AM: Lesson - Passive Voice - Perfect System Formation
Passive Voice - Perfect System Formation
The three tenses of the Perfect System (perfect, pluperfect and future perfect) all use the same method to form their passive voice inflections. They all use the perfect participle followed by a form of the verb esse. Let's explore each tense:
- Perfect Tense
- perfect passive participle + present tense form of sum
- Pluperfect Tense
- perfect passive participle + imperfect tense form of sum
- Future Perfect Tense
- perfect passive participle + future tense form of sum
Reminder: If you did not download it earlier, please download the Regular Verb Passive Voice Conjugation handout Links to an external site.. This handout includes both present and perfect system forms for every conjugation.
The Perfect Passive Participle - case, number and gender
The perfect passive participle is formed from the 4th Principal Part of regular verbs. The case will always be nominative. It also must agree with the subject in gender and number. Therefore, each personal form of the perfect tense passive has three possibilities:
- masculine nominative + form of sum: Puer dixit, "Portatus sum."
- feminine nominative + form of sum: Puella dixit, "Portata sum."
- neuter nominative + form of sum: Animal dixit, "Portatum sum."
Each of the above forms means I have been carried but the gender changes depending on what noun is used as the subject. This will be most important when working with the 3rd person:
- Animal portatum est.
- The animal has been carried.
Conjugating the Perfect System Tenses
Because each verb form can have three forms (masculine, feminine, neuter), a chart of the forms of the perfect tense passive indicative is a bit longer than other charts. To save some room, the participle will often be written like a 1st/2nd declension adjective. For example, the participle for portare would be written portatus, a, um for singular and portati, ae, a for plural. Additionally, these forms can sometimes be written with just the masculine form: portatus sum; portati sumus, etc. Remember, though, all three options are still available, whether singular or plural:
- Singular:
- portatus(, a, um) =
- portatus
- portata
- portatum
- portatus(, a, um) =
- Plural:
- portati(, ae, a) =
- portati
- portatae
- portata
- portati(, ae, a) =
Below is a chart which shows all of the forms of the perfect system in the passive voice:
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | participle (-us, a, um) + sum | participle (-i, ae, a) + sumus |
| 2nd Person | participle (-us, a, um) + es | participle (-i, ae, a) + estis |
| 3rd Person | participle (-us, a, um) + est | participle (-i, ae, a) + sunt |
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | participle (-us, a, um) + eram | participle (-i, ae, a) + eramus |
| 2nd Person | participle (-us, a, um) + eras | participle (-i, ae, a) + eratis |
| 3rd Person | participle (-us, a, um) + erat | participle (-i, ae, a) + erant |
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | participle (-us, a, um) + ero | participle (-i, ae, a) + erimus |
| 2nd Person | participle (-us, a, um) + eris | participle (-i, ae, a) + eritis |
| 3rd Person | participle (-us, a, um) + erit | participle (-i, ae, a) + erunt |