coniugre

Coniugre is a term used in linguistic discussions to denote the process of verb conjugation—the systematic alteration of a verb form to express different grammatical categories such as person, number, tense, mood, voice, and aspect. The term is cognate with the Latin coniugare, meaning “to join together” (from con- “together” and iugum “yoke”), reflecting how verb forms are linked to a common root.

In practice, coniugre involves organizing verbs into paradigms or conjugation classes, with patterns that can be regular or irregular. A language's verb system typically includes finite verb forms for different combinations of tense and mood, as well as non-finite forms such as infinitives and participles, which participate in the formation of more complex tenses and clauses.

Cross-linguistically, the terminology for this concept varies. In English, the process is called conjugation. In Italian, the verb is coniugare and the process is coniugazione; in Spanish, conjugar and conjugación; in French, conjuguer and conjugaison. Although the labels differ, the underlying idea is the same: verbs change form to encode grammatical relationships within sentences.

Examples help illustrate coniugre. In English, the verb “to be” shows irregular conjugation: I am, you are, he is; past tense forms were/was; future forms will be. In languages with more extensive inflection, many verbs display numerous distinct forms across person, number, tense, and mood.

Coniugre remains central to morphological study, enabling the analysis of how languages encode action, time, and agreement through verb forms.