All 3 Uses
conjugate
in
Anna and the French Kiss
(Auto-generated)
- Or French verb conjugation.†
p. 83.5 *conjugation = the grammatical change of verb forms to match context
- He teases me about sneakers, asks about my favorite films, and conjugates my French homework.†
p. 94.1conjugates = grammatically changes verb form depending upon context
- I'm not doing so hot, because conjugating verbs isn't my strong point.†
p. 292.1conjugating = grammatically changing verb forms to match context
Definitions:
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(1)
(conjugate as in: conjugate the verb) grammatical changes of verb forms to agree with other words in a sentence for tense, number, person, and other thingsEnglish tense example:
She writes.
She is writing.
She will write tomorrow.
She has written in the past.
English number example:
Jane is...
Jane and Susan are...
Most verbs are conjugated by changing their suffix and sometimes adding a helping verb. Most verbs follow the same pattern in English. Those that follow a different pattern are called irregular verbs.
Here is an example of English conjugation of the present and past tenses for a regular, irregular, and the most irregular verb:Present tense regular irregular most irregular 1st person singular I talk drink am 2nd person singular you talk drink are 3rd person singular he, she, it talks drinks is plural 1st-3rd person we, you, they talk drink are Past tense 1st person singular I talked drank was 2nd person singular you talked drank were 3rd person singular he, she, it talked drank was plural 1st-3rd person we, you, they talked drank were -
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Conjugate also has specialized meanings in chemistry and medicine. It can also refer to the joining of things--especially pairs.