Latin Infinitive Conjugations
There are four categories of Infinitives that Latin verbs are grouped in.
Conjugations- are when we drop the endings of the infinitive and add different
endings to the stem. The endings will signal whether it is I, you, he she it… etc.
First Conjugation verbs end in –ĀRE
Laudāre- to praise
Amāre- to love
Laborāre- to work
*notice that the first conjugations have a macron over the ā vowel. This will signal to
you that it belongs to the first conjugation.
Second conjugation verbs end in -ĒRE
Sedēre- to sit
Respondēre- to answer, to to respond
Vidēre- to see
*Notice that the 2nd conjugation verbs have a macron over the ē vowel. That will
signal that the verb is a second conjugation verb.
Third conjugation verbs end in a short ĕ vowel. This mark signals a 3rd conjugation
verb. (You may see the infinitive without a mark above the e.
Currěre- to run
Ducěre- to lead
Dicěre- to say, to tell
Third conjugation verbs- -io ending verbs. These are also 3rd conjugation verbs
that also end in the short –ere ending. The first person ending in –io will signal that
it is an –io 3rd.
Fourth Conjugation verbs - these verbs end in –IRE
Audīre – to hear
Venire – to come
Dormīre- to sleep
How you will see the verb in a Latin dictionary
Laudo, laudāre, laudavi, laudatum- to praise
Four principal parts
1st principal part. The first verb is the first person of the present tense, I praise, I am
praising
2nd principal part. The second form is the infinitive, to praise.
3rd principal part. This is the first person of the perfect tense, the –ed form of the
verb in English. Laudavi- I praised.
4th principal part. – is the past participle of the verb. ( We will learn this later  )
Irregular verbs
The irregular verb ‘To be’ ESSE
Sum, esse, fui, futurus
Sum- first principal part, present tense- I am
Esse- 2nd principal part- infinitive to be
Fui- 3rd principal part – perfect tense- I was
Futurus- 4th principal part
Conjugation of the verb ‘to be’
Sum- I am
sumus- we are
Es- you are
estis- you (plural) all are
Est- he, she, it is
sunt- they are
* Latin only uses personal pronuns, I, you, he, she, it etc… for emphasis
For example:
Ego sum magistra Tomala- I am ‘teacher’ Tomala