We have already seen two different Latin verb tenses: the present and the imperfect. Both of these are built from the 1st and 2nd principle parts. There is one more tense built from the 1st and 2nd principle parts – the future tense. Obviously, this is the tense we use in Latin to talk about things that will happen in the future.
But first, a reminder of how the present and imperfect tenses are formed. First, we need to know the personal endings.
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.
General rules for regular verbs in the present system
|
|
1st conjugation (-āre) & 2nd conjugation (-ēre) |
3rd conjugation (-ere) & 4th conjugation (-īre) |
|
Stem for present system |
remove re from 2nd principle part |
remove ō from the 1st principle part |
|
Present tense I give, I am giving |
stem + endings |
ō (1st sg.) stem + i* + endings u (3rd pl.) "fishhook" |
|
Imperfect tense I was giving, I used to give |
stem + ba + endings |
stem + ēba + endings |
* if there is already an i at the end of the stem, don’t add another one
Forming the future tense: 1st and 2nd conjugation verbs
We form the future tense by adding the tense sign b, bi, bu to the stem and then adding the endings. We use b for the 1st person singular, bu for the third person plural, and bi for all the rest. So:
Future tense, 1st and 2nd conjugation (tense sign in italics)
|
|
Singular |
Plural (translation) |
|
1st person |
amābō (I will love) |
amābimus (we will love) |
|
2nd person |
amābis (you will love) |
amābitis (y'all will love) |
|
3rd person |
amābit (he, she, it will love) |
amābunt (they will love) |
Forming the future tense: 3rd and 4th conjugation verbs
We form the future tense by adding the tense sign a, e to the stem and then adding the endings. We use a for the 1st person singular and e for all the rest. So:
Future tense, 3rd and 4th conjugation (tense sign in italics)
|
|
Singular |
Plural (translation) |
|
1st person |
mittam (I will send) |
mittēmus (we will send) |
|
2nd person |
mittēs (you will send) |
mittētis (y'all will send) |
|
3rd person |
mittet (he, she, it will send) |
mittent (they will send) |
The cute little rhyme to help you remember this is:
b, bi, bu for 1 and 2
a and e for 4 and 3
More examples, including the linking verb:
|
1st conj. |
2nd conj. |
3rd conj. |
3rd conj. |
4th conj. |
|
|
|
laudō -āre |
doceō -ēre |
vertō -ere |
faciō -ere |
audiō -īre |
sum, esse |
|
|
stem: |
laudā |
docē |
vert |
faci |
audi |
varies |
|
Singular |
||||||
|
1st |
laudābō |
docebō |
vertam |
faciam |
audiam |
erō |
|
2nd |
laudābis |
docēbis |
vertēs |
faciēs |
audiēs |
eris |
|
3rd |
laudābit |
docēbit |
vertet |
faciet |
audiet |
erit |
|
Plural |
||||||
|
1st |
laudābimus |
docēbimus |
vertēmus |
faciēmus |
audiēmus |
erimus |
|
2nd |
laudābitis |
docēbitis |
vertētis |
faciētis |
audiētis |
eritis |
|
3rd |
laudābunt |
docēbunt |
vertent |
facient |
audient |
erunt |