Chapter 40 – Present Active Participles
Ecce Romani
What is a participle?
A verbal adjective
What does that mean?
As a verb it will have
Tense
Voice
As an adjective it will modify a noun in
Case
Number
Gender
How do I form the present active participle?
It is the present stem of your verb
+ -ns, -ntis:
vocans, vocantis
videns, videntis
mittens, mittentis
audiens, audientis
How do I decline the present active participle?
Use 3rd declension adjective endings.
Masc.
Fem.
Neut
Nom.
Gen.
Dat.
Acc.
Abl.
amans
amantis
amanti
amantem
amante/i
amans
amantis
amanti
amantem
amante/i
amans
amantis
amanti
amans
amante/i
Nom.
Gen.
Dat.
Acc.
Abl.
amantes
amantium
amantibus
amantes
amantibus
amantes
amantium
amantibus
amantes
amantibus
amantia
amantium
amantibus
amantia
amantibus
How do I translate a present active participle?
“_____ing i.e.
Puer cenam laudans ridebat. The boy, praising the dinner, was smiling
Is there a word order? Yes, The Latin participle will be at the end of its clause and the noun it
modifies will be at the beginning of the clause.
[Cornelia epistulas scribens] Flaviam in horto spectabat. Cornelia, writing letters was watching Flavia in the
garden.
Scribens modifies Cornelia. Because scribens is the present active participle, it is at the end of the phrase and
Cornelia is at the beginning. You can always find the participial phrase in any Latin sentence and put bracket
around it if you will remember this simple trick.