Forming the Future Tense in Latin

The Future Tense:

The FUTURE tense is formed either by connecting the PRESENT TENSE STEM to the FUTURE TENSE VOWEL and

then the FUTURE TENSE ENDINGS (for the first and second conjugation verbs) OR by connecting the PRESENT TENSE STEM to the FUTURE TENSE ENDINGS (for the third

and fourth conjugation verbs).

First, decide which conjugation your verb belongs to. Remember the

table you memorized:

First Part Second Part

Conjugation

-o -are first-eo -ere second

-o (or –io) -ere third-io -ire fourth

Then, find the PRESENT TENSE STEM. For most verbs, just remove

the –o from the first part. If the verb is from the second conjugation,

remove the –eo. If the verb ends in –io, remove the –io.

amstupag

adven

oeooio

First and Second Conjugations Only:Once you have the PRESENT TENSE STEM,

add the FUTURE TENSE VOWEL . The vowel for each conjugation is in the chart below,

which you must memorize. Luckily, they are the same as the PRESENT and IMPERFECT

TENSE VOWELS

Conjugation Present Tense Vowel

First aSecond e

Next, add the endings.

-bo (I will…) -bimus (we will….)

-bis (you will…) -bitis (you plural will …)

-bit (she, he, it will …) -bunt (they will…)

Future Tense Endings for the first and second conjugations

Examplesamabo I will love amabimus we will love

amabis you will love amabitis you (all) will love

amabit he, she, it will love

amabunt they will love

stupebo I will gape stupebimus we will gape

stupebis you will gape stupebitis you (all) will gape

stupebit he, she, it will gape

stupebunt they will gape

Third and Fourth Conjugations Only:Once you have the PRESENT TENSE STEM,

add the FUTURE TENSE ENDINGS . The endings all start with a vowel, so there’s no

need to add one.Future Tense Endings for the third and

fourth conjugations

-am (I will…) -emus (we will….)

-es (you will…) -etis (you plural will …)

-et (she, he, it will …) -ent (they will…)

Examplesadveniam I will arrive adveniemus we will arrive

advenies you will arrive

advenietis you (all) will arrive

adveniet he, she, it will arrive

advenient they will arrive

agam I will drive agemus we will drive

ages you will drive agetis you (all) will drive

aget he, she, it will drive

agent they will drive

So, you should now be able to identify which tense a verb is in: present,

imperfect, FUTURE, or perfect.

amavisti perfect

stupebunt future

adveniemus future

egit perfect

advenimus present

amabat imperfect

After reviewing the tenses presented here, you must take the

multiple choice quiz on X2. This quiz will ask you to identify the

TENSE of a few verbs.

See you tomorrow!