Intensive 2352721 215157886 2008-05-26T23:32:33Z ClueBot 4928500 Reverting possible vandalism by [[Special:Contributions/66.139.8.195|66.139.8.195]] to version by Hakeem.gadi. False positive? [[User:ClueBot/FalsePositives|Report it]]. Thanks, [[User:ClueBot]]. (395472) (Bot) {{wiktionarypar|intensive}} :{{dablink|In [[physics]], '''intensive''' may refer to an [[intensive quantity]].}} In grammar, an '''intensive''' form of a word is one which denotes stronger or more forceful action as compared with the root on which the intensive is built. Intensives are usually lexical formations, but there may be a regular process for forming intensives from a base root. Intensive formations, for example, existed in [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]], and in many of the [[Semitic]] languages. In [[Classical Arabic]], Form II (''faʿʿal-a'') can form intensives, in addition to causatives; while form IV ('''afʿal-a'') forms only causitives. [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] has a similar distinction between the "pi`el" (intensive) and "hiph`il" (causative) [[binyan]]s. Some Germanic languages have intensive prefixes or particles that can be attached to verbs; consider German ''zer-'', which adds the meaning of "... into pieces", e.g. ''reißen'' "to rip" ''zerreißen'' "to rip to pieces". Latin had verbal prefixes ''e-'' and ''per-'' that could be more or less freely added onto any verb and variously added such meanings as "to put a great deal of effort into doing something". When the same prefixes (''per'' especially) were added onto adjectives, the resulting meaning was "very X" or "extremely X". [[Category:Grammar]] [[Category:Grammatical aspects]] [[Category:Verb types]] {{syntax-stub}}