Meaning & use
conjugate
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitivetechnical
To list or produce the different forms of a verb for tense, person and number.
Grammar: Can take an object: conjugate the verb; or describe a verb: it conjugates regularly.
Patterns
- conjugate a verb
- conjugate irregularly
Students must conjugate the verb 'to be' in the past tense.
In Spanish, regular verbs conjugate in predictable patterns.
The teacher asked us to conjugate ten French verbs.
verbintransitivebiology
In biology, to join together temporarily, as bacteria do to exchange genetic material.
Grammar: No object and used in science: bacteria conjugate.
Patterns
- conjugate with something
Two bacterial cells can conjugate to share genes.
The cells conjugate through a small tube.
Some single-celled organisms conjugate when conditions are poor.
adjectivebefore a nounmathematicschemistry
Joined together in a pair, or having a close, linked relation.
Grammar: Used in mathematics and chemistry before a noun: a conjugate pair.
Patterns
- conjugate pair
- conjugate acid
The acid and its conjugate base form a pair.
The two complex numbers are conjugate to each other.
A conjugate pair of roots solves the equation.
Word forms
| third person singular | conjugates |
|---|---|
| past tense | conjugated |
| past participle | conjugated |
| -ing form | conjugating |
Common combinations
- conjugate a verb
- Can you conjugate this verb in the future tense?
- conjugate irregularly
- The verb 'go' conjugates irregularly.
- conjugate in the present tense
- Let us conjugate it in the present tense first.
- conjugate pair
- The two numbers form a conjugate pair.
- conjugate base
- Water is the conjugate base of the hydronium ion.
Synonyms and how they differ
- inflect
- Inflect is a wider grammatical term that includes changing nouns and adjectives, while conjugate applies only to verbs.
- decline
- Decline is used for nouns, pronouns and adjectives in languages with cases, not for verbs.
- join
- Join is the everyday word for bringing things together, whereas conjugate in biology is a specific type of joining.
Word family
- conjugation noun
- a verb's set of forms, or a group of verbs that follow the same pattern
- conjugated adjective
- joined or given in its verb forms
- conjugal adjective
- relating to marriage
- conjugate noun
- something that is joined or paired
Commonly confused: conjugate or conjunction? conjugate or conjure?
conjugate vs conjunction
A conjunction is a joining word like and or but, while conjugate means to give the forms of a verb.
conjugate vs conjure
Conjure means to bring something into being as if by magic and is unrelated to verb forms.
Practice
A Spanish learner is asked to ___ the verb 'hablar' in the present tense. What are they asked to do?
Choose one answer.
To conjugate a verb is to give its forms for tense, person and number. The other options describe different tasks.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “conjugate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.