lean – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of lean

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to lean upon sth
Participle: leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
Gerund: leaning upon sth

Cognates

See the 2 cognates of lean

Indicative

Present

Ilean upon sth
youlean upon sth
he;she;itleans upon sth
welean upon sth
youlean upon sth
theylean upon sth

Perfect

Ihave leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
youhave leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
he;she;ithas leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
wehave leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
youhave leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
theyhave leant upon sth; leaned upon sth

Past

Ileant upon sth; leaned upon sth
youleant upon sth; leaned upon sth
he;she;itleant upon sth; leaned upon sth
weleant upon sth; leaned upon sth
youleant upon sth; leaned upon sth
theyleant upon sth; leaned upon sth

Pluperfect

Ihad leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
youhad leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
he;she;ithad leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
wehad leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
youhad leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
theyhad leant upon sth; leaned upon sth

Future

Iwill lean upon sth
youwill lean upon sth
he;she;itwill lean upon sth
wewill lean upon sth
youwill lean upon sth
theywill lean upon sth

Future Perfect

Iwill have leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
youwill have leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
he;she;itwill have leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
wewill have leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
youwill have leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
theywill have leant upon sth; leaned upon sth

Subjunctive

Present

Ilean upon sth
youlean upon sth
he;she;itlean upon sth
welean upon sth
youlean upon sth
theylean upon sth

Perfect

Ihave leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
youhave leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
he;she;ithave leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
wehave leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
youhave leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
theyhave leant upon sth; leaned upon sth

Imperfect

Ileant upon sth; leaned upon sth
youleant upon sth; leaned upon sth
he;she;itleant upon sth; leaned upon sth
weleant upon sth; leaned upon sth
youleant upon sth; leaned upon sth
theyleant upon sth; leaned upon sth

Pluperfect

Ihad leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
youhad leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
he;she;ithad leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
wehad leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
youhad leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
theyhad leant upon sth; leaned upon sth

Conditional

Present

Iwould lean upon sth
youwould lean upon sth
he;she;itwould lean upon sth
wewould lean upon sth
youwould lean upon sth
theywould lean upon sth

Perfect

Iwould have leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
youwould have leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
he;she;itwould have leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
wewould have leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
youwould have leant upon sth; leaned upon sth
theywould have leant upon sth; leaned upon sth

Imperative

youlean upon sth
weLet's lean upon sth
youlean upon sth

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam leaning upon sth
youare leaning upon sth
he;she;itis leaning upon sth
weare leaning upon sth
youare leaning upon sth
theyare leaning upon sth

Perfect

Ihave been leaning upon sth
youhave been leaning upon sth
he;she;ithas been leaning upon sth
wehave been leaning upon sth
youhave been leaning upon sth
theyhave been leaning upon sth

Past

Iwas leaning upon sth
youwere leaning upon sth
he;she;itwas leaning upon sth
wewere leaning upon sth
youwere leaning upon sth
theywere leaning upon sth

Pluperfect

Ihad been leaning upon sth
youhad been leaning upon sth
he;she;ithad been leaning upon sth
wehad been leaning upon sth
youhad been leaning upon sth
theyhad been leaning upon sth

Future

Iwill be leaning upon sth
youwill be leaning upon sth
he;she;itwill be leaning upon sth
wewill be leaning upon sth
youwill be leaning upon sth
theywill be leaning upon sth

Future Perfect

Iwill have been leaning upon sth
youwill have been leaning upon sth
he;she;itwill have been leaning upon sth
wewill have been leaning upon sth
youwill have been leaning upon sth
theywill have been leaning upon sth

Conditional

Present

Iwould be leaning upon sth
youwould be leaning upon sth
he;she;itwould be leaning upon sth
wewould be leaning upon sth
youwould be leaning upon sth
theywould be leaning upon sth

Perfect

Iwould have been leaning upon sth
youwould have been leaning upon sth
he;she;itwould have been leaning upon sth
wewould have been leaning upon sth
youwould have been leaning upon sth
theywould have been leaning upon sth

Other

Verbs similar to 'lean'

bean, clean, dean, ean, glean, hean, lead, leaf, leak, leam,

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

to have something as a necessary condition
depend, hang, hinge, rely, rest, stay, turn
incline
bend, tilt, cant, slope, list
rely
depend, trust, confide, rest, repose

Additional Information

Cf. Old English weak verb hleonian, hlinian (lean).

Etymology

1. O.E. hleonian "to bend, recline, lie down, rest," from P.Gmc. *khlinen (cf. O.S. hlinon, O.Fris. lena, M.Du. lenen, Ger. lehnen "to lean"), from PIE base *kli- "to lean, to incline" (cf. Skt. cri- "to lean;" O.Pers. cay "to lean;" L. clivus "declivity," inclinare "cause to bend," declinare "bend down, turn aside;" Gk. klinein "to cause to slope, slant, incline"). Meaning "to incline the body against something for support" is c.1250. Fig. sense of "to trust for support" is from 1225. Sense of "to lean toward mentally, to favor" is from 1398. Colloquial to lean on "put pressure on" (someone) is first recorded 1960. Lean-to "a building whose rafters pitch against another building or wall" is from 1461.
2. From Middle English lenen (“to lean”), from Old English hleonian, hlinian (“to lean, recline, lie down, rest”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlinēn, from Proto-Germanic *hlināną (“to lean, incline”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley-.
3. Cognate via Proto-Germanic with Middle Dutch leunen (“to lean”), German lehnen (“to lean”); via Proto-Indo-European with climate, cline. See: Old English 'hleonian', Proto-Germanic '*hlināną', German, old spelling 'lehnen'.

Verbs referencing "lean"

German, old spelling lehnen, Sanskrit श्रयति, Danish læne.

Sample Sentences

  • [...] in the circumstance of this ladies ’ cabin adjoining our state-room, and the consequently immense feasibility of sitting there at all times and seasons, and had fallen into a momentary silence, leaning our faces on our hands and looking at the fire, one of our party said, with the solemn air of a man who had made a discovery, ‘What a relish mulled claret will have down here ! ’ which appeared to [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] in a week. Clear waste, sir, of a thousand dollars, just for want of management,—there's where ’ t is. It's always best to do the humane thing, sir; that's been _my_ experience. ” And the trader leaned back in his chair, and folded his arm, with an air of virtuous decision, apparently considering himself a second Wilberforce. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • Surprised and frightened, Eliza sat down, leaned her head on her husband's shoulder, and burst into tears. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] graceful outline, and its broad open brow; her dress, arranged by herself, was a pattern of neatness and simplicity; the work she had knitted, lay beside her; her writing-book was on the desk she leaned upon.—From the mournful ruin of such bereavement, there had slowly risen up this gentle, tender, guileless, grateful-hearted being. (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • Leaning her head against the chimney-piece, with a great assumption of dignity and refinement of manner, sat an elderly female, in as many scraps of finery as Madge Wildfire herself. Her head in particular [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] for his text a passage from the Song of Solomon, laid upon the desk before the commencement of the service by some unknown member of the congregation: ‘Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on the arm of her beloved ! ’ (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • ‘Who are these—who are they—who are these fellows ? where do they come from ? Where are they going to ? — Come from ! What 's the answer ? ’ — leaning out of the pulpit, and pointing downward with his right hand: ‘From below ! ’ — starting back again, and looking at the sailors before him: ‘From below, my brethren. From under the hatches of sin, [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] left arm: ‘What ! These fellows are coming from the wilderness, are they ? Yes. From the dreary, blighted wilderness of Iniquity, whose only crop is Death. But do they lean upon anything—do they lean upon nothing, these poor seamen ? ’ — Three raps upon the Bible: ‘Oh yes.—Yes.—They lean upon the arm of their Beloved’—three more raps: ‘upon the arm of their Beloved’—three more, and a [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] blighted wilderness of Iniquity, whose only crop is Death. But do they lean upon anything—do they lean upon nothing, these poor seamen ? ’ — Three raps upon the Bible: ‘Oh yes.—Yes.—They lean upon the arm of their Beloved’—three more raps: ‘upon the arm of their Beloved’—three more, and a walk: ‘Pilot, guiding-star, and compass, all in one, to all hands—here it is’—three more: ‘Here it [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] is. They can do their seaman 's duty manfully, and be easy in their minds in the utmost peril and danger, with this’—two more: ‘They can come, even these poor fellows can come, from the wilderness leaning on the arm of their Beloved, and go up—up—up ! ’ — raising his hand higher, and higher, at every repetition of the word, so that he stood with it at last stretched above his head, regarding them in [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)