VIA: Lesson - Present System Formation - 1st Conjugation

Present System Formation - 1st Conjugation

Let's take a look at how to build verbs in Latin by viewing the video below. 

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Verbs Endings Chart

The personal endings o/m, s, t, mus, tis, nt will be used repeatedly. They have the following meanings:

  • Singular Endings
    • o/m = 1st person
      • I
    • s = 2nd person
      • You (singular)
    • t = 3rd person
      • He/She/It
  • Plural Endings
    • mus = 1st person
      • We
    • tis = 2nd person
      • You (plural)
    • nt = 3rd person
      • They
Verb Endings Chart
Tense Present Tense Imperfect Tense Future Tense
Endings o/m
s
t
mus
tis
nt		 bam
bas
bat
bamus
batis
bant		 bo
bis
bit
bimus
bitis
bunt

Example Chart

Example verb: porto, portare, portavi, portatus - to carry

  • Present Stem: portare - re = porta-
1st Conjugation Example Chart
Tense Present Tense Imperfect Tense Future Tense
Verb Forms porto
portas
portat
portamus
portatis
portant		 portabam
portabas
portabat
portabamus
portabatis
portabant		 portabo
portabis
portabit
portabimus
portabitis
portabunt

Translation

Let's explore the translation for each tense by using the conjugated forms of portare.

  • Present Tense = Subject + Verb; Subject + am/is/are + ing; Subject + do/does + verb
    • porto - I carry, I am carrying, I do carry
    • portas - You carry, You are carrying, You do carry
    • portat - He/She/It carrys, He/She/It is carrying, He/She/It does carry
    • portamus - We carry, We are carrying, We do carry
    • portatis - You (plural) carry, You are carrying, You do carry
    • portant - They carry, They are carrying, They do carry
  • Imperfect Tense = Subject + was/were + ing*
    • portabam - I was carrying
    • portabas - You were carrying
    • portabat - He/She/It was carrying
    • portabamus - We were carrying
    • portabatis - You (plural) were carrying
    • portabant - They were carrying
  • Future Tense = Subject + will/shall + verb
    • portabo - I will carry
    • portabis - You will carry
    • portabit - He/She/It will carry
    • portabimus - We will carry
    • portabitis - You (plural) will carry
    • portauant - They will carry

Nota bene

  • *Imperfect has additional translation options. In most examples, was/were + ing will be used as that is the most common way to express the imperfect. But, be aware that you do have some flexibility with this tense. For example, you could translate portabam as follows:
    • I was carrying
    • I used to carry
    • I kept carrying
    • I carried
      • note that this last one, called the simple past, should only be used when the simple past clearly indicates a continuous or repeated action