| Verbs |
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Verbs belong to one of four conjugations which is recognize by the infinitive (also called the 2nd principal part). There are also a few irregular verbs in Latin.
The tense of any verb refers to the time an action is occurring. There are 6 Tenses in Latin.
Present Tense occurs in present time. There is but one present tense in Latin unlike English which as three. The Latin word porto means I carry, I am carrying or I do carry. One does not use a word for am or do in Latin to show the progressive or emphatic present tense we have in English.
Imperfect Tense refers to an action begun in the past and perhaps still occurring (I was running; Did I stop?) or an action that occurred over a period of time. (I used to run)
Future Tense refers to an action that has not yet occurred. The operative word in English is will.
Perfect Tense refers to a finished action. As with the present tense this tense can also have several English translations. One can say I have seen, I did see, I saw in translating vidi.
Pluperfect Tense, also called Past Perfect, is used when there are two past actions indicated and one occurs prior to the other. The auxiliary verb used in English to indicate this tense is had. E.G. I saw (perfect) that you had finished (pluperfect).
Future Perfect Tense is seldom used in English. In Latin it is used to express an action which will have occurred prior to another action that will occur. This sound complex. Look at this example... I will read this book if you will have left it for me. In English one usually does not say you will have left or you'll have left but rather you leave. In Latin the idea of a previous future action needs to be recognized so one uses this tense.
The subject of any verb is indicated by the person ending attached to a verb. One can also have a noun subject but the verb ending needs to correspond with the noun. I, Flavia, see... would be Flavia video. This 'o' ending indicating the 'I'. Flavia sees...would be Flavia videt. In English we don't say Flavia she sees but in essence by using the 't' on the end of the verb this is what we are indicating in Latin.
With the exception of the Perfect Active Tense, the personal endings of active voice verbs are the same.
1st person singular - I is indicated by the ending 'm' or 'o'
1st person plural - We is indicated by the ending 'mus'
2nd person singular - You is indicated by the ending 's'
2nd person plural - You s indicated by the ending 'tis'
3rd person singular - He, She, or It is indicated by the ending 't'
3rd person plural - They is indicated by the ending 'nt'
These endings occur on regular and irregular verbs. Est - he, she or it is, Vult - he, she or it wants are both irregular but the present of the 't' makes us understand we should expect a singular noun subject or use he, she or it as the pronoun subject.
The perfect active endings are added to the perfect active stem which is the third principal part of most verbs. All perfect tenses are formed the same way. The conjugation is not reflected in the perfect system. Nor are irregular verbs affected. Notice that one 'drops' the 'i' before adding these endings so that there is but one 'i' prior to the mus, etc.
For the perfect active tense one sees the following personal endings:
1st person singular - I is indicated by the ending 'i'
1st person plural - We is indicated by the ending 'imus'
2nd person singular - You is indicated by the ending 'isti'
2nd person plural - You is indicated by the ending 'istis'
3rd person singular - He, She, or It is indicated by the ending 'it'
3rd person plural - They is indicated by the ending 'erunt'
There are three moods in Latin: Indicative, Subjunctive and Imperative.
The Indicative is used to 'indicate' facts. It is the most common mood and that which is introduced in the beginning of Latin. One can use all 6 tenses in this mood.
The Subjunctive mood is used to express something that is not yet occurring such as Let's go, I asked who might be coming with us. The are but 4 tenses in the Subjunctive mood. The Future and Future perfect do not exist.
The Imperative mood is used to express a command or order. Stay!, Sit! It can be singular or plural depending on how many people are being addressed.
This refers to whether a verb is active or passive. Unlike English, the passive voice is used often.
The personal endings of verbs in the present, imperfect or future tenses change when they are in the passive voice.
1st person singular - I is indicated by the ending 'r'
1st person plural - We is indicated by the ending 'mur'
2nd person singular - You is indicated by the ending 'ris'
2nd person plural - You is indicated by the ending 'mini'
3rd person singular - He, She, or It is indicated by the ending 'tur'
3rd person plural - They is indicated by the ending 'ntur'
The perfect system passive forms use the perfect passive participle (4th principal part) and appropriate form of the verb 'to be'.
E.G. amatus sum - I have been loved, amatus eram - I had been loved and amatus ero - I will have been loved.
Some verbs, such as 'to be' and 'to run' will never have a passive voice. See principal parts for more about this.
Some verbs are deponent in nature. One recognizes a deponent verb when the first principal part ends in 'or' rather than 'o'. A deponent verb is only passive in Latin and translated in active voice in English. An example is gradior, gradi, gressus sum which is translated as I walk, to walk and I have walked.
Most regular verbs have four principal parts. It is important to know these when learning Latin verbs.
1st principal part is the first person singular of the present active tense.
2nd principal part is the present active infinitive. It is indicator of the conjugation to which a verb belongs. (Deponent verbs use the present passive infinitive)
3rd principal part is the 1st person singular of the perfect active tense. (Notice the parallel with the 1st principal part.) When one drops the 'i' from this form, the stem of the perfect, pluperfect and future perfect active tenses is formed.
4th principal part is either the perfect passive participle or the future active participle or may not exist.
The perfect passive participle is found if the verb can be used passively such as amatus. It is an adjective. Translate it as 'having been loved'. It is also the form used for any passive form in the perfect system when one adds the appropriate tense of the verb 'to be'.
E.G. amatus sum - I have been loved; amatus eram - I had been loved; amatus ero - I will have been loved.
The future active participle is usually present when a verb has no passive voice (It is an intransitive verb, meaning that there is no passive form and there will never be an direct object) such as is found with curro and ambulo. One sees cursurus and ambulaturus and translates these as going to run or about to run, going to walk or about to walk. This too is an adjective.
For some verbs such as volo, there is no fourth principal part listed. volo, velle, volui. Again the indication is that one will not have a passive voice or be able to have a direct object. Usually an infinitive is needed to complete the meaning of this verb.
How To Conjugate Regular Verbs.
J.Jahnige, May 2004
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