In linguistics and grammar, conjugation has two basic meanings.[1] One meaning is the creation of derived forms of a verb from basic forms, or principal parts.
The second meaning of the word conjugation is a group of verbs which all have the same pattern of inflections. Thus all those Latin verbs which in the present tense have 1st singular -ō, 2nd singular -ās, and infinitive -āre are said to belong to the 1st conjugation, those with 1st singular -eō, 2nd singular -ēs and infinitive -ēre belong to the 2nd conjugation, and so on. The number of conjugations of regular verbs is usually said to be four.
The word "conjugation" comes from the Latin Latin: coniugātiō|label=none, a calque of the Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: συζυγία (syzygia), literally "yoking together (horses into a team)".
For examples of verbs and verb groups for each inflectional class, see the Wiktionary appendix pages for first conjugation, second conjugation, third conjugation, and fourth conjugation.
The ancient Romans themselves, beginning with Varro (1st century BC), originally divided their verbs into three conjugations (Latin: coniugationes verbis accidunt tres: prima, secunda, tertia "there are three different conjugations for verbs: the first, second, and third" (Donatus), 4th century AD), according to whether the ending of the 2nd person singular had an a, an e or an i in it.[2] However, others, such as Sacerdos (3rd century AD), Dositheus (4th century AD) and Priscian[3] (c. 500 AD), recognised four different groups.[4]
In modern times grammarians[5] generally recognise four conjugations according to the ending of the active infinitive: namely -āre, -ēre, -ere, or -īre, for example: (1) Latin: amō, amāre "to love", (2) Latin: videō, vidēre "to see", (3) Latin: regō, regere "to rule" and Latin: capiō, capere "to capture", (4) Latin: audiō, audīre "to hear". (3rd conjugation verbs ending in -iō such as Latin: capiō are sometimes known as "mixed conjugation" since they use a mixture of 3rd and 4th conjugation endings.)
In addition to regular verbs, which belong to one or other of the four regular conjugations, there are also a few irregular verbs, which have a different pattern of endings. The most frequent of these is the verb Latin: sum, esse "to be" together with its prefixed derivatives.
There also exist deponent Latin verbs, which though active in meaning have endings identical to the passive endings of ordinary verbs. Examples in the different conjugations are: (1) Latin: moror, morārī "to delay", (2) Latin: polliceor, pollicērī "to promise", (3) Latin: sequor, sequī "to follow" and Latin: regredior, regredī "to go back", (4) Latin: mentior, mentīrī "to lie (tell a lie)". Some verbs are semi-deponent, using passive forms for the perfect tenses only.
A verb's full paradigm relies on multiple stems. The present indicative active and the present infinitive are both based on the present stem.
It is not possible to infer the stems for other tenses from the present stem. This means that, although the infinitive active form normally shows the verb conjugation, knowledge of several different forms is necessary to be able to confidently produce the full range of forms for any particular verb.
In a dictionary, Latin verbs are listed with four "principal parts" (or fewer for deponent and defective verbs), which allow the student to deduce the other conjugated forms of the verbs. These are:
The first conjugation is characterized by the vowel ā and can be recognized by the -āre ending of the present active infinitive form. The infectum tenses conjugate as follows (see also their meaning):
| Indicative | Subjunctive | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | Future | Imperfect | Present | Imperfect | |||
| Active | I love | I will love | I was loving | I may love | I might love | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: amō<br />amās<br />amat<br />amāmus<br />amātis<br />amant|italic=no | Latin: amābō<br />amābis<br />amābit<br />amābimus<br />amābitis<br />amābunt|italic=no | Latin: amābam<br />amābās<br />amābat<br />amābāmus<br />amābātis<br />amābant|italic=no | Latin: amem<br />amēs<br />amet<br />amēmus<br />amētis<br />ament|italic=no | Latin: amārem<br />amārēs<br />amāret<br />amārēmus<br />amārētis<br />amārent|italic=no | ||
| Passive | I am loved | I will be loved | I was being loved | I may be loved | I might be loved | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: amor<br />amāris<br />amātur<br />amāmur<br />amāminī<br />amantur|italic=no | Latin: amābor<br />amāberis/e*<br />amābitur<br />amābimur<br />amābiminī<br />amābuntur|italic=no | Latin: amābar<br />amābāris/e*<br />amābātur<br />amābāmur<br />amābāminī<br />amābantur|italic=no | Latin: amer<br />amēris/e*<br />amētur<br />amēmur<br />amēminī<br />amentur|italic=no | Latin: amārer<br />amārēris/e*<br />amārētur<br />amārēmur<br />amārēminī<br />amārentur|italic=no | ||
* The 2nd person singular passive Latin: amāberis, amābāris, amēris, amārēris|italic=no can be shortened to Latin: amābere, amābāre, amēre, amārēre|italic=no. -re was the regular form in early Latin and (except in the present indicative) in Cicero; -ris was preferred later.[6]
In early Latin (Plautus), the 3rd singular endings -at and -et were pronounced -āt and -ēt with a long vowel.[6]
Other forms:
The principal parts usually adhere to one of the following patterns:
The verb Latin: dō|italic=no "I give" is irregular in that except in the 2nd singular Latin: dās|italic=no and imperative Latin: dā|italic=no, the a is short, e.g. Latin: dabō|italic=no "I will give".
The a is also short in the supine Latin: statum|italic=no and its derivatives, but the other parts of Latin: stō|italic=no "I stand" are regular.
Deponent verbs in this conjugation all follow the pattern below, which is the passive of the first type above:[7]
The three Latin: perfectum tenses of the 1st conjugation go as in the following table:
| Indicative | Subjunctive | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perfect | Future perfect | Pluperfect | Perfect | Pluperfect | |||
| Active | I loved | I will have loved | I had loved | I loved | I had loved | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: amāvī<br />amāvistī<br />amāvit<br />amāvimus<br />amāvistis<br />amāvērunt/-ēre|italic=no | Latin: amāverō<br />amāverīs/is<br />amāverit<br />amāverīmus/-imus<br />amāverītis/-itis<br />amāverint|italic=no | Latin: amāveram<br />amāverās<br />amāverat<br />amāverāmus<br />amāverātis<br />amāverant|italic=no | Latin: amāverim<br />amāverīs<br />amāverit<br />amāverīmus<br />amāverītis<br />amāverint|italic=no | Latin: amā(vi)ssem*<br />amāvissēs<br />amāvisset<br />amāvissēmus<br />amāvissētis<br />amāvissent|italic=no | ||
| Passive | I was loved | I will have been loved | I had been loved | I was loved | I had been loved | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: amātus sum<br />amātus es<br />amātus est<br />amātī sumus<br />amātī estis<br />amātī sunt|italic=no | Latin: amātus erō<br />amātus eris<br />amātus erit<br />amātī erimus<br />amātī eritis<br />amātī erunt|italic=no | Latin: amātus eram<br />amātus erās<br />amātus erat<br />amātī erāmus<br />amātī erātis<br />amātī erant|italic=no | Latin: amātus sim<br />amātus sīs<br />amātus sit<br />amātī sīmus<br />amātī sītis<br />amātī sint|italic=no | Latin: amātus essem<br />amātus essēs<br />amātus esset<br />amātī essēmus<br />amātī essētis<br />amātī essent|italic=no | ||
In poetry (and also sometimes in prose, e.g. Livy), the 3rd person plural of the perfect indicative is often Latin: amāvēre|italic=no instead of Latin: amāvērunt|italic=no. Occasionally the form Latin: amāverunt|italic=no is also found.[8]
In early Latin, the future perfect indicative had a short i in Latin: amāveris, amāverimus, amāveritis|italic=no, but by the time of Cicero these forms were usually pronounced with a long i, in the same way as in the perfect subjunctive.[9] Virgil has a short i for both tenses; Horace uses both forms for both tenses; Ovid uses both forms for the future perfect, but a long i in the perfect subjunctive.[10]
The -v- of the perfect active tenses sometimes drops out, especially in the pluperfect subjunctive: Latin: amāssem|italic=no for Latin: amāvissem|italic=no. Forms such as Latin: amārat|italic=no and Latin: amāstī|italic=no are also found.
The passive tenses also have feminine and neuter forms, e.g. Latin: amāta est|italic=no "she was loved", Latin: nūntiātum est|italic=no "it was announced".
Forms made with Latin: fuī instead of Latin: sum and Latin: forem instead of Latin: essem are also found, for example Latin: '''amātus fuī''', '''amātus fuerō''', '''amātus forem'''|italic=no and so on, but these are not common in classical Latin. See Latin tenses.
For other meanings of the perfect and pluperfect subjunctive, see Latin tenses#Jussive subjunctive.
Other forms:
The second conjugation is characterized by the vowel ē, and can be recognized by the -eō ending of the first person present indicative and the -ēre ending of the present active infinitive form:
| Indicative | Subjunctive | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | Future | Imperfect | Present | Imperfect | |||
| Active | I see | I will see | I was seeing | I may see | I might see | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: videō<br />vidēs<br />videt<br />vidēmus<br />vidētis<br />vident|italic=no | Latin: vidēbō<br />vidēbis<br />vidēbit<br />vidēbimus<br />vidēbitis<br />vidēbunt|italic=no | Latin: vidēbam<br />vidēbās<br />vidēbat<br />vidēbāmus<br />vidēbātis<br />vidēbant|italic=no | Latin: videam<br />videās<br />videat<br />videāmus<br />videātis<br />videant|italic=no | Latin: vidērem<br />vidērēs<br />vidēret<br />vidērēmus<br />vidērētis<br />vidērent|italic=no | ||
| Passive | I am seen | I will be seen | I was being seen | I may be seen | I might be seen | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: videor<br />vidēris<br />vidētur<br />vidēmur<br />vidēminī<br />videntur|italic=no | Latin: vidēbor<br />vidēberis/e<br />vidēbitur<br />vidēbimur<br />vidēbiminī<br />vidēbuntur|italic=no | Latin: vidēbar<br />vidēbāris/e<br />vidēbātur<br />vidēbāmur<br />vidēbāminī<br />vidēbantur|italic=no | Latin: videar<br />videāris/e<br />videātur<br />videāmur<br />videāminī<br />videantur|italic=no | Latin: vidērer<br />vidērēris/e<br />vidērētur<br />vidērēmur<br />vidērēminī<br />vidērentur|italic=no | ||
The passive Latin: videor|italic=no also often means "I seem".
Other forms:
The principal parts usually adhere to one of the following patterns:
In verbs with perfect in -vī, syncopated (i.e. abbreviated) forms are common, such as Latin: dēlēram, dēlēssem, dēlēstī for Latin: dēlēveram, dēlēvissem, dēlēvistī.[11]
Deponent verbs in this conjugation are few. They mostly go like the passive of Latin: terreō, but Latin: fateor and Latin: confiteor have a perfect participle with ss:[12]
The following are semi-deponent, that is, they are deponent only in the three perfect tenses:[13]
The third conjugation has a variable short stem vowel, which may be e, i, or u in different environments. Verbs of this conjugation end in -ere in the present active infinitive. Deponent verbs have the infinitive -ī.
| Indicative | Subjunctive | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | Future | Imperfect | Present | Imperfect | |||
| Active | I lead | I will lead | I was leading | I may lead | I might lead | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: dūcō<br />dūcis<br />dūcit<br />dūcimus<br />dūcitis<br />dūcunt|italic=no | Latin: dūcam<br />dūcēs<br />dūcet<br />dūcēmus<br />dūcētis<br />dūcent|italic=no | Latin: dūcēbam<br />dūcēbās<br />dūcēbat<br />dūcēbāmus<br />dūcēbātis<br />dūcēbant|italic=no | Latin: dūcam<br />dūcās<br />dūcat<br />dūcāmus<br />dūcātis<br />dūcant|italic=no | Latin: dūcerem<br />dūcerēs<br />dūceret<br />dūcerēmus<br />dūcerētis<br />dūcerent|italic=no | ||
| Passive | I am led | I will be led | I was being led | I may be led | I might be led | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: dūcor<br />dūceris<br />dūcitur<br />dūcimur<br />dūciminī<br />dūcuntur|italic=no | Latin: dūcar<br />dūcēris/re<br />dūcētur<br />dūcēmur<br />dūcēminī<br />dūcentur|italic=no | Latin: dūcēbar<br />dūcēbāris/re<br />dūcēbātur<br />dūcēbāmur<br />dūcēbāminī<br />dūcēbantur|italic=no | Latin: dūcar<br />dūcāris/re<br />dūcātur<br />dūcāmur<br />dūcāminī<br />dūcantur|italic=no | Latin: dūcerer<br />dūcerēris/re<br />dūcerētur<br />dūcerēmur<br />dūcerēminī<br />dūcerentur|italic=no | ||
The future tense in the 3rd and 4th conjugation (-am, -ēs, -et etc.) differs from that in the 1st and 2nd conjugation (-bō, -bis, -bit etc.).
Other forms:
Four 3rd conjugation verbs usually have no ending in the imperative singular: Latin: dūc!|italic=no "lead!", Latin: dīc!|italic=no "say!", Latin: fer!|italic=no "bring!", Latin: fac!|italic=no "do!".
Others, like Latin: curre|italic=no "run!", have the ending -e.[6]
There is no regular rule for constructing the perfect stem of third-conjugation verbs, but the following patterns are used:
Although Latin: dō, dare, dedī, datum "to give" is 1st conjugation, its compounds are 3rd conjugation and have internal reduplication:
Likewise the compounds of Latin: sistō have internal reduplication. Although Latin: sistō is transitive, its compounds are intransitive:[14]
Deponent verbs in the 3rd conjugation include the following:
There are also a number of 3rd conjugation deponents with the ending -scor:
Deponent in some tenses only is the following:[13]
The following is deponent only in the infectum tenses:
Intermediate between the third and fourth conjugation are the third-conjugation verbs with suffix –iō. These resemble the fourth conjugation in some forms.
| Indicative | Subjunctive | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | Future | Imperfect | Present | Imperfect | |||
| Active | I capture | I will capture | I was capturing | I may capture | I might capture | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: capiō<br />capis<br />capit<br />capimus<br />capitis<br />capiunt|italic=no | Latin: capiam<br />capiēs<br />capiet<br />capiēmus<br />capiētis<br />capient|italic=no | Latin: capiēbam<br />capiēbās<br />capiēbat<br />capiēbāmus<br />capiēbātis<br />capiēbant|italic=no | Latin: capiam<br />capiās<br />capiat<br />capiāmus<br />capiātis<br />capiant|italic=no | Latin: caperem<br />caperēs<br />caperet<br />caperēmus<br />caperētis<br />caperent|italic=no | ||
| Passive | I am captured | I will be captured | I was being captured | I may be captured | I might be captured | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: capior<br />caperis<br />capitur<br />capimur<br />capiminī<br />capiuntur|italic=no | Latin: capiar<br />capiēris/re<br />capiētur<br />capiēmur<br />capiēminī<br />capientur|italic=no | Latin: capiēbar<br />capiēbāris/re<br />capiēbātur<br />capiēbāmur<br />capiēbāminī<br />capiēbantur|italic=no | Latin: capiar<br />capiāris/re<br />capiātur<br />capiāmur<br />capiāminī<br />capiantur|italic=no | Latin: caperer<br />caperēris/re<br />caperētur<br />caperēmur<br />caperēminī<br />caperentur|italic=no | ||
Other forms:
Some examples are:
Deponent verbs in this group include:
The fourth conjugation is characterized by the vowel ī and can be recognized by the -īre ending of the present active infinitive. Deponent verbs have the infinitive -īrī:
| Indicative | Subjunctive | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | Future | Imperfect | Present | Imperfect | |||
| Active | I hear | I will hear | I was hearing | I may hear | I might hear | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: audiō<br />audīs<br />audit<br />audīmus<br />audītis<br />audiunt|italic=no | Latin: audiam<br />audiēs<br />audiet<br />audiēmus<br />audiētis<br />audient|italic=no | Latin: audiēbam<br />audiēbās<br />audiēbat<br />audiēbāmus<br />audiēbātis<br />audiēbant|italic=no | Latin: audiam<br />audiās<br />audiat<br />audiāmus<br />audiātis<br />audiant|italic=no | Latin: audīrem<br />audīrēs<br />audīret<br />audīrēmus<br />audīrētis<br />audīrent|italic=no | ||
| Passive | I am heard | I will be heard | I was being heard | I may be heard | I might be heard | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: audior<br />audīris<br />audītur<br />audīmur<br />audīminī<br />audiuntur|italic=no | Latin: audiar<br />audiēris/re<br />audiētur<br />audiēmur<br />audiēminī<br />audientur|italic=no | Latin: audiēbar<br />audiēbāris/re<br />audiēbātur<br />audiēbāmur<br />audiēbāminī<br />audiēbantur|italic=no | Latin: audiar<br />audiāris/re<br />audiātur<br />audiāmur<br />audiāminī<br />audiantur|italic=no | Latin: audīrer<br />audīrēris/re<br />audīrētur<br />audīrēmur<br />audīrēminī<br />audīrentur|italic=no | ||
Other forms:
Principal parts of verbs in the fourth conjugation generally adhere to the following patterns:
Deponent verbs in the 4th conjugation include the following:[16]
The verb Latin: orior, orīrī, ortus sum "to arise" is also regarded as 4th conjugation, although some parts, such as the 3rd singular present tense Latin: oritur and imperfect subjunctive Latin: orerer, have a short vowel like the 3rd conjugation. But its compound Latin: adorior "to rise up, attack" is entirely 4th conjugation.
In the perfect tenses, shortened forms without -v- are common, for example, Latin: audīstī, audiērunt, audierat, audīsset|italic=no for Latin: audīvistī, audīvērunt, audīverat, audīvisset. Cicero, however, prefers the full forms Latin: audīvī, audīvit to Latin: audiī, audiit.[11]
The verb Latin: sum, esse, fuī "to be" is the most common verb in Latin. It is conjugated as follows:[17]
| Indicative | Subjunctive | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | Future | Imperfect | Present | Imperfect | |||
| Active | I am | I will be | I was | I may be | I might be | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: sum<br />es<br />est<br />sumus<br />estis<br />sunt|italic=no | Latin: erō<br />eris<br />erit<br />erimus<br />eritis<br />erunt|italic=no | Latin: eram<br />erās<br />erat<br />erāmus<br />erātis<br />erant|italic=no | Latin: sim<br />sīs<br />sit<br />sīmus<br />sītis<br />sint|italic=no | Latin: essem<br />essēs<br />esset<br />essēmus<br />essētis<br />essent|italic=no | ||
| Active | I am able | I will be able | I was able | I may be able | I might be able | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: possum<br />potes<br />potest<br />possumus<br />potestis<br />possunt|italic=no | Latin: poterō<br />poteris<br />poterit<br />poterimus<br />poteritis<br />poterunt|italic=no | Latin: poteram<br />poterās<br />poterat<br />poterāmus<br />poterātis<br />poterant|italic=no | Latin: possim<br />possīs<br />possit<br />possīmus<br />possītis<br />possint|italic=no | Latin: possem<br />possēs<br />posset<br />possēmus<br />possētis<br />possent|italic=no | ||
In early Latin (e.g. Plautus), Latin: siem, siēs, siēt|italic=no can be found for the present subjunctive Latin: sim, sīs, sit|italic=no. In poetry the subjunctive Latin: fuam, fuās, fuat|italic=no also sometimes occurs.[18]
An alternative imperfect subjunctive is sometimes made using Latin: forem, forēs, foret|italic=no etc. See further: Latin tenses#Foret.
Other forms:
The present participle is found only in the compounds Latin: absēns|italic=no "absent" and Latin: praesēns|italic=no "present".[18]
In Plautus and Lucretius, an infinitive Latin: potesse|italic=no is sometimes found for Latin: posse|italic=no "to be able".
The principal parts of these verbs are as follows:
The perfect tenses conjugate in the regular way.
For the difference in meaning between Latin: eram and Latin: fuī, see Latin tenses#Difference between eram and fuī
The verb Latin: volō and its derivatives Latin: nōlō and Latin: mālō (short for Latin: magis volō) resemble a 3rd conjugation verb, but the present subjunctive ending in -im is different:
| Indicative | Subjunctive | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | Future | Imperfect | Present | Imperfect | |||
| Active | I want | I will want | I was wanting | I may want | I might want | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: volō<br />vīs<br />vult<br />volumus<br />vultis<br />volunt|italic=no | Latin: volam<br />volēs<br />volet<br />volēmus<br />volētis<br />volent|italic=no | Latin: volēbam<br />volēbās<br />volēbat<br />volēbāmus<br />volēbātis<br />volēbant|italic=no | Latin: velim<br />velīs<br />velit<br />velīmus<br />velītis<br />velint|italic=no | Latin: vellem<br />vellēs<br />vellet<br />vellēmus<br />vellētis<br />vellent|italic=no | ||
| Active | I am unwilling | I will be unwilling | I was unwilling | I may be unwilling | I might be unwilling | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: nōlō<br />nōn vīs<br />nōn vult<br />nōlumus<br />nōn vultis<br />nōlunt|italic=no | Latin: nōlam<br />nōlēs<br />nōlet<br />nōlēmus<br />nōlētis<br />nōlent|italic=no | Latin: nōlēbam<br />nōlēbās<br />nōlēbat<br />nōlēbāmus<br />nōlēbātis<br />nōlēbant|italic=no | Latin: nōlim<br />nōlīs<br />nōlit<br />nōlīmus<br />nōlītis<br />nōlint|italic=no | Latin: nōllem<br />nōllēs<br />nōllet<br />nōllēmus<br />nōllētis<br />nōllent|italic=no | ||
| Active | I prefer | I will prefer | I was preferring | I may prefer | I might prefer | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: mālō<br />māvīs<br />māvult<br />mālumus<br />māvultis<br />mālunt|italic=no | Latin: mālam<br />mālēs<br />mālet<br />mālēmus<br />mālētis<br />mālent|italic=no | Latin: mālēbam<br />mālēbās<br />mālēbat<br />mālēbāmus<br />mālēbātis<br />mālēbant|italic=no | Latin: mālim<br />mālīs<br />mālit<br />mālīmus<br />mālītis<br />mālint|italic=no | Latin: māllem<br />māllēs<br />māllet<br />māllēmus<br />māllētis<br />māllent|italic=no | ||
The spellings Latin: volt|italic=no and Latin: voltis|italic=no were used up until the time of Cicero for Latin: vult|italic=no and Latin: vultis|italic=no.[19]
These verbs are not used in the passive.
Other forms:
Principal parts:
The perfect tenses are formed regularly.
The verb Latin: eō "I go" is an irregular 4th conjugation verb, in which the i of the stem sometimes becomes e. Like 1st and 2nd conjugation verbs, it uses the future -bō, -bis, -bit:[20]
| Indicative | Subjunctive | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | Future | Imperfect | Present | Imperfect | |||
| Active | I go | I will go | I was going | I may go | I might go | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: eō<br />īs<br />it<br />īmus<br />ītis<br />eunt|italic=no | Latin: ībō<br />ībis<br />ībit<br />ībimus<br />ībitis<br />ībunt|italic=no | Latin: ībam<br />ībās<br />ībat<br />ībāmus<br />ībātis<br />ībant|italic=no | Latin: eam<br />eās<br />eat<br />eāmus<br />eātis<br />eant|italic=no | Latin: īrem<br />īrēs<br />īret<br />īrēmus<br />īrētis<br />īrent|italic=no | ||
Other forms:
The impersonal passive forms Latin: ītur|italic=no "they go", Latin: itum est|italic=no "they went" are sometimes found.[21]
The principal parts of some verbs which conjugate like Latin: eō are the following:
In the perfect tenses of these verbs, the -v- is almost always omitted, especially in the compounds,[22] although the form Latin: exīvit is common in the Vulgate Bible translation.
In some perfect forms, the vowels ii- are contracted to ī-: second person singular perfect Latin: īstī, second person plural perfect Latin: īstis; pluperfect subjunctive Latin: īssem, īssēs, ..., īssent; perfect infinitive Latin: īsse (the form Latin: iisse is also attested).
The verb Latin: queō, quīre, quiī/quīvī, quitum "to be able" has forms similar to Latin: eō.
The verb Latin: ferō, ferre, tulī, lātum "to bring, to bear, to carry" is 3rd conjugation, but irregular in that the vowel following the root fer- is sometimes omitted. The perfect tense Latin: tulī and supine stem Latin: lātum are also irregularly formed.[23]
| Indicative | Subjunctive | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | Future | Imperfect | Present | Imperfect | |||
| Active | I bring | I will bring | I was bringing | I may bring | I might bring | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: ferō<br />fers<br />fert<br />ferimus<br />fertis<br />ferunt|italic=no | Latin: feram<br />ferēs<br />feret<br />ferēmus<br />ferētis<br />ferent|italic=no | Latin: ferēbam<br />ferēbās<br />ferēbat<br />ferēbāmus<br />ferēbātis<br />ferēbant|italic=no | Latin: feram<br />ferās<br />ferat<br />ferāmus<br />ferātis<br />ferant|italic=no | Latin: ferrem<br />ferrēs<br />ferret<br />ferrēmus<br />ferrētis<br />ferrent|italic=no | ||
| Passive | I am brought | I will be brought | I was being brought | I may be brought | I might be brought | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: feror<br />ferris<br />fertur<br />ferimur<br />feriminī<br />feruntur|italic=no | Latin: ferar<br />ferēris/re<br />ferētur<br />ferēmur<br />ferēminī<br />ferentur|italic=no | Latin: ferēbar<br />ferēbāris/re<br />ferēbātur<br />ferēbāmur<br />ferēbāminī<br />ferēbantur|italic=no | Latin: ferar<br />ferāris/re<br />ferātur<br />ferāmur<br />ferāminī<br />ferantur|italic=no | Latin: ferrer<br />ferrēris/re<br />ferrētur<br />ferrēmur<br />ferrēminī<br />ferrentur|italic=no | ||
The future tense in the 3rd and 4th conjugation (-am, -ēs, -et etc.) differs from that in the 1st and 2nd conjugation (-bō, -bis, -bit etc.).
Other forms:
Compounds of Latin: ferō include the following:[24] The principal parts of some verbs which conjugate like Latin: ferō are the following:
The perfect tense Latin: sustulī, however, belongs to the verb Latin: tollō:
The irregular verb Latin: fīō, fierī, factus sum "to become, to happen, to be done, to be made" as well as being a verb in its own right serves as the passive of Latin: faciō, facere, fēcī, factum "to do, to make".[25] The perfect tenses are identical with the perfect passive tenses of Latin: faciō.
| Indicative | Subjunctive | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | Future | Imperfect | Present | Imperfect | |||
| Active | I become | I will become | I was becoming | I may become | I might become | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: fīō<br />fīs<br />fit<br />(fīmus)<br />(fītis)<br />fīunt|italic=no | Latin: fīam<br />fīēs<br />fīet<br />fīēmus<br />fīētis<br />fīent|italic=no | Latin: fīēbam<br />fīēbās<br />fīēbat<br />fīēbāmus<br />fīēbātis<br />fīēbant|italic=no | Latin: fīam<br />fīās<br />fīat<br />fīāmus<br />fīātis<br />fīant|italic=no | Latin: fierem<br />fierēs<br />fieret<br />fierēmus<br />fierētis<br />fierent|italic=no | ||
The 1st and 2nd plural forms are almost never found.
Other forms:
The verb Latin: edō, edere/ēsse, ēdī, ēsum "to eat" has regular 3rd conjugation forms appearing alongside irregular ones:[26]
| Indicative | Subjunctive | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | Future | Imperfect | Present | Imperfect | |||
| Active | I eat | I will eat | I was eating | I may eat | I might eat | ||
| I you sg. he, she, it we you pl. they | Latin: edō<br />edis, ēs<br />edit, ēst<br />edimus<br />editis, ēstis<br />edunt|italic=no | Latin: edam<br />edēs<br />edet<br />edēmus<br />edētis<br />edent|italic=no | Latin: edēbam<br />edēbās<br />edēbat<br />edēbāmus<br />edēbātis<br />edēbant|italic=no | Latin: edam, edim<br />edās, edīs<br />edat, edit<br />edāmus, edīmus<br />edātis, edītis<br />edant, edint|italic=no | Latin: ederem, ēssem<br />ederēs, ēssēs<br />ederet, ēsset<br />ederēmus, ēssēmus<br />ederētis, ēssētis<br />ederent, ēssent|italic=no | ||
Other forms:
The passive form Latin: ēstur|italic=no "it is eaten" is also found.
The present subjunctive Latin: edim, edīs, edit|italic=no etc. is found mostly in early Latin.
In writing, there is a possibility of confusion between the forms of this verb and those of Latin: sum "I am" and Latin: ēdō "I give out, put forth"; for example, Latin: ēsse "to eat" vs. Latin: esse "to be"; Latin: edit "he eats" vs. Latin: ēdit "he gives out".
The compound verb Latin: comedō, comedere/comēsse, comēdī, comēsum "to eat up, consume" is similar.
The non-finite forms of verbs are participles, infinitives, supines, gerunds and gerundives. The verbs used are:
1st conjugation: Latin: laudō, laudāre, laudāvī, laudātum – to praise
2nd conjugation: Latin: terreō, terrēre, terruī, territum – to frighten, deter
3rd conjugation: Latin: petō, petere, petīvī, petītum – to seek, attack
3rd conjugation (-i stem): Latin: capiō, capere, cēpī, captum – to take, capture
4th conjugation: Latin: audiō, audīre, audīvī, audītum – to hear, listen (to)
See also: Participle.
There are four participles: present active, perfect passive, future active, and future passive (= the gerundive).
| Participles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latin: laudāre|italic=no | Latin: terrēre|italic=no | Latin: petere|italic=no | Latin: capere|italic=no | Latin: audīre|italic=no | ||||||
| Present active | Latin: laudāns, -antis|italic=no | Latin: terrēns, -entis|italic=no | Latin: petēns, -entis|italic=no | Latin: capiēns, -entis|italic=no | Latin: audiēns, -entis|italic=no | |||||
| Perfect passive | Latin: laudātus, -a, -um|italic=no | Latin: territus, -a, -um|italic=no | Latin: petītus, -a, -um|italic=no | Latin: captus, -a, -um|italic=no | Latin: audītus, -a, -um|italic=no | |||||
| Future active | Latin: laudātūrus, -a, -um|italic=no | Latin: territūrus, -a, -um|italic=no | Latin: petītūrus, -a, -um|italic=no | Latin: captūrus, -a, -um|italic=no | Latin: audītūrus, -a, -um|italic=no | |||||
| Gerundive | Latin: laudandus, -a, -um|italic=no | Latin: terrendus, -a, -um|italic=no | Latin: petendus, -a, -um|italic=no | Latin: capiendus, -a, -um|italic=no | Latin: audiēndus, -a, -um|italic=no | |||||
See also: Infinitive.
There are seven main infinitives. They are in the present active, present passive, perfect active, perfect passive, future active, future passive, and potential active. Further infinitives can be made using the gerundive.
| Latin: laudāre|italic=no | Latin: terrēre|italic=no | Latin: petere|italic=no | Latin: capere|italic=no | Latin: audīre|italic=no | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present active | Latin: laudāre|italic=no | Latin: terrēre|italic=no | Latin: petere|italic=no | Latin: capere|italic=no | Latin: audīre|italic=no | |
| Present passive | Latin: laudārī|italic=no | Latin: terrērī|italic=no | Latin: petī|italic=no | Latin: capī|italic=no | Latin: audīrī|italic=no | |
| Perfect active | Latin: laudāvisse|italic=no | Latin: terruisse|italic=no | Latin: petīvisse|italic=no | Latin: cēpisse|italic=no | Latin: audīvisse|italic=no | |
| Perfect passive | Latin: laudātus esse|italic=no | Latin: territus esse|italic=no | Latin: petītus esse|italic=no | Latin: captus esse|italic=no | Latin: audītus esse|italic=no | |
| Future active | Latin: laudātūrus esse|italic=no | Latin: territūrus esse|italic=no | Latin: petītūrus esse|italic=no | Latin: captūrus esse|italic=no | Latin: audītūrus esse|italic=no | |
| Future passive | Latin: laudātum īrī|italic=no | Latin: territum īrī|italic=no | Latin: petītum īrī|italic=no | Latin: captum īrī|italic=no | Latin: audītum īrī|italic=no | |
| Potential | Latin: laudātūrus fuisse|italic=no | Latin: territūrus fuisse|italic=no | Latin: petītūrus fuisse|italic=no | Latin: captūrus fuisse|italic=no | Latin: audītūrus fuisse|italic=no |
The future passive infinitive was not very commonly used. The Romans themselves often used an alternate expression, Latin: fore ut followed by a subjunctive clause.
The supine is the fourth principal part of the verb, as given in Latin dictionaries. It resembles a masculine noun of the fourth declension. Supines only occur in the accusative and ablative cases.
| Supine | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latin: laudāre|italic=no | Latin: terrēre|italic=no | Latin: petere|italic=no | Latin: capere|italic=no | Latin: audīre|italic=no | ||
| Accusative | Latin: laudātum|italic=no | Latin: territum|italic=no | Latin: petītum|italic=no | Latin: captum|italic=no | Latin: audītum|italic=no | |
| Ablative | Latin: laudātū|italic=no | Latin: territū|italic=no | Latin: petītū|italic=no | Latin: captū|italic=no | Latin: audītū|italic=no | |
See also: Gerund.
The gerund is formed similarly to the present active participle. However, the -ns becomes an -ndus, and the preceding ā or ē is shortened. Gerunds are neuter nouns of the second declension, but the nominative case is not present. The gerund is a noun, meaning "the act of doing (the verb)", and forms a suppletive paradigm to the infinitive, which cannot be declined. For example, the genitive form Latin: laudandī can mean "of praising", the dative form Latin: laudandō can mean "for praising", the accusative form Latin: laudandum can mean "praising", and the ablative form Latin: laudandō can mean "by praising", "in respect to praising", etc.
| Gerund | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latin: laudāre|italic=no | Latin: terrēre|italic=no | Latin: petere|italic=no | Latin: capere|italic=no | Latin: audīre|italic=no | ||
| Accusative | Latin: laudandum|italic=no | Latin: terrendum|italic=no | Latin: petendum|italic=no | Latin: capiendum|italic=no | Latin: audiendum|italic=no | |
| Genitive | Latin: laudandī|italic=no | Latin: terrendī|italic=no | Latin: petendī|italic=no | Latin: capiendī|italic=no | Latin: audiendī|italic=no | |
| Dative | Latin: laudandō|italic=no | Latin: terrendō|italic=no | Latin: petendō|italic=no | Latin: capiendō|italic=no | Latin: audiendō|italic=no | |
| Ablative | ||||||
One common use of the gerund is with the preposition Latin: ad to indicate purpose. For example, Latin: paratus ad oppugnandum could be translated as "ready to attack". However the gerund was avoided when an object was introduced, and a passive construction with the gerundive was preferred. For example, for "ready to attack the enemy" the construction Latin: paratus ad hostes oppugnandos is preferred over Latin: paratus ad hostes oppugnandum.[29]
The gerundive has a form similar to that of the gerund, but it is a first and second declension adjective, and functions as a future passive participle (see above). It means "(which is) to be ...ed". Often, the gerundive is used with part of the verb Latin: esse, to show obligation.
An older form of the 3rd and 4th conjugation gerundive ends in -undum, e.g. (Latin: faciundum for Latin: faciendum).[6] This ending is also found with the gerundive of Latin: eō 'I go': Latin: eundum est 'it is necessary to go'.
For some examples of uses of Latin gerundives, see the Gerundive article.
See also: Latin periphrases.
There are two periphrastic conjugations. One is active, and the other is passive.
The first periphrastic conjugation uses the future participle. It is combined with the forms of Latin: esse. It is translated as "I am going to praise," "I was going to praise", etc.
| Conjugation | Translation | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pres. ind. | Latin: laudātūrus sum | I am going to praise | |
| Imp. ind. | Latin: laudātūrus eram | I was going to praise | |
| Fut. ind. | Latin: laudātūrus erō | I shall be going to praise | |
| Perf. ind. | Latin: laudātūrus fuī | I have been going to praise | |
| Plup. ind. | Latin: laudātūrus fueram | I had been going to praise | |
| Fut. perf. ind. | Latin: laudātūrus fuerō | I shall have been going to praise | |
| Pres. subj. | Latin: laudātūrus sim | I may be going to praise | |
| Imp. subj. | Latin: laudātūrus essem | I should be going to praise | |
| Perf. subj. | Latin: laudātūrus fuerim | I may have been going to praise | |
| Plup. subj. | Latin: laudātūrus fuissem | I should have been going to praise |
The second periphrastic conjugation uses the gerundive. It is combined with the forms of Latin: esse and expresses necessity. It is translated as "I am needing to be praised", "I was needing to be praised", etc., or as "I have to (i.e., must) be praised", "I had to be praised," etc. It may also be translated in English word by word, as in "You are to be (i.e., must be) praised."[30]
| Conjugation | Translation | ||
| Pres. ind. | Latin: laudandus sum | I am needing to be praised | |
| Imp. ind. | Latin: laudandus eram | I was needing to be praised | |
| Fut. ind. | Latin: laudandus erō | I will be needing to be praised | |
| Perf. ind. | Latin: laudandus fuī | I was needing to be praised | |
| Plup. ind. | Latin: laudandus fueram | I had been needing to be praised | |
| Fut. perf. ind. | Latin: laudandus fuerō | I will have been needing to be praised | |
| Pres. subj. | Latin: laudandus sim | I may be needing to be praised | |
| Imp. subj. | Latin: laudandus essem | I should be needing to be praised | |
| Perf. subj. | Latin: laudandus fuerim | I may have been needing to be praised | |
| Plup. subj. | Latin: laudandus fuissem | I should have been needing to be praised | |
| Pres. inf. | Latin: laudandus esse | To be needing to be praised | |
| Perf. inf. | Latin: laudandus fuisse | To have been needing to be praised |
Deponent verbs are verbs that are passive in form (that is, conjugated as though in the passive voice) but active in meaning. These verbs have only three principal parts, since the perfect of ordinary passives is formed periphrastically with the perfect participle, which is formed on the same stem as the supine. Some examples coming from all conjugations are:
1st conjugation: Latin: mīror, [[wikt: mirari|mīrārī]], mīrātus sum – to admire, wonder
2nd conjugation: Latin: polliceor, [[wikt: polliceri|pollicērī]], pollicitus sum – to promise, offer
3rd conjugation: Latin: loquor, [[wikt: loqui|loquī]], locūtus sum – to speak, say
4th conjugation: Latin: [[wikt: mentior| mentior]], mentīrī, mentītus sum – to tell a lie
Deponent verbs use active conjugations for tenses that do not exist in the passive: the gerund, the supine, the present and future participles and the future infinitive. They cannot be used in the passive themselves (except the gerundive), and their analogues with "active" form do not in fact exist: one cannot directly translate "The word is said" with any form of Latin: loquī, and there are no forms like loquō, loquis, loquit, etc.
Semi-deponent verbs form their imperfective aspect tenses in the manner of ordinary active verbs; but their perfect tenses are built periphrastically like deponents and ordinary passives; thus, semi-deponent verbs have a perfect active participle instead of a perfect passive participle. An example:
Latin: audeō, audēre, ausus sum – to dare, venture
Unlike the proper passive of active verbs, which is always intransitive, some deponent verbs are transitive, which means that they can take an object. For example:
Latin: hostes sequitur. – he follows the enemy.
Note: In the Romance languages, which lack deponent or passive verb forms, the Classical Latin deponent verbs either disappeared (being replaced with non-deponent verbs of a similar meaning) or changed to a non-deponent form. For example, in Spanish and Italian, Latin: mīrārī changed to mirar(e) by changing all the verb forms to the previously nonexistent "active form", and Latin: audeō changed to osar(e) by taking the participle Latin: ausus and making an -ar(e) verb out of it (note that au went to o).
Defective verbs are verbs that are conjugated in only some instances.
Latin: ōdī, ōdisse (future participle Latin: ōsūrus) – to hate
Latin: meminī, meminisse (imperative Latin: mementō, mementōte) – to remember
Latin: coepī, coeptum, coepisse – to have begun
Latin: Cedo (plur. Latin: cette), which means "Hand it over" is only in the imperative mood, and only is used in the second person.
The following are conjugated irregularly:
| Conjugation of Latin: aiō | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicative present | Indicative imperfect | Subjunctive present | Imperative present | |||||
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | ||
| First person | Latin: aiō | — | Latin: aiēbam | Latin: aiēbāmus | — | — | — | |
| Second person | Latin: ais | Latin: aiēbās | Latin: aiēbātis | Latin: aiās | Latin: ai | |||
| Third person | Latin: ait | Latin: aiunt | Latin: aiēbat | Latin: aiēbant | Latin: aiat | Latin: aiant | — | |
Present Active Participle: – Latin: aiēns, aientis
| Conjugation of Latin: inquam | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present indicative | Future indicative | Perfect indicative | Imperfect indicative | |||||
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Singular | Singular | ||||
| First person | Latin: inquam | Latin: inquimus | — | Latin: inquiī | — | |||
| Second person | Latin: inquis | Latin: inquitis | Latin: inquiēs | Latin: inquistī | ||||
| Third person | Latin: inquit | Latin: inquiunt | Latin: inquiet | Latin: inquit | Latin: inquiēbat | |||
| Conjugation of Latin: for | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present indicative | Future indicative | Perfect indicative | Pluperfect indicative | Present imperative | ||||||
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Singular | Singular | Singular | Plural | ||||
| First person | Latin: for | — | Latin: fābor | Latin: fātus sum | Latin: fātus eram | — | — | |||
| Second person | — | — | — | — | Latin: fāre | Latin: fāminī | ||||
| Third person | Latin: fātur | Latin: fantur | Latin: fābitur | — | — | |||||
Present Active Participle – Latin: fāns, fantis
Present Active Infinitive – Latin: fārī (variant: Latin: fārier)
Supine – (acc.) Latin: fātum, (abl.) Latin: fātū
Gerund – (gen.) Latin: fandī, (dat. and abl.) Latin: fandō, no accusative
Gerundive – Latin: fandus, –a, –um
The Romance languages lost many of these verbs, but others (such as Latin: ōdī) survived but became regular fully conjugated verbs (in Italian, Italian: odiare).
Impersonal verbs are those lacking a person. In English impersonal verbs are usually used with the neuter pronoun "it" (as in "It seems," or "it is raining"). Latin uses the third person singular. These verbs lack a fourth principal part. A few examples are:
Latin: pluit, pluere, plūvit/pluit – to rain (it rains)
Latin: ningit, ningere, ninxit – to snow (it snows)
Latin: oportet, oportēre, oportuit – to be proper (it is proper, one should/ought to)
Latin: licet, licēre, licuit – to be permitted [to] (it is allowed [to])
The future active participle is normally formed by removing the –um from the supine, and adding a –ūrus. However, some deviations occur.
| Present active infinitive | Supine | Future active participle | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latin: iuvāre | Latin: iūtum | Latin: iuvātūrus | going to help | |
| Latin: lavāre/lavere | Latin: lavātum (but PPP Latin: lautus) | Latin: lavātūrus | going to wash | |
| Latin: parere | Latin: partum | Latin: paritūrus | going to produce | |
| Latin: ruere | Latin: rutum | Latin: ruitūrus | going to fall | |
| Latin: secāre | Latin: sectum | Latin: secātūrus | going to cut | |
| Latin: fruī | Latin: frūctum/fruitum | Latin: fruitūrus | going to enjoy | |
| Latin: nāscī | Latin: nātum | Latin: nātūrus/nascitūrus | going to be born | |
| Latin: morī | Latin: mortuum | Latin: moritūrus | going to die | |
| Latin: orīrī | Latin: ortum | Latin: oritūrus | going to rise |
Several verb forms may occur in alternative forms (in some authors these forms are fairly common, if not more common than the canonical ones):
Latin: laudābāris → Latin: laudābāre
Latin: laudāvērunt → Latin: laudāvēre
Latin: laudārī → Latin: laudārier, Latin: dicī → Latin: dicier
Like in most Romance languages, syncopated forms and contractions are present in Latin. They may occur in the following instances:
Latin: laudāvisse → Latin: laudāsse
Latin: laudāvistī → Latin: laudāstī
Latin: laudāverant → Latin: laudārant
Latin: laudāvisset → Latin: laudāsset
Latin: nōvistī → Latin: nōstī
Latin: nōvistis → Latin: nōstis
Latin: commōveram → Latin: commōram
Latin: commōverās → Latin: commōrās