First Conjugation Verbs,
Present Tense
Lingua Latina I
What is a verb?
• A verb can either function as a linking verb (i.e.,
“est” = “is” or “sunt” = “are”), or it can express
action (i.e., “amant” = “they love” or “portant” =
“they carry”).
• Ex.: Terra nova est. The land is new.
linking verb = links the subject “terra” with
its predicate “nova”.
What is a verb? (con’t)
• Ex.: Familiae multae terram novam amant.
action verb = expresses what the subject
“familiae” is doing in the sentence.
Many families love the new land.
What is tense?
• The tense of a verb tells when, or what
time, the action is happening.
Today, we will learn the present tense of
Latin verbs. Present tense tells us that the
action is happening now.
First, however, we must talk about person
and number.
What is person?
• The person a verb tells who or what is
doing the action of that verb. In Latin, as
in English, there are three different
persons.
1st person:
2nd person:
3rd person:
-o = “I”
-mus = “we”
-s = “you”
-tis = “you”
-t = “he/she/it” -nt = “they”
Personal Endings
• The endings you just saw on the previous
slide are referred to in Latin as the
personal endings because they tell who or
what is doing the action. In other words,
they tell what person the verb is. Notice
that each ending in Latin corresponds to a
specific English pronoun.
What is number?
• The number of a Latin verb indicates
whether that verb is singular or plural. In
other words, it tells us whether the subject
of our verb is just one person or thing
(singular) or more than one (plural).
Sing.
Pl.
1st
-o = “I”
-mus = “we”
2nd
-s = “you”
-tis = “you”
3rd
-t = “he/she/it”
-nt = “they”
How to find a verb’s stem.
• Just as with nouns, you will also learn how to
find the stem of a verb:
Go to the second principal part of the verb (the
infinitive) and remove the –re:
Ex.:amo, amare, amavi, amatus, to love
infinitive
How to find a verb’s stem. (con’t)
• Amare = to love
remove the –re from amare = amaSo, your stem for the verb amare is ama-.
How to conjugate a verb.
• Now, take the verb “amo” and conjugate it
using the endings you have learned today:
Sing.
1st
2nd
3rd
amo = “I love”
amas = “you love”
amat = “he/she/it loves”
Pl.
amamus = “we love”
amatis = “you love”
amant = “they love”
You have just conjugated your first Latin verb in the present tense!
Nota Bene: Present tense means the action is taking place at the present
time, or now.