Latin Foundations
Lesson I
Verbs
In this lesson, you will be learning about verbs.
What is a verb? That is a great question! I am so glad you thought to ask.
Answer: A verb is a type of word that usually expresses an action. It can also express a
state, condition, or a relation between two things.
Tip: A verb is the most important word in a sentence. Without a verb, you cannot have a
complete sentence. Because the verb is the most important word in a sentence, you will
want to look for it first when you begin translating sentences.
Did you know? In order to have a complete sentence in English, all you need is one
word (as long as it is a verb).
Example: Run! (This is a complete sentence)
In Latin, verbs fall into four different categories: 1st conjugation, 2nd conjugation, 3rd,
conjugation, and 4th conjugation.
What is a conjugation? !?!? Another great question!
A conjugation is a fancy name for “group”. The term “conjugation” is only used when
talking about verbs. Basically, there are four different groups of verbs. Each group has its
own unique pattern.
In this first lesson, you will be learning about the first group of verbs; this group is called 1st
conjugation.
In addition to being separated into four conjugations, Latin verbs also have four parts that
you will need to memorize; these are called the “4 principle parts”. These 4 principle
parts establish the pattern for the conjugation.
1st Conjugation
Here is the basic pattern for the 4 principle parts of 1st conjugation verbs:
-o, -are, -avi, -atum *
* Note: Be careful! Some verbs are irregular!
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Latin Foundations
Lesson I
Conjugating a Verb
To conjugate a verb is to put personal endings on a verb.
Study the following personal endings. Notice that the endings are called personal because
their meanings actually refer to people (persons).
PERSON
NUMBER
Singular
Plural
1st
-o/-m
-mus
2nd
-s
-tis
3rd
-t
-nt
Here are the English meanings for these personal endings. These are called personal
pronouns and they will always be the subject of the verb.
What is a subject? A subject is the noun that is performing the action of the verb.
In English, it is usually found before the verb in a sentence.
PERSON
NUMBER
Singular
Plural
1st
I
We
2nd
You
Y’all
3rd
He/She/It
They
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Latin Foundations
Lesson I
Steps for conjugating a 1st conjugation verb in Latin:


You must first know the 4 principle parts of the verb you want to conjugate.
Go to the 2nd principle part (the infinitive) and remove the ending “-re”.
o The remaining portion is called the verb stem.
o Attach the Latin personal endings to the stem. The personal endings assign a
subject to the action of the verb.
 The only exception to this rule is in forming the 1st person singular
(which is always the 1st principle part). The final vowel of the stem is not
used for this form.
Example of the verb “to love”


4 principle parts: amo, amare, amavi, amatum
“amare” is the 2nd principle part – remove the ending “-re”.
o The remaining portion “ama” is the verb stem.
o Attach the personal endings to this stem to assign a specific subject (see below).
 The only exception to this rule is in forming the 1st person singular
(which is the 1st principle part “amo”). Notice the final vowel “a” of the
stem “ama” is not used for this form.
PERSON
NUMBER
Singular
Plural
1st
amo
(I love)
amamus
(We love)
2nd
amas
(You love)
amatis
(You love)
3rd
amat
(He/She/It loves)
amant
(They love)
It will be your turn to try this next!
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Latin Foundations
Lesson I
Vocabulary
1. laudo, laudare, laudavi, laudatum:
to praise
2. amo, amare, amavi, amatum:
to love, like
3. cogito, cogitare, cogitavi, cogitatum:
to think, ponder, consider, plan
4. erro, errare, erravi, erratum:
to err, wander, go astray, be mistaken
5. servo, servare, servavi, servatum:
to preserve, save, keep, guard
6. conservo, conservare, conservavi, conservatum: to preserve, conserve, maintain
7. do, dare, dedi, datum*
to give, offer
8. voco, vocare, vocavi, vocatum:
to call, summon
Exercises
Please complete the following exercises on a separate piece of paper.
1. Memorize the Latin personal endings. Practice the singular column first (top to bottom)
and then the plural column (top to bottom).
2. Memorize the English personal pronouns. Practice the singular column first (top to
bottom) and then the plural column (top to bottom).
3. Study and learn the relationship between the Latin personal endings and the English
personal pronouns.
4. Conjugate each verb listed in the vocabulary section of this lesson in Latin. In other
words, put the personal endings on the different verb stems.
5. After you conjugate each verb in Latin, translate each verb form into English.
Remember, the personal endings assign a subject to the action of the verb.
6. Make flash cards for the eight verbs listed above and start memorizing them. Refer to
your alphabet pronunciation guide if you need to.
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