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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.
1st Person
2nd Person
3rd Person
Singular
(I) ō or m
(you) s
(he/she/it/singular noun) t
Plural
(we) mus
(you) tis
(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.
st
1 Person
2nd Person
3rd Person
Singular
(I shout) clāmō
(you shout) clāmās
(he/she/it/singular noun shouts)
clāmat
Plural
(we shout) clāmāmus
(you shout) clāmātis
(they/plural noun shout)
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.
st
1 Person
2nd Person
3rd Person
Singular
(I see) videō
(you see) vidēs
(he/she/it/singular noun sees)
videt
Plural
(we see) vidēmus
(you see) vidētis
(they/plural noun see) vident
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.
st
1 Person
2nd Person
3rd Person
Singular
(I run) currō
(you run) curris
(he/she/it/singular noun runs)
currit
Plural
(we run) currimus
(you run) curritis
(they/plural noun run)
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.
1st Person
2nd Person
3rd Person
Singular
(I sleep) dormiō
(you sleep) dormīs
(he/she/it/singular noun sleeps)
dormit
Plural
(we sleep) dormīmus
(you sleep) dormītis
(they/plural noun sleep)
dormiunt