VerbsChapter 2

Principal Parts The vocabulary list will present you

with three principal parts for each verb.

amo, amare, amavi1st person, singular,Present tense

Infinitive(second principal

part)

1st person, singular, perfect tense

Translation of the Infinitive In regular Latin verbs, the infinitive

will end in an –re. Whenever you see an infinitive, translate it with the English word “to.”

Examples: amare= to lovemonere= to carry

The Infinitive

The infinitive of a verb helps you in two very important ways.

It tells you what conjugation a verb is in.

It gives you the present stem of a verb.

Conjugation In order to tell what conjugation a

verb is in, look at the vowel before the –re in the infinitive.

a= first conjugationlong e, (ē)= second conjugationshort e (e)= third conjugationi= fourth conjugation

The Present Stem The second piece of information that

the infinitive gives you is the present stem.

In order to find the present stem of a verb, go to the infinitive and take off the

–re.Infinitive Present stem

amare ama

monēre monē

Forming the present tense In order to form the present tense, add

personal endings to the present stem

The personal ending –t, is the ending for third person, singular. It is translated as he, she, or it.

Examples:amat= he, she, or it lovesmonet= he, she, or it warns

Forming the Present Tense (con’t)

The personal ending –nt, is the ending for third person, plural. It is translated as they.

Examples:amant= they lovemonent= they warn

The verb “to be.” Even the irregular verb “to be”

follows this same pattern for third person endings.

Est= he, she, it, is Sunt= they are

Subject/Verb Agreement Always remember that the subject

and the verb in a sentence MUST agree in number.

In other words, if your subject is singular, the verb MUST also have a singular ending. If the subject is plural, the verb MUST also be plural.

Subject/Verb Agreement (con’t)

Pater canem amat. Father loves the dog.“Father” (Pater) is a singular subject, so “loves” (amat) also has a singular ending.

Pater et mater canem amant. The father and mother love the dog.Because “father and mother” are a plural subject, amant also has a plural ending.