In Chapters I and II you learned how to form and translate present tense verbs. In Latin, as in most languages, we sometime want to talk not just about the present, but also about things that have happened in the future or the past. The imperfect tense is one way we can talk about the past in Latin.
The easiest way to identify a verb in the imperfect tense is that the letter ba will appear right before the ending. For example, all of these are imperfect tense verbs:
ambulabant they were walking
dormiēbas you were sleeping
currēbamus we were running
The imperfect tense uses the same endings as the present tense. However, between the stem and the ending we will add either ba or eba. The (ē)ba is called a “tense sign,” because it is the sign that says “this verb is imperfect.”
Personal endings
|
|
Singular (translation) |
Plural (translation) |
|
1st person |
ō or m (I) |
mus (we) |
|
2nd person |
s (you) |
tis (y'all) |
|
3rd person |
t (he, she, it) |
nt (they) |
You will remember that there are four conjugations of verbs. You can tell what conjugation a verb belongs to by looking at the ending of the second principle part:
|
|
ending of 2nd principle part |
|
1st conjugation |
-āre |
|
2nd conjugation |
-ēre |
|
3rd conjugation |
-ere |
|
4th conjugation |
-īre |
For the 1st and 2nd conjugations, we find the stem by removing the - re from the second principle part. For the 3rd and 4th conjugations, we find the stem by removing the -ō from the first principle parts.
Forming the imperfect tense: 1st and 2nd conjugation verbs
We form the imperfect tense by adding the tense sign ba to the stem and then adding the endings. Notice that instead of ō in the first person singular, we use m.
Imperfect tense, 1st and 2nd conjugation (tense sign in italics)
|
|
Singular |
Plural (translation) |
|
1st person |
amābam (I was living) |
amābamus (we were loving) |
|
2nd person |
amābas (you were loving) |
amābatis (y'all were loving) |
|
3rd person |
amābat (he, she, it was loving) |
amābant (they were loving) |
Forming the imperfect tense: 3rd and 4th conjugation verbs
We form the future tense by adding the tense ēba to the stem and then adding the endings. Notice that instead of ō in the first person singular, we use m.
Imperfect tense, 3rd and 4th conjugation (tense sign in italics)
|
|
Singular |
Plural (translation) |
|
1st person |
mittēbam (I was sending) |
mittēbamus (we were sending) |
|
2nd person |
mittēbas (you were sending) |
mittēbatis (y'all were sending) |
|
3rd person |
mittēbat (he, she, it was sending) |
mittēbant (they were sending) |
More examples, including the linking verb:
Note that the verb sum, esse (last column on the right) is irregular in the imperfect tense, as it is in the present. You’ll need to memorize those forms.
|
1st conj. |
2nd conj. |
3rd conj. |
3rd conj. |
4th conj. |
|
|
|
laudō, laudāre |
doceō, docēre |
vertō, vertere |
faciō, facere |
audiō, audīre |
sum, esse |
|
|
stem: |
laudā |
docē |
vert |
faci |
audi |
varies |
|
Singular |
||||||
|
1st |
laudābam |
docebam |
vertēbam |
faciēbam |
audiēbam |
eram |
|
2nd |
laudābas |
docēbas |
vertēbas |
faciēbas |
audiēbas |
eras |
|
3rd |
laudābat |
docēbat |
vertebat |
faciebat |
audiebat |
erat |
|
Plural |
||||||
|
1st |
laudābamus |
docēbamus |
vertēbamus |
faciēbamus |
audiēbamus |
eramus |
|
2nd |
laudābatis |
docēbatis |
vertēbatis |
faciēbatis |
audiēbatis |
eratis |
|
3rd |
laudābant |
docēbant |
vertebant |
faciebant |
audiebant |
erant |