Revision:Latin Conjugations

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In Latin, every verb can fit into one of four conjugations. They are not essential to learn for the exam (i.e. you will not be directly tested) but knowledge of which conjugation a verb fits into can be useful when working out tenses as the tenses do not look the same for every conjugation.

The First Conjugation

Verbs that fit into the first conjugation have the suffix -are in the present active infinitive. The first conjugation is regular in all its tense formations.

Example:

• porto, portare, portavi, portatus (to carry) is in the first conjugation because of the -are suffix.

The Second Conjugation

Verbs in the second conjugation have the suffix -ere in the present active infinitive, which is the same as verbs for the third conjugation. However, in the present active first person form, all second conjugation verbs end with -eo. The second conjugation is usually regular.

Example:

• doceo, docere, docui, doctus (to teach) is in the second conjugation because of the -ere ending on the present active infinitive and because of the -eo suffix on the present active first person form.

The Third Conjugation

Verbs in the third conjugation also have the suffix -ere in the present active infinitive, similar to the second conjugation. However, second conjugation verbs can be recognised by a different method (see above). The third conjugation is not regular at all.

Example:

• traho, trahere, traxi, tractus (to drag) is in the third conjugation. By looking at the ending of the present active infinitive (-ere) it is known that it is in either the second or third conjugations. By looking at the ending of the present active first person, it can be seen that the verb is not in the second conjugation. Therefore, it must be in the third.

The Fourth Conjugation

Verbs in the fourth conjugation have the suffix -ire in the present active infinitive form. They are always regular.

Example:

• audio, audire, audivi, auditus (to hear) is in the fourth conjugation because it has the ending -ire on the present active infinitive.