Latin Grammar and Verb Conjugations

Vocabulary and key grammatical concepts derived from Latin lecture notes covering verb conjugations, infinitives, participles, irregular verbs, sentence patterns, and syntax.

Infinitive

A verbal noun that is not limited by person or number.

Present Active Infinitive

Formed by present stem + -re; translated as "to ___".

Perfect Active Infinitive

Formed by perfect stem + -isse; translated as "to have ___ed".

Future Active Infinitive

Formed by future active participle + esse; translated as "to be about to ___".

Present Passive Infinitive

Formed by present stem + -rī (or -ī for 3rd conjugation); translated as "to be ___ed".

Perfect Passive Infinitive

Formed by combining the 4th principal part with esse; translated as "to have been ___ed".

Finite Forms

Verb forms that have personal endings which indicate the subject.

Imperative

Verb mood appearing in the 2nd person singular or plural present tense used to express direct commands.

Participle

A verbal adjective having attributes of both an adjective and a verb; must agree in case, number, and gender with the word it modifies.

Present Active Participle

Formed by present verb stem + -ns, -ntis; declined as a one-ending 3rd declension adjective; translated as "loving", "running", etc.

Perfect Passive Participle

Formed by participial verb stem (provided by 4th principal part) + -us, -a, -um; declined as a 1st or 2nd declension adjective; translated as "having been loved".

Future Active Participle

Formed by participial verb stem + -ūr + -us, -a, -um; declined as a 1st or 2nd declension adjective; translated as "about to love".

Imperfect Active Indicative

Verb tense usually indicating an action in the past that was continuous, repeated, or not completed ("was/were…", "used to…").

Pluperfect Active Indicative

Verb tense formed by removing -ī from the 3rd principal part and adding endings (-eram, -erās, -erat…); shows an action completed in the past ("I had").

Future Perfect Active Indicative

Verb tense formed by removing -ī from the 3rd principal part and adding endings (-erō, -eris, -erit…); refers to an action completed in the future ("I will have").

Volō, Velle, Voluī

Irregular Latin verb meaning "to want". Has irregular present tense forms, no passive forms, and regular perfect forms.

Nōlō, Nōlle, Nōluī

Irregular Latin verb meaning "not to want". Imperative forms (nōlī, nōlīte) are often used with a complementary infinitive to express negative commands.

Mālō, Mālle, Māluī

Irregular Latin verb meaning "to prefer". Has irregular present tense forms, no passive forms, and regular perfect forms.

Indirect Statement

Reports what someone said, thought, or believed without quotation marks; contains a main verb of saying/thinking/perceiving, an accusative subject, and an infinitive.

Factitive Sentence Pattern

Sentence pattern containing a subject, factitive verb, direct object, and object complement (a second accusative showing the verb's effect on the direct object).

Substantive Use of Adjectives

The use of an adjective without an accompanying noun, where the gender and number of the adjective determine the implied noun (e.g., bonus = a good man, mala = bad things).