Easy Guide to Latin Participles
A participle is a grammatical mutant, part adjective and part verb. Like an adjective, a participle
must agree with the noun it is modifying in gender (masculine or feminine), case (nominative,
genitive, dative, accusative, or ablative), and number (singular or plural). Like a verb, a participle
performs an action either actively or passively. When the participle performs an action on
something else it is active, when the action of the participle is done to the noun it modifies it is
passive. There are four classes of participle in Latin: present active, perfect passive, future active,
and perfect active.
The present active participle (or just present participle) declines like a 3rd declension adjective. It
is formed off of the present verb stem by adding the adjectival ending –ns (nominative), -ntis
(genitive). E.g., The present participle for bibo, -ere is bibens, -entis. Translate into English as
“____ing.” For example,
Bibens nimium alcoholem, Kanieus Vesper fecit se asinum.
Drinking too much alcohol, Kanye West made a fool of himself.
The perfect passive participle is the 4th principle part of non-deponent verbs. E.g., interrogo, -are, avi, atus. It declines like a 1st-2nd declension adjective, so the complete participle is interrogatus, a,
um. Translate into English as “having been _____ed”. For example,
Interrogatus ab Iaio Lenone, Kanieus Vesper flevit.
Having been interviewed by Jay Leno, Kanye West cried.
The future active participle (or just future participle) is formed off of the 4th principle part (perfect
passive participle) by adding the adjectival endings –turus, a, um to the stem. E.g., The future
participle for facio, -ere, feci, factus, is facturus, a, um. It declines like a 1st-2nd declension adjective.
Translate into English as “being about to ____.” For example,
Kanieus Vesper interrupit Tailoram Velocem facturam orationem.
Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift being about to make her speech.
Or, Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift when she was about to speak.
Note how the participle agrees with its antecedent noun (Tailoram Velocem) in gender
(feminine), case (accusative), and number (singular). Participles can modify any noun,
regardless of its case.
The perfect active participle forms off of deponent verbs only. It looks the same as the perfect
passive participle, but because deponent verbs are active in form but passive in meaning, it is active.
The perfect active participle is the third principle part of deponent verbs minus the form of sum. It
declines like a 1st-2nd declension adjective. E.g., the participle of conor, ari, conatus sum is conatus,
a, um. Translate into English as “having ____ed.” For example,
Praesidens Obama culpavit Kanieum Vesperem conatum videri iocosum.
President Obama blamed Kanye West having tried to seem funny.
Or, President Obama blamed Kanye West, who tried to seem funny.