Present Active Indicative
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amo = I love, I am loving, I do love
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Latin reference
Latin Conjugations Chart
A clearer way to see the verb patterns: present-system endings, perfect-system forms, and the tenses students meet in classical Latin.
Verb map
Present system
present, imperfect, future
Perfect system
perfect, pluperfect, future perfect
Principal parts
the source for every verb form
Principal Parts — your starting point
Every Latin verb has four principal parts. Memorizing them gives you every other form of the verb. Example: amo, amare, amavi, amatum.
- 1st: Present active indicative 1st person singular (“I love”) — shows the conjugation vowel pattern.
- 2nd: Present active infinitive (“to love”) — tells you which conjugation the verb belongs to.
- 3rd: Perfect active indicative 1st person singular (“I loved”) — gives you the perfect stem for all perfect-system forms.
- 4th: Perfect passive participle (“having been loved”) — gives you the supine stem for passive-system and participle forms.
First Conjugation — Infinitive -are
Principal parts: amo, amare, amavi, amatum (to love)
Present stem: am-
Key patterns
- ·By far the largest conjugation. Most Latin verbs are first conjugation.
- ·Characteristic vowel: long A. You'll see it in forms like amamus (we love) and amabamus (we were loving).
- ·Very regular — if you know the pattern for one first-conjugation verb, you know it for all of them.
- ·Common examples: amare (to love), laudare (to praise), portare (to carry), vocare (to call), stare (to stand).
Second Conjugation — Infinitive -ere (long e)
Principal parts: moneo, monere, monui, monitum (to warn)
Present stem: mon-
Key patterns
- ·Characteristic vowel: long E. The infinitive ends in -ere with a LONG e (distinguishing it from third conjugation's short e).
- ·Most second-conjugation verbs deal with states or ideas: monere (to warn), videre (to see), habere (to have), timere (to fear), manere (to remain).
- ·The present stem ends in -e which stays through most forms. You'll see it as monemus (we warn), not monaimus.
- ·Generally regular but perfect forms can vary (monui, vidi, habui).
Third Conjugation — Infinitive -ere (short e)
Principal parts: rego, regere, rexi, rectum (to rule)
Present stem: reg-
Key patterns
- ·Characteristic: the short stem vowel shifts between -e-, -i-, and -u- depending on the form.
- ·The infinitive looks like second conjugation but the short e is the tell — and the present 'I' form ends in -o not -eo.
- ·Third conjugation is where verbs get irregular. Perfect stems are often quite different from present stems.
- ·Examples: regere (to rule), ducere (to lead), mittere (to send), scribere (to write), dicere (to say).
Third Conjugation -io Verbs
Principal parts: capio, capere, cepi, captum (to take, seize)
Present stem: cap-
Key patterns
- ·A small hybrid group. They look like 3rd-conjugation verbs by the infinitive (-ere short e) but behave like 4th conjugation in some forms.
- ·First person singular present ends in -io (capio), and 3rd person plural present ends in -iunt (capiunt).
- ·Henle Latin and Memoria Press both treat this as a special case you memorize.
- ·Examples: capere (to take), facere (to make/do), fugere (to flee), iacere (to throw), rapere (to seize).
Fourth Conjugation — Infinitive -ire
Principal parts: audio, audire, audivi, auditum (to hear)
Present stem: aud-
Key patterns
- ·Characteristic vowel: long I. You'll see it everywhere — audimus (we hear), audiebamus (we were hearing).
- ·The first person singular present ends in -io (audio) because of the connecting i.
- ·Very regular once you understand the vowel pattern.
- ·Examples: audire (to hear), venire (to come), scire (to know), dormire (to sleep), sentire (to feel).
Present Tense Endings by Conjugation
The same 6 person-number slots across all 4 conjugations. Notice how 1st uses -a-, 2nd uses -e-, and 3rd/4th use mixed short vowels.
| Person | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd -io | 4th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg (I) | -o | -eo | -o | -io | -io |
| 2nd sg (you) | -as | -es | -is | -is | -is |
| 3rd sg (he/she/it) | -at | -et | -it | -it | -it |
| 1st pl (we) | -amus | -emus | -imus | -imus | -imus |
| 2nd pl (you all) | -atis | -etis | -itis | -itis | -itis |
| 3rd pl (they) | -ant | -ent | -unt | -iunt | -iunt |
The 6 Indicative Tenses
Latin has 6 indicative tenses in the active voice. Each is formed by adding a set of endings to either the present stem or the perfect stem.
Imperfect Active Indicative
Continuous or repeated action in the past.
amabam = I was loving, I used to love
Formation: Add -ba- then endings -m, -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -nt
Future Active Indicative
Action that will happen.
amabo = I will love
Formation: 1st/2nd use -b- (amabo, amabis); 3rd/4th use -a-/-e- (regam, reges)
Perfect Active Indicative
Completed past action.
amavi = I loved, I have loved, I did love
Formation: Uses the 3rd principal part (amavi). Endings: -i, -isti, -it, -imus, -istis, -erunt
Pluperfect Active Indicative
Had happened before another past action.
amaveram = I had loved
Formation: Perfect stem + -era-, -eras, -erat, -eramus, -eratis, -erant
Future Perfect Active Indicative
Will have happened before another future action.
amavero = I will have loved
Formation: Perfect stem + -ero, -eris, -erit, -erimus, -eritis, -erint
Practice these conjugations
Use the chart as the map, then practice recalling the forms before the answer is visible. That is where the endings start to stick.
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