You defective verbs in spanish are characterized by have an incomplete conjugation. This means that they cannot be conjugated in all tenses, moods and persons like regular verbs, but their conjugation is limited to just a few of these inflections of the verb.
Many of the defective verbs in Spanish refer to natural phenomena, which allows them to have only one type of inflection, in the third person singular, classified as verbsunipersonales; but there are also defective verbs that have a sense of abstract events and ideas, inflected only in third persons, both plural and singular, hence called terciopersonal verbs.
Read too: Reflexive verbs in Spanish: structure, uses, examples
List of defective verbs in Spanish
Generally speaking, defective verbs are scarce in Spanish. The main ones, with their respective translations into Portuguese, are as follows:
Spanish |
Portuguese |
know |
be |
llover |
to rain |
to snow |
to snow |
throne |
thunder |
lightning |
flash |
dawn |
breaking Dawn |
sunset |
evening |
sunset |
nightfall |
accustom |
get used |
soler |
get used to |
concern |
concern |
to happen |
to happen |
tanner |
tange |
occur |
to occur |
unipersonal verbs
the defective verbs unipersonales have as their main feature the fact that have no subject, which is why they are conjugated exclusively in the third person singular, in all tenses and grammatical modes. Many of them describe meteorological phenomena, which are not performed by a specific subject, so they cannot be attributed to any verbal person.
From the table presented, we highlight the verbs know, llover, to snow, dawn, sunset and dusk. Examples:
Each day hay bad alternatives in the market.
(Every day there are more alternatives on the market.)we need that rain, bell let's miss this year's cosecha.
(We need it to rain or we'll miss this year's harvest.)At this time of the year always snow, then we will be able to ski safely.
(At this time of year it always snows, so we can certainly go skiing.)When salimos was staba dawning. It was too early.
(When we left it was dawn. It was too early.)is about sunset. We could pull out some photos.
(It's almost sundown. We could take some pictures.)We stayed in the playa until that anochecio. The temperature was ideal.
(We stayed on the beach until nightfall. The temperature was ideal.)
In relation to verb know, when used as an auxiliary verb of other verb forms, such as past tense perfect composite and pluscuamperfecto, it is no longer considered defective, but regular. Examples:
All periodicals ha published la misma noticia.
(All newspapers published the same news.)They were exhausted because habian walked a lot.
(They were exhausted because they had walked so much.)
With regard to verbs "from nature", when they assume meanings unrelated to atmospheric phenomena, the Spanish language allows their conjugation in other verbal people. Such uses can be exemplified in the following sentences:
llueven the rumors about his private life.
(Rumors abound about his private life.)we showed up in Córdoba y luego we went to Rosario.
(We woke up in Cordoba and then went to Rosario.)
See too: verb to taste: how is this verb used?
terciopersonal verbs
The verbs terciopersonal, unlike the unipersonales, they are endowed with subject, but they are exclusively conjugated in the third person singular and plural or in the noun forms of the verb (infinitive, gerund and participle). The reason for this is that these verbs are applied to abstract events and ideas, not people. From the table of verbs at the beginning of this article, we highlight to happen, tanner and occur. Examples:
In this city forever happen strange things. It looks like a film.
(In this town strange things happen. It looks like a movie.)It seems to me that this problem big time to other people, not to us.
(I think this problem concerns other people, not us.)what occur It's just that we don't have enough money to organize the event.
(It turns out that we don't have enough money to organize the event.)
Exercise solved
Question 1 - All the following sentences refer to defective verbs unipersonales, except:
The) It is preferable to be prepared, if you always have to contemplate new possibilities.
B) It's been running for a few minutes. Must be close.
ç) When this type of circumstance occurs, it is better to wait and not take any rash decision.
d) It's starting to lighten up, better let's get into the clothes that were left in the patio and start to get wet.
Resolution
Alternative C. The verb succeed is classified as terciopersonal, as it can be conjugated in both singular and plural.
By Diego Guimarães Gontijo
Spanish teacher
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/espanhol/verbos-defectivos-em-espanhol.htm
