AM: Lesson - Irregular Verbs
Irregular Verbs
You likley noticed a series of odd looking verbs in the vocabulary list for this module. There were several verbs listed that did not seem to follow the normal rules for how verbs are listed in the dictionary: they had a strange 2nd PP (esse) or contained what looked like several different verbs all together in one (fero, ferre, tuli, latus). These are irregular verbs. An irregular verb in Latin is any verb that does not belong to one of the four conjugations. Because they are outside of the normal conjugations rules, there are peculiarities involved in learning their forms.
There are five main irregular verbs in Latin. Of the following, all but fieri form multiple compounds (prefix + verb form), which will be listed out as we learn each verb's details.
Principal Parts
The five verbs have the following principal parts:
- sum, esse, fui - to be
- eo, ire, ii (ivi), itus - to go
- volo, velle, volui - to want
- fero, ferre, tuli, latus - to bring, bear
- fio, fieri, factus sum - to be made; to become, happen
Irregular Verb Stems
Because these verbs do not belong to a particular conjugation, making them irregular, we find that the stems for these verb forms are also irregular, with some stems being absent or impossible to discern. Please refer to the following chart for a list of all the available stems for these irregular forms.
| Irregular Verb | Present Stem | Perfect Stem | Participle Stem |
|---|---|---|---|
| sum, esse, fui | N/A | fui - i = fu- | Perfect Participle: N/A Future Participle: futura - a = futur- |
| eo, ire, ii (ivi), itus | N/A | ii - i = i- ivi - i = iv- |
itus - us = it- |
| volo, velle, volui | N/A | volui - i = volu- | N/A |
| fero, ferre, tuli, latus | fero - o = fer- | tuli - i = tul- | latus - us = lat- |
| fio, fieri, factus sum | fio - o = fi- | N/A | factus sum - us sum = fact- |
Nota Bene
- For sum, esse, fui, there is a future active participle form:
- futurus, futura, futurum.
- It is possible, then, to form a pseudo-participle stem from this form: futur-.
- This is not a participle stem in the sense that we have used it in this course, because the participle stem is used specifically to form the perfect participle. It is included here mostly to note the existence of this future participle.
- For eo, ire, ii (ivi), itus:
- There are two perfect stems, as there are two 3rd principal parts that were regularly used. Both i- and iv- are correct forms of the perfect stem and are interchangeable. You can select either of these stems when forming verbs in the perfect system active.
- The participle stem can be formed for this verb, but the base verb ire lacks a passive voice. The form itus is available mostly for those compound forms that do allow a passive formation. Its presence in the principal part list, though, does allow us to mark the participle stem for this irregular verb.
- For fio, fieri, factus sum:
- The stems are formed, essentially, as a semi-deponent verb would:
- the present stem is formed like an active present stem from the 3rd-io conjugation (fio - o)
- there is no perfect stem, like a semi-deponent verb
- the participle stem is formed like a semi-deponent participle stem (factus sum - us sum)
- The stems are formed, essentially, as a semi-deponent verb would:
Irregular Verb Formation: Download this handout!
Please download the Irregular Verb Information handout: it contains complete conjugations of each of the five irregular verbs. Take notes on the Study Guide Links to an external site. to help in reviewing the forms of the irregular verbs.
The irregular verbs found in this module have such a variety of formation rules that is easier to compile them all in a single handout. Please use the handout to learn about the forms of the irregular verbs. Each of the five irregular verbs is fully conjugated, including participles and infintives.
Remember the goal here: you need to be able to recognize these verbs when you are working with a Latin passage. It's far more important that you take time looking at the formations and remember patterns (if there are any), rather than trying to memorize every single form of every single irregular verb.
Irregular Verb Compound Forms
One of the most interesting aspects of these irregular verbs is that they almost all form compounds with prefixes. Below is a list of some of the most common compounds, which you really should take note of!
| Esse | Ire | Velle | Ferre |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|