Spanish
In Spanish, verbs are traditionally held to have only one principal part, the infinitive, by which one can classify the verb into one of three conjugation paradigms (according to the ending of the infinitive, which may be -ar, -er or -ir). However, some scholars believe that the conjugation could be regularized by adding another principal part to vowel-alternating verbs, which shows the alternation. For example, herir "to hurt" is usually considered irregular because its conjugation contains forms like hiero "I hurt", hieres "you hurt", where the vowel in the root changes into a diphthong. However, by including the first person singular, present tense, indicative mood form (hiero) as a principal part, and noting that the diphthong appears only when that syllable is stressed, the conjugation of herir becomes completely predictable. (See also Spanish verbs, Spanish conjugation.)
Read more about this topic: Principal Parts, By Language
Famous quotes containing the word spanish:
“Wheeler: Aren’t you the fellow the Mexicans used to call “Brachine”?
Dude: That’s nearly right. Only it’s “Borracho.”
Wheeler: I don’t think I ever seen you like this before.
Dude: You mean sober. You’re probably right. You know what “Borracho” means?
Wheeler: My Spanish ain’t too good.
Dude: It means drunk. No, if the name bothers ya’ they used to call me Dude.”
—Jules Furthman (1888–1960)
“The Bermudas are said to have been discovered by a Spanish ship of that name which was wrecked on them.... Yet at the very first planting of them with some sixty persons, in 1612, the first governor, the same year, “built and laid the foundation of eight or nine forts.” To be ready, one would say, to entertain the first ship’s company that should be next shipwrecked on to them.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“They are a curious mixture of Spanish tradition, American imitation, and insular limitation. This explains why they never catch on to themselves.”
—Helen Lawrenson (1904–1982)