Present Tense – Regular Verbs

Personal Endings

The personal endings of a verb will indicate what or who the subject is. In Latin the same personal endings are used for many different tenses.

Singular / Plural
1st Person / (I) ō or m / (we) mus
2nd Person / (you) s / (you) tis
3rd Person / (he/she/it/singular noun) t / (they/plural noun) nt

Verb Conjugations

Most Latin verbs can be broken down into four main groups which are known as 1st conjugation, 2nd conjugation, 3rd conjugation, and 4th conjugation.

You can tell which conjugation a verb is in by its infinitive. The infinitive is also known as the 2nd Principal Part because it is the 2nd form listed in a dictionary entry. When you get to the blue book (Unit 2), the glossary will list the verbs the same as in a Latin dictionary. Most infinitives end in “-re”. Often an infinitive is translated as “to + verb”.

1st Conjugation Verbs

These are verbs which have an “ā” in their infinitive. Examples are: clāmō, clāmāre; labōrō, labōrare.

To conjugate a 1st conjugation verb, you must first form the stem. Take the 2nd Principal Part (the infinitive). Drop the –re. Add the personal endings. Notice there is no “ā” in 1st person singular.

Singular / Plural
1st Person / (I shout) clāmō / (we shout) clāmāmus
2nd Person / (you shout) clāmās / (you shout) clāmātis
3rd Person / (he/she/it/singular noun shouts) clāmat / (they/plural noun shout) clāmānt

2nd Conjugation Verbs

These are verbs which have an “ē” in their infinitive. Examples are: videō, vidēre; rīdeō, rīdēre.

To conjugate a 2nd conjugation verb, you must first form the stem. Take the 2nd Principal Part (the infinitive). Drop the –re. Add the personal endings.

Singular / Plural
1st Person / (I see) videō / (we see) vidēmus
2nd Person / (you see) vidēs / (you see) vidētis
3rd Person / (he/she/it/singular noun sees) videt / (they/plural noun see) vident

3rd Conjugation Verbs

These are verbs which have an “e” in their infinitive. Examples are: currō, currere; dūcō, dūcere.

To conjugate a 2nd conjugation verb, you must first form the stem. Take the 1st Principal Part (the 1st person singular form). Drop the –o. Add “i” to everything except 1st person singular and 3rd person plural. Add a “u” to 3rd person plural. Add the personal endings.

Singular / Plural
1st Person / (I run) currō / (we run) currimus
2nd Person / (you run) curris / (you run) curritis
3rd Person / (he/she/it/singular noun runs) currit / (they/plural noun run) currunt

4th Conjugation Verbs

These are verbs which have an “ī” in their infinitive. Examples are: audiō, audīre; dormiō, dormīre.

To conjugate a 2nd conjugation verb, you must first form the stem. Take the 2nd Principal Part (the infinitive). Drop the –re. Add the personal endings. Add a “u” to 3rd person plural. Add the personal endings.

Singular / Plural
1st Person / (I sleep) dormiō / (we sleep) dormīmus
2nd Person / (you sleep) dormīs / (you sleep) dormītis
3rd Person / (he/she/it/singular noun sleeps) dormit / (they/plural noun sleep) dormiunt