Lesson 4 – First Conjugation
So far, we have covered nouns and adjectives, but our Latin sentences have been somewhat uninteresting because we have not yet learned how to use the backbone of the sentence – the verb. In this lesson, we will learn three tenses from the first conjugation; then we will finally be able to put together complete sentences!
Here are a few things about verbs to remember before we get started:
Verbs indicate the action of a sentence. With a few exceptions, sentences cannot be complete without a verb, because the point of a sentence is to make a statement about an action or a state of being.
Verbs use tenses to indicate what time the action is taking place in. Every action takes place in one of three possible time frames: past, present, future. There are a number of tenses which are used to nuance the meaning of the time and the frequency of the action.
Verbs have subjects. The subject is the one who performs the action or is a certain way. Most verbs also have objects; they affect another word in the sentence, establishing meaning in relation to that word.
Those are the basics.
Every Latin verb is identified by four principle parts, which are essential to knowing how the verb works. You must memorize these, first to be able to identify different forms of a verb, second to be able to conjugate a verb properly.
The principal parts consist of the first person singular present indicative active, the present infinitive, the first person singular perfect indicative active, and the supine in –um. Here is an example:
Amō (first person singular present indicative active) – I love/ I am loving/ I do love
Amāre (present infinitive) – To love
Amāvī (first person singular perfect indicative active) – I loved/ I have loved
Amātum (supine in -um) – loved
Each of these principal parts gives you the stem necessary to conjugate the different tenses. For now we need only to focus on the first and second principle parts, because that is how we will get our stems.
First conjugation endings
The tenses we will cover today are the present tense, the imperfect tense, and the future tense. Here is a brief explanation of each one:
The present tense denotes action occurring now. It can be translated a few different ways; let’s use to love as an example. The present could be:
I love / I am loving / I do love
The imperfect is a past tense. It denotes action having occurred already, but which has some duration of time or continual aspect. It could be translated:
I was loving / I used to love / I kept on loving
The future denotes action that will occur. There are a few ways it can be translated:
I will love / I am going to love / I am about to love
We are also covering the present infinitive. It can simply be translated to love, as in I began to love.
Here finally, are the endings for each of the tenses we are learning in this lesson:
1st Person -ō 1st Person -āmus
2nd Person -ās 2nd Person -ātis
3rd Person -at 3rd Person -ant
1st Person -bam 1st Person -bāmus
2nd Person -bās 2nd Person -bātis
3rd Person -bat 3rd Person -bant
1st Person -bō 1st Person -bimus
2nd Person -bis 2nd Person -bitis
3rd Person -bit 3rd Person -bunt
Now that we know the basics, we will look at a few examples. First, however, we will learn how to determine the stem on which to place the endings.
The best method is to look at the present infinitive and take off the –re. For example, amare becomes ama-. Another method is to remember that the ending basis of the first conjugation in -a-, as in am-a-re. Take the ending off the first principal part, add the -a- and you have your stem.
Now let’s look at a verb fully conjugated in the tenses we have learned. We’ll use amo again.
1st Person amō 1st Person amāmus
2nd Person amās 2nd Person amātis
3rd Person amat 3rd Person amant
1st Person amābam 1st Person amābāmus
2nd Person amābās 2nd Person amābātis
3rd Person amābat 3rd Person amābant
1st Person amābo 1st Person amābimus
2nd Person amābis 2nd Person amābitis
3rd Person amābit 3rd Person amābunt
Here is a new set of words. Learning all the verbs will make studying Latin much more interesting:
aurum, -ī (n.) gold
amō, amāre, amāvī, amātum to love, to like
caecus, -a, -um blind
dea, -ae (f.) goddess
dō, dāre, dēdī, datum to give
gaudium, -ī (n.) joy
habitō, habitāre, habitāvī, habitātum to dwell, to live, to inhabit
labōrō, labōrāre, labōrāvī, labōrātum to work, to labor
laudō, laudāre, laudāvī, laudātum to praise
parō, parāre, parāvī, parātum to prepare
portō, portāre, portāvī, portātum to carry
pugnō, pugnāre, pugnāvī, pugnātum to fight
saxum, -ī (n.) stone, rock
silva, -ae (f.) forest
superō, superāre, superāvī, superātum to conquer, to overcome
terra, -ae (f.) earth, land
vocō, vocāre, vocāvī, vocātum to call
et (conjunction) and
- Conjugate the following verbs into the tenses given:
- dō, dāre, dēdī, datum (present)
- pugnō, pugnāre, pugnāvī, pugnātum (future)
- vocō, vocāre, vocāvī, vocātum (imperfect)
- Translate; give person, number, tense
- Latin to English: translate the following into English
- Caecī nautae pulchrīs fēminīs rosās et parva saxa dant.
- Gaudium literārum gladium superābit.
- Puerī magna saxa portabant. Labōrant et dabunt aurum deīs. Deae puerōs laudābunt.
- English to Latin: translate the following into Latin
- I am blind. You (pl.) will give gold to blind men. It will give joy to the gods.
- He was fighting the evil men.
- The goddesses love the forest and the earth.
- The poets are fighting and they will prepare (for) war.
- The good woman is calling (to) the goddess. She works for the girls.
A. Conjugate the following verbs into the tenses given:
1. dō, dāre, dēdī, datum (present)
1st Person dō 1st Person dāmus
2nd Person dās 2nd Person dātis
3rd Person dat 3rd Person dant
2. pugnō, pugnāre, pugnāvī, pugnātum (future)
1st Person pugnābam 1st Person pugnābāmus
2nd Person pugnābās 2nd Person pugnābātis
3rd Person pugnābat 3rd Person pugnābant
3. vocō, vocāre, vocāvī, vocātum (imperfect)
1st Person vocābo 1st Person vocābimus
2nd Person vocābis 2nd Person vocābitis
3rd Person vocābit 3rd Person vocābunt
B. Translate; give person, number, tense
1. Laudant – they praise: 3rd person, plural, present
2. Pugnābātis – you (pl.) were fighting: 2nd person, plural, imperfect
3. Superābunt – they will conquer: 3rd person, plural, future
4. Dās – you (sing.) give: 2nd person, singular, present
5. Habitābam – I was dwelling: 1st person, singular, present
6. Laborāmus – We are working: 1st person, plural, present
7. Portābat – He was carrying: 3rd person, singular, imperfect
8. Amābis – You (sing.) will love: 2nd person, singular, future
9. Vocātis – You (pl.) are calling: 2nd person, plural, present
10. Parābimus – We will prepare: 1st person, plural, future
C. Latin to English: translate the following into English
1. The blind sailors are giving roses and small rocks to the pretty women.
2. The joy of literature will overcome the sword.
3. The boys were carrying large rocks. They are working and they will give gold to the gods/goddesses. The goddesses will praise the boys.
D. English to Latin: translate the following into Latin
1. Caecus sum. Dābitis aurum caecis. Dābit gaudium deīs.
2. Pugnābat malōs.
3. Deae silvam et terram amant.
4. Poetae pugnant et bellum parābunt.
5. Fēmina bona deae vocat. Puellīs labōrat.