Meaning & use
conjugating
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“conjugating” is a form of “conjugate”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitivetechnical
Changing a verb into its different forms to show tense, person, or number.
Grammar: Can take an object: 'conjugating the verb'. Can also be used without an object: 'She is conjugating.'
Patterns
- conjugate a verb
- conjugating in the past tense
The students are conjugating the verb 'to be' in the present tense.
Conjugating irregular verbs takes practice because the forms change unpredictably.
She spent the evening conjugating Spanish verbs for her exam.
verbintransitivebiologytechnical
(Of cells or organisms) joining together, especially in bacteria to exchange genetic material.
Grammar: No object; often followed by 'with': conjugating with another cell.
Patterns
- conjugating with something
The bacteria were conjugating and exchanging genes.
Under the microscope, the researchers saw two cells conjugating.
Word forms
| base form | conjugate |
|---|---|
| third person singular | conjugates |
| past tense | conjugated |
| past participle | conjugated |
| -ing form | conjugating |
Common combinations
- conjugate a verb
- Can you conjugate the verb 'to have' in the past tense?
- conjugating irregular verbs
- Conjugating irregular verbs is harder than regular ones.
- conjugate in the present tense
- We learned to conjugate 'ser' in the present tense.
- conjugating with another cell
- The bacteria were conjugating with another cell to share DNA.
Synonyms and how they differ
- inflect
- A broader term for changing a word's form, including nouns and adjectives, not just verbs.
Word family
- conjugation noun
- The act or system of changing verb forms.
- conjugate verb
- The base form of the verb.
- conjugated adjective
- Describing a verb that has been changed into a particular form.
Commonly confused: conjugating or conjunction?
conjugating vs conjunction
A word like 'and' or 'but' that joins clauses; not related to changing verb forms.
Practice
What does 'conjugating' mean in grammar?
Choose one answer.
In grammar, conjugating means changing a verb's form, e.g., 'walk' to 'walked'. Option 0 describes using a conjunction; option 2 is translation; option 3 is syllabification.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “conjugating”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.