Intro. to Latin - Fourth Form Latin Class

LATIN VERBS

Conjugation Translations

VERBS = ACTION WORDS

Conjugating verbs attaches the person [WHO] and the tense [WHEN] to the verb as a verb ending.

So in Latin, the whole verb word tells:

WHO is doing the action, and

WHEN the action is done.

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First we will look at the "person" of the verb: "WHO" is doing the action will determine which ending the verb will have:

So a "to" do something is called the "infinitive," which has the ending "re." The letter before the "re" we will call the "family link" - telling us which "family" the verb belongs to. Their are four different family groups for Latin verbs, the official terms for these family grouping are:

1. First Conjugation

2. Second Conjugation

3. Third Conjugation

4. Fourth Conjugation

A review on Latin noun and verb groups

Conjugations and Declensions

In Latin, we use conjugations with verbs and declensions with nouns. There are several types of verbs that take on different endings based on its conjugation. These conjugations are actually quite similar to one another, but nonetheless they conjugate differently. There are five conjugations (or you could say six if you count the third as two conjugations). Each is unique in how it conjugates.

First

The first conjugation of verbs centers around the letter "a". This conjugation is unique in that all four of its primary verb forms (discussed a little later) are predictable, unlike in the other conjugations.

Amare, Dare, Cenare

Second

The second conjugation is much like the first, and it uses many similar endings with the first conjugation. The only primary difference between the second and first conjugations is that the second centers around "e".

Monere, Habere, Videre

Third

The third conjugation is the most common one. This conjugation is different from the first and second conjugations, but it is similar to the fourth. It also doesn't center around a particular letter, but it does focus on "e" and "i".

Agere, Gerere, Legere

Third -io

This is actually grouped with the third conjugation, but these do conjugate slightly differently. This particular group of verbs is kind of like a cross between the third conjugation and fourth conjugation.

Capere, Cupere, Perficere

Fourth

The fourth conjugation is much like the third -io group except that it deals with the "i" more.

Audire, Venire, Dormire

Irregular

The irregular conjugation verbs in some prospects in forming a verb form will not conjugate like the other four conjugations. Although there are not many of these verbs, their forms are best memorized since their patterns are more unpredictable.

Esse, Ire, Velle

Because of these conjugations, we can make rules on how verbs are formed.

IMPERFECT VERBS

Verb tense tells us WHEN the action takes place:

TIME

ASPECT

A theory of the origins of tenses.

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