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Present tense
The present tense in Latin can be used for any of the three ways of expressing the present tense in English.
laboro means all of the following
- I work
- I am working
- I do work
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First Conjugation verbs
These end in ‘-are’.
| confirmare |
to confirm |
edificare |
to build |
| dare |
to give |
laborare |
to work |
legare |
to leave, bequeath |
vocare |
to call |
orare |
to pray |
|
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To conjugate these verbs, remove the ‘-are’ to get the stem. Then add these endings:
| |
|
laborare |
to work |
| Latin |
English |
Latin |
English |
| -o |
I |
laboro |
I work |
| -as |
you (singular) |
laboras |
you work (singular) |
| -at |
he/she/it |
laborat |
he/she/it works |
| -amus |
we |
laboramus |
we work |
| -atis |
you (plural) |
laboratis |
you work (plural) |
| -ant |
they |
laborant |
they work |
The key letter in these endings is ‘a’.
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Second conjugation verbs
These end in ‘-ere’.
| debere |
to owe |
movere |
to move |
| habere |
to have |
sedere |
to sit |
| iacere |
to lie |
tenere |
to hold |
| monere |
to warn, advise |
videre |
to see |
To conjugate these verbs, remove the ‘-ere’ to find the stem. Then add these endings:
| Latin |
English |
Latin |
English |
| -eo |
I |
habeo |
I have |
| -es |
you (singular) |
habes |
you have |
| -et |
he/she/it |
habet |
he/she/it has |
| -emus |
we |
habemus |
we have |
| -etis |
you (plural) |
habetis |
you have |
| -ent |
they |
habent |
they have |
The key letter in these endings is ‘e’.
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Third conjugation verbs
These end in ‘-ere’.
| cognoscere |
to know, get to know |
ostendere |
to show |
| concedere |
to concede, grant, allow |
petere |
|
| dicere |
to say |
reddere |
to give back |
| mittere |
to send |
solvere |
to pay |
To conjugate these verbs, remove the ‘-ere’ to find the stem. Then add these endings:
concedere to concede
| Latin |
English |
Latin |
English |
| -o |
I |
concedo |
I
concede
|
| -is |
you (singular) |
concedis |
you concede (singular) |
| -it |
he/she/it |
concedit |
he/she/it concedes |
| -imus |
we |
concedimus |
we concede |
| -itis |
you (plural) |
conceditis |
you concede (plural) |
| -unt |
they |
concedunt |
they concede |
The key letter in most of these endings is ‘i’.
Some third conjugation verbs are called ‘io’ verbs because they have different endings
- -io for the ‘I’ form (instead of –o)
- -iunt for the ‘they’ form (instead of –unt)
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For example
| Latin |
English |
Latin |
English |
| -io |
I |
facio |
I make |
| -is |
you (singular) |
facis |
you make (singular) |
| -it |
he/she/it |
facit |
he/she/it makes |
| -imus |
we |
facimus |
we make |
| -itis |
you (plural) |
facitis |
you make (plural) |
| -iunt |
they |
faciunt |
they make |
Fourth conjugation verbs
These end ‘-ire’.
| audire |
to hear |
| scire |
to know |
| venire |
|
To conjugate these verbs, remove the ‘-ire’ to find the stem. Then add these endings:
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| Latin |
English |
Latin |
English |
| -io |
I |
venio |
I come |
| -is |
you (singular) |
venis |
you come (singular) |
| -it |
he/she/it |
venit |
he/she/it comes |
| -imus |
we |
venimus |
we come |
| -itis |
you (plural) |
venitis |
you come (plural) |
| -iunt |
they |
veniunt |
they come |
The key letter in the endings is ‘i’.
obire to die
This is an irregular fourth conjugation verb.
Notice that the stem for ‘I’ and ‘they’ is ‘obe’, with an ‘e’.
| Latin |
English |
| obeo |
I die |
| obis |
you die (singular) |
| obit |
he/she/it dies |
| obimus |
we die |
| obitis |
you die (plural) |
| obeunt |
they die |
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Past tense
The past tense is used for actions that have been completed.
It can be translated in two ways in English.
For example, laboravi means
- I worked and
- I have worked
All verbs have the same endings in the past tense.
For example
| Ending |
Person |
Latin |
Means in English |
and |
| -i |
I |
audivi |
I heard |
I have heard |
| -isti |
you (singular) |
audivisti |
you heard |
you have heard |
| -it |
he/she/it |
audivit |
he/she/it heard |
he/she/it has heard |
| -imus |
we |
audivimus |
we heard |
we have heard |
| -istis |
you (plural) |
audivistis |
you heard
|
you have heard |
| -erunt |
they |
audiverunt |
they heard |
they have heard |
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The endings are added onto the stem of the verb.
The stem in the past tense is slightly different from the stem in the present tense.
This table shows you how to form the stem for the past tense in first, second and fourth conjugation verbs.
| Conjugation |
First |
Second |
Fourth |
| Infinitive (‘to ...’) |
laborare |
tenere |
audire |
| Stem in past tense |
laborav- |
tenu- |
audiv- |
Two important verbs have an irregular stem:
dare to give past stem is 'ded'
obire to die past stem is
‘obii’
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Third conjugation verbs
There is no set rule for creating the past stem of third conjugation verbs.
Here are some examples of common verbs:
| Past tense |
Means in English |
| cepi |
I took |
| concessi |
I conceded |
| dixi |
I said |
| duxi |
I led |
| feci |
I did |
| misi |
I sent |
| reddidi |
I gave back |
esse – to be
This is an irregular verb.
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| Latin |
Meaning in English |
and |
| fui |
I have been |
I was |
| fuisti |
you have been |
you were (singular) |
| fuit |
he/she/it has been |
he/she/it was |
| fuimus |
we have been |
we were |
| fuistis |
you have been |
you were (plural) |
| fuerunt |
they have been |
they were |
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