my last question was on past tense of complete and I have a number of replies. Now this one is a bit trickier, so...
2006-06-17 14:22:13 · 11 answers · asked by ixedoc 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
Incomplete is an adjective. It does not have tense.
Main Entry: in·com·plete
Pronunciation: "in-k&m-'plEt
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English incompleet, from Late Latin incompletus, from Latin in- + completus complete
1 : not complete : UNFINISHED: as a : lacking a part; especially : lacking one or more sets of floral organs b of insect metamorphosis : characterized by the absence of a pupal stage between the immature stages and the adult of an insect in which the young usually resemble the adult -- compare COMPLETE 5
2 of a football pass : not legally caught
- in·com·plete·ly adverb
- in·com·plete·ness noun
2006-06-17 14:30:06 · answer #1 · answered by Barry B 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mysteries unsolved has a very good answer. I will add just a note about the tense in 'aurait donné'. This is the past conditional or conditional perfect or conditionnel passé. The French conditional perfect is used just like the English conditional perfect. It is used to express actions that would have occurred in the past if circumstances had been different. The conditional perfect can also report an uncertain / unverified fact, especially in the news: Il y aurait eu un accident dans le métro. An accident in the subway has been reported. Six Parisiens seraient morts. Apparently, six Parisians have been killed. This is the way the tense is used in your passage. The first phrase indicates the uncertainty of the report of the gift 'according to tradition' . You could translate the sentence as 'According to tradition, King James Stuart gave...'. Without the initial phrase, an alternate translation is 'King James Stuart supposedly gave...' or 'King James Stuart reportedly gave...'
2016-05-19 23:32:13 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, unlike the word "complete," "incomplete" is only an adjective (used to describe a object). "Complete" can be a verb (action word), so the past tense of it is "Completed." An adjective does not have tenses, so it can not be past tense. You can say "My homework is incomplete" and that's present tense, or you can say "My homework was incomplete" and that's past tense, but you are changing the verb (is/was) rather than the the adjective (incomplete).
2006-06-19 08:15:35 · answer #3 · answered by Julie B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Incomplete is a modifier, not a verb. Nouns, adjectives, adverbs don't have tenses. Neither past nor present. So there is no such thing as the past tense of 'incomplete'. Complete can be a verb, (as in 'he completed his chores' but not in the sense that 'this is the complete story')so it can have a past tense.
Does this help?
2006-06-17 16:38:54 · answer #4 · answered by old lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Incomplete" is an adjective, and thus does not have a past tense. Tense is applied to verbs. The adverb form is "incompletely." The noun form is "incompleteness."
I hope this helps.
2006-06-17 14:49:36 · answer #5 · answered by Titus W 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Verbs have tenses. Complete can be a verb. Incomplete is an adjective not a verb; therefore it has no past tense.
2006-06-17 14:38:19 · answer #6 · answered by Tish 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
incomplete is an adjective, only verbs have tenses
2006-06-18 16:42:56 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There isn't one...incomplete is not a verb
2006-06-17 14:26:08 · answer #8 · answered by Orion 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its an adjective. it can't be in past tense
2006-06-17 14:25:36 · answer #9 · answered by yanksfan 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It would be "was incomplete."
2006-06-17 14:33:46 · answer #10 · answered by Bette P 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋