Latin conjugation

Conjugation has two meanings.[1] One meaning is the creation of derived forms of a verb from basic forms, or principal parts. It may be affected by person, number, gender, tense, mood, aspect, voice, or other language-specific factors.

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 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 coniugātiō, a calque of the Greek συζυγία syzygia, literally "yoking together (horses into a team)".

For simple verb paradigms, see the Wiktionary appendix pages for first conjugation, second conjugation, third conjugation, and fourth conjugation.

Number of conjugations

The ancient Romans themselves, beginning with Varro (1st century BC), originally divided their verbs into three conjugations (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]

Modern grammarians[5] generally recognise four conjugations, according to whether their active present infinitive has the ending -āre, -ēre, -ere, or -īre (or the corresponding passive forms), for example: (1) amō, amāre "to love", (2) videō, vidēre "to see", (3) regō, regere "to rule" and (4) audiō, audīre "to hear". There are also some verbs of mixed conjugation, having some endings like the 3rd and others like the 4th conjugation, for example, capiō, capere "to capture".

In addition to regular verbs, which belong to one or other of the four conjugations, there are also a few irregular verbs, which have a different pattern of endings. The most important of these is the verb sum, esse "to be". There also exist deponent and semi-deponent Latin verbs (verbs with a passive form but active meaning), as well as defective verbs (verbs in which some of the tenses are missing).

Principal parts

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:

1. the first person singular of the present indicative active
2. the present infinitive active
3. the first person singular of the perfect indicative active
4. the supine or, in some grammars, the perfect passive participle, which uses the same stem. (Texts that list the perfect passive participle use the future active participle for intransitive verbs.) Some verbs lack this principal part altogether.

Regular conjugations

First conjugation

The first conjugation is characterized by the vowel ā and can be recognized by the -āre ending of the present active infinitive form. The non-perfect tenses conjugate as follows:

		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	amō amās amat amāmus amātis amant	amābō amābis amābit amābimus amābitis amābunt	amābam amābās amābat amābāmus amābātis amābant		amem amēs amet amēmus amētis ament	amārem amārēs amāret amārēmus amārētis amārent
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	amor amāris amātur amāmur amāminī amantur	amābor amāberis/e* amābitur amābimur amābiminī amābuntur	amābar amābāris/e* amābātur amābāmur amābāminī amābantur		amer amēris/e* amētur amēmur amēminī amentur	amārer amārēris/e* amārētur amārēmur amārēminī amārentur

* The 2nd person singular passive amāberis, amābāris, amēris, amārēris can be shortened to amābere, amābāre, amēre, amārēre. -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.[7]

Other forms:

• Infinitive: amāre "to love"
• Passive infinitive: amārī "to be loved" (in early Latin often amārier)[8]
• Imperative: amā! (pl. amāte!) "love!"
• Future imperative: amātō! (pl. amātōte!) "love! (at a future time)"
• Passive imperative: amāre! (pl. amāminī!) "be loved!" (usually only found in deponent verbs)
• Present participle: amāns (pl. amantēs) "loving"
• Future participle: amātūrus (pl. amātūrī) "going to love"
• Gerundive: amandus (pl. amandī) "needing to be loved"
• Gerund: amandī "of loving", amandō "by/for loving", ad amandum "in order to love"

The principal parts usually adhere to one of the following patterns:

• perfect has the suffix -āvī. The majority of first-conjugation verbs follow this pattern, which is considered to be "regular", for example:
  • amō, amāre, amāvī, amātum, "to love";
  • imperō, imperāre, imperāvī, imperātum, "to order";
  • laudō, laudāre, laudāvī, laudātum, "to praise";
  • negō, negāre, negāvī, negātum, "to deny";
  • nūntiō, nūntiāre, nūntiāvī, nūntiātum, "to announce, report";
  • ōrō, ōrāre, ōrāvī, ōrātum, "to beg, pray";
  • parō, parāre, parāvī, parātum, "to prepare";
  • portō, portāre, portāvī, portātum, "to carry";
  • pugnō, pugnāre, pugnāvī, pugnātum, "to fight";
  • putō, putāre, putāvī, putātum, "to think";
  • rogō, rogāre, rogāvī, rogātum, "to ask";
  • servō, servāre, servāvī, servātum, "to save";
  • vocō, vocāre, vocāvī, vocātum, "to call";
• perfect has the suffix -uī, for example:
  • fricō, fricāre, fricuī, frictum, "to rub";
  • secō, secāre, secuī, sectum, "to cut, to divide";
  • vetō, vetāre, vetuī, vetitum, "to forbid, to prohibit";
• perfect has the suffix –ī and vowel lengthening in the stem, for example:
  • iuvō, iuvāre, iūvī, iūtum, "to help, to assist";
  • lavō, lavāre, lāvī, lautum, "to wash, to bathe";
• perfect is reduplicated, for example:
  • dō, dare, dedī, datum, "to give"
  • stō, stāre, stetī, statum, "to stand";

The verb dō "I give" is irregular in that except in the 2nd singular dās and imperative dā, the a is short, e.g. dabō "I will give".

The a is also short in the supine statum and its derivatives, but the other parts of stō "I stand" are regular.

Deponent verbs in this conjugation all follow the pattern below, which is the passive of the first type above:[9]

• arbitror, arbitrārī, arbitrātus sum "to think"
• cōnor, cōnārī, cōnātus sum "to try"
• cūnctor, cūnctāri, cūnctātus sum "to hesitate"
• hortor, hortārī, hortātus sum "to exhort"
• mīror, mīrārī, mīrātus sum "to be surprised, to be amazed at"

Perfect tenses

The three perfect 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	amāvī amāvistī amāvit amāvimus amāvistis amāvērunt/re*	amāverō amāverīs/is amāverit amāverīmus/imus amāverītis/itis amāverint	amāveram amāverās amāverat amāverāmus amāverātis amāverant		amāverim amāverīs amāverit amāverīmus amāverītis amāverint	amā(vi)ssem* amāvissēs amāvisset amāvissēmus amāvissētis amāvissent
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	amātus sum amātus es amātus est amātī sumus amātī estis amātī sunt	amātus erō amātus eris amātus erit amātī erimus amātī eritis amātī erunt	amātus eram amātus erās amātus erat amātī erāmus amātī erātis amātī erant		amātus sim amātus sīs amātus sit amātī sīmus amātī sītis amātī sint	amātus essem amātus essēs amātus esset amātī essēmus amātī essētis amātī essent

In poetry (and also sometimes in prose, e.g. Livy), the 3rd person plural of the perfect indicative is often amāvēre instead of amāvērunt. Occasionally the form amāverunt is also found.[10]

In early Latin, the future perfect indicative had a short i in amāvēris, amāverimus, amāveritis, but by the time of Cicero these forms were usually pronounced with a long i, in the same way as in the perfect subjunctive.[11] 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.[12]

The -v- of the perfect active tenses sometimes drops out, especially in the pluperfect subjunctive: amāssem for amāvissem. Forms such as amārat and amāstī are also found.

The passive tenses also have feminine and neuter forms, e.g. amāta est "she was loved", nūntiātum est "it was announced".

Forms made with fuī instead of sum and forem instead of essem are also found. See Latin tenses.

For other meanings of the perfect and pluperfect subjunctive, see Latin tenses#Perfect subjunctive.

Other forms:

• Perfect infinitive active: amāvisse (amāsse) "to have loved"
• Perfect infinitive passive: amātus esse (amātum esse) "to have been loved"
• Perfect participle passive: amātus, -a, -um "loved (by someone)"

Second conjugation

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	videō vidēs videt vidēmus vidētis vident	vidēbō vidēbis vidēbit vidēbimus vidēbitis vidēbunt	vidēbam vidēbās vidēbat vidēbāmus vidēbātis vidēbant		videam videās videat videāmus videātis videant	vidērem vidērēs vidēret vidērēmus vidērētis vidērent
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	videor vidēris vidētur vidēmur vidēminī videntur	vidēbor vidēberis/e vidēbitur vidēbimur vidēbiminī vidēbuntur	vidēbar vidēbāris/e vidēbātur vidēbāmur vidēbāminī vidēbantur		videar videāris/e videātur videāmur videāminī videantur	vidērer vidērēris/e vidērētur vidērēmur vidērēminī vidērentur

The passive videor also often means "I seem".

Other forms:

• Infinitive: vidēre "to see"
• Passive infinitive: vidērī "to be seen"
• Imperative: vidē! (pl. vidēte!) "see!"
• Future imperative: vidētō! (pl. vidētōte!) "see! (at a future time)"
• Passive imperative: vidēre! (pl. vidēminī!) "be seen!" (usually only found in deponent verbs)
• Present participle: vidēns (pl. videntēs) "seeing"
• Future participle: vīsūrus (pl. vīsūrī) "going to see"
• Gerundive: videndus (pl. videndī) "needing to be seen"
• Gerund: videndī "of seeing", videndō "by /for seeing", ad videndum "in order to see"

The principal parts usually adhere to one of the following patterns:

• perfect has the suffix -uī. Verbs which follow this pattern are considered to be "regular". Examples:
  • dēbeō, dēbēre, dēbuī, dēbitum "to owe, be obliged"
  • doceō, docēre, docuī, doctum "to teach, to instruct"
  • iaceō, iacēre, iacuī, iacitum "to lie (on the ground/bed)"
  • mereō, merēre, meruī, meritum "to deserve"
  • misceō, miscēre, miscuī, mixtum "to mix"
  • moneō, monēre, monuī, monitum "to warn, advise"
  • noceō, nocēre, nocuī, nocitum "to be harmful"
  • praebeō, praebēre, praebuī, praebitum "to provide, show"
  • teneō, tenēre, tenuī, tentum "to hold, to keep"
  • terreō, terrēre, terruī, territum "to frighten, to deter"
  • timeō, timēre, timuī, – "to fear"
  • valeō, valēre, valuī, (valitum) "to be strong"
• perfect has the suffix –ēvī. Example:
  • dēleō, dēlēre, dēlēvī, dēlētum "to destroy"
  • fleō, flēre, flēvī, flētum "to weep"

In verbs with perfect in -vī, syncopated (i.e. abbreviated) forms are common, such as dēlēram, dēlēssem, dēlēstī for dēlēveram, dēlēvissem, dēlēvistī.[13]

• perfect has the suffix –īvī. Example:
  • cieō, ciēre, cīvī, citum "to arouse, to stir"
• perfect has the suffix -sī (which combines with a preceding c or g to –xī). Examples:
  • ārdeō, ārdēre, ārsī, ārsum "to burn"
  • augeō, augēre, auxī, auctum "to increase, to enlarge"
  • haereō, haerēre, haesī, haesum "to stick, to adhere, to get stuck"
  • iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussum "to order"
  • maneō, manēre, mānsī, mānsum "to remain"
  • persuādeō, persuādēre, persuāsī, persuāsum "to persuade"
  • rīdeō, rīdēre, rīsī, rīsum "to laugh"
• perfect is reduplicated with -ī. Examples:
  • mordeō, mordēre, momordī, morsum "to bite"
  • spondeō, spondēre, spopondī, spōnsum "to vow, to promise"
• perfect has suffix -ī and vowel lengthening in the stem. Examples:
  • caveō, cavēre, cāvī, cautum "to be cautious"
  • faveō, favēre, fāvī, fautum "to favour"
  • foveō, fovēre, fōvī, fōtum "to caress, to cherish"
  • sedeō, sedēre, sēdī, sessum "to sit"
  • videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsum "to see"
• perfect has suffix -ī. Examples:
  • respondeō, respondēre, respondī, respōnsum "to reply"
  • strīdeō, strīdēre, strīdī, – "to hiss, to creak" (also strīdō 3rd conj.)

Deponent verbs in this conjugation are few. They mostly go like the passive of terreō, but fateor and confiteor have a perfect participle with ss:[14]

• fateor, fatērī, fassus sum "to confess"
• mereor, merērī, meritus sum "to deserve"
• polliceor, pollicērī, pollicitus sum "to promise"

The following are semi-deponent, that is, they are deponent only in the three perfect tenses:[15]

• audeō, audēre, ausus sum "to dare"
• gaudeō, gaudēre, gāvīsus sum "to rejoice, to be glad"
• soleō, solēre, solitus sum "to be accustomed"

Third conjugation

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.

		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	dūcō dūcis dūcit dūcimus dūcitis dūcunt	dūcam dūcēs dūcet dūcēmus dūcētis dūcent	dūcēbam dūcēbās dūcēbat dūcēbāmus dūcēbātis dūcēbant		dūcam dūcās dūcat dūcāmus dūcātis dūcant	dūcerem dūcerēs dūceret dūcerēmus dūcerētis dūcerent
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	dūcor dūceris dūcitur dūcimur dūciminī dūcuntur	dūcar dūcēris/re dūcētur dūcēmur dūcēminī dūcentur	dūcēbar dūcēbāris/re dūcēbātur dūcēbāmur dūcēbāminī dūcēbantur		dūcar dūcāris/re dūcātur dūcāmur dūcāminī dūcantur	dūcerer dūcerēris/re dūcerētur dūcerēmur dūcerēminī dūcerentur

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:

• Infinitive: dūcere "to lead"
• Passive infinitive: dūcī "to be led" (the 3rd conjugation has no r)
• Imperative: dūc! (pl. dūcite!) "lead!"
• Future imperative: dūcitō! (pl. dūcitōte!) "lead! (at a future time)"
• Passive imperative: dūcere! (pl. dūciminī!) "be led!" (usually only found in deponent verbs)
• Present participle: dūcēns (pl. dūcentēs) "leading"
• Future participle: ductūrus (pl. ductūrī) "going to lead"
• Gerundive: dūcendus (pl. dūcendī) "needing to be led"
• Gerund: dūcendī "of leading", dūcendō "by /for leading", ad dūcendum "in order to lead"

Four 3rd conjugation verbs have no ending in the imperative singular: dūc! "lead!", dīc! "say!", fer! "bring!", fac! "do!". Others, like curre "run!", have the ending -e.[16]

There is no regular rule for constructing the perfect stem of third-conjugation verbs, but the following patterns are used:

• perfect has suffix -sī (-xī when c or h comes at the end of the root). Examples:
  • carpō, carpere, carpsī, carptum "to pluck, to select"
  • cēdō, cēdere, cessī, cessum "to yield, depart"
  • claudō, claudere, clausī, clausum "to close"
  • contemnō, contemnere, contempsī, contemptum "to despise, disdain, treat with contempt"
  • dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictum "to say"
  • dīvidō, dīvidere, dīvīsī, dīvīsum "to divide"
  • dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductum "to lead"
  • flectō, flectere, flexī, flexum "to bend, to twist"
  • gerō, gerere, gessī, gestum "to wear, to bear; wage (war)"
  • mittō, mittere, mīsī, missum "to send"
  • regō, regere, rēxī, rēctum "to rule"
  • scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptum "to write"
  • tegō, tegere, tēxī, tēctum "to cover, conceal"
  • trahō, trahere, trāxī, trāctum "to drag, to pull"
  • vīvō, vīvere, vīxī, victum "to live"

• perfect is reduplicated with suffix –ī. Examples:
  • cadō, cadere, cecidī, cāsum "to fall"
  • caedō, caedere, cecīdī, caesum "to kill, to slay"
  • currō, currere, cucurrī, cursum "to run, to race"
  • discō, discere, didicī, – "to learn"
  • fallō, fallere, fefellī, falsum "to cheat"
  • occīdō, occīdere, occīdī, occīsum "to kill"
  • pēdō, pēdere, pepēdī, pēditum "to fart"
  • pellō, pellere, pepulī, pulsum "to beat, to drive away"
  • pōscō, pōscere, popōscī, – "to claim, request"
  • tangō, tangere, tetigī, tāctum "to touch, to hit"
  • tendō, tendere, tetendī, tentum/tēnsum "to stretch"

Although dō, dare, dedī, datum "to give" is 1st conjugation, its compounds are 3rd conjugation and have internal reduplication:

• condō, condere, condidī, conditum "to found"
• crēdō, crēdere, crēdidī, crēditum "to entrust, believe"
• dēdō, dēdere, dēdidī, dēditum "to surrender"
• perdō, perdere, perdidī, perditum "to destroy, lose"
• reddō, reddere, reddidī, redditum "to give back"
• trādō, trādere, trādidī, trāditum "to hand over"

Likewise the compounds of sistō have internal reduplication. Although sistō is transitive, its compounds are intransitive:[17]

• sistō, sistere, (stitī), statum "to cause to stand"
• cōnsistō, cōnsistere, cōnstitī, cōnstitum "to come to a halt"
• dēsistō, dēsistere, dēstitī, dēstitum "to stand off"
• resistō, resistere, restitī, restitum "to resist"

• perfect has suffix -vī. Examples:
  • linō, linere, lēvī (līvī), litum "to smear, to daub" (also 4th conj. liniō, linīre, līvī, lītum)
  • petō, petere, petīvī, petītum "to seek, to attack"
  • quaerō, quaerere, quaesīvī, quaesītum "to look for, ask"
  • serō, serere, sēvī, satum "to sow, to plant"
  • sternō, sternere, strāvī, strātum "to spread, to stretch out"
  • terō, terere, trīvī, trītum "to rub, to wear out"

• perfect has suffix -ī and vowel lengthening in the stem. If the present stem has an n infix, as in fundō, relinquō and vincō, it disappears in the perfect. Examples:
  • agō, agere, ēgī, āctum "to do, to drive"
  • cōgō, cōgere, coēgī, coāctum "to compel, gather together"
  • emō, emere, ēmī, ēmptum "to buy"
  • fundō, fundere, fūdī, fūsum "to pour"
  • legō, legere, lēgī, lēctum "to collect, to read"
  • relinquō, relinquere, relīquī, relictum "to leave behind"
  • rumpō, rumpere, rūpī, ruptum "to burst"
  • vincō, vincere, vīcī, victum "to conquer, to defeat"

• perfect has suffix -ī only. Examples:
  • ascendō, ascendere, ascendī, ascēnsum "to climb, to go up"
  • cōnstituō, cōnstituere, cōnstituī, cōnstitūtum "to establish, decide, cause to stand"
  • dēfendō, dēfendere, dēfendī, dēfēnsum "to defend"
  • expellō, expellere, expulī, expulsum "to drive out, expel"
  • īcō, īcere, īcī, ictum "to strike"
  • metuō, metuere, metuī, metūtum "to fear, be apprehensive"
  • occīdō, occīdere, occīdī, occīsum "to kill"
  • ostendō, ostendere, ostendī, ostentum (ostensum) "to show"
  • tollō, tollere, sustulī, sublātum "to lift, raise, remove"
  • vertō, vertere, vertī, versum "to turn"
  • vīsō, vīsere, vīsī, vīsum "to visit"

• perfect has suffix –uī. Examples:
  • colō, colere, coluī, cultum "to cultivate, to till"
  • cōnsulō, consulere, cōnsuluī, cōnsultum "to consult, act in the interests of"
  • gignō, gignere, genuī, genitum "to beget, to cause"
  • molō, molere, moluī, molitum "to grind"
  • pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positum "to place"
  • texō, texere, texuī, textum "to weave, to plait"
  • vomō, vomere, vomuī, vomitum "to vomit"

• Present tense indicative first person singular form has suffix –scō. Examples:
  • adolēscō, adolēscere, adolēvī, adultum "to grow up, to mature"
  • nōscō, nōscere, nōvī, nōtum "to get to know, to learn"
  • pāscō, pāscere, pāvī, pāstum "to feed upon, to feed (an animal)"
  • quiēscō, quiēscere, quiēvī, quiētum "to rest, keep quiet"

Deponent verbs in the 3rd conjugation include the following:

• complector, complectī, complexus sum "to embrace"
• fruor, fruī, frūctus sum "to enjoy" (fruitus is occasionally found)
• fungor, fungī, fūnctus sum "to perform, discharge, busy oneself with"
• lābor, lābī, lāpsus sum "to glide, slip"
• loquor, loquī, locūtus sum "to speak"
• nītor, nītī, nīxus sum "to lean on; to strive" (nīsus is occasionally found)
• queror, querī, questus sum "to complain"
• sequor, sequī, secūtus sum "to follow"
• ūtor, ūtī, ūsus sum "to use"
• vehor, vehī, vectus sum "to ride"

There are also a number of 3rd conjugation deponents with the ending -scor:

• adipīscor, adipīscī, adeptus sum "to obtain"
• īrāscor, īrāscī, īrātus sum "to get angry"
• nancīscor, nancīscī, nactus sum "to obtain"
• nāscor, nāscī, nātus sum "to be born"
• oblīvīscor, oblīvīscī, oblītus sum "to forget"
• proficīscor, proficīscī, profectus sum "to set out"
• ulcīscor, ulcīscī, ultus sum "to avenge, take vengeance on"

Deponent in some tenses only is the following:[18]

• fīdō, fīdere, fīsus sum "to trust"

The following is deponent only in the non-perfect tenses:

• revertor, revertī, revertī "to turn back"

Third conjugation -iō verbs

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	capiō capis capit capimus capitis capiunt	capiam capiēs capiet capiēmus capiētis capient	capiēbam capiēbās capiēbat capiēbāmus capiēbātis capiēbant		capiam capiās capiat capiāmus capiātis capiant	caperem caperēs caperet caperēmus caperētis caperent
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	capior caperis capitur capimur capiminī capiuntur	capiar capiēris/re capiētur capiēmur capiēminī capientur	capiēbar capiēbāris/re capiēbātur capiēbāmur capiēbāminī capiēbantur		capiar capiāris/re capiātur capiāmur capiāminī capiantur	caperer caperēris/re caperētur caperēmur caperēminī caperentur

Other forms:

• Infinitive: capere "to capture, to take"
• Passive infinitive: capī "to be captured" (the 3rd conjugation has no r)
• Imperative: cape! (pl. capite!) "capture!"
• Future imperative: capitō! (pl. capitōte!) "capture! (at a future time)"
• Passive imperative: capere! (pl. capiminī!) "be captured!" (usually only found in deponent verbs)
• Present participle: capiēns (pl. capientēs) "capturing"
• Future participle: captūrus (pl. captūrī) "going to capture"
• Gerundive: capiendus (pl. capiendī) "needing to be captured" (capiundus is also sometimes found)
• Gerund: capiendī "of capturing", capiendō "by /for capturing", ad capiendum "in order to capture"

Some examples are:

• accipiō, accipere, accēpī, acceptum "to receive, accept"
• capiō, capere, cēpī, captum "to take, capture"
• cōnspiciō, cōnspicere, cōnspexī, cōnspectum "to take, capture"
• cupiō, cupere, cupīvī, cupītum "to desire, long for"
• faciō, facere, fēcī, factum "to do, to make"
• fugiō, fugere, fūgī, fugitum "to flee"
• iaciō, iacere, iēcī, iactum "to throw"
• interficiō, interficere, interfēcī, interfectum "to kill"
• rapiō, rapere, rapuī, raptum "to plunder, seize"
• respiciō, respicere, respexī, respectum "to look back"

Deponent verbs in this group include:

• aggredior, aggredī, aggressus sum "to attack"
• ēgredior, ēgredī, ēgressus sum "to go out"
• morior, morī, mortuus sum "to die"
• patior, patī, passus sum "to suffer, to allow"
• prōgredior, prōgredī, prōgressus sum "to attack"
• regredior, regredī, regressus sum "to go back"

Fourth conjugation

The fourth conjugation is characterized by the vowel ī and can be recognized by the –īre ending of the present active infinitive:

		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	audiō audīs audit audīmus audītis audiunt	audiam audiēs audiet audiēmus audiētis audient	audiēbam audiēbās audiēbat audiēbāmus audiēbātis audiēbant		audiam audiās audiat audiāmus audiātis audiant	audīrem audīrēs audīret audīrēmus audīrētis audīrent
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	audior audīris audītur audīmur audīminī audiuntur	audiar audiēris/re audiētur audiēmur audiēminī audientur	audiēbar audiēbāris/re audiēbātur audiēbāmur audiēbāminī audiēbantur		audiar audiāris/re audiātur audiāmur audiāminī audiantur	audīrer audīrēris/re audīrētur audīrēmur audīrēminī audīrentur

Other forms:

• Infinitive: audīre "to hear"
• Passive infinitive: audīrī "to be heard"
• Imperative: audī! (pl. audīte!) "hear!"
• Future imperative: audītō! (pl. audītōte!) "hear! (at a future time)"
• Passive imperative: audīre! (pl. audīminī!) "be heard!" (usually only found in deponent verbs)
• Present participle: audiēns (pl. audientēs) "hearing"
• Future participle: audītūrus (pl. audītūrī) "going to hear"
• Gerundive: audiendus (pl. audiendī) "needing to be heard"
• Gerund: audiendī "of hearing", audiendō "by /for hearing", ad audiendum "in order to hear"

Principal parts of verbs in the fourth conjugation generally adhere to the following patterns:

• perfect has suffix -vī. Verbs which adhere to this pattern are considered to be "regular". Examples:
  • audiō, audīre, audīvī, audītum "to hear, listen (to)"
  • custōdiō, custōdīre, custōdīvī, custodītum "to guard"
  • dormiō, dormīre, dormīvī (dormiī), dormītum "to sleep"
  • impediō, impedīre, impedīvī, impedītum "to hinder, impede"
  • mūniō, mūnīre, mūnīvī, mūnītum "to fortify, to build"
  • pūniō, pūnīre, pūnīvī, pūnītum "to punish"
  • sciō, scīre, scīvī, scītum "to know"

• perfect has suffix -uī. Examples:
  • aperiō, aperīre, aperuī, apertum "to open, to uncover"

• perfect has suffix -sī (-xī when c comes at the end of the root). Examples:
  • saepiō, saepīre, saepsī, saeptum "to surround, to enclose"
  • sanciō, sancīre, sānxī, sānctum "to confirm, to ratify"
  • sentiō, sentīre, sēnsī, sēnsum "to feel, to perceive"
  • vinciō, vincīre, vīnxī, vīnctum "to bind"

• perfect has suffix -ī and reduplication. Examples:
  • reperiō, reperīre, repperī, repertum "to find, discover"

• perfect has suffix -ī and vowel lengthening in the stem. Examples:
  • veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventum "to come, to arrive"
  • inveniō, invenīre, invēnī, inventum "to find"

Deponent verbs in the 4th conjugation include the following:[19]

• assentior, assentīrī, assēnsus sum "to assent"
• experior, experīrī, expertus sum "to experience, test"
• largior, largīrī, largītus sum "to bestow"
• mentior, mentīrī, mentītus sum "to tell a lie"
• mētior, mētīrī, mēnsus sum "to measure"
• mōlior, mōlīrī, mōlītus sum "to exert oneself, set in motion, build"
• potior, potīrī, potītus sum "to obtain, gain possession of"
• sortior, sortīrī, sortītus sum "to cast lots"

The verb orior, orīrī, ortus sum "to arise" is also regarded as 4th conjugation, although some parts, such as the 3rd singular present tense oritur and imperfect subjunctive orerer, have a short vowel like the 3rd conjugation. But its compound adorior "to rise up, attack" is entirely 4th conjugation.

In the perfect tenses, shortened forms without -v- are common, for example, audīstī, audiērunt, audierat, audīsset for audīvistī, audīvērunt, audīverat, audīvisset. Cicero, however, prefers the full forms audīvī, audīvit to audiī, audiit.[20]

Irregular verbs

Sum and possum

The verb sum, esse, fuī "to be" is the most common verb in Latin. It is conjugated as follows:[21]

		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	sum es est sumus estis sunt	erō eris erit erimus eritis erunt	eram erās erat erāmus erātis erant		sim sīs sit sīmus sītis sint	essem essēs esset essēmus essētis essent
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	possum potes potest possumus potestis possunt	poterō poteris poterit poterimus poteritis poterunt	poteram poterās poterat poterāmus poterātis poterant		possim possīs possit possīmus possītis possint	possem possēs posset possēmus possētis possent

In early Latin (e.g. Plautus), siem, siēs, siēt can be found for the present subjunctive sim, sīs, sit. In poetry the subjunctive fuam, fuās, fuat also sometimes occurs.[22]

An alternative imperfect subjunctive is sometimes made using forem, forēs, foret etc. See further: Latin tenses#Forem.

Other forms:

• Infinitive: esse "to be", posse "to be able"
• Perfect infinitive: fuisse "to have been", potuisse "to have been able"
• Future infinitive: fore "to be going to be" (also futūrus esse)
• Imperative: es! (pl. este!) "be!"
• Future imperative: estō! (pl. estōte!) "be! (at a future time)"
• Future participle: futūrus (pl. futūrī) "going to be" (Possum has no future participle or future infinitive.)

The present participle is found only in the compounds absēns "absent" and praesēns "present".[23]

In Plautus and Lucretius, an infinitive potesse is sometimes found for posse "to be able".

The principal parts of these verbs are as follows:

• sum, esse, fuī "to be"
• absum, abesse, āfuī "to be away"
• adsum, adesse, adfuī "to be present"
• dēsum, dēesse, dēfuī "to be wanting"
• possum, posse, potuī "to be able"
• prōsum, prōdesse, prōfuī "to be for, to profit" (adds d before a vowel)[24]

The perfect tenses conjugate in the regular way.

For the difference in meaning between eram and fuī, see Latin tenses#Eram and fuī

Volō, nōlō, and mālō

The verb volō and its derivatives nōlō and mālō (short for 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	volō vīs vult volumus vultis volunt	volam volēs volet volēmus volētis volent	volēbam volēbās volēbat volēbāmus volēbātis volēbant		velim velīs velit velīmus velītis velint	vellem vellēs vellet vellēmus vellētis vellent
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	nōlō nōn vīs nōn vult nōlumus nōn vultis nōlunt	nōlam nōlēs nōlet nōlēmus nōlētis nōlent	nōlēbam nōlēbās nōlēbat nōlēbāmus nōlēbātis nōlēbant		nōlim nōlīs nōlit nōlīmus nōlītis nōlint	nōllem nōllēs nōllet nōllēmus nōllētis nōllent
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	mālō māvīs māvult mālumus māvultis mālunt	mālam mālēs mālet mālēmus mālētis mālent	mālēbam mālēbās mālēbat mālēbāmus mālēbātis mālēbant		mālim mālīs mālit mālīmus mālītis mālint	māllem māllēs māllet māllēmus māllētis māllent

The spellings volt and voltis were used up until the time of Cicero for vult and vultis.[25]

These verbs are not used in the passive.

Other forms:

• Infinitive: velle "to want", nōlle "to be unwilling", mālle "to prefer"
• Present participle: volēns "willing", nōlēns "unwilling"
• Imperative: nōlī, pl. nōlīte (used in expressions such as nōlī mīrārī "don't be surprised!")

Principal parts:

• volō, velle, voluī "to want"
• nōlō, nōlle, nōluī "not to want, to be unwilling"
• mālō, mālle, māluī "to prefer"

The perfect tenses are formed regularly.

Eō and compounds

The verb 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:[26]

		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	eō īs it īmus ītis eunt	ībō ībis ībit ībimus ībitis ībunt	ībam ībās ībat ībāmus ībātis ībant		eam eās eat eāmus eātis eant	īrem īrēs īret īrēmus īrētis īrent

Other forms:

• Infinitive: īre "to go"
• Passive infinitive: īrī "to go" (used impersonally, e.g. quō īrī dēbēret ignōrantēs "not knowing which way to go")
• Imperative: ī! (pl. īte!) "go!"
• Future imperative: ītō! (pl. ītōte!) "go! (at a future time)" (rare)
• Present participle: iēns (pl. euntēs) "going"
• Future participle: itūrus (pl. itūrī) "going to go"
• Gerundive: eundum "necessary to go" (used impersonally only)
• Gerund: eundī "of going", eundō "by / for going", ad eundum "in order to go"

The impersonal passive forms ītur "they go", itum est "they went" are sometimes found.[27]

The principal parts of some verbs which conjugate like eō are the following:

• eō, īre, iī/(īvī), itum "to go"
• abeō, abīre, abiī, abitum "to go away"
• adeō, adīre, adiī, aditum "to go up to"
• coeō, coīre, coiī, coitum "to meet, assemble"
• exeō, exīre, exiī/(exīvī), exitum "to go out"
• ineō, inīre, iniī, initum "to enter"
• intereō, interīre, interiī, interitum "to perish"
• introeō, introīre, introiī, introitum "to enter"
• pereō, perīre, periī, peritum "to die, to perish"
• praetereō, praeterīre, praeteriī, praeteritum "to pass by"
• redeō, redīre, rediī, reditum "to return, to go back"
• subeō, subīre, subiī, subitum "to go under, to approach stealthily, to undergo"
• vēneō, vēnīre, vēniī, vēnitum "to be sold"

In the perfect tenses of these verbs, the -v- is almost always omitted, especially in the compounds,[28] although the form exīvit is common in the Vulgate Bible translation.

Ferō and compounds

The verb 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 tulī and supine stem lātum are also irregularly formed.[29]

		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	ferō fers fert ferimus fertis ferunt	feram ferēs feret ferēmus ferētis ferent	ferēbam ferēbās ferēbat ferēbāmus ferēbātis ferēbant		feram ferās ferat ferāmus ferātis ferant	ferrem ferrēs ferret ferrēmus ferrētis ferrent
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	feror ferris fertur ferimur feriminī feruntur	ferar ferēris/re ferētur ferēmur ferēminī ferentur	ferēbar ferēbāris/re ferēbātur ferēbāmur ferēbāminī ferēbantur		ferar ferāris/re ferātur ferāmur ferāminī ferantur	ferrer ferrēris/re ferrētur ferrēmur ferrēminī ferrentur

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:

• Infinitive: ferre "to bring"
• Passive infinitive: ferrī "to be brought"
• Imperative: fer! (pl. ferte!) "bring!"
• Passive imperative: ferre! (pl. feriminī!) "be carried!" (rare)
• Present participle: ferēns (pl. ferentēs) "bringing"
• Future participle: lātūrus (pl. lātūrī) "going to bring"
• Gerundive: ferendus (pl. ferendī) "needing to be brought"
• Gerund: ferendī "of bringing", ferendō "by /for bringing", ad ferendum "in order to bring"

Compounds of ferō include the following:[30] The principal parts of some verbs which conjugate like eō are the following:

• afferō, afferre, attulī, allātum "to bring (to)"
• auferō, auferre, abstulī, ablātum "to carry away, to steal"
• cōnferō, cōnferre, contulī, collātum "to collect"
• differō, differre, distulī, dīlātum "to put off"
• efferō, efferre, extulī, ēlātum "to carry out"
• offerō, offerre, obtulī, oblātum "to offer"
• referō, referre, rettulī, relātum "to refer"

The perfect tense sustulī, however, belongs to the verb tollō:

• tollō, tollere, sustulī, sublātum "to raise, to remove"

Fīō

The irregular verb 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 faciō, facere, fēcī, factum "to do, to make".[31] The perfect tenses are identical with the perfect passive tenses of 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	fīō fīs fit (fīmus) (fītis) fīunt	fīam fīēs fīet fīēmus fīētis fīent	fīēbam fīēbās fīēbat fīēbāmus fīēbātis fīēbant		fīam fīās fīat fīāmus fīātis fīant	fierem fierēs fieret fierēmus fierētis fierent

The 1st and 2nd plural forms are almost never found.

Other forms:

• Infinitive: fierī "to become, to be done, to happen"
• Imperative: fī! (pl. fīte!) "become!"

Edō

The verb edō, edere/ēsse, ēdī, ēsum "to eat" has regular 3rd conjugation forms appearing alongside irregular ones:[32]

		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	edō edis, ēs edit, ēst edimus editis, ēstis edunt	edam edēs edet edēmus edētis edent	edēbam edēbās edēbat edēbāmus edēbātis edēbant		edam edās edat edāmus edātis edant	ederem, ēssem ederēs, ēssēs ederet, ēsset ederēmus, ēssēmus ederētis, ēssētis ederent, ēssent

Other forms:

• Infinitive: edere/ēsse "to eat"
• Passive infinitive: edī "to be eaten"
• Imperative: ede!/ēs! (pl. edite!/ēste) "eat!"
• Present participle: edēns (pl. edentēs) "eating"
• Future participle: ēsūrus (pl. ēsūrī) "going to eat"
• Gerundive: edendus (pl. edendī) "needing to be eaten"
• Gerund: edendī "of eating", edendō "by /for eating", ad edendum "in order to eat" / "for eating"

The passive form ēstur "it is eaten" is also found.

In early Latin a present subjunctive edim, edīs, edit etc. is found.

In writing, there is a possibility of confusion between the forms of this verb and those of sum "I am" and ēdō "I give out, put forth"; for example, ēsse "to eat" vs. esse "to be"; edit "he eats" vs. ēdit "he gives out".

The compound verb comedō, comedere/comēsse, comēdī, comēsum "to eat up, consume" is similar.

Non-finite forms

The non-finite forms of verbs are participles, infinitives, supines, gerunds and gerundives. The verbs used are:

1st conjugation: laudō, laudāre, laudāvī, laudātum – to praise

2nd conjugation: terreō, terrēre, terruī, territum – to frighten, deter

3rd conjugation: petō, petere, petīvī, petītum – to seek, attack

3rd conjugation (-i stem): capiō, capere, cēpī, captum – to take, capture

4th conjugation: audiō, audīre, audīvī, audītum – to hear, listen (to)

Participles

See also: Participle and Latin syntax § Participles

There are four participles: present active, perfect passive, future passive, and future active.

• The present active participle is declined as a 3rd declension adjective. The ablative singular is -e, but the plural follows the i-stem declension with genitive -ium and neuter plural -ia.
• The perfect passive participle is declined like a 1st and 2nd declension adjective.
  • In all conjugations, the perfect participle is formed by removing the –um from the supine, and adding a –us (masculine nominative singular).
• The future active participle is declined like a 1st and 2nd declension adjective.
  • In all conjugations the -um is removed from the supine, and an -ūrus (masculine nominative singular) is added.
• The future passive participle, more usually called the gerundive, is formed by taking the present stem, adding "-nd-", and the usual first and second declension endings. Thus laudare forms laudandus. The usual meaning is "needing to be praised", expressing a sense of obligation.

	Participles
	laudāre	terrēre	petere	capere	audīre
Present active	laudāns, -antis	terrēns, -entis	petēns, -entis	capiēns, -entis	audiēns, -entis
Perfect passive	laudātus, -a, -um	territus, -a, -um	petītus, -a, -um	captus, -a, -um	audītus, -a, -um
Future active	laudātūrus, -a, -um	territūrus, -a, -um	petītūrus, -a, -um	captūrus, -a, -um	audītūrus, -a, -um
Gerundive	laudandus, -a, -um	terrendus, -a, -um	petendus, -a, -um	capiendus, -a, -um	audiēndus, -a, -um

Infinitives

See also: Infinitive and Latin syntax § The 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.

• The present active infinitive is the second principal part (in regular verbs). It plays an important role in the syntactic construction of Accusative and infinitive, for instance.
  • laudāre means, "to praise."
• The present passive infinitive is formed by adding a –rī to the present stem. This is only so for the first, second and fourth conjugations. In the third conjugation, the thematical vowel, e, is taken from the present stem, and an –ī is added.
  • laudārī translates as "to be praised."
• The perfect active infinitive is formed by adding an –isse onto the perfect stem.
  • laudāvisse/laudāsse translates as "to have praised."
• The perfect passive infinitive uses the perfect passive participle along with the auxiliary verb esse. The perfect passive infinitive must agree with what it is describing in number, gender, and case (nominative or accusative).
  • laudātus esse means, "to have been praised."
• The future active infinitive uses the future active participle with the auxiliary verb esse.
  • laudātūrus esse means, "to be going to praise." The future active infinitive must agree with what it is describing in number, gender, and case (nominative or accusative).
  • Esse has two future infinitives: futurus esse and fore
• The future passive infinitive uses the supine with the auxiliary verb īrī. Because the first part is a supine, the ending -um does not change for gender or number.
  • laudātum īrī is translated as "to be going to be praised." This is normally used in indirect speech. For example: Spērat sē absolūtum īrī.[33] "He hopes that he will be acquitted."
• The potential infinitive uses the future active participle with the auxiliary verb fuisse.
  • laudātūrus fuisse is used only in indirect statements to represent a potential imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive of direct speech. It is translated with "would" or "would have". For example: nōn vidētur mentītūrus fuisse, nisī dēspērāsset (Quintilian)[34] 'it seems unlikely that he would have told a lie, if he had not been desperate'

Infinitives (with masculine endings used for participles)

	laudāre	terrēre	petere	capere	audīre
Present active	laudāre	terrēre	petere	capere	audīre
Present passive	laudārī	terrērī	petī	capī	audīrī
Perfect active	laudāvisse	terruisse	petīvisse	cēpisse	audīvisse
Perfect passive	laudātus esse	territus esse	petītus esse	captus esse	audītus esse
Future active	laudātūrus esse	territūrus esse	petītūrus esse	captūrus esse	audītūrus esse
Future passive	laudātum īrī	territum īrī	petītum īrī	captum īrī	audītum īrī
Potential	laudātūrus fuisse	territūrus fuisse	petītūrus fuisse	captūrus fuisse	audītūrus fuisse

The future passive infinitive was not very commonly used. The Romans themselves often used an alternate expression, fore ut followed by a subjunctive clause.

Supine

See also: Supine and Latin syntax § The supine

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.

• The accusative form ends in a –um, and is used with a verb of motion in order to show purpose. Thus it is only used with verbs like īre "to go", venīre "to come", etc. The accusative form of a supine can also take an object if needed.
  • Pater līberōs suōs laudātum vēnit. – The father came to praise his children.
• The ablative, which ends in a –ū, is used with the Ablative of Specification.
  • Arma haec facillima laudātū erant. – These arms were the easiest to praise.

	Supine
	laudāre	terrēre	petere	capere	audīre
Accusative	laudātum	territum	petītum	captum	audītum
Ablative	laudātū	territū	petītū	captū	audītū

Gerund

See also: Gerund and Latin syntax § The 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 laudandī can mean "of praising", the dative form laudandō can mean "for praising", the accusative form laudandum can mean "praising", and the ablative form laudandō can mean "by praising", "in respect to praising", etc.

	Gerund
	laudāre	terrēre	petere	capere	audīre
Accusative	laudandum	terrendum	petendum	capiendum	audiendum
Genitive	laudandī	terrendī	petendī	capiendī	audiendī
Dative	laudandō	terrendō	petendō	capiendō	audiendō
Ablative

One common use of the gerund is with the preposition ad to indicate purpose. For example, 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 paratus ad hostes oppugnandos is preferred over paratus ad hostes oppugnandum.[35]

Gerundive

Further information: Latin syntax § The gerundive, and Latin tenses § Periphrastic tenses

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 § Participles above). It means "(which is) to be ...ed". Often, the gerundive is used with part of the verb esse, to show obligation.

• Puer laudandus est "The boy needs to be praised"
• Oratio laudanda est means "The speech is to be praised". In such constructions a substantive in dative may be used to identify the agent of the obligation (dativus auctoris), as in Oratio nobis laudanda est meaning "The speech is to be praised by us" or "We must praise the speech".

Gerundive
laudāre	terrēre	petere	capere	audīre
laudandus, -a, -um	terrendus, -a, -um	petendus, -a, -um	capiendus, -a, -um	audiendus, -a, -um

An older form of the 3rd and 4th conjugation gerundive ends in -undum, e.g. (faciundum for faciendum).[36] This ending is also found with the gerundive of eō 'I go': eundum est 'it is necessary to go'.

For some examples of uses of Latin gerundives, see the Gerundive article.

Periphrastic conjugations

Further information: Latin tenses § Periphrastic tenses

There are two periphrastic conjugations. One is active, and the other is passive.

Active

The first periphrastic conjugation uses the future participle. It is combined with the forms of esse. It is translated as "I am going to praise," "I was going to praise", etc.

	Conjugation	Translation
Pres. ind.	laudātūrus sum	I am going to praise
Imp. ind.	laudātūrus eram	I was going to praise
Fut. ind.	laudātūrus erō	I shall be going to praise
Perf. ind.	laudātūrus fuī	I have been going to praise
Plup. ind.	laudātūrus fueram	I had been going to praise
Fut. perf. ind.	laudātūrus fuerō	I shall have been going to praise
Pres. subj.	laudātūrus sim	I may be going to praise
Imp. subj.	laudātūrus essem	I should be going to praise
Perf. subj.	laudātūrus fuerim	I may have been going to praise
Plup. subj.	laudātūrus fuissem	I should have been going to praise

Passive

The second periphrastic conjugation uses the gerundive. It is combined with the forms of 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 (must) be praised", "I had to be praised," etc.

	Conjugation	Translation
Pres. ind.	laudandus sum	I am needing to be praised
Imp. ind.	laudandus eram	I was needing to be praised
Fut. ind.	laudandus erō	I will be needing to be praised
Perf. ind.	laudandus fuī	I was needing to be praised
Plup. ind.	laudandus fueram	I had been needing to be praised
Fut. perf. ind.	laudandus fuerō	I will have been needing to be praised
Pres. subj.	laudandus sim	I may be needing to be praised
Imp. subj.	laudandus essem	I should be needing to be praised
Perf. subj.	laudandus fuerim	I may have been needing to be praised
Plup. subj.	laudandus fuissem	I should have been needing to be praised
Pres. inf.	laudandus esse	To be needing to be praised
Perf. inf.	laudandus fuisse	To have been needing to be praised

Peculiarities

Deponent and semi-deponent verbs

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: mīror, mīrārī, mīrātus sum – to admire, wonder

2nd conjugation: polliceor, pollicērī, pollicitus sum – to promise, offer

3rd conjugation: loquor, loquī, locūtus sum – to speak, say

4th conjugation: 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 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:

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:

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, mīrārī changed to mirar(e) by changing all the verb forms to the previously nonexistent "active form", and audeō changed to osar(e) by taking the participle ausus and making an -ar(e) verb out of it (note that au went to o).

Defective verbs

Defective verbs are verbs that are conjugated in only some instances.

• Some verbs are conjugated only in the perfective aspect's tenses, yet have the imperfective aspect's tenses' meanings. As such, the perfect becomes the present, the pluperfect becomes the imperfect, and the future perfect becomes the future. Therefore, the defective verb ōdī means, "I hate." These defective verbs' principal parts are given in vocabulary with the indicative perfect in the first person and the perfect active infinitive. Some examples are:

ōdī, ōdisse (future participle ōsūrus) – to hate

meminī, meminisse (imperative mementō, mementōte) – to remember

coepī, coeptum, coepisse – to have begun

• A few verbs, the meanings of which usually have to do with speech, appear only in certain occurrences.

Cedo (plur. 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:

Aio

	Conjugation of aiō
	Indicative present		Indicative imperfect		Subjunctive present		Imperative present
Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular
First person	aiō	—	aiēbam	aiēbāmus	—	—	—
Second person	ais		aiēbās	aiēbātis	aiās		ai
Third person	ait	aiunt	aiēbat	aiēbant	aiat	aiant	—

Present Active Participle: – aiēns, aientis

Inquam

	Conjugation of inquam
	Present indicative		Future indicative	Perfect indicative	Imperfect indicative
Singular	Plural	Singular	Singular	Singular
First person	inquam	inquimus	—	inquiī	—
Second person	inquis	inquitis	inquiēs	inquistī
Third person	inquit	inquiunt	inquiet	inquit	inquiēbat

For

	Conjugation of for
	Present indicative		Future indicative	Perfect indicative	Pluperfect indicative	Present imperative
Singular	Plural	Singular	Singular	Singular	Singular	Plural
First person	for	—	fābor	fātus sum	fātus eram	—	—
Second person	—		—	—	—	fāre	fāminī
Third person	fātur	fantur	fābitur			—	—

Present Active Participle – fāns, fantis

Present Active Infinitive – fārī (variant: fārier)

Supine – (acc.) fātum, (abl.) fātū

Gerund – (gen.) fandī, (dat. and abl.) fandō, no accusative

Gerundive – fandus, –a, –um

The Romance languages lost many of these verbs, but others (such as ōdī) survived but became regular fully conjugated verbs (in Italian, odiare).

Impersonal verbs

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:

pluit, pluere, plūvit/pluit – to rain (it rains)

ningit, ningere, ninxit – to snow (it snows)

oportet, oportēre, oportuit – to be proper (it is proper, one should/ought to)

licet, licēre, licuit – to be permitted [to] (it is allowed [to])

Irregular future active participles

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
iuvāre	iūtum	iuvātūrus	going to help
lavāre/lavere	lavātum (but PPP lautus)	lavātūrus	going to wash
parere	partum	paritūrus	going to produce
ruere	rutum	ruitūrus	going to fall
secāre	sectum	secātūrus	going to cut
fruī	frūctum/fruitum	fruitūrus	going to enjoy
nāscī	nātum	nātūrus/nascitūrus	going to be born
morī	mortuum	moritūrus	going to die
orīrī	ortum	oritūrus	going to rise

Alternative verb forms

Several verb forms may occur in alternative forms (in some authors these forms are fairly common, if not more common than the canonical ones):

• The ending –ris in the passive voice may be –re as in:

laudābāris → laudābāre

• The ending –ērunt in the perfect may be –ēre (primarily in poetry) as in:

laudāvērunt → laudāvēre

• The ending –ī in the passive infinitive may be –ier as in:

laudārī → laudārier, dicī → dicier

Syncopated verb forms

Like in most Romance languages, syncopated forms and contractions are present in Latin. They may occur in the following instances:

• Perfect stems that end in a –v may be contracted when inflected.

laudāvisse → laudāsse

laudāvistī → laudāstī

laudāverant → laudārant

laudāvisset → laudāsset

• The compounds of nōscere (to learn) and movēre (to move, dislodge) can also be contracted.

nōvistī → nōstī

nōvistis → nōstis

commōveram → commōram

commōverās → commōrās

See also

• Grammatical conjugation
• Latin declension
• Romance copula
• William Whitaker's Words

Bibliography

• Bennett, Charles Edwin (1918). New Latin Grammar.
• Gildersleeve, B.L. & Gonzalez Lodge (1895). Gildersleeve's Latin Grammar. 3rd Edition. (Macmillan)
• J.B. Greenough; G.L. Kittredge; A.A. Howard; Benj. L. D'Ooge, eds. (1903). Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar for Schools and College. Ginn and Company.

References

1. Merriam-Webster online dictionary "Conjugation".
2. Donatus [Ars Maior], 10.16.
3. Priscian, Liber octauus de uerbo (Corpus Grammaticorum Latinorum)
4. Daniel J. Taylor "Latin declensions and conjugations: from Varro to Priscian" Historie Épistémologie Langage 13.2 (1991), p. 85–93.
5. e.g. Gildersleeve and Lodge, 3rd edition (1895), §120.
6. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 89.
7. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 89.
8. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 89.
9. Gildersleeve & Lodge, Latin Grammar (1895), §163.
10. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 91.
11. C.J. Fordyce (1961), Catullus, note on Catullus 5.10.
12. Wackernagel (2009) Lectures on Syntax, p. 305, note 7.
13. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 90.
14. Gildersleeve & Lodge, Latin Grammar (1895), §164.
15. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 114.
16. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 89.
17. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 105.
18. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 114.
19. Gildersleeve & Lodge Latin Grammar (1985), §166.
20. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 90.
21. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), pp. 66–68.
22. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 68.
23. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 68.
24. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 68.
25. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 121.
26. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), pp. 115–6.
27. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 116.
28. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), pp. 116, 90.
29. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), pp. 117–8.
30. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 118.
31. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 119.
32. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), pp. 118–119.
33. Cicero, Sull. 21.
34. Quintilian, 5.12.3.
35. Eitrem, S. (2006). Latinsk grammatikk (3 ed.). Oslo: Aschehoug. p. 111.
36. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 89.

External links

• Verbix automatically conjugates verbs in Latin.
• Latin Verb Synopsis Drill tests a user on his ability to conjugate verbs correctly.
• Arbuckle Latin Conjugator automatically conjugates and translates verbs in Latin.