Hot answers tagged verbes-defectifs
20
You could use this form in a figurative way, when describing objects falling down or being thrown in big quantities. It can also be found in sport comments, usually tennis and maybe boxing, for example Les coups droits pleuvaient sur le Central (litterally Forehands were raining on the Central Court).
11
Choir (to fall, defective verb, rarely used)
Démordre (the mechanical action opposed to to bite, i.e. to release after a bite. Nearly only used in the idiom ne pas vouloir en démordre which means not wanting to give up or hold one's position stubbornly)
Désapprendre (used frequently, meaning unlearn)
Paître (to feed on grass, used for ruminant animals ...
7
More accurately (IMO) coups is a common word for this, but many other terms expressing something abstract can also be used: insultes or injures is a common exemple in dictionaries too. The TLFi has a bunch of examples if you care to look at it.
3
You can find all the common conjugations of gésir at le conjugueur. You have imparfait and present participle, too. As to I would lie down and its mates, I would use je serais couché, as in [se coucher].
Or you could innovate. Try j'aurais gési, je giserais…
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À lire, ou plutôt à survoler, la section du bon usage qui leur est consacrée (elle fait quinze pages dans mon édition), j'ai l'impression que chaque verbe ou presque a son histoire.
Il y a des verbes qui sont défectifs par manque de besoin (verbes essentiellement impersonnel, verbes ayant normalement pour sujet des choses ou des animaux, verbes inusités à ...
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