Latin conjugation

Properties

The Latin verbs have the following properties:

three persons: first, second, and third;

two numbers: singular and plural;

three times: present, past, and future, and two aspects: perfective (finished) and imperfective (unfinished), which combine to form six tenses: present, perfect, imperfect, Pluperfect, future, and future perfect;

three finite moods: indicative, subjunctive, and imperative, of which only the indicative is conjugated fully in all tenses and persons;

four non-finite forms: infinitive, gerund, participle, and supine; and

two voices: active and passive.

Conjugations

There are four conjugations in Latin which define patterns of verb inflection. However the grouping in conjugations is based solely on the behaviour of the verb in the present system, and the stems for other forms cannot be inferred from the present stem, so several forms of the verb are necessary to be able to produce the full range of Latin verbal forms. Most Latin verbs belong to one of the four verb conjugations, though some, like esse (to be), do not.

First conjugation

The first conjugation is characterized by the vowel ā and can be recognized by the -āre ending of the present active infinitive form. The principal parts usually adhere to one of the following patterns:

perfect has the suffix –āvī. The majority of first-conjugation verbs adhere to this pattern, which is considered to be "regular", for example:

portō, portāre, portāvī, portātum, "to carry, to bring";

amō, amāre, amāvī, amātum, "to love, to be fond of";

perfect has the suffix –uī, for example:

secō, secāre, secuī, sectum, "to cut, to divide";

fricō, fricāre, fricuī, frictum, "to rub";

vetō, vetāre, vetuī, vetitum, "to forbid, to prohibit";

perfect has the suffix –ī and vowel lengthening in the stem, for example:

lavō, lavāre, lāvī, lautum, "to wash, to bathe";

iuvō, iuvāre, iūvī, iūtum, "to help, to assist";

perfect is reduplicated, for example:

stō, stāre, stetī, statum, "to stand";

dō, dare, dedī, datum, "to give, to bestow"; this verb is irregular.

Second conjugation

The second conjugation is characterized by the vowel ē, and can be recognized by the -eō ending of the first person present indicative and the -ēre ending of the present active infinitive form. The principal parts usually adhere to one of the following patterns:

perfect has the suffix –uī. Verbs which adhere to this pattern are considered to be "regular". Examples:

terreō, terrēre, terruī, territus (to frighten, to deter)

doceō, docēre, docuī, doctus (to teach, to instruct)

teneō, tenēre, tenuī, tentus (to hold, to keep)

perfect has the suffix –ēvī. Examples:

dēleō, dēlēre, dēlēvī, dēlētus (to destroy, to efface)

cieō, ciēre, cīvī, citus (to arouse, to stir)

perfect has the suffix –sī (which combines with a preceding c or g to –xī). Examples:

augeō, augēre, auxī, auctus (to increase, to enlarge)

iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus (to order, to bid)

perfect is reduplicated with –ī. Examples:

mordeō, mordēre, momordī, morsus (to bite, to nip)

spondeō, spondēre, spopondī, spōnsus (to vow, to promise)

perfect has suffix –ī and vowel lengthening in the stem. Examples:

videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus (to see, to notice)

foveō, fovēre, fōvī, fōtus (to caress, to cherish)

perfect has suffix –ī and no perfect passive participle. Examples:

strīdeō, strīdere, strīdī (to hiss, to creak)

ferveō, fervēre, fervī (sometimes fervuī) (to boil, to seethe)

Third conjugation

The third conjugation is characterized by a short thematic vowel, which alternates between e, i, and u in different environments. Verbs of this conjugation end in an –ere in the present active infinitive. There is no regular rule for constructing the perfect stem of third-conjugation verbs, but the following patterns are used:

perfect has suffix –sī (–xī when c or h comes at the end of the root). Examples:

carpō, carpere, carpsī, carptus (to pluck, to select)

trahō, trahere, trāxī, trāctus (to drag, to draw)

gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus (to wear, to bear)

flectō, flectere, flexī, flexus (to bend, to twist)

perfect is reduplicated with suffix –ī. Examples:

currō, currere, cucurrī, cursus (to run, to race)

caedō, caedere, cecīdī, caesus (to kill, to slay)

tangō, tangere, tetigī, tāctus (to touch, to hit)

pellō, pellere, pepulī, pulsus (to beat, to drive away)

perfect has suffix -vī. Examples:

petō, petere, petīvī, petītus (to seek, to attack)

linō, linere, līvī, lītus (to smear, to befoul)

serō, serere, sēvī, satus (to sow, to plant)

terō, terere, trīvī, trītus (to rub, to wear out)

sternō, sternere, strāvī, strātus (to spread, to stretch out)

perfect has suffix –ī and vowel lengthening in the stem. Examples:

agō, agere, ēgī, āctus (to do, to drive)

legō, legere, lēgī, lēctus (to collect, to read)

emō, emere, ēmī, ēmptus (to buy, to purchase)

vincō, vincere, vīcī, victus (to conquer, to master)

fundō, fundere, fūdī, fūsus (to pour, to utter)

perfect has suffix –ī only. Examples:

īcō, īcere, īcī, īctus (to strike, to smite)

vertō, vertere, vertī, versus (to turn, to alter)

vīsō, vīsere, vīsī, vīsus (to visit)

perfect has suffix –uī. Examples:

metō, metere, messuī, messus (to reap, to harvest)

vomō, vomere, vomuī, vomitus (to vomit)

colō, colere, coluī, cultus (to cultivate, to till)

texō, texere, texuī, textus (to weave, to plait)

gignō, gignere, genuī, genitus (to beget, to cause)

Present tense indicative first person singular form has suffix with –scō. Examples:

nōscō, nōscere, nōvī, nōtus (to investigate, to learn)

adolēscō, adolēscere, adolēvī (to grow up, to mature)

flōrēscō, flōrēscere, flōruī (to begin to flourish, to blossom)

haerēscō, haerēscere, haesī, haesus (to adhere, to stick)

pāscō, pāscere, pāvī, pāstus (to feed, to nourish)

Intermediate between the third and fourth conjugation are the third-conjugation verbs with suffix –iō. .

Fourth conjugation

The fourth conjugation is characterized by the vowel ī and can be recognized by the –īre ending of the present active infinitive. Principal parts of verbs in the fourth conjugation generally adhere to the following patterns:

perfect has suffix –vī. Verbs which adhere to this pattern are considered to be "regular". Examples:

audiō, audīre, audīvī, audītus (to hear, listen (to))

mūniō, mūnīre, mūnīvī, mūnītus (to fortify, to build)

perfect has suffix –uī. Examples:

aperiō, aperīre, aperuī, apertus (to open, to uncover)

perfect has suffix –sī (-xī when c comes at the end of the root). Examples:

saepiō, saepīre, saepsī, saeptus (to surround, to enclose)

sanciō, sancīre, sānxī, sānctus (to confirm, to ratify)

sentiō, sentīre, sēnsī, sēnsus (to feel, to perceive)

perfect has suffix –ī and vowel lengthening in the stem. Examples:

veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventūrus (to come, to arrive)

Personal endings

Personal endings are used in all tenses. The present, imperfect, future, pluperfect and future perfect use the same personal endings in the active voice. However, the perfect, pluperfect and future perfect do not have personal endings in the passive voice. These are formed by a participle and a form of esse (to be). For example, the perfect passive first person singular form of the verb amāre (to love) is amatus sum, using the participle and sum rather than the perfect stem amav- and some form of -ir. The perfect uses its own personal endings in the active voice, which are shown in the chart below.

Imperfective aspect tenses

The tenses of the imperfective aspect are present, imperfect, and future tense. Verb forms in the imperfective aspect express an action that has (or had) not been completed. Consider for concreteness the following verbs:

the first conjugation verb portō, portāre, portāvī, portātum (to carry, to bring)

the second conjugation verb terreō, terrēre, terruī, territum (to frighten, to deter)

the third conjugation verb petō, petere, petīvī, petītum (to seek, to attack)

the fourth conjugation verb audiō, audīre, audīvī, audītum (to hear, to listen (to))

In all the conjugations except for the third conjugation, the –re is removed from the second principal part (for example, portāre without the suffix –re becomes portā–) to form the present stem, which is used for all of the tenses in the imperfective aspect. In the third conjugation, the –ō ending of the present indicative is dropped in order to form the present stem (for example, the present indicative form of regere is regō, and without the -ō it is the present stem, reg–). Occasionally, the terminating vowel of the stem is lengthened and/or shortened, and sometimes completely changed. This is often true both in the third conjugation and in the subjunctive mood of all conjugations.

Present tense

The present tense (Latin tempus praesēns) is used to show an uncompleted action that happens in the current time. The present tense does not have a tense sign. Instead, the personal endings are added to the bare present stem. However, in this tense the thematic vowel, most notably the ě in the third conjugation, changes the most frequently.

Present indicative

The present indicative expresses general truths, facts, demands and desires. Most commonly, a verb like portō can be translated as "I carry," "I do carry," or "I am carrying". In all but the third conjugation, only the thematical vowel of the stem is used. In the third conjugation, the e is only used in the second person singular in the passive for a less difficult pronunciation. Otherwise, it becomes either an i or u. The first person singular of the indicative active present is the first principal part. All end in –ō.

Add the passive endings to form the passive voice. The passive portor can be translated as "I am carried," or "I am being carried".

Notice that in the second person singular of petere, the thematic vowel is e (peteris, not petiris).

Present subjunctive

The present subjunctive may be used to assert many things. In general, in independent sentences, it is translated hortatorily (only in the third person plural), jussively and optatively. Portem can be translated as "Let me carry." or "May I carry." Portēmus can be "Let us carry".

Some alterations have occurred in the vowels from the indicative and subjunctive.

The first conjugation now uses an e and an ē.

The second conjugation uses ea and eā.

The third conjugation uses a or ā.

The fourth conjugation uses ia or iā.

"Let's beat that giant", "Defeat all liars", or "She wears a diamond/tiara" are helpful mnemonics for remembering this. First conjugation verbs have an "e" in their stem (we), second conjugation verbs have an "-ea" (eat), third conjugation verbs have an "a" (caviar), and fourths have an "ia" (caviar). Other acceptable mnemonics include she reads a diary, he beats a liar, everybody eats apple iambics, let’s steal a fiat, he cheats a friar, or Clem eats clams in Siam.

Like the indicative, active personal endings may be replaced by passive personal endings. Porter can be translated as "Let me be carried" or "May I be carried." Hortatorily, Portēmur can be "Let us be carried".

Present imperative

The present imperative conveys commands, pleas and recommendations. Portā can be translated as "(You) Carry" or simply, "Carry". The imperative present occurs only in the second person.

The second person singular in the active voice uses only the bare stem, and does not add an imperative ending.

The imperative present of the passive voice is rarely used, except in the case of deponent verbs, whose passive forms carry active meaning. Portāminī can be translated as "(You) Be carried". The deponent sequīminī, on the other hand, means "(You) Follow!".

The singular uses the alternate form of the present passive indicative (which looks like the present active infinitive) and the plural uses the present passive indicative form of the second person plural.

Imperfect

The imperfect (Latin tempus praeteritum imperfectum) indicates a perpetual, but incomplete action in the past. It is recognized by the tense signs bă and bā in the indicative, and re and rē in the subjunctive.

Imperfect indicative

The imperfect indicative simply expresses an action in the past that was not completed. Portābam can be translated to mean, "I was carrying," "I carried," or "I used to carry".

In the indicative, the imperfect employs its tense signs ba and bā before personal endings are added.

As with the present tense, active personal endings are taken off, and passive personal endings are put in their place. Portābar can be translated as "I was being carried," "I kept being carried," or "I used to be carried".

Imperfect subjunctive

In the subjunctive, the imperfect is quite important, especially in subordinate clauses. Independently, it is largely translated conditionally. Portārem can mean, "I should carry," or "I would carry".

Unlike the indicative, the subjunctive does not modify the thematic vowel. The third conjugation's thematical remains short as an e, and the fourth conjugation does not use an iē before the imperfect signs. It keeps its ī.

In the subjunctive, the imperfect employs its tense signs re and rē before personal endings.

The verb esse (to be) has two imperfect subjunctives: one using the present infinitive (essem, esses, esset, essemus, essetis, essent) and one using the future infinitive (forem, fores, foret, foremus, foretis, forent).

As with the indicative subjunctive, active endings are removed, and passive endings are added. Portārer may be translated as "I should be carried," or "I would be carried."

Future tense

The future tense (Latin tempus futūrum simplex) expresses an uncompleted action in the future. It is recognized by its tense signs bō, bi, bu, a and ē in the indicative and the vowel ō in the imperative mood.

Future indicative

The future tense always refers to an incomplete action. In addition, the future tense is stricter in usage temporally in Latin than it is in English. Standing alone, portābō can mean, "I shall carry," or "I will carry."

The first and second conjugations use bō, bi and bu as signs for the future indicative.

The third and fourth conjugations replace their thematic vowels with a, ě and ē. The fourth conjugation inserts an ǐ before the a, e and ē.

As with all imperfective system tenses, active personal endings are removed, and passive personal endings are put on. Portābor translates as, "I shall be carried."

Notice that the penultimate vowel in the second person singular of portāre and terrēre is e, not i (portāberis and terrēberis, instead of the expected portābiris and terrēbiris).

Future imperative

The future imperative was a formal form of the imperative; by the classical period, it was chiefly used in legal documents, though it retained some currency in distinct reference to future time. A few irregular or defective verbs (meminisse 'remember') used this form as their only imperative.

Portātō can be translated as "You shall carry".

As mentioned previously, the vowel ō is used as a sign of the future imperative.

The ending -r marks the passive voice in the future imperative. The second person plural is absent here. Portātor translates as "You shall be carried."

Perfective aspect tenses

The tenses of the perfective aspect, which are the perfect, pluperfect and future perfect tenses, are used to express actions that have been, had been, or will have been completed. The verbs used for explanation are:

1st conjugation: portō, portāre, portāvī, portātum – to carry, bring2nd conjugation: terreō, terrēre, terruī, territum – to frighten, deter3rd conjugation: petō, petere, petīvī, petītum – to seek, attack4th conjugation: audiō, audīre, audīvī, audītum – to hear, listen (to)

To find the stem for the third principal part in all of the conjugations, the –ī is removed from it. For example, from portāvī, portāv is formed. This is the perfect stem, and it is used for all of the tenses in the perfective aspect. The perfective aspect verbs also use the perfect passive participle in the passive voice. See below to see how it is formed. Along with these participles, the verb esse, which means, "to be", is used.

Unlike the imperfective aspect, inflection does not deviate from conjugation to conjugation.

Perfect

The perfect (Latin tempus praeteritum perfectum) refers to an action completed in the past. Tense signs are only used in this tense with the indicative. The tense signs of the subjunctive are eri and erī.

Perfect indicative

The indicative perfect expresses a finished action in the past. If the action were not finished, but still lies in the past, one would use the imperfect. Portāvī is translated as "I carried," "I did carry," or "I have carried."

As aforementioned, the indicative perfect in the active voice has its special personal endings.

In the passive voice, the perfect passive participle is used with the auxiliary verb esse. It uses the present indicative form of esse. Portātus sum translates as "I was carried," or "I have been carried."

Perfect subjunctive

Like the imperfect subjunctive, the perfect subjunctive is largely used in subordinate clauses. Independently, it is usually translated as the potential subjunctive. By itself, portāverim translates as "I may have carried."

The tense signs eri and erī are used before the personal endings are added.

The passive voice uses the perfect passive participle with the subjunctive present forms of esse. Portātus sim means, "I may have been carried."

Pluperfect

The pluperfect (Latin tempus praeteritum plūsquamperfectum) expresses an action which was completed before another completed action. It is recognized by the tense signs era and erā in the indicative and isse and issē in the subjunctive.

Pluperfect indicative

As with English, in Latin, the pluperfect indicative is used to assert an action that was completed before another (perfect). Portāveram translates as "I had carried."

The tense sign erā is employed before adding the personal endings, with the long ā following the usual rules for shortening before final -m, -t, and -nt.

In the passive voice, the perfect passive participle is used with esse in the imperfect indicative. Portātus eram is translated as "I had been carried."

Pluperfect subjunctive

The pluperfect subjunctive is to the perfect subjunctive as the imperfect subjunctive is to the present subjunctive. Simply put, it is used with the perfect subjunctive in subordinate clauses. Like the imperfect subjunctive, it is translated conditionally independently. Portāvissem is translated as "I should have carried," or "I would have carried."

The tense signs isse and issē are used before the personal endings.

As always, the passive voice uses the perfect passive participle. The imperfect subjunctive of esse is used here. Portātus essem may mean "I should have been carried," or "I could have been carried," in the conditional sense.

Future perfect

Probably the least used of all the tenses, the future perfect (Latin tempus futūrum exāctum) conveys an action that will have been completed before another action. It is signified by the tense signs erō and eri. The future perfect is the only tense that occurs in a single mood.

Future perfect indicative

As said, the future perfect is used to mention an action that will have been completed in futurity before another action. It is often used with the future tense. In simple translation, portāverō means, "I will have carried," or "I shall have carried."

The tense signs erō and eri are used before the personal endings.

As with all perfective aspect tenses, the perfect passive participle is used in the passive voice. However, the future perfect uses the future indicative of esse as the auxiliary verb. Portātus erō is "I will have been carried," or "I shall have been carried."

Non-finite forms

The non-finite forms of verbs are participles, infinitives, supines, gerunds and gerundives. The verbs used are:

1st conjugation: portō, portāre, portāvī, portātum – to carry, bring2nd conjugation: terreō, terrēre, terruī, territum – to frighten, deter3rd conjugation: petō, petere, petīvī, petītum – to seek, attack4th conjugation: audiō, audīre, audīvī, audītum – to hear, listen (to)

Participles

There are four participles: present active, perfect passive, future passive, and future active.

The present active participle is declined like a third declension adjective with one ending.

In the first and second conjugations, the present active is formed by taking the present stem and adding an –ns. The genitive singular form adds an –ntis, and the thematicals ā and ē are shortened.

In the third conjugation, the e of the present stem is lengthened. In the genitive, the ē is short again.

In the fourth conjugation, the ī is shortened, and an ē is placed. Of course, this ē is short in the genitive.

Puer portāns translates into "carrying boy."

The perfect passive participle is declined like a first and second declension adjective.

In all conjugations, the perfect participle is formed by removing the –um from the supine, and adding a –us (masculine nominative singular).

Puer portātus translates into "carried boy."

The future active participle is declined like a first and second declension adjective.

In all conjugations the –um is removed from the supine, and an –ūrus (masculine nominative singular) is added.

Puer portātūrus translates into "boy going to carry," or "boy who is going to carry."

The future passive participle is formed by taking the present stem, adding "-nd-", and then the adjective ending "-us, -a, -um". Thus "laudare" forms "laudandus".

The literal translation is "about to be praised", but this often extends a sense of obligation, thus "must be praised". Thus the "future passive participle" is often cross-listed as the "gerundive" (see below).

Infinitives

There are six infinitives. They are in the present active, present passive, perfect active, perfect passive, future active and future passive.

The present active infinitive is the second principal part (in regular verbs). It plays an important role in the syntactic construction of Accusativus cum infinitivo, for instance.

Portāre means, "to carry."

The present passive infinitive is formed by adding a –rī to the present stem. This is only so for the first, second and fourth conjugations. In the third conjugation, the thematical vowel, e, is taken from the present stem, and an –ī is added.

Portārī translates into "to be carried."

The perfect active infinitive is formed by adding an –isse onto the perfect stem.

Portāvisse translates into "to have carried."

The perfect passive infinitive uses the perfect passive participle along with the auxiliary verb esse. The perfect passive infinitive must agree with what it is describing in number and gender.

Portātus esse means, "to have been carried."

The future active infinitive uses the future active participle with the auxiliary verb esse.

Portātūrus esse means, "to be going to carry." The future active infinitive must agree with what it is describing in number and gender.

Esse has two future infinitives: futurus esse and fore (fore is mostly used in a substitute expression for the Future Passive Infinitive)

The future passive infinitive uses the supine with the auxiliary verb īrī.

Portātum īrī is translated as "to be going to be carried." This is normally used in indirect speech. For example: Omnēs senātōres dīxērunt templum conditum īrī. "All of the senators said that a temple would be built."

The Future Passive Infinitive was actually not very commonly used (Wheelock's Latin mentions it exists but makes it a point to avoid using it in any practice examples). In practice, the Romans themselves often used an alternate expression, "fore ut" followed by a subjunctive clause.

Supine

The supine is the fourth principal part of the verb, as given in Latin dictionaries. It resembles a masculine noun of the fourth declension. Supines only occur in the accusative and ablative cases.

The accusative form ends in a –um, and is used with a verb of motion in order to show purpose. Thus it is only used with verbs like īre "to go", venīre "to come", etc. The accusative form of a supine can also take an object if needed.

Pater vēnit portātum līberōs suōs. – The father came to carry his children.

The ablative, which ends in a –ū, is used with the Ablative of Specification.

Arma haec facillima portātū erant. – These arms were the easiest to carry.

Gerund

The gerund is formed similarly to the present active participle. However, the –ns becomes an –ndus, and the preceding ā or ē is shortened. Gerunds are neuter nouns of the second declension, but the nominative case is not present. The gerund is a noun, meaning "the act of doing (the verb)", and forms a suppletive paradigm to the infinitive, which cannot be declined. For example, the genitive form portandī can mean "of carrying", the dative form portandō can mean "to carrying", the accusative form portandum can mean "carrying", and the ablative form portandō can mean "by carrying", "in respect to carrying", etc.

One common use of the gerund is with the preposition ad to indicate purpose. For example, paratus ad oppugnandum could be translated as "ready to attack". However the gerund was avoided when an object was introduced, and a passive construction with the gerundive was preferred. For example, for "ready to attack the enemy" the construction paratus ad hostes oppugnandos is preferred over paratus ad hostes oppugnandum.

Gerundive

The gerundive has a form similar to that of the gerund, but it is a first and second declension adjective, and functions as a future passive participle (see § Participles above). It means "(which is) to be ...ed". Often, the gerundive is used with an implicit esse, to show obligation.

Puer portandus "The boy to be carried"

Oratio laudanda est means "The speech is to be praised". In such constructions a substantive in dative may be used to identify the agent of the obligation (dativus auctoris), as in Oratio nobis laudanda est meaning "The speech is to be praised by us" or "We must praise the speech".

For some examples of uses of Latin gerundives, see the Gerundive article.

Periphrastic conjugations

There are two periphrastic conjugations. One is active, and the other is passive.

Active

The first periphrastic conjugation uses the future participle. It is combined with the forms of esse. It is translated as "I am going to carry," "I was going to carry", etc.

Passive

The second periphrastic conjugation uses the gerundive. It is combined with the forms of esse and expresses necessity. It is translated as "I am to be carried," "I was to be carried", etc., or as "I have to (must) be carried," "I had to be carried," etc.

Irregular verbs

There are a few irregular verbs in Latin that are not grouped into a particular conjugation (such as esse and posse), or deviate slightly from a conjugation (such as ferre, īre, and dare). It consists of the following list and their compounds (such as conferre). Many irregular verbs lack a fourth principal part.

sum, esse, fuī, futūrum^[1] – to be, existpossum, posse^[2], potuī – to be able, caneō, īre, īvī / īī, ītum – to govolō, velle, voluī – to wish, wantnōlō, nōlle, nōluī – not to want, refusemālō, mālle, māluī – to preferferō, ferre, tulī, lātum – to bear, endure, carry, bringfīō, fierī, factus sum – to become, happen, be madeedō, ēsse, ēdī, ēsum – to eat, wastedō, dare, dedī, datum – to give, bestow

Of these, esse, ferre, and fierī are suppletive, that is, their deviating third and fourth principal parts reflect what was an entirely different verb historically (in Proto-Indo-European).

Deponent and semi-deponent verbs

Deponent verbs are verbs that are passive in form (that is, conjugated as though in the passive voice) but active in meaning. These verbs have only three principal parts, since the perfect of ordinary passives is formed periphrastically with the perfect participle, which is formed on the same stem as the supine. Some examples coming from all conjugations are:

1st conjugation: mīror, mīrārī, mīrātus sum – to admire, wonder2nd conjugation: polliceor, pollicērī, pollicitus sum – to promise, offer3rd conjugation: loquor, loquī, locūtus sum – to speak, say4th conjugation: orior, orīrī, ortus sum – to rise, spring up (sometimes conjugated as a 3rd-conjugation -ior verb)

Deponent verbs use active conjugations for tenses that do not exist in the passive: the gerund, the supine, the present and future participles and the future infinitive. They cannot be used in the passive themselves (except the gerundive), and their analogues with "active" form do not in fact exist: one cannot directly translate "The word is said" with any form of loquī, and there are no forms like loquō, loquis, loquit, etc.

Semi-deponent verbs form their imperfective aspect tenses in the manner of ordinary active verbs; but their perfect are built periphrastically like deponents and ordinary passives; thus semideponent verbs have a perfect active participle instead of a perfect passive participle. An example:

audeō, audēre, ausus sum – to dare, venture

Note: In the Romance languages, which lack deponent or passive verb forms, the Classical Latin deponent verbs either disappeared (being replaced with non-deponent verbs of a similar meaning) or changed to a non-deponent form. For example, in Spanish and Italian, mīrārī changed to mirar(e) by changing all the verb forms to the previously nonexistent "active form", and audeō changed to osar(e) by taking the participle ausus and making an -ar(e) verb out of it (note that au went to o).

Third conjugation –iō verbs

There is a rather prolific subset of important verbs within the third conjugation. They have an –iō present in the first principal part (–ior for deponents), and resemble the fourth conjugation in some forms. Otherwise, they are still conjugated as normal, third conjugation verbs. Thus, these verbs are called third conjugation –iō verbs or third conjugation i-stems. Some examples are:

capiō, capere, cēpī, captum – to take, seize, understandcupiō, cupere, cupīvī, cupītum – to desire, long forfaciō, facere, fēcī, factum – to do, makemorior, morī^[3], mortuus sum (dep.) – to die, decaypatior, patī, passus sum (dep.) – to suffer, undergo, endurerapiō, rapere, rapuī, raptum – to plunder, take up, seize, snatch, carry away

They resemble the fourth conjugation in the following instances.

Present indicative (first person singular, third person plural) – capiō, capiunt, etc.Indicative imperfect – capiēbam, capiēbāmus, etc.Indicative future – capiam, capiēmus, etc.Subjunctive present – capiam, capiāmus, etc.Imperative future (third person plural) – capiuntō, etc.Present Active Participle – capiēns, –entisGerund – capiendī, capiendum, etc.Gerundive – capiendus, –a, –um

Defective verbs

Defective verbs are verbs that are conjugated in only some instances.

Some verbs are conjugated only in the perfective aspect's tenses, yet have the imperfective aspect's tenses' meanings. As such, the perfect becomes the present, the pluperfect becomes the imperfect, and the future perfect becomes the future. Therefore, the defective verb ōdī means, "I hate." These defective verbs' principal parts are given in vocabulary with the indicative perfect in the first person and the perfect active infinitive. Some examples are:

A few verbs, the meanings of which usually have to do with speech, appear only in certain occurrences.

The following are conjugated irregularly:

Present Active Participle: – aiēns, –entis

Fari

Present Active Participle – fāns, fantisPresent Active Infinitive – fārī (variant: fārier)Supine – (acc.) fātum, (abl.) fātūGerund – (gen.) fandī, (dat. and abl.) fandō, no accusativeGerundive – fandus, –a, –um

The Romance languages lost many of these verbs, but others (such as ōdī) survived but became regular fully conjugated verbs (in Italian, odiare).

Impersonal verbs

Impersonal verbs are those lacking a person. In English impersonal verbs are usually used with the neuter pronoun "it" (as in "It seems," or "It storms"). Latin uses the third person singular. These verbs lack a fourth principal part. A few examples are:

pluit, pluere, pluvit – to rain (it rains)ningit, ningere, ninxit^[5] – to snow (it snows)oportet, oportēre, oportuit – to be proper (it is proper, one should/ought to)licet, licēre, licuit – to be permitted [to] (it is allowed [to])

The third person forms of esse may also be seen as impersonal when seen from the perspective of English:

Nox aestīva calida fuit. – It was a hot, summer night.Est eī quī terram colunt. – It is they who till the land.

Irregular future active participles

As stated, the future active participle is normally formed by removing the –um from the supine, and adding a –ūrus. However, some deviations occur.

Alternative verb forms

Several verb forms may occur in alternative forms (in some authors these forms are fairly common, if not more common than the canonical ones):

The ending –ris in the passive voice may be –re as in:

The ending –ērunt in the perfect may be –ēre (primarily in poetry) as in:

Syncopated verb forms

Like most Romance languages, syncopated forms and contractions are present in Latin. They may occur in the following instances:

Perfect stems that end in a –v may be contracted when inflected.

The compounds of noscere (to learn) and movēre (to move, dislodge) can also be contracted.