].
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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 ...
Defective Verbs. A Defective Verb is one that is not used in all the Moods and Tenses as, must, ought and quoth. Auxiliary Verbs = Helping Verbs. An Auxiliary Verb is one which helps to form the Moods and Tenses of other verbs. The auxiliary verbs are - shall, may, can, must, be, do, have and will. Remarks on The Auxiliary Verbs.
Oct 11, 2023 · Defective verbs [edit | edit source] A defective verb is a verb that forms no participles, and is used in but few of the moods and tenses: as, beware, ought, quoth. List of the defective verbs:
Common Defective Verbs. There are only a few defective verbs in English. Many of these are modal verbs (identified with a *). These are the most common defective verbs in English. am; been; begone; beware; can* could* may* might* must* ought* shall* should* was; will* would*
May 17, 2024 · defective verb (plural defective verbs) ( grammar ) A verb with an incomplete conjugation; for example, one that can only be conjugated in certain persons and numbers . The verb can is defective in most English dialects, as it lacks an infinitive.