Unit 3
Stage 21 – perfect passive participles; adverbs
Perfect Passive Participles – Perfect Passive Participles are verbal adjectives – just like present active
participles – that are translated as “having been verbed” or, more simply, as “verbed,” though I suggest “having
been verbed” to avoid any potential confusion with simple past tense verbs.
Perfect passive participles are the 4th principle part of regular verbs, since they take their forms from either the
present or perfect base. Perfect passive participles can be identified in Latin with their –tus or –sus endings
(e.g. habitus, amatus, missus). All perfect passive participles are 1st/2nd declension adjectives.
Adverbs – Adverbs are used to modify a verb, adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs are often formed from
adjectives following 2 basic rules:
1st/2nd Declension adjectives become adverbs by adding –ē to their base.
laetus --> laetē
3rd Declension adjectives become adverbs by adding –(i)ter to their base.
celer --> celeriter
audax --> audacter
Stage 22 – perfect active participles; genitive
Perfect Active Participles – Perfect Active Participles are identical to perfect passive participles, but they
come from a special type of verb called a deponent verb. Deponent verbs are verbs that look passive in form,
but are active in meaning. More will be explained about deponents later (Stage 32). Perfect active participles
are translated as “having verbed.” There are no tricks to identifying perfect participles as active or passive –
you must simply memorize which ones are active or passive.
Genitive – The genitive case is usually used to show that someone or something is possessing another noun;
however, certain adjectives, such as nimium (too much) or plus (more) require their nouns to be in the genitive
case. For example: Grumio drank nimium vini (literally, “too much of wine”), but he still wants plus cenae
(literally, “more of dinner”).
Stage 23 – adverb comparison
Adverb Comparison – Adverbs can show degrees of comparison just like adjectives do.
Positive – See adverbs in Stage 21
Comparative – Base of adverb/adjective + -ius
Superlative – Base of adverb/adjective + -issimē
laetē, celeriter, audacter
laetius, celerius, audacius
laete, celerrime, audacissimē
Stage 24 – cum + pluperfect/imperfect subjunctive
Subjunctive – The subjunctive is a mood of the verb used in many subordinate classes. There are 2 forms of
the subjunctive initially introduced: the imperfect and pluperfect subjunctive.
The imperfect subjunctive is formed by adding the present tense endings (m, s, t, mus, tis, nt) to the infinitive
form of the verb. There are no exceptions to this rule; all verbs will use this formula.
amāre
habēre
mittere
venīre
esse
+
m
s
t
mus
tis
nt
=
amarem, amares, amaret, amaremus…
haberem, haberes, haberet, haberemus…
mitterem, mitteres, mitteret, mitteremus…
venirem, venires, veniret, veniremus…
essem, esses, esset, essemus…
The pluperfect subjunctive is formed by adding the present tense endings (m, s, t, mus, tis, nt) to the perfect
infinitive of the verb. The perfect infinitive is formed by adding –isse to the perfect base. There are no
exceptions to this rule; all verbs will use this formula.
amavisse
habuisse
misisse
venisse
fuisse
+
m
s
t
mus
tis
nt
=
amavissem, amavisses, amavisset…
habuissem, habuisses, habuisset…
misissem, misisses, misisset…
venissem, venisses, venisset…
fuissem, fuisses, fuisset…
Until now, the word cum has been a preposition translated as “with.” Now it can also be a conjunction used
with the subjunctive translated as “when” or “while.” The verb will be translated as a regular imperfect or
pluperfect verb.
cum Grumio cenam paravisset, Quintus triclinium intravit. – “When Grumio had prepared the dinner,
Quintus entered the dining room.”
cum Clemens in horto laboraret, Metella in atrio sedebat. – “While Clemens was working in the garden,
Metella was sitting in the atrium.”
Stage 25 – indirect questions
Indirect Questions – Indirect Questions are another type of clause in Latin that uses the subjunctive. These are
questions that are imbedded within a regular sentence and usually follow a verb of asking or knowing.
Direct Question: quid dixisti? – “What did you say?”
quis es tu? – “Who are you?”
Indirect Question: nescivi quid dixisses. – “I didn’t know what you had said.”
miles rogabat quis esses tu? – “The soldier was asking who you were.”
Stage 26 – purpose clauses; gerundives
Purpose Clauses – Purpose Clauses are another type of Latin clause that uses the subjunctive. Purpose clauses
express the reason something was done. They begin with the word ut and are usually translate as “to” or “so
that.”
Grumio pavonem petebat ut cenam parare posset. – “Grumio was looking for a peacock so that he could
prepare dinner.”
Quintus e Pompeio exierat ut montem Vesuvium fugisset. – “Quintus had left from Pompeii to escape
Mount Vesuvius.”
Gerundives – Gerundives are another type of verbal adjectives that are often used to show obligation or
necessity. Gerundives are formed by adding –nd- to the present base, followed by 1st and 2nd declension
endings. (Gerundives are technically the future passive participle.)
Gerundives are usually used with a word in the dative and are translated as “x (the dative) must y (the
gerundive).”
mihi fugiendum est – “ I must flee.”
nobis currendum est – “We must run.”
Gerundives are easy to recognize because the –nd– in the gerundive matches the nd in the word gerundive.
Stage 27 – indirect commands; result clauses
Indirect Commands – Indirect Commands are similar to indirect commands. They will usually follow verbs
of commanding or ordering, and they will begin with ut.
Direct Command: pecuniam trade! – “Hand over the money!”
da mihi osculum! – “Give me a kiss!”
Indirect Command: fur Quintum iussit ut pecuniam traderet. – “The thief ordered Quintus to hand over
the money.
Modestus Vilbiae imperavit ut sibi osculum dedisset. – “Modestus commanded
Vilbia to give him a kiss.”
Result Clauses – Result clauses are Latin clauses that take the subjunctive and follow sentences with adjectives
such as adeo, tot, tantus, talis, totiens, etc. which mean “so ____.”
Grumio erat tam ebrius ut ambulare non posset. – “Grumio was so drunk that he couldn’t walk.”
tanta erat multitudo ut totam aulam compleret. – “The crowd was so great that it filled the entire
palace.”
Stage 28 – ablatives and accusatives; impersonal verbs
Accusatives and Ablatives – Previously the accusative has been used as the direct object or objects of
prepositions, and the ablative has been the object of prepositions. Now, however, we get some new uses for
these cases.
Accusative of Duration of Time: As the name implies, the accusative can be used to show how long an
action happened.
duas horas laborabamus. – “We were working for 2 hours.”
multos annos hic habito. – “I have lived here for many years.”
Ablative of Time When: The ablative can be used to use when something happened.
nonā horā ad aulam venit. – “He came to the palace at the ninth hour.”
decimo die discessit. – “He left on the tenth day.”
Notice the lack of prepositions for these two functions.
Ablative of Means/Instrument: The ablative can also be used to show how something happened. This is
frequently used with passive verb forms.
miles, vulnere impeditus, tandem cessit. – “The soldier, slowed by his wounds, finally gave in.”
iuvenis, gladio armatus, ad castra contendit. – “The young man, armed with a sword, hurried to
the camp.”
If the noun is abstract, it is usually an ablative of means (“by means of”). If the noun is concrete, it is
usually an ablative of instrument.
Impersonal Verbs – Some verbs in Latin have no explicit subject. These are called “impersonal verbs”
because the subject is just “it.”
mihi placet hoc donum accipere. – “It pleases me to accept this gift.”
nos decet praemium Modesto dare. – “It is proper for us to give Modestus a gift.”
Stage 29 – Passive Verbs; Purpose Clauses
Passive Voice – The passive voice is a common voice in Latin. It does not have the same stigma that it does in
English. In the passive voice, the action of the verb happens to the subject of the sentence.
The movie is hit by the ball.
Notice that the subject of the sentence (the boy) is not doing the hitting, rather it is happening to him. In
addition, the performer of the action is represented by a prepositional phrase (by the ball). Occasionally, the
performer is not mentioned at all.
The boy was hit.
The present passive can be translated a couple of ways:
A speech is given.
-orA speech is being given.
In Latin, the same conditions apply as in English, but in addition, the verbs change their endings to reflect their
passive form. The basic verb endings for passive verbs are as follows:
-r
-ris
-tur
-mur
-mini
-ntur
These endings are essentially exchanged with our basic verb endings chart:
-o
-s
-t
-mus
-tis
-nt
Consider the present tense verbs below:
amor
amaris
amatur
amamur
amamini
amantur
habeor
haberis
habetur
habemur
habemini
habentur
mittor
*mitteris
mittitur
mittimur
mittimini
mittuntur
audior
audiris
auditur
audimur
audimini
audiuntur
*Notice the usual i is
replaced with e.
The rules that applied for conjugation in the active voice still apply in the passive voice with few exceptions,
namely that the o stays in the 1st person singular form, and the 3rd conjugation turns the i to e in the 2nd person
singular form.
The rules are even more regular in the imperfect forms:
amabar
amabaris
amabatur
amabamur
amabamini
amabantur
habebar
habebaris
habebatur
habebamur
habebamini
habebantur
mittebar
mittebaris
mittebatur
mittebamur
mittebamini
mittebantur
audiebar
audiebaris
audiebatur
audiebamur
audiebamini
audiebantur
The imperfect passive is just the imperfect active with the -m, -s, -t… exchanged for our new passive endings -r,
-ris, -tur.
Similary to the present tense, the imperfect passive makes us of “was/were.” The imperfect passive can be
translated a couple of ways:
A speech was given.
-orA speech was being given.
Purpose Clauses – Previously, purpose clauses began with ut. There are a couple of other ways to begin
purpose clauses in Latin: qui and ubi.
femina servum misit qui cibum emeret. – “The woman sent a slave who was to buy food.”
-or“The woman sent a slave to buy food.
locum quaerebamus ubi staremus. – “We were looking for a place where we might stand.”
-or“We were looking for a place to stand.
Stage 30 – Perfect and Pluperfect Passive
Perfect and Pluperfect Passive – Last stage we got present and imperfect passive verbs, which use the present
system of verb conjugation (that is, based off of the present base in the infinitive). This stage we look the
perfect system of verbs, which are based off of the perfect passive participle.
The perfect passive is translated a couple of ways in English:
The speech was given.
-orThe speech has been given.
The formation of perfect passive is very simple in Latin. We first begin with the perfect passive participle.
amo, amāre, amavi, amatus
Once you have the participle, you must make it agree with the subject in case, number, and gender, like any
adjective would. Once you have agreement, simply add the appropriate present tense form of “sum” after the
participle.
Masculine Subject
ego amatus sum
tu amatus es
servus amatus est
nos amati sumus
vos amati estis
servi amati sunt
Feminine Subject
ego amata sum
tu amata es
puella amata est
nos amatae sumus
vos amatae estis
puellae amatae sunt
Neuter Subject
ego amatum sum
tu amatum es
templum amatum est
nos amata sumus
vos amata estis
templa amata sunt
These forms are unlikely in the neuter
These forms are unlikely in the neuter
Note how the participle changes form to agree with the subject depending on gender and number. (The case
will almost always be nominative.) The formation of perfect passive verbs is regular for all verbs, even
irregulars.
The pluperfect passive behaves nearly identically to the perfect. Two things change.
First of all, the translation for the pluperfect passive is as follows:
“A speech had been given.”
Secondly, the pluperfect uses the imperfect form of “sum.”
ego amatus eram
tu amatus eras
servus amatus erat
nos amati eramus
vos amati eratis
servi amati erant
Stage 31 – Ablative Absolute
Ablative Absolutes – These are very common in Latin. They are often used to summarize a previous sentence
or passage or to give some other background information about the sentence. Most ablative absolutes are
composed of two parts, a noun and a participle, both in the ablative case. (You occasionally get a noun and an
adjective, and any ablative absolute can have clauses attached to it.)
Look at the examples below:
arcu dedicato, cives domum redierunt. – “With the arch dedicated, the citizens returned home.”
pecuniā amissā, ancilla lacrimare coepit. – “With the money lost, the slave-girl began to cry.”
custodibus dormientibus, captivi effugerunt. – “With the guards sleeping, the captives fled.”
pompā per vias procedente, spectatores plauserunt. – “With the parade proceeding through the
streets, the spectators applauded.”
mercatore profecto, res dira accidit. – “With the merchant having set out, a terrible thing happened.”
consule haec locuto, omnes cives attoniti erant. – “With the consul having said these things, all the
citizens were astonished.”
Notice how the fourth example has a prepositional phrase (per vias) inside the ablative absolute, and the sixth
example has the participle of the ablative absolute taking a direct object (haec). This is not uncommon. Note,
also, that any type of participle can be used in an ablative absolute.
I have translated all the ablative absolutes literally. You can translate this in a more natural English as well.
arcu dedicato, cives domum redierunt. – “After the arch had been dedicated, the citizens returned
home.”
custodibus dormientibus, captivi effugerunt. – “While the guards were sleeping, the captives fled.”
mercatore profecto, res dira accidit. – “Once the merchant had set out, a terrible thing happened.”
I encourage literal translations until you get the hang of ablative absolutes and their uses.
I’ve mentioned the ablative aspect of ablative absolutes, but what makes them absolute? They are absolute
because they are not grammatically tied (absolutum – untied, loosened) to the rest of the sentence. While the
ablative absolute with have some general connection with the sentence, grammatically they are self-contained.
If you were to remove the ablative absolute from the sentence, the remaining sentence would still make
grammatical sense.
Stage 32 – Deponents; Future Active Participles; Gerundives
Deponents – Deponent verbs are a special type of verb in Latin that has no English correlation. Deponent verbs
use only passive endings (except in present and future active participles) but are translated as active verbs.
There is no trick for identifying deponents, you must simply know that they are deponents. Review Stages 29,
30, and 34 for the formation of the passive forms. A short list of common deponents is available on page 292 of
the Unit 3 book.
Future Active Participles – Future active participles, like other participles, are verbal adjectives (review Stage
20 for more participle information). The forms for future active participles are based off of the perfect
participle.
amo, amāre, amavi, amatus
Once you have the perfect participle, remove the case ending (-us), add -ur-, and then reattach the appropriate
1st/2nd declension ending based upon the noun the participle is modifying.
amatus – us = amat
amat + ur = amatur
amatur+us = amaturus
Future active participles can be translated a couple of ways:
amaturus – “about to love” or “going to love”
Future active participles can be identified because they have -tur- in them. (Some future active participles will
have -sur- in them, e.g. missurus.)
Gerundives - We first covered gerundives in Stage 26 (check there for a refresher). At first gerundive phrases
only consisted of a dative noun and a gerundive. Now the phrase will also have a noun in the nominative case
that agrees with the gerundive. In the English translation, the nominative noun will be translated as the object
of the sentence.
mihi epistula scribenda est. – “I must write a letter.”
nobis Haterius visitandus est – “We must visit Haterius.”
Literally, the phrases would be translated as “A letter is about to (must) be written by me,” but this is
unnecessarily wordy.
Stage 33 – Future Active Indicative; Future Perfect Active Indicative
Future Active Indicative – The future active indicative is a new tense translated as “will verb.” It is formed
two different ways.
1st and 2nd Conjugation verbs use the following chart attached to the present base:
bo
bis
bit
bimus
bitis
bunt
For example:
amāre
amabo
amabimus
amabis
amabitis
amabit
amabunt
habēre
habebo
habebimus
habebis
habebitis
habebit
habebunt
You will notice this looks similar to the imperfect tense. Remember that the imperfect uses a ba, like the a in
was, while the future uses bi like the i in will.
3rd and 4th Conjugation verbs use the following charts attached to the present base:
am
es
et
emus
etis
ent
For example:
mittere
mittam
mittemus
mittes
mittetis
mittet
mittent
audīre
audiam
audiemus
audies
audietis
audiet
audient
Notice the short e in the 3rd conjugation is absorbed by the future tense endings, so it is not mitteam, but just
mittam. However, the i in the 4th conjugation stays for the future tense.
Future Perfect Indicative – The future perfect indicative is the 6th and final tense that Latin has. The future
perfect tense is technically translated as “will have verbed,” though it is often translated as the present tense
when used in a conditional statement (if x happens (will have happened), then…). Context will determine the
best way to translate it into English.
The future perfect tense is formed by attaching the following chart to the perfect base. This applies to all verbs
regular and irregular (but not deponents).
ero
eris
erit
erimus
eritis
erint
amāre
amavero
amaverimus
amaveris
amaveritis
amaverit
amaverint
mittere
misero
miseris
miserit
miserimus
miseritis
miserint
habēre
habuero
habuerimus
habueris
habueritis
habuerit
habuerint
audīre
audivero
audiverimus
audiveris
audiveritis
audiverit
audiverint
Stage 34 – Present Passive Infinitive; Future Passive Indicative
Present Passive Infinitive – The present passive infinitive is exactly what its name would suggest; it is the
passive form of the infinitive, translated as “to be verbed.” The forms for each conjugation are as follows:
amāre  amārī
habēre  habērī
mittere  mittī
audīre  audīrī
Notice that the basic rule is to change the final e to an ī for each conjugation except the 3rd, where you drop the
–ere for the ī.
Future Passive Indicative – The future passive indicative is translated as “will be verbed.” It is formed by
taking the future active forms from Stage 33 and changing the active endings (-o,-s,-t…) to the passive endings
(-r,-ris,-tur…). Consider the forms below.
1st and 2nd Conjugation:
bor
bimur
*beris bitmini
bitur buntur
amāre
amabor
amabimur
amaberis
amabimini
amabitur
amabuntur
Notice the 2nd person singular is beris, not the expected biris
habēre
habebo r
habebimur
habeberis
habebimini
habebitur
habebuntur
3rd and 4th Conjugation:
ar
eris
etur
emur
emini
entur
mittere
mittar
mittemur
mitteris
mittemini
mittetur
mittentur
audīre
audiar
audiemur
audieris
audiemini
audietur
audientur