Questions tagged [conjugation]
Questions about modification of a verb from its basic form.
134
questions
0
votes
1answer
27 views
Plural Noun + Are/Is + uncountable noun
I am trying to write a sentence like the following:
The skills I acquired is/are knowledge in A, B, and C.
However, I know that uncountable nouns such as knowledge doesn't go with are. Yet, the ...
1
vote
0answers
31 views
As for you, Frodo, in so far as lies in me
It's from The Lord of the Rings:
‘Then I will declare my doom,’ said Faramir. ‘As for you, Frodo, in so
far as lies in me under higher authority, I declare you free in the
realm of Gondor to ...
0
votes
3answers
63 views
“There are believed to be some ghosts” or ”There is …”?
There are believed to be some ghosts in that house
There is believed to be some ghosts in that house
Can anyone tell me which of the to be verb is correct in this case?
0
votes
1answer
33 views
Past tense English conjugation in a whole sentence
You should have let me given you a ride home.
You should have let me give you a ride home.
Your should have let me gave you a ride home.
You should have let me driven you home.
You should have let ...
2
votes
1answer
107 views
Is “stang” so out of use it is widely considered an incorrect form of “stung”?
I have a sentence in a short story which wants to use 'stang' instead of 'stung'.
Dictionaries that include 'stang' say it is 'obsolete'. Would you as a reader accept it?
a shriek so fierce her ...
1
vote
1answer
98 views
when did things like “thou canst” go? [duplicate]
I'm reading Kim and there are many lines like "Canst thou?".
Seems this is a conjugation of verbs on the 2nd person pronoun.
Nowadays seems English only has conjugation on the 3rd person pronoun. ...
1
vote
1answer
60 views
Why do verbs go without an “S” in these cases? [duplicate]
Here are two examples of the word "lest":
They should fill in the hole on that playground lest anyone fall into it.
She was not ready and was worried lest anyone see her naked.
I'm wondering why ...
0
votes
2answers
58 views
Are there verbs that conjugate with the person in the simple past or simple future?
We all know that verbs conjugate according to the person in the simple present, typically with the third person singular.
My question is: Are there verbs that change according to the person in the ...
3
votes
2answers
2k views
You've got or gotten? [duplicate]
I would like to properly use the verb get in the following sentence:
"You've ___ bigger since the last time I saw you, Bobby."
Should the past tense got be used or the past participle gotten?
I ...
2
votes
1answer
48 views
Conjugation when not substituting pronouns for proper nouns
Pronouns take the place of proper nouns when context allows. However, it seems proper nouns are only ever conjugated in the third person, singular or plural. Is this a rule?
For example, if I'm ...
0
votes
1answer
562 views
I wish my father “were having the stuff” or “was having the stuff”? [duplicate]
"I wish my father were having the stuff" or "I wish my father was having the stuff" ..
"And what if I wish my father having the stuff", is that bring different time definition? Thank you..
3
votes
1answer
240 views
Conjugation of 'shall' in Early Modern English
In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the Third Witch says to Banquo: "Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none" (1.3.65); if I want to quote that line and write it in the third person singular, how should I ...
6
votes
4answers
5k views
Is “have went” gaining common currency in AmE and BrE?
In the following article from English today there is a survey about the usage of the erroneous, but apparently rather commonly used expression “have went” in place of “have gone”:
... several ...
1
vote
2answers
168 views
“Leaving flowers on your grave / Show that I still care”: why is there no Present Simple S to the verb in this sentence?
In The Offspring's song "Gone Away" there is a line that goes:
"Leaving flowers on your grave
Show that I still care"
and the same goes with the new cover by Five Finger Death Punch, the exact same ...
1
vote
0answers
2k views
“You mentioned that you want” vs. “You mentioned that you wanted”
Which is correct in this scenario?
"When you mentioned that you wanted this book, I knew I had to get it for you."
"When you mentioned that you want this book, I knew I had to get it for you."
The ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
Specializing vs Specialized [closed]
Should I use specializing or specialized? Or better, what's the difference?
Microsoft is a German software development company specializing
in software development tools for the engineering ...
1
vote
0answers
47 views
Why is “reconstruct” used instead of “reconstructs” or “reconstructed” in this sentence?
Why did the author write "reconstruct" instead of writing "reconstructs/reconstructed"? Is it an exception to normal subject-verb agreement rules?
It may be argued that the creation-template ...
0
votes
1answer
384 views
I felt as if it “was” or “were” grinning at me? [duplicate]
A wicked aura around it, I felt as if it was grinning at me
or
A wicked aura around it, I felt as if it were grinning at me
?
1
vote
2answers
62 views
I have always—and will always—do X? or done X?
(This has gotta be a duplicate, but I didn't quite manage to find anything...)
Is either of the following correct? If so, what is the general rule that makes the other one wrong?
I have always—...
1
vote
1answer
2k views
Are “worshiping” and “worshipping” interchangeable? [closed]
Every online source seems to agree with the preconceived notion I had that the correct usage is "worshipping" with two p's, saying that "worshipping" is an exception to a rule about doubling the ...
0
votes
4answers
1k views
Is “subjugative” a word?
I recently used the word subjugative in the following sentence:
Any company that wants to be “legitimate” (raise money, hire employees, file taxes, distribute shares, etc.) puts itself in a ...
1
vote
1answer
71 views
I don't want to be the one that “have” or “has”? [duplicate]
Which one of these sentences is correct?
I don't want to be the one that have to explain to your parents why you are not going to graduate.
I don't want to be the one that has to explain to your ...
-2
votes
1answer
295 views
What is the past tense of “pathfinding”?
For context, pathfinding is a type of computer algorithm to find a path between two points.
I can see three likely answers to this question, and none of them feel great:
Pathfinded (weird because ...
-1
votes
1answer
76 views
Is this conjugation correct?
I am reading a document with this in a sentence:
It is intended that the Plan qualify as...
Is the word "qualify" conjugated properly? (I would have used "qualifies" but perhaps the conditional ...
1
vote
1answer
111 views
Is there a widely accepted past participle for “stride”?
Yesterday I intended to stride.
Today I strode.
Now I have...
...stridden?
...strid?
...strode?
...strided?
I'm assuming (though I could be wrong) that "stridden" is the "technically" correct option,...
3
votes
2answers
161 views
“Me, as an artist, knows better” or “know better”? [closed]
I am confused how I should conjugate the verb with this construction, at the start of a sentence:
Me, as a X, [verb]...
Should I use the first or third person?
1
vote
1answer
212 views
why did this author use the plural verb “do” after “he”?
Teddy's father is a prominent physician who puts a great deal of
pressure on the boy to achieve at a very high level. As an only child,
Teddy felt that all his father wanted from him was that he ...
2
votes
2answers
2k views
What should I use, listen or listened?
I had an English test in which one of the questions was:
'If they (listen) ____________ carefully, they might hear the woodpeckers'.
I wrote listen, and it was marked as wrong. Is there a reason to ...
-1
votes
1answer
137 views
Is this the right tense / verbal form? [closed]
I'm wondering whether, in the following sentence, the verbal form is correct/idiomatic. It sounds right to my ear, but since I'm not a native speaker, I can't tell for sure.
After having been ...
0
votes
1answer
401 views
Why is “you was” used in these song lyrics? [closed]
I was listening to a piece of music from Joan Jett called "I hate myself for loving you" and she sang:
"Hey, man, bet you can treat me right.
You just don't know what you was missin' last night."...
9
votes
4answers
6k views
How common are “arrove” and “arriven” (vs. “arrived”)?
So to start things off, I know that the proper past tense of the word arrive would be the word arrived.
And that sounds fine for me if you are singularly referring to yourself, such as:
I have ...
0
votes
2answers
94 views
What is the noun for the act of zipping?
For some words there is a noun for the act of doing. For example, "deletion" is the act of deleting, "omission" is the act of omitting, "summation" is the act or process of forming a sum. Is there ...
1
vote
1answer
545 views
categories of verb inflections
Hi I'm working on a software project for work that inflects english words into their various derived forms. e.g. work (verb) -> works, working, worked. My main problem at the moment is that I need to ...
8
votes
1answer
177 views
Why is “irreparable” spelled without an “i”?
Pretty simple question, I think. Where does the "i" in "repair" go when spelling "reparable" or "irreparable" ? Is this just a "color"/"colour" type situation, or some deeper conspiracy?
3
votes
1answer
18k views
Using “logging in” correctly
There are a lot of questions concerning the correct use if login, log in, etc.
When speaking directly to an use I would say
You can always change this permission by logging in in the internal ...
2
votes
1answer
232 views
'Before he enter on the execution of his office […]'
This is the pretext of the oath of office of the President of the United States.
I wondered why they use the structure 'he' plus infinitive and not 'he' plus -s as it is usually used. I've already ...
-1
votes
1answer
111 views
Why is the present participle not considered a principal part?
From Wikipedia on principal parts:
In language learning, the principal parts of a verb are those forms that a student must memorize in order to be able to conjugate the verb through all its forms. [...
0
votes
1answer
52 views
"Happy new year to you and your broker who [are trusting | have trusted | trust] us for so many years [closed]
Which is the correct form?
The source text uses "are trusting" but I feel it should be "have trusted".
2
votes
3answers
5k views
Glided, Glid or Glode [closed]
Dictionaries say that the past tense of glide is glided.
‘a few gondolas glided past’
But in my dialect, I say glode and sometimes glid and most people I know also do but apparently glided is ...
0
votes
1answer
991 views
Is “I have and always will eat food” proper English? Can you conjugate eat for the future only? [duplicate]
The original sentence is:
I have eaten and always will eat food.
If you cut out the first eaten, is the sentence still grammatical?:
I have and always will eat food.
How about:
I have, and ...
1
vote
0answers
134 views
Name for gerund + past participle combination
I've noticed that this passive verb construction is especiallly prevalent in English translation of Scandinavian and German literature. Is there a formal name for it?
Example: Being walked is my dog'...
4
votes
2answers
441 views
What's up with the -es/-eth inconsistency in “O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus”?
This hymn was written more than a century ago, back when more people were aware of how Early Modern English arranged its conjugations. But in the second verse, there appears to be an inconsistency ...
5
votes
1answer
231 views
How to pronounce “undoes”?
How should "undoes" be pronounced in the following sentence?
The git revert command undoes a committed snapshot.
Should it be pronounced as "un + does" (/ʌn'dʌz/) or as "undo + es" (ʌn'duːz)? I ...
0
votes
3answers
3k views
What is the past tense of the verb “bode”?
I refer to the verb bode, meaning "to be a portent of a particular outcome" as in a sentence such as her success bodes well for the future.
Most often I see the past in the form of her success in ...
9
votes
3answers
2k views
Why is the 'L' in detailed not doubled?
I cannot quite understand why the 'L' is not doubled when forming 'detailed' from 'detail'. Is that an exemption to the consonant doubling, or did I simply not understand the rules?
From the answers ...
1
vote
0answers
397 views
Archaic verb conjugation: knowest vs know'st
When using the archaic 2sg-present conjugation for English verbs, when would you use the longer form (eg knowest) and when would you use the shorter form (`know'st')?
Is it like contemporary English ...
1
vote
1answer
2k views
Double Consonants in Gerund
Is there any rules regarding gerund that tell when to double the consonant of a word and when not to?
I'm a little bit confused regarding this matter. Based on this link there are words that can be ...
7
votes
2answers
41k views
How to say correctly in the past “login” or “logined”? [closed]
A person who perform login to site. This person:
"was login" to site
"logined" to site
Which version is correct?
4
votes
3answers
11k views
Why is “batting” spelled with two t's, but “combating” spelled with one?
The "bating" in "combating" is pronounced the exact same way as "batting". It doesn't make sense to me.
4
votes
2answers
651 views
In the movie “The Book of Eli”, why did the writers not conjugate the verb in “Cursed be the ground for our sake”?
In the movie The Book of Eli, Denzel Washington's character, Eli, says
Cursed be the ground for our sake. (as opposed to "cursed is the ground")
You can watch the scene here. It's the first line ...
