principal parts


principal parts

pl.n. In traditional grammars of inflected languages, the forms of the verb that are considered basic and from which all other forms of the verb are derived. In English, the principal parts are the present infinitive (play, eat, put), the past tense (played, ate, put), the present participle (playing, eating, putting), and the past participle (played, eaten, put).

principal parts

pl n 1. (Grammar) grammar the main inflected forms of a verb, from which all other inflections may be deduced. In English they are generally considered to consist of the third person present singular, present participle, past tense, and past participle 2. (Mathematics) the sides and interior angles of a triangle

prin′cipal parts′


n. a set of inflected forms of a verb from which all the other inflected forms can be derived, as sing, sang, sung or smoke, smoked: sometimes considered to include the present participle, as singing or smoking. [1865–70]
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