Present Tense Regular Verbs

Present Tense – Regular Verbs

Personal Endings

The personal endings of a verb will indicate what or who the subject is. In Latin the same personal endings are used for many different tenses.

Singular Plural 1st Person (I) ō or m (we) mus 2nd Person (you) s (you) tis 3rd Person (he/she/it/singular noun) t (they/plural noun) nt

Verb Conjugations

Most Latin verbs can be broken down into four main groups which are known as 1st conjugation, 2nd conjugation, 3rd conjugation, and 4th conjugation.

You can tell which conjugation a verb is in by its infinitive. The infinitive is also known as the 2nd Principal Part because it is the 2nd form listed in a dictionary entry. When you get to the blue book (Unit 2), the glossary will list the verbs the same as in a Latin dictionary. Most infinitives end in “-re”. Often an infinitive is translated as “to + verb”.

1st Conjugation Verbs

These are verbs which have an “ā” in their infinitive. Examples are: clāmō, clāmāre; labōrō, labōrare.

To conjugate a 1st conjugation verb, you must first form the stem. Take the 2nd Principal Part (the infinitive). Drop the –re. Add the personal endings. Notice there is no “ā” in 1st person singular.

Singular Plural 1st Person (I shout) clāmō (we shout) clāmāmus 2nd Person (you shout) clāmās (you shout) clāmātis 3rd Person (he/she/it/singular noun shouts) (they/plural noun shout) clāmat clāmānt

2nd Conjugation Verbs

These are verbs which have an “ē” in their infinitive. Examples are: videō, vidēre; rīdeō, rīdēre.

To conjugate a 2nd conjugation verb, you must first form the stem. Take the 2nd Principal Part (the infinitive). Drop the –re. Add the personal endings. Singular Plural 1st Person (I see) videō (we see) vidēmus 2nd Person (you see) vidēs (you see) vidētis 3rd Person (he/she/it/singular noun sees) (they/plural noun see) vident videt

3rd Conjugation Verbs

These are verbs which have an “e” in their infinitive. Examples are: currō, currere; dūcō, dūcere.

To conjugate a 2nd conjugation verb, you must first form the stem. Take the 1st Principal Part (the 1st person singular form). Drop the –o. Add “i” to everything except 1st person singular and 3rd person plural. Add a “u” to 3rd person plural. Add the personal endings.

Singular Plural 1st Person (I run) currō (we run) currimus 2nd Person (you run) curris (you run) curritis 3rd Person (he/she/it/singular noun runs) (they/plural noun run) currit currunt

4th Conjugation Verbs

These are verbs which have an “ī” in their infinitive. Examples are: audiō, audīre; dormiō, dormīre.

To conjugate a 2nd conjugation verb, you must first form the stem. Take the 2nd Principal Part (the infinitive). Drop the –re. Add the personal endings. Add a “u” to 3rd person plural. Add the personal endings.

Singular Plural 1st Person (I sleep) dormiō (we sleep) dormīmus 2nd Person (you sleep) dormīs (you sleep) dormītis 3rd Person (he/she/it/singular noun sleeps) (they/plural noun sleep) dormit dormiunt