Lesson XXX
Pluperfect Tense
Future Perfect Tense
+ Lesson XXIX: Substantive Adjectives
Perfect System
• The PERFECT SYSTEM of Latin verbs
has 3 tenses:
– Perfect
– Pluperfect (aka “past perfect”)
– Future perfect
Perfect Tense System
• The perfect system gets its name because
all 3 tenses use the “perfect stem.”
• Perfect stem: 3rd principal part of the verb
minus –i.
• Remember “i surgery!” 
Perfect Tense Review
• We’ve already learned the perfect tense.
• Perfect tense translates I verbed, I did
verb, I have verbed.
–i
–isti
–it
-imus
-istis
-erunt
Pluperfect/Past Perfect Tense
• The pluperfect, or past perfect, tense refers to
an action that was completed before a certain
time in the past.
• e.g.: He had gone. (before something else
happened)
• He had gone to the store before his mom could
tell him they needed milk.
• Past perfect/pluperfect tense is always
translated in English with the helping verb HAD.
Forming Pluperfect/Past Perfect
• Add the letters “era” to the perfect stem.
– Example: amavera-
Add the personal endings.
-m, -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -nt
1st person
2nd person
3rd person
Singular
Plural
Amaveram
Amaveramus
I had loved
We had loved
Amaveras
Amaveratis
You had loved
Y’all had loved
Amaverat
Amaverant
He/she/it had
loved
They had loved
duco, ducere, duxi, ductus---lead
Singular
Plural
1st
dux
dux
2nd
dux
dux
3rd
dux
dux
Future Perfect Tense
• The future perfect tense refers to an action
completed before a certain time in the future.
• e.g.: He will have gone. (before something else
will happen)
• He already will have gone to the store before his
mom can tell him they’re out of milk.
• Future perfect tense is always translated in
English with the helping verbs WILL HAVE.
Forming Future Perfect
• Add the personal endings. (Use the same
ones you used for the pluperfect, but just
use –o in instead of –im/-io for 1st person
singular.)
-m, -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -nt
Amo, amare, amavi, amatus
1st person
2nd person
3rd person
Singular
Plural
Amavero
Amaverimus
I will have loved
We will have
loved
Amaveris
Amaveritis
You will have
loved
Y’all will have
loved
Amaverit
Amaverint
h/s/i will have
loved
They will have
loved
doceo, docere, docui, doctus--teach
Singular
Plural
1st
docu
docu
2nd
docu
docu
3rd
docu
docu
Your Turn!
• What are the tenses of the following verbs?
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
afuimus
produxerat
retinuisti
noverunt
processerimus
amiseratis
docebas
Your turn!
• Give the past perfect (pluperfect) tense chart for
lego, legere, lexi, lectus: choose.
• Give the future perfect tense chart for
facio, facere, feci, factus: make.
Substantive Adjectives
• Sometimes adjectives can be used as
nouns.
– Why do the good die young?
– The few, the proud, the Marines.
– The best is yet to be.
• When an adjective is used in place of a noun,
it’s called a substantive adjective.
Substantive Adjectives
• Remember that adjectives have 3
genders: masculine, feminine, neuter.
• bonus, bona, bonum
• Because they already have 3 gender
forms, they can easily be subbed for
nouns like man, woman, and thing.
Substantive Adjectives
•
•
•
•
bonus: good man
bona: good woman
bonum: good thing
The words use 1st and 2nd declension
noun endings like the ones you’ve already
learned.
Substantive Adjectives
• boni: good men (or
“people”…masculine was used when
referring to mixed groups)
• bonae: good women
• bona: good things
• remember neuter plural nom/acc end in –
a like feminine singulars! So, “bona” could
be “the good woman” or “good things”
Substantive Adjectives
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
miser, misera, miserum
Miser est meus amicus.
The poor man is my friend.
Misera ad silvam ambulat.
The poor woman walks to the forest.
Miserum non amamus.
We do not like the unhappy thing.
Your Turn!
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
bona
nostri
mea
bonus
misera
malum
multi
verum
mali
multa
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
a good man
the truth (a true thing)
many people
many things
our men
goods
misfortune (a bad thing)
bad people
poor woman
my things