IS: Lesson - Translation: Present Active Participles

Image: a mural showing a Roman party

Translation: Present Active Participles

In the image, can you see vir susurrans? The word susurrans is a present active participle describing the vir: a man whispering.

The present participle is most commonly translated using the -ing ending in English.

  • amans, amantis - loving
  • videns, videntis - seeing
  • ducens, ducentis - leading
  • capiens, capientis - taking
  • audiens, audientis - hearing/listening

Using Present Active Participles

Present Active Participles can be used just like any other adjective, by placing the translated form directly in front of the noun. Notice in each example that the participle is being performed by the noun it is agreeing with:

  1. vir susurrans - the whispering man
    • Who whispers? The man whispers.
  2. in loco celanti - in a hiding place
    • What is hiding (something)? The place is hiding (something).
  3. matris amantis - of the loving mother
    • Who is loving? The mother is loving.

However, participles are incredibly flexible and can be translated in a wide variety of ways.

Let's use the example of vir susurrans to see the possibilities: 

Possible Translations of vir susurrans
Type of Translation Translation Example
Adjective the whispering man
Apposition the man, whispering
Relative Pronoun - who, which the man who whispers
Temporal (time) - while the man, while he whispers
Causal - because, since the man, because he whispers
Concessive - although the man, although he whispers
Conditional - if the man, if he whispers

Agreement and Substantive Use

Participles are adjectives. Because of this, a participle must agree with the noun it is modifying in case, number and gender. The rules for agreement for participles will be the same as any other Latin adjective.

Additionally, participles are frequently used substantively (when an adjective is used as a noun), in the plural. A common example is the plural participle for the verb amare:

  • amantes, amantium, m. - the lovers
    • This is the plural of the participle amans, amantis and literally means the loving ones.

Translation in Context

Let's look at a single Latin sentence containing a present active participle to see all the ways we could translate it.

Selene virum susurrantem videre non poterat.

  • Adjective
    • Selene was not able to see the whispering man.
  • Apposition
    • Selene was not able to see the man whispering.
  • Relative Pronoun (who, which)
    • Selene was not able to see the man who was whispering.
  • Temporal (time) - while, as, when
    • Selene was not able to see the man while he was whispering.
  • Causal - because, since
    • Selene was not able to see the man because he was whispering.*
  • Concessive - although, though, even though
    • Selene was not able to see the man even though he was whispering.
  • Conditional - if
    • Selene was not able to see the man if he was whispering.* 

Nota bene

  • It is the man who is performing the whispering. This is called active voice and is why these participles are called present active.
  • In the examples, the tense of the translated participle matches the tense of the independent verb. Because poterat is past tense, the present participle will reflect that in the translations using clauses.
  • There is flexibility with the way the clauses line up, and you have some degree of choice in designing your English sentence.
  • *Not every type of translation works with every participle. Those sentences marked with an asterisk (*) would need a very specific context to make sense. With other participle/noun combinations, though, those translations might fit.