Anomalous verbs: concept, conjugation, examples

You anomalous verbss are irregular verbs that, in addition to presenting a conjugation different from the regular one, present radicals many different according to the conjugation.

The verbs “ser” and “ir” are the main examples of anomalous verbs as they completely change their structure in the conjugations (altering the entire stem). However, some grammarians also consider as anomalous certain verbs that present so much difference, in almost the entire stem, that they end up not fitting in any other. classification.

Read too: Verbal agreement - adequacy of the verb to the number and person of the subject of the clause

Conjugation of anomalous verbs

When conjugated, the anomalous verbs do not follow the same pattern as regular verbs, as well as irregular verbs. However, while irregular verbs follow some tendencies of their own in conjugation, anomalous verbs vary so much that it is not possible to place them in another category. The radical is constantly changed, that is, the base that originates the word is modified, transforming the whole verb. This radical shift happens according to the person and the tense.

Anomalous verbs undergo a profound change in their stem when inflected.

• Examples of anomalous verbs

See how the radical of some verbs it is affected according to the person and tense of the conjugation.

• verb "to have"

Indicative	Subjunctive
Gift	past tense perfect	Gift
me	hey	there was	there is
you	there are	you had	have
he/she	there is	there was	there is
we	we have	we had	let's have
you	you have	you had	have
they	ha	there were	have

The conjugation of the verb “haver” is not regular, because it does not always follow the pattern of regular verbs. Also, by logic, the stem would be “hav”. However, it is possible to notice in the previous table that only the letter "h" is repeated in all conjugations, therefore, the radical is deeply affected, without being constant in the forms. This causes this verb to be considered anomalous by some grammarians.

Let's look at another example.

• verb "to come"

Indicative	Subjunctive
Gift	past tense perfect	Gift
me	I come	I came	come
you	come	you came	come
he/she	comes	he came	come
we	saw	we came	let's come
you	come	you came	come
they	comes	came	come

Theoretically, the radical would be “come”. Again, we can see that only the letter “v” repeats in all conjugations, so there is no constancy in the stems. This inconstancy is so frequent that this verb is considered anomalous by some grammarians.

• Verb "to say"

Indicative
Gift	past tense perfect	future of the present
me	I say	said	I will say
you	you say	you said	you will say
he/she	it says	said	will say
we	we say	we said	we will say
you	say	you said	you will say
they	say	they said	they will say

The stem of the verb “to say” would be “to say”, but, in conjugations, it only appears in the present tense (and does not appear in the 1st person singular). The lack of regularity of the stem is frequent to the point that many classify this verb as anomalous.

See too: Verbal rulership - subordination relationship between the verb and another term

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Verb “to go” and verb “to be”

The verbs "ir" and "be" are considered verbs anomalous par excellence, once do not have a single radical. This happens because, depending on the conjugation, we see that the entire word is altered, with no pattern between them.

To be clear, see how conjugations change.

• Verb go"

Indicative
Gift	past tense perfect	Imperfect past tense	future of the present
me	I will	went	was going	I will go
you	you go	you went	you were	you will
he/she	go	was	was going	will
we	let's go	we were	we were going	we will go
you	you go	you were	yeis	you will
they	they go	were	were going	will

• Verb to be"

Indicative
Gift	past tense perfect	Imperfect past tense	future of the present
me	am	went	was	Will be
you	you are	you went	eras	you will be
he/she	é	was	was	it will be
we	are	we were	we were	we will be
you	you are	you were	were you	you will be
they	they are	were	they were	will be

solved exercises

Question 1 - Read the following prayers:

I. I filled the tub to shower.

II. I haven't sent the samples yet.

III. I warned you it was competitive.

IV. Let's go to the cinema and watch the new movie.

In which previous clause(s) are verbs considered to be anomalous?

there

b) III

c) II and IV

d) I and II

e) III and IV

Resolution

Alternative E. “Fill”, “take” and “send” are regular verbs, so clauses I and II do not have anomalous verbs. “Avisar” is a regular verb, but “to be” is an anomalous verb. The verb “ir” is also anomalous. Thus, clauses III and IV are those with anomalous verbs.

question 2 – Read the sentence and answer the question:

The human being will still learn and teach a lot.

In the sentence, we have:

a) no anomalous verbs

b) an anomalous verb

c) two anomalous verbs

d) three anomalous verbs

e) four anomalous verbs

Resolution

Alternative B. The word “vai” is a conjugation of the verb “ir”, which is the only anomalous in the sentence. The verbs “learn” and “teach” are regular. The word “to be”, in the context, is not a verb, but a noun: “the human being”.

By Guilherme Viana
grammar teacher

Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:

VIANA, William. "anomalous verbs"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/gramatica/verbos-anomalos.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.