So far all the verbs
that we have encountered have been in what is calheard the active voice. This means that someone or something has carried out an action. We use this voice to say what the subject does.
For example:
The subject is ‘he’ and the object is ‘charter’.
However, we will also encounter verbs in the passive voice. This means that an action is done to the subject of the sentence. We use this voice to say what happens to the subject.
For example:
The subject is ‘charter’.
The passive voice occurs in all the tenses. Luckily, however, in most instances the passive endings are similar for all four conjugations.
Have a look at the summary below.
The present, imperfect and future tenses all share the endings below.
| Latin | English |
|---|---|
| -r | I |
| -ris | you (singular) |
| -tur | he/she/it |
| -mur | we |
| -mini | you (plural) |
| -ntur | they |
To form a present passive verb you need to add the relevant endings to the stem of the verb.
To form the first person singular, add the relevant ending, ‘-r’ to the first person singular present active tense, rather than to the stem.
For example:
| Latin | English |
|---|---|
| voco | I call |
| vocor | I am called |
First and second conjugations
To get the stem, remove ‘-re’ from the infinitive form of the verb.
For example:
The stem for voco, vocare, vocavi, vocatum (1) ‘to call’ would be ‘voca-’.
The stem for habeo, habere, habui, habitum (2) ‘to have’ would be ‘habe-’.
Then add the relevant endings.
For example:
Present passive of voco, vocare, vocavi, vocatum (1) to call
| Latin | English |
|---|---|
| vocor | I am called, I am being called |
| vocaris | you are called, you are being called |
| vocatur | he/she/it is called, he/she/it is being called |
| vocamur | we are called, we are being called |
| vocamini | you are called, you are being called |
| vocantur | they are called, they are being called |
Third conjugation
To get the stem, remove ‘-ere’ from the infinitive form of the verb.
For example:
The stem for duco, ducere, duxi, ductum (3) ‘to lead’ would be ‘duc-’.
Add ‘-e’ to the stem for the second person singular, ‘-i’ for the third person singular, first person plural and second person plural, and ‘-u’ for the third person plural.
For example:
Present passive of duco, ducere, duxi, ductum (3) to lead
| Latin | English |
|---|---|
| ducor | I am led, I am being led |
| duceris | you are led, you are being led |
| ducitur | he/she/it is led, he/she/it is being led |
| ducimur | we are led, we are being led |
| ducimini | you are led, you are being led |
| ducuntur | they are led, they are being led |
Fourth conjugation
To get the stem, remove ‘-re’ from the infinitive form of the verb.
For example:
The stem for audio, audire, audivi, auditum (4) ‘to hear’ would be ‘audi-’.
Then add the relevant endings.
For verbs of the fourth conjugation, you need to add a -u to the stem for the third person plural before adding the ending.
For example:
Present passive of audio, audire, audivi, auditum (4) to hear
| Latin | English |
|---|---|
| audior | I am heard, I am being heard |
| audiris | you are heard, you are being heard |
| auditur | he/she/it is heard, he/she/it is being heard |
| audimur | we are heard, we are being heard |
| audimini | you are heard, you are being heard |
| audiuntur | they are heard, they are being heard |
Are you confident with:
