Defective Verbs
Some verbs have incomplete conjugations: they do not have forms for certain tenses, moods, or persons. Such verbs are said to be defective. They include:
- some archaic verbs that survive only in very narrow contexts, such as accroire, choir, clore, ester, férir, gésir, occire, ouïr, poindre, and quérir. Hence, we have "Ci-gît un homme irremplaçable", "Oyez, oyez, braves gens !", and "Je l'ai obtenu sans coup férir."
- necessarily impersonal verbs, such as falloir, pleuvoir, s'agir, and importer. Hence, we have "Il fallait que tu viennes", "Il tonne", and "Il s'agit de réussir."
- some other verbs for which certain forms are useless, such as barrir, éclore, and pulluler. Hence, we have "Les moustiques pullulent", "Les fleurs éclosent", and "L'âne brait."
Read more about this topic: French Verb Morphology
Famous quotes containing the words defective and/or verbs:
“The study and knowledge of the universe would somehow be lame and defective were no practical results to follow.”
—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 B.C.)
“He crafted his writing and loved listening to those tiny explosions when the active brutality of verbs in revolution raced into sweet established nouns to send marching across the page a newly commissioned army of words-on-maneuvers, all decorated in loops, frets, and arrowlike flourishes.”
—Alexander Theroux (b. 1940)