Overview
This lecture covers the basics of Latin active verbs, focusing on present and past tenses across the four conjugations, including examples and key endings.
Present Tense in Latin
- The present tense can mean "I work," "I am working," or "I do work."
- The verb "laboro" is used as an example for all these present tense meanings.
First Conjugation Verbs (-are)
- First conjugation verbs end in -are (e.g., confirmare, laborare).
- To conjugate, remove -are and add: o, as, at, amus, atis, ant.
- The key letter in these endings is 'a'.
Second Conjugation Verbs (-ere)
- Second conjugation verbs end in -ere (e.g., habere, monere).
- To conjugate, remove -ere and add: eo, es, et, emus, etis, ent.
- The key letter in these endings is 'e'.
Third Conjugation Verbs (-ere)
- Third conjugation verbs also end in -ere (e.g., concedere, mittere).
- Remove -ere and add: o, is, it, imus, itis, unt (key letter is 'i').
- Some verbs ("io" verbs) use io (I) and iunt (they), e.g., facere.
Fourth Conjugation Verbs (-ire)
- Fourth conjugation verbs end in -ire (e.g., audire, venire).
- Remove -ire and add: io, is, it, imus, itis, iunt (key letter is 'i').
- "Obire" (to die) is irregular: stem is obe for I/they forms.
Past Tense in Latin
- The past tense describes completed actions: "I worked" or "I have worked."
- All verbs use: i, isti, it, imus, istis, erunt for person endings.
- The past tense stem differs from the present:
- First: laborav-, Second: tenu-, Fourth: audiv-.
- "Dare" uses ded-, "obire" uses obii-.
- Third conjugation past stems are irregular (e.g., cepi, dixi, misi).
- "Esse" (to be) is irregular: fui, fuisti, fuit, fuimus, fuistis, fuerunt.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Conjugation — Group of verbs sharing the same set of endings.
- Present tense — Describes actions happening now.
- Past tense — Describes actions already completed.
- Stem — The verb base found after removing the infinitive ending (-are, -ere, -ire).
- "io" verbs — Third/fourth conjugation verbs with io/iunt in present forms.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Practice conjugating sample verbs from each conjugation in both present and past tenses.
- Memorize key endings for each verb group and tense.
- Review irregular verbs: dare, obire, esse.