Forming the Present, Imperfect, and Perfect Tenses in Latin

Present Tense:

The present tense is formed by connecting the PRESENT TENSE STEM to the PRESENT TENSE VOWEL and then the PRESENT TENSE ENDINGS (specific to each conjugation)

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

Once you have the PRESENT TENSE STEM, add the PRESENT TENSE VOWEL . The vowel for each conjugation is in the chart below, which you must memorize.

Conjugation Present Tense Vowel

First aSecond eThird i

Fourth i

Next, add the endings. If the first part of the verb ended in –io, you must keep the “i” in two places: when you add the –o ending and when you add

the -nt ending. Remember that Latin does not like the –int combination at the end of verbs, so it will

become –unt. If the verb ends in -io, it will become –iunt.

-o (I …) -mus (we…)

-s (you….) -tis (you plural….)

-t (she, he, it….s) -nt (they….)

Present Tense Endings

Examplesago I drive agimus we drive

agis you drive agitis you (all) drive

agit he, she, it drives

agunt they drive

amo I like amamus we like

amas you like amatis you (all) like

amat he, she, it likes

amant they like

Imperfect Tense:

The imperfect tense is formed by connecting the PRESENT TENSE STEM to the IMPERFECT TENSE VOWEL

and then the IMPERFECT TENSE ENDINGS (specific to each conjugation)

Once you have the PRESENT TENSE STEM, add the IMPERFECT TENSE

VOWEL . The vowel for each conjugation is in the chart below, which you must

memorize.

Conjugation Imperfect Tense Vowel

First aSecond eThird e (ie)

Fourth ie

Next, add the endings.

-bam (I was…ing) -bamus (we were ….ing)

-bas (you were…ing) -batis (you plural were …ing)

-bat (she, he, it was …ing) -bant (they were…ing)

Imperfect Tense Endings

Examplesadveniebam I was arriving adveniebamus we were

arriving

adveniebas you were arriving

adveniebatis you (all) were arriving

adveniebat he, she, it was arriving

adveniebant they were arriving

stupebam I was gaping stupebamus we were gaping

stupebas you were gaping

stupebatis you (all) were gaping

stupebat he, she, it was gaping

stupebant they were gaping

Perfect Tense:

The perfect tense is formed by connecting the PERFECT TENSE STEM to the PERFECT TENSE ENDINGS

Now you need to know the THIRD part of each verb, because that’s the PERFECT

STEM!!! Just take off the –i to find the stem.

amo amare amavstupeo stupere stupu

ago agere egadvenio advenire adven

iiii

Then add the PERFECT TENSE ENDINGS and you

are done!-i (…ed) -imus (we …ed)

-isti (you …ed) -istis (you plural …ed)

-it (she, he, it …ed) -erunt (they …ed)

Examplesadveni I arrived advenimus we arrived

advenisti you arrived advenistis you (all) arrived

advenit he, she, it arrived

advenerunt they arrived

egi I drove egimus we drove

egisti you drove egistis you drove

egit he, she, it drove

egerunt they drove

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

imperfect or perfect.

amavisti perfect

stupent present

adveniebamus 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!