Verbs Have Person, Number, Tense, Mood, and Voice

NEW STEPS IN LATIN

as of October 19, 2005

(S:\CLASSIC\NEW RITCHIE’S I\NEWSTEPS.DOC)

M. Allen

T. Kent

M. Klaassen

M. Konopka

L. Pearcy

A. Pearson

Lesson I

VERBS

Verbs have person, number, tense, mood, and voice.

The person is 1st, 2nd, or 3rd: numberis singular or plural :

SINGULAR / PLURAL
1st person / I / 1st person / we
2nd person / you / 2nd person / you
3rd person / he, she, it / 3rd person / they

There are six tenses: present, imperfect, future, perfect, pluperfect, future perfect.

There are five moods: indicative, subjunctive, imperative, infinitive, participle.

There are two voices: active, passive.

FIRST CONJUGATION: -VERBS

Present System Active Voice

There are four categories of verbs in Latin, known as conjugations.

A verb has four principal parts.

Example: am, amre, amv, amtum

Verbs whose second principal part ends in -re belong to the First Conjugation.

To find the present stem of a First Conjugation verb, remove –re from the second principal part.

AMRE

- RE

AM-

The Presenttense is formed by adding the personal endings to the present stem: am-

PRESENT TENSE

Singular / personal endings / present stem + personal ending
1st person / - /  / am / I love,- am loving,- do love
2nd person / -s /  /  / you love,- are loving,- do love
3rd person / -t /  / amat / he/she/it loves,- is loving,- does love
Plural
1st person / -mus /  /  / we love,- are loving,- do love
2nd person / -tis /  /  / you love,- are loving,- do love
3rd person / -nt /  / amant / they love,- are loving,- do love

*The stem vowel -- is dropped in front of the first person singular ending, -.

Note that there are three ways to express the present tense in English.

In Latin the personal ending is usually used instead of the personal pronoun to indicate the subject; therefore the word amat may be a complete sentence, He loves.

Vocabulary I

First Conjugation Verbs (like am) / Adverb
I / II / III / IV
am, / , / , /  / love, like /  not
laud, / , / , /  / praise
rog, / , / , /  / ask
voc, / , / , /  / call
vulner, / , / , /  / wound, hurt

Exercise I

1..We love / 11. . You don’t praise.
2.Rogant.They ask / 12. Nn .They don’t wound
3..You call / 13. Amat.She loves.
4.Vulner.I wound / 14. .We ask
5.Laudat.He praises / 15.  voc.I do not call
6..You wound / 16. .You love
7.Vocant.They call / 17. Laudant.They praise
8. laud.I don’t praise / 18. .You wound
9.Rogat.He asks / 19. .You love
10.Amant.They love / 20. .We do not call.

1. I praise.Laudō. / 11. She is praising.Laudat.
2. We are calling.Vocāmus. / 12. They do wound.Vulnerant.
3. You (sg.) love.Amās. / 13. I call.Vocō.
4. He does not ask.Nōn rogat. / 14. You (pl.) are asking.Rogātis.
5. They wound.Vulnerant. / 15. We love.Amāmus.
6. You (pl.) love.Amātis. / 16. He loves.Amat.
7. It is wounding.Vulnerat. / 17. You (sg.) ask.Rogās.
8. I am praising.Laudō. / 18. They are not calling.Nōn vocant.
9. You (pl.) do not call.Nōn vocātis. / 19. We are not wounding.Vulnerāmus.
10. We praise.Laudāmus. / 20. It is not praising.Nōn laudat.

Lesson II

FIRST CONJUGATION: -VERBS

Present System Active Voice

The imperfect tense expresses continuous or repeated action in past time. The letters -b- appear before the personal endings:

IMPERFECT TENSE

Singular / imperfect endings / present stem + ending
1st person / -bm /  / b / I was loving, - loved, - used to love
2nd person / -b /  /  / you were loving, - loved, - used to love
3rd person / -bat /  /  / he/she/it was loving,- loved, - used to love
Plural
1st person / - /  /  / we were loving, - loved, - used to love
2nd person / - /  /  / you were loving, - loved, - used to love
3rd person / -bant /  /  / they were loving, - loved, - used to love

There are various ways to express the imperfect tense in English: I was loving, I loved, I used to love.

Thefuturetense expresses action yet to happen. First Conjugation verbs use the letter -b- + variable vowel before adding the personal endings.

FUTURE TENSE

Singular / future endings / present stem + ending
1st person / -b /  /  / I will love,- am going to love
2nd person / -bis /  /  / you will love,- are going to love
3rdperson / -bit /  /  / he/she/it will love,- is going to love
Plural
1st person / -bimus /  /  / we will love,-are going to love
2nd person / -bitis /  /  / you will love,-are going to love
3rd person / -bunt /  /  / they will love,-are going to love

Vocabulary II

First Conjugation Verbs (like am
cant, / , / , /  / sing
err, / , / , /  / wander; be mistaken
port, / , / , /  / carry
pugn, / , / , /  / fight

Exercise II

1.11. .

We praiseI will sing

2..12. .

He will callHe was not asking.

3..13. .

They were fightingWe will not carry

4..14. .

You will woundThey will love.

5..15. .

You singYou were making a mistake.

6.Rog.16. n e.

I ask.He will wander.

7..17. Laudant.

I was loving.They praise.

8.rrat.18. .

He is wandering/ erring.I was calling.

9.Nn .19. .

They don’t call.They weren’t wounding.

10..20. .

You were not carrying.We will fight.

1.He used to wound.11. They will ask.

Vulnerābat.Rogābunt.

2.They were fighting.12. I am going to wander.

PugnābantErrābō.

3.You (sg.) will love.13. She is fighting.

AmābisPugnat.

4.I will sing.14. You (pl.) were calling.

Cantābō. Vocābātis.

5.You (pl.) were praising.15. You (sg.) were wounding.

Laudābātis.Vulnerābās.

6.It will carry.16. We will not be mistaken.

Portābit.Nōn errābimus.

7.I was not asking.17. He used to wander.

Nōn rogābam.Errābat.

8.She is going to like.18. I am going to praise.

Amābit.Laudābō.

9.You (pl.) are mistaken.19. We used to love.

ErrātisAmābāmus.

10.They do not sing.20. We will not carry.

Nōn cantant.Non portābimus.

Lesson III

FIRST CONJUGATION: -VERBS

Perfect System Active Voice

The perfecttense expresses completed action in past time.

The perfect stem is found by removing the final – from the third principal part: 



-

-

The perfect tense is formed by adding the perfect endings to the perfect stem.

PERFECT TENSE

Singular / perfect endings / perfect stem + ending
1st person /  /  /  / 
2nd person / st /  /  / 
3rd person /  /  /  / 
Plural
1st person / mus /  /  / we loved,- have loved, - did love
2nd person / -istis /  /  / you loved,- have loved,- did love
3rd person / runt /  /  / they loved,- have loved, - did love

Learn to recognize and use distinct translations of the perfect tense:

Aorist translation
I loved, - did love / we loved,- did love
you loved,- did love / you loved,- did love
he/she/it loved- did love / they loved,- did love
Perfect translation
I have loved / we have loved
you have loved / you have loved
he/she/it has loved / they have loved

Vocabulary III

First Conjugation Verbs (like am) / Conjunction
serv, / , / , /  / watch over, guard, save / et and
par, / , / , /  / prepare

Exercise III

1..13. Pugnvrunt.

I sang.They fought.

2.P.14. .

They prepared.You will praise.

3.Rogtis.15. Nn .

You have asked,We were not loving.

4..16. 



5.vimus et laudimus.17. Servs.

We called and praised.You are preserving.

6.Nn servbat.18. vit.

He wasn’t keeping watch.He wounded.

7.n vrunt.19. Parbunt.

They wandered.They will prepare.

8.Laudvit et amvrunt.20. Nn portbit.

He praised and they loved.She will not carry.

9.Ams.21.Errvistis.

You loveYou wandered.

10.Parvit.22. vimus et vimus.

He prepared.We prepared and saved.

11.Nn portbat.23. Nn rogb.

He wasn’t carrying.I won’t ask.

12.Vulnerv.24. Cantbam.

I wounded.I was singing.

1.I have prepared.13. We have asked.

ParāvīRogāvimus

2.He did wound.14. You (sg.) used to prepare.

VulnerāvitParābās

3.We saved.15. I fought.

ServāvimusPugnāvī

4.You (pl.) sang.16. They will call and you (pl.) will save.

Cantāvistis.Vocābunt et servābitis.

5.You (sg.) were praising.17. She is wandering.

Laudābās.Errat.

6.They have carried.18. You (pl.) have guarded.

PortāvēruntServāvistis.

7.It has not called.19. I will not hurt.

Nōn vocāvit.Nōn vulnerābō

8.I will watch over.20. He was singing.

Servābō.Cantābat.

9.She was loving.21. We will prepare and we will carry.

Amābat.Parābimus et portābimus.

10.I am asking.22. They have not loved.

Rogō.Nōn amāvērunt.

11.They have not praised.23. She has saved.

Nōn laudāvērunt.Servāvit.

12.You (sg.) wandered.24. You (sg.) have not asked.

Errāvistī.Nōn rogāvistī.

Lesson IV

FIRST CONJUGATION: -VERBS

Perfect System Active Voice

The Pluperfect Tense is formed by adding the pluperfect endings to the perfect stem. The pluperfect endings include the letters -er- before the personal endings.

PLUPERFECT TENSE

Singular / pluperfect endings / perfect stem + ending
1st person / -eram /  / amveram / I had loved
2nd person / -ers /  / amvers / you had loved
3rd person / -erat /  / amverat / he/she/it had loved
Plural
1st person / -ermus /  / amvermus / we had loved
2nd person / -ertis /  / amvertis / you had loved
3rd person / -erant /  / amverant / they had loved

The pluperfect tense is translated with the helping verb had.

The Future Perfect Tense is formed by adding the future perfect endings to the perfect stem. The future perfect endings include the letters -eri- before the personal endings. In the first person singular, the ending is -er.

FUTURE PERFECT TENSE

Singular / future perfect endings / perfect stem + ending
1st person / -er /  / amver / I will have loved
2nd person / -eris /  / amveris / you will have loved
3rd person / -erit /  / amverit / he/she/it will have loved
Plural
1st person / -erimus /  / amverimus / we will have loved
2nd person / -eritis /  / amveritis / you will have loved
3rd person / -erint /  / amverint / they will have loved

The future perfect tense is translated with the combination of helping verbs will have.

the sentence

Every sentenceconsists of a subject and a predicate.

The subject is what the sentence is about. The predicate is what is said about the subject.

In Latin, a sentence can consist of a single word:

Example:Amat.She loves.(The subject is expressed by the personal ending of the verb.)

OR the subject may be a separate word in the nominative case.

Example: Puella amat. The girl loves.

Vocabulary IV

First Declension Nouns

Nominative / Genitive / Gender
puella, / puellae, / feminine / girl
 / rgnae, / feminine / queen
agricola, / agricolae, / masculine / farmer
 / potae, / masculine / poet

Nouns will always be introduced in the manner above: The nominative, genitive, gender and English meaning.

Exercise IV

1..11.  et rogbit.

You had preparedhe will call and ask.

2.Laudverant.12. Nn .

They had praised. They had not carried.

3.13. Pota cantvit.

You were praising.The poet sang.

4..14. Agricola errat et cantat.

We will have loved.The farmer wanders and sings

5.Nn vulnervermus.15. Puella nn rogverat.

We had not wounded.The girl had not asked.

6.Cantveram.16. Agricola portat.

I had sung.The farmer carries.

7.Pugneritis et vulnerveritis.17. Nn amvertis.

You will have fought and wounded.You will not have loved.

8.Errbunt.18. Servver.

They will make a mistake.I will have saved.

9.verit.19. Nn vulnervist.

The queen will have called.You have not wounded.

10.vit.20. Rgna nn .

The girl asked.The queen will not have fought.

1.You (pl.) will have sung.11. I had fought and wandered.

Cantāveritis.Pugnāveram et errāveram.

2.We had prepared.12. The queen will ask.

Parāverāmus.Rēgīna rogābit.

3.She had not sung.13. The farmer will have asked.

Nōn cantāverat.Agricola rogāverit.

4.You (sg.) will have carried.14. We were not calling.

Portāveris.Nōn vocābāmus.

5.He had not praised.15. I am mistaken.

Nōn laudāverat.Errō.

6.The girl will have been mistaken.16. The farmer has fought.

Puella errāverit.Agricola pugnāvit.

7.You (sg.) are guarding.17. You (sg.) have prepared.

Servās.Parāvistī.

8.We had loved.18. You (pl.) had not wounded.

Amāverāmus.Nōn vulnerāverātis.

9.The poet was praising.19. They had saved.

Poēta laudābat.Servāverant.

10.They had called.20. The girl was liking.

Vocāverant.Puella amābat.

Lesson V

FIRST DECLENSION NOUNS

Nouns have case, number, and gender.

There are five cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, ablative.

There are two numbers:singular, plural.

There are three Genders:masculine, feminine, neuter.

Nouns of the first declension have a genitive singular ending in –ae.

To find the stem of any Latin noun remove the ending from the genitive singular form:

PUELLAE

-AE

PUELL-

Nouns are declined by adding case endings to the noun stem.

Singular / 1st declension ending / 
Nominative / -a /  / puella / the girl
Genitive / -ae /  / puellae / of the girl, girl’s
Dative / -ae /  / puellae / to / for the girl
Accusative / -am /  / puellam / the girl
Ablative / - /  / puell / by / with / from the girl
Plural
Nominative / -ae /  / puellae / girls
Genitive / -rum /  /  / of the girls, girls’
Dative / -s /  / puells / to / for the girls
Accusative / -s /  / puells / girls
Ablative / -s /  / puells / by / with / from the girls

Latin has no articles. Supply the definite articlethe or the indefinite articlea / an as needed in English.

Most nouns of the first declension are of the feminine gender.

RULE: The subjectof a sentence is in the nominative case.

Example:Puella(nom.)cantat.

The girl sings.

RULE: The Verb agrees with its subject in person and number. This is the first rule of concord.

Examples:Puella(3rd sg.) cantat(3rd sg.).

Puellae (3rd pl.) cantant (3rd pl.).

Vocabulary V

First Declension Nouns (like puella)
Nominative / Genitive
aqua, / aquae, / f. / water
epistula, / epistulae, / f. / letter
patria, / patriae, / f. / native land

From now on the gender will always be abbreviated: m. = masculine, f. = feminine, and n. = neuter.

Exercise V

A.

1.R pugnat.11.  cantant.

The queen fightsThe poets sing.

2.Puellae nn .12. Vocvistis.

The girls were not wandering.You have called.

3. vulnerbit.13. Nn portbimus.

The queen will wound.We won’t carry.

4. nn errbit.14. Puella erat et .

The poets will not make a mistake.The girls had praised and did ask.

5.Aquae cantbant.15. Agricolae et  nn pugnant.

The waters were singing.The farmers and poets don’t fight.

6.Patria laudverat.16. Epistulae nn laudverint.

The homeland had praised.The letters will not have praised.

7.Portbis.17. Puellae cantvrunt.

You will carry.The girls have sung.

8.Nn rog.18. 



9.Agricola servverit.19. Agricolae servverant.

The farmer will have saved.The farmers had saved.

10.Rgnae portverant.20. Nn vulnerverm.

The queens had carried.I had not wounded.

1.He is singing.11. The girls will have fought.

Cantat.Puellae pugnāverant.

2.You (pl.) did hurt.12. The native land was calling.

Vulnerāvistis.Patria vocābat.

3.I was preparing.13. They are not carrying.

Parābam.Nōn portant.

4.The farmer has sung.14. I had fought and wounded.

Agricola cantāvit.Pugnāveram et vulnerāveram.

5.The girls did not ask.15. The farmer used to call and ask.

Puellae nōn rogāvērunt.Agricola vocābat et rogābat.

6.The queen prepares.16. The letter will praise.

Rēgīna parat.Epistula laudābit.

7.The poets will have praised.17. The queen sang.

Poētae laudāverint.Rēgīna cantāvit.

8.A girl loves and sings.18. You (pl.) had been mistaken.

Puella amat et cantat.Errāverātis.

9.We will have watched over. 19. We had called and praised.

Servāverimus.Vocāverāmus et laudāverāmus.

10.The poets wander.20. The farmer has not called.

Poētae errant.Agricola nōn vocāvit.

Lesson VI

SECOND CONJUGATION: - VERBS

Present System Active Voice

Verbs whose second principal part ends in - belong to the second conjugation:

Example: mone, monre, monu, monitum

To find the present stem of a second conjugation verb, remove the -re from the second principal part.

MONRE

-RE

MON-

The –-of the stem shortens before another vowel and before final –t or –nt.

PRESENT TENSE

Singular / 
1st person / mone / 
2nd person / mons / you advise, - are advising, - do advise
3rd person / monet / he/she/it advises, - is advising, - does advise
Plural
1st person / monmus / we advise, - are advising,- do advise
2nd person / montis / you advise, - are advising, - do advise
3rd person / monent / they advise, - are advising, - do advise

IMPERFECT TENSE

Singular / 
1st person / monbam / I was advising, - advised, - used to advise
2nd person / mon / you were advising, - advised, - used to advise
3rd person / monbat / he/she/it was advising, - advised, - used to advise
Plural
1st person / monbmus / we were advising, - advised, - used to advise
2nd person / monbtis / you were advising, - advised, - used to advise
3rd person / monbant / they were advising, - advised, - used to advise

FUTURE TENSE

Singular / 
1st person / monb / I will advise,- am going to advise
2nd person / monbis / you will advise,- are going to advise
3rd person / monbit / he/she/it will advise,- is going to advise
Plural
1st person / monbimus / we will advise,- are going to advise
2nd person / monbitis / you will advise,- are going to advise
3rd person / monbunt / they will advise,- are going to advise

DIRECT OBJECTS OF TRANSITIVE VERBS

A noun that receives the action of a verb is a direct object. A verb which takes a direct object is called transitive.

Rule: The direct object of a transitive verb is in the accusative case.

The teacher praises the girl. “Girl” is the direct object of the transitive verb “praises.”

Magister laudat puellam. Puellam, in the accusative, is the direct object of the transitive verb laudat.

In a Latin sentence, the direct object usually comes before the verb:Magister puellam laudat.

Vocabulary VI

Second Conjugation Verbs (like mone) / Conjunction
mone, / monre, / monu, / monitum / warn, advise / sed / but
terre, / terrre, / terru, / territum / frighten
doce, / docre, / docu, / doctum / teach
tene, / tenre, / tenu, / tentum / hold, contain

Exercise VI

1. docet. 13. Agricolae aquam  tenent.

The girl teaches the queenThe farmers do not hold water

2.Agricola aquam tenbat.14. Po



3.Aqua puellam terret.15. Pota epistulam parbit et rgnam docbit.

Water terrifies the girl.The poet will prepare a letter and will teach the queen.

4..16. Potae agricolam vocbant et laudbant.

The farmer loves his homeland. The poets were calling and praising the farmer.

5.Pota rgnam monbit.17. gnaagricols monbat.

The poet will advise the queen.The queen was warning the farmers.

6.Epistulam servvertis, sed errvistis.18. Puella rgns monet et docet.

You had saved the letter, but you made a mistake.The girl warns and teaches the queens.

7.Nn cantbimus, sed docbimus.19. Potae patriam servvrunt.

We will not sing but we will teach.The poets have saved their homeland.

8.Agricols terrbtis.20. Aquam laudtis.

You were terrifying the farmers.You praise water.

9.Puellae epistulam .21. .

The girls were preparing the letter.We were holding a letter.

10.Puellae patriam amverint.22. Patriam am.

The girls will have loved their homeland.I love my native land.