1196: Defective Verbs pt.2/4 (Semantics) Mar 19, 2018

Defective verbs [1], which can't be fully conjugated, sometimes are that way by chance, but other times it is for semantic reasons. For instance, it has been discussed here many times how verbs like 'rain' or 'snow' (or just about any others that relate to the weather) are stated impersonally. Indeed, it is not possible to say 'I rained earlier' or 'I snowed earlier', becasue those actions simply are not physically possible. Therefore, verbs like that are considered defective because there is no first person or second person form for the verb. Interestingly, it is far more acceptable to apply human-qualities to inanimate things than the other way around; personification allows many verbs to not be defective or anything similar, though usually there are not verbs that relate to human action that are defective in the first place.
Make sure to check out the new Word Facts Video: https://youtu.be/kT59kK71E6Q
Support Word Facts on Patreon for new things and to help make the content better: https://www.patreon.com/wordfacts.