AM: Lesson - Irregular and Deponent Verb Review

Irregular and Deponent Verb Review

Irregular and Deponent Verb Handout

Irregular and Deponent Verb Handout Links to an external site. - complete this document using what we've learned about two new types of verbs: irregular and deponent. Please be sure you have completed the handout before moving ahead in the course.

Review: Deponent Verbs

Deponent verbs look passive, but are translated using the active voice. This is a type of verb that cannot exist in English (we don't have endings to indicate passive voice, but instead use a passive construction using helping verbs). Deponent verbs have three principal parts, which equate to the first three principal parts of a regular verb:

  • 1st PP = 1st person singular, present active indicative
  • 2nd PP = present active infinitive
  • 3rd PP = 1st person singular, perfect active indicative

So, we can see in the side-by-side comparison:

  • Regular Verb: amo, amare, amavi, amatus - to love
  • Deponent Verb: conor, conari, conatus sum - to try

Deponent verbs are particularly useful because they can form an active perfect participle (having -ed). Regular verbs provide the passive (having been -ed). This is why we often see verbs that share meanings with verbs we've previously learned:

  • Regular:
    • temptatus - having been tried
  • Deponent:
    • conatus - having tried

Review: Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs are those verbs which do not use the regular set of conjugational forms in the principal parts. In other words, they don't fit with any of the regular conjugations (1st-4th). There are five main irregular verbs in Latin and they all form several compound forms, which are used frequently.

  • sum, esse, fui - to be
  • eo, ire, ivi (ii), itus - to go
  • fero, ferre, tuli, latus - to bear
  • volo, velle, volui - to want
  • fio, fieri, factus sum - to become, happen

Use the irregular verb handout Links to an external site. to review how these special verbs are formed.