The Latin Present Tense Across the Four Conjugations
The full present-tense patterns of the four Latin verb conjugations, plus the mixed type like capiō, with tips for spotting each in a dictionary.
Latin verbs fall into four groups, called conjugations. Each has its own vowel, but the personal endings are the same throughout.
How to tell the conjugation
Look at the second principal part, the infinitive:
| Conjugation | Infinitive ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | -āre | amāre (to love) |
| 2nd | -ēre | vidēre (to see) |
| 3rd | -ere | regere (to rule) |
| 4th | -īre | audīre (to hear) |
Present tense
| Person | 1st: amō | 2nd: videō | 3rd: regō | 4th: audiō |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | amō | videō | regō | audiō |
| you | amās | vidēs | regis | audīs |
| he/she/it | amat | videt | regit | audit |
| we | amāmus | vidēmus | regimus | audīmus |
| you (pl.) | amātis | vidētis | regitis | audītis |
| they | amant | vident | regunt | audiunt |
The personal endings (-ō, -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -nt) are constant. Only the vowel before them changes.
The mixed group: capiō
Some third-conjugation verbs add an i, like the fourth:
| Person | capiō (I take) |
|---|---|
| I | capiō |
| you | capis |
| he/she/it | capit |
| we | capimus |
| you (pl.) | capitis |
| they | capiunt |
Similar verbs include faciō (I do, make), iaciō (I throw) and fugiō (I flee).
Meaning of the present
One Latin form covers several English ones:
- Amat = he loves / he is loving / he does love.
Sentences
- Puella cantat. — The girl sings.
- Nautae terram vident. — The sailors see land.
- Rēx populum regit. — The king rules the people.
- Puerī fābulam audiunt. — The boys hear the story.
- Mīlitēs oppidum capiunt. — The soldiers capture the town.
Using a dictionary
Given regō, regere, rēxī, rēctum, you know it is 3rd conjugation, and its present stem is reg-. Add the endings above.
Tips
- Learn one verb from each conjugation.
- Learn the endings as a set.
- Use the dictionary to identify the conjugation.
English Latin Dictionary
Offline English–Latin dictionary for students, classics and word-origin lookups
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