| Review of Latin I Grammar |
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A verb is a word that expresses an action, state or condition. Action verbs such as run, walk, climb actually describe a physical action whereas dream, think, hope, believe describe a mental action. Verbs such as be and become express a state or condition rather than an action.
Verbs fall into several different categories if voice one of which is:
Transitive - Transitive verbs take a direct object. and they can be active or passive in voice: He climbs the mountain OR The moutain is climbed
Intransitive - Intransitive verbs do not take a direct object and cannot be passive in voice: Here he comes! OR I sleep often
In Latin I you learned the Present, Imperfect, and Perfect of verbs of the 4 conjugations and irregular verbs: sum, possum,eo, fero, volo, & nolo. There are charts in the back of the text to which you should refer. If you have problems, copy the charts on notecards; one per tense and play some memory games with others in your class.
Translation of the 3 tenses:
Latin verbs are learned with their principal parts so one can form the various tenses. Generally a Latin verb has 4 principal parts:
| 1st principal part | 1st person singular, present tense | I carry, see, walk etc. |
| 2nd principal part | infinitive | to carry, see, walk etc. |
| 3rd principal part | 1st person singular, perfect tense | I have carried, seen, walked etc. |
| 4th principal part | Perfect Passive Participle terminus = -us-
or Future Active Participle as with futurus...when terminus= -urus |
having been carried, seen, walked etc. This form is an adjective and thus the terminus can change in gender and number. |
Formation of the 3 tenses for regular verbs:
Present - uses stem from the infinitive:
| infinitive | base vowel | personal endings | |
| 1st conjugation | -âre -drop-re | -a | -o -s, -t, -mus,-tis, -nt |
| 2nd conjugation | -êre-drop-re | -e | -o -s, -t, -mus,-tis, -nt |
| 3rd conjugation | -ere-drop-ere | -i, o, u | -o -is, -it, -imus,-itis, -unt |
| 3rd io conjugation | -ere-drop-ere | -i, o, u | -io -is, -it, -imus,-itis, -iunt |
| 4th conjugation | -îre-drop-re | -i, o, u | -io -is, -it, -imus,-itis, -iunt |
Imperfect - uses stem from the infinitive:
| infinitive | base vowel + ba | personal endings | |
| 1st conjugation | -âre drop -re | -aba | -m -s, -t, -mus,-tis, -nt |
| 2nd conjugation | -êre drop -re | -eba | -m -s, -t, -mus,-tis, -nt |
| 3rd conjugation | -ere drop -re | -eba | -m -s, -it, -imus,-itis, -unt |
| 3rd io conjugation | -ere drop -ere; add -ie | -ieba | -m -is, -it, -imus,-itis, -iunt |
| 4th conjugation | -îre drop -re; add -e | -ieba | -m -is, -it, -imus,-itis, -iunt |
Perfect - uses stem 3rd Principal Part:
| Perfect | 3rd p.p. | personal endings |
| For all verbs, regular and irreg. | -drop -i | -i -isti, -it, -imus,-istis, -erunt |
| e.g. sum, esse, fui | fu...+ | -i -isti, -it, -imus,-istis, -erunt |
Verbs also belong to a grouping called moods. Moods express the manner in which the action is conceived. At present you have learned three moods, though you may not realize it: the indicative, or 'default' mood, the infinitive, and the imperative, which is used to order or command someone or thing. The Latin word impero, imperare, imperavi, imperatus means to command.
| infinitive | singular | plural | |
| 1st conjugation | -âre -drop-re | (porta!) | + -te (portate) |
| 2nd conjugation | -êre-drop-re | doce! | + -te (docete!) |
| 3rd conjugation* | -ere-drop-re(sg.)-ere(pl.) | trahe | drop e + ite(trahite!) |
| 3rd io conjugation | -ere-drop-re(sg.)-ere(pl.) | cape | drop e + ite(capite!) |
| 4th conjugation | -îre drop- re | audi | + -te (audite!) |
Some irregular singular imperatives forms are - dic! duc!, fac!, fer! es! (plural=este!)
Negative commands for all verbs, regular and irregular:
| singular negative command | noli + infinitive | noli ire = don't go(to one person) |
|---|---|---|
| plural negative command | nolite + infinitive | nolite ire = don't go(to more than one) |
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