défectif
French edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
défectif (feminine défective, masculine plural défectifs, feminine plural défectives)
- (grammar) defective (said of a verb that does not conjugate itself at all, does not conjugate itself anymore, or that only conjugates itself in certain persons or in certain tenses)
- Le verbe falloir est défectif. ― The verb falloir is defective.
Usage notes edit
The conjugation can be impossible like falloir or unusual like gésir or even chaloir known today for the expression «peu m’en chaut» (“It is of little import to me”, “I do not care”).[1]
References edit
Further reading edit
- “défectif”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.