Prerequisites: Nouns, Adjectives and adverbs
This page is the overview of the Latin verb: what information a verb form carries, how to read a dictionary entry, how the principal parts give access to every form, and how the four conjugations are told apart. It contains little paradigm material. The tenses and moods are developed one by one on the pages that follow, and the complete tables are in Paradigms: regular verbs.
A finite verb form packs a whole clause into one word. Amābāmus means we were loving, and it tells you five things at once:
| Category | Choices | In amābāmus |
|---|---|---|
| Person | first, second, third | first |
| Number | singular, plural | plural |
| Tense | present, imperfect, future, perfect, pluperfect, future perfect | imperfect |
| Voice | active, passive | active |
| Mood | indicative, subjunctive, imperative | indicative |
Because the ending shows the person and number, Latin usually omits the subject pronoun: amō is I love. The pronoun (egō amō) appears only for emphasis or contrast.
Alongside the finite forms there are non-finite forms that behave as nouns or adjectives: the infinitive (amāre), the participles (amāns, amātus, amātūrus), the gerund (amandī), the gerundive (amandus) and the supine (amātum). They are treated on their own page.
A verb is listed with four principal parts, which must be learned together:
| Form | Name | It tells you | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | amō | present indicative active, 1st singular | I love; the starting point |
| 2 | amāre | present infinitive active | the conjugation and the present stem |
| 3 | amāvī | perfect indicative active, 1st singular | I loved, I have loved; the perfect stem |
| 4 | amātum | supine (neuter of the perfect passive participle) | the participle stem: amātus, -a, -um |
The five standard models:
| Conjugation | Principal parts | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | amō, amāre, amāvī, amātum | love |
| 2nd | moneō, monēre, monuī, monitum | warn |
| 3rd | regō, regere, rēxī, rēctum | rule |
| 3rd in -iō | capiō, capere, cēpī, captum | take |
| 4th | audiō, audīre, audīvī, audītum | hear |
Three points about the dictionary entry:
From the principal parts the three stems are obtained, and each stem generates its own system of forms:
| Stem | How to find it | Example: amō | Example: regō | Forms built from it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present stem | 2nd part minus -re | amā- | rege- (reg-) | present, imperfect, future; present subjunctive and imperfect subjunctive; imperatives; present participle; gerund and gerundive |
| Perfect stem | 3rd part minus -ī | amāv- | rēx- | perfect, pluperfect, future perfect (active); perfect and pluperfect subjunctive; perfect infinitive |
| Participle stem | 4th part minus -um | amāt- | rēct- | perfect passive participle; future active participle; the perfect-system tenses of the passive |
If you know the three stems and the endings, you can build any form of any verb. The reverse is also true: given a form, you recognise which system it belongs to and know which principal part to look up.
Verbs are sorted into four conjugations by the second principal part, the present infinitive in -re. Look at the vowel before the -re:
| Conjugation | Infinitive ending | Stem vowel | Example | First person |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | -āre | ā | amāre | amō |
| 2nd | -ēre (long) | ē | monēre | moneō |
| 3rd | -ere (short) | e / i | regere | regō |
| 3rd in -iō | -ere (short) | i | capere | capiō |
| 4th | -īre | ī | audīre | audiō |
Notes:
The 1st and 4th conjugations are regular: the perfect is -āvī and -īvī, and the fourth part -ātum and -ītum. The 2nd conjugation is commonly -uī, -itum. The 3rd conjugation and many 2nd conjugation verbs form their perfect in several ways, so the third and fourth parts must be learned individually:
| Type of perfect | Examples |
|---|---|
| -vī | amāvī, audīvī, cupīvī |
| -uī | monuī, habuī, rapuī |
| -sī (stem + s) | rēxī, scrīpsī, dīxī, iussī |
| Reduplication (the first syllable is repeated) | dedī (from dō), cucurrī (from currō), cecinī (from canō) |
| Lengthened vowel | vēnī, vīdī, ēgī, lēgī, cēpī, fēcī |
| No change | vertī (from vertō) |
The six tenses fall into two groups. The first three describe an action in progress or still to come (the present system). The last three describe a completed action (the perfect system).
| System | Tense | Example (1st singular) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | present | amō | I love, I am loving |
| imperfect | amābam | I was loving, I used to love | |
| future | amābō | I shall love | |
| Perfect | perfect | amāvī | I loved, I have loved |
| pluperfect | amāveram | I had loved | |
| future perfect | amāverō | I shall have loved |
The Latin perfect has two jobs: it is both the simple past (I loved) and the present perfect (I have loved). The imperfect describes continuing or repeated action in the past, as against the perfect, which reports an event as completed.
The formation of each tense, with its tense signs (-bā-, -bi-, -erā-, and so on), is on the next pages.
Latin verbs add personal endings to the stem:
| Person | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sing. | -ō or -m | -or or -r |
| 2nd sing. | -s | -ris |
| 3rd sing. | -t | -tur |
| 1st pl. | -mus | -mur |
| 2nd pl. | -tis | -minī |
| 3rd pl. | -nt | -ntur |
The perfect active has a set of its own: -ī, -istī, -it, -imus, -istis, -ērunt. The sample verb amō in the present gives amō, amās, amat, amāmus, amātis, amant.
Voice. In the active, the subject performs the action (amat, he loves). In the passive, the subject receives it (amātur, he is loved). Normally only transitive verbs, those that take an accusative object, can be made passive.
Mood. The mood shows the speaker's attitude to the action:
| Form | Tenses | Where treated |
|---|---|---|
| Indicative active | six tenses | Indicative active: present system; Indicative active: perfect system |
| Indicative passive | six tenses | Indicative passive |
| Imperative | present, future | with the present system |
| Subjunctive | present, imperfect, perfect, pluperfect (active and passive) | Subjunctive |
| Infinitives | present, perfect, future (active and passive) | Infinitives, participles, gerund, gerundive, supine |
| Participles | present active, perfect passive, future active | same page |
| Gerund, gerundive, supine | same page | |
| Deponent verbs | passive forms, active meaning | Deponent and semi-deponent verbs |
| Irregular verbs | sum, possum, eō, ferō, volō, fīō and others | Irregular verbs |
When you meet an unknown verb form:
| Form | Analysis | Dictionary entry |
|---|---|---|
| vēnī | perfect active indicative, 1st singular: I came | veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventum (4th) |
| vīdī | perfect active indicative, 1st singular: I saw | videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsum (2nd) |
| vīcī | perfect active indicative, 1st singular: I conquered | vincō, vincere, vīcī, victum (3rd) |
| carpe | present imperative active, 2nd singular: seize | carpō, carpere, carpsī, carptum (3rd) |
| cavē | present imperative active, 2nd singular: beware | caveō, cavēre, cāvī, cautum (2nd) |
| canō | present active indicative, 1st singular: I sing | canō, canere, cecinī, cantum (3rd) |
| iacta est | perfect passive indicative, 3rd singular: has been thrown | iaciō, iacere, iēcī, iactum (3rd in -iō) |
| vīvāmus, amēmus | present subjunctive active, 1st plural: let us live, let us love | vīvō, vīvere, vīxī, victum (3rd); amō, amāre (1st) |
The sentences these come from:
Vēnī, vīdī, vīcī.
I came, I saw, I conquered. (Caesar, as reported by Suetonius)
Carpe diem.
Seize the day. (Horace, Odes 1.11.8)
Cavē canem.
Beware of the dog. (a mosaic at Pompeii; also in Petronius, Satyricon 29)
Arma virumque canō.
I sing of arms and the man. (Vergil, Aeneid 1.1)
Iacta ālea est.
The die is cast. (attributed to Caesar; Suetonius, Divus Iulius 32)
Iacta is the perfect passive participle of iaciō: it is built on the fourth principal part.
Vīvāmus, mea Lesbia, atque amēmus.
Let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love. (Catullus 5.1)
The principal parts of common verbs, grouped by conjugation. Learn each as a set of four.
First conjugation
| Principal parts | Meaning |
|---|---|
| amō, amāre, amāvī, amātum | love |
| laudō, laudāre, laudāvī, laudātum | praise |
| vocō, vocāre, vocāvī, vocātum | call |
| portō, portāre, portāvī, portātum | carry |
| parō, parāre, parāvī, parātum | prepare |
| labōrō, labōrāre, labōrāvī, labōrātum | work |
| pugnō, pugnāre, pugnāvī, pugnātum | fight |
| dō, dare, dedī, datum | give |
| stō, stāre, stetī, statum | stand |
Second conjugation
| Principal parts | Meaning |
|---|---|
| moneō, monēre, monuī, monitum | warn |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsum | see |
| habeō, habēre, habuī, habitum | have |
| teneō, tenēre, tenuī, tentum | hold |
| doceō, docēre, docuī, doctum | teach |
| timeō, timēre, timuī | fear |
| maneō, manēre, mānsī, mānsum | remain |
| sedeō, sedēre, sēdī, sessum | sit |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussum | order |
Third conjugation
| Principal parts | Meaning |
|---|---|
| regō, regere, rēxī, rēctum | rule |
| dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductum | lead |
| scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptum | write |
| legō, legere, lēgī, lēctum | read, choose |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missum | send |
| dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictum | say |
| agō, agere, ēgī, āctum | drive, do |
| vincō, vincere, vīcī, victum | conquer |
| petō, petere, petīvī, petītum | seek |
| currō, currere, cucurrī, cursum | run |
Third conjugation, -iō verbs
| Principal parts | Meaning |
|---|---|
| capiō, capere, cēpī, captum | take |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factum | make, do |
| iaciō, iacere, iēcī, iactum | throw |
| cupiō, cupere, cupīvī, cupītum | desire |
| rapiō, rapere, rapuī, raptum | seize |
Fourth conjugation
| Principal parts | Meaning |
|---|---|
| audiō, audīre, audīvī, audītum | hear |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventum | come |
| dormiō, dormīre, dormīvī, dormītum | sleep |
| sentiō, sentīre, sēnsī, sēnsum | feel |
| mūniō, mūnīre, mūnīvī, mūnītum | fortify |
| aperiō, aperīre, aperuī, apertum | open |
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