4th Conjugation: Present System

Let's look at the last conjugation: 4th conjugation. 4th conjugation shares similarities with 1st conjugation (it has a very regular set of principal parts, just like 1st conjugation, but with an -i instead of an -a), but also with 3rd-io conjugation.

4th Conjugation - Present Stem

Use the regular method to form the present stem for 4th conjugation: 2nd principal part - re.

Examples:

audio, audire, audivi, auditus
- 2nd PP = audire
- Drop -re: audire - re
- Present stem: audi-

The Present System

The present system includes the present, imperfect and future tenses. Compare the regular Third conjugation and Third -io conjugation charts. 1st person singular and 3rd person plural stand out, since they appear to have an extra -i before the ending. Recall that for 3rd-io, the present stem ends in -i, which causes the change in appearance.

Please download the Conjugation and Translation Examples for 3rd and 4th Conjugation handout for a printable version of the charts below.

Present Tense
Imperfect Tense
Future Tense

For 4th conjugation, there are a few things to remember to successfully conjugation:

1st person singular = 1st principal part. This will always be true. If you are asked to conjugate a verb in the present tense, don't forget this rule!
3rd person plural: add -u to the present stem before the -nt ending

Let's look at an example to see what this looks like in practice.

audio, audire, audivi, auditus - to listen
- Base: audi (audire - re)

**4th Conjugation Present Tense Example**
Person	Singular	Plural
1st Person	audio	audimus
2nd Person	audis	auditis
3rd Person	audit	audiunt

Translation Examples - Present Tense

audio - I hear, I am hearing, I do hear

For the imperfect tense, we will use the present stem followed by -ba, but there is an important difference. Now, instead of just adding -ba, we are going to include an -e before the -ba. So, for imperfect, you will have:

Present stem + eba + personal endings

**4th Conjugation Imperfect Tense Example**
Person	Singular	Plural
1st Person	audiebam	audiebamus
2nd Person	audiebas	audiebatis
3rd Person	audiebat	audiebant

Translation Examples - Imperfect Tense

audiebam - I was hearing, I kept hearing, I used to hear; I listened

The tense endings you have learned so far remain the same for the two new conjugations with one exception. The future tense for third, third -io and fourth conjugations uses a new set of inflections: am, es, et, emus, etis, ent. Compare that to the endings for 1st/2nd conjugation: bo, bis, bit, bimus, bitis, bunt. Pay careful attention to the conjugation of the verb to be sure that the correct future endings are being used.

**Future Endings Comparison**
1st/2nd Conjugation	3rd/4th Conjugation
-bo -bis -bit -bimus -bitis -bunt	-am -es -et -emus -etis -ent

Add these new future endings directly to the present stem: audi + am = audiam - I will listen.

**4th Conjugation Future Tense Example**
Person	Singular	Plural
1st Person	audiam	audiemus
2nd Person	audies	audietis
3rd Person	audiet	audient

Translation Examples - Future Tense

audiam - I will hear

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