In the tenth class of the Latin from Scratch course, we’ll study the future indicative in the active voice (to be precise, imperfect future). This tense rarely appears in history, but it is used in other types of texts.
Contents
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Morphology of the Latin future indicative
This tense is quite tricky, since we actually have two different types of conjugation: one for the 1st and 2nd conjugations and another one for the 3rd, mixed and 4th. Both have disappeared in romance languages.
The future of the 1st and 2nd conjugations, and the verb sum
In the 1st and 2nd conjugations (and the verb sum), the thing is rather simple, as long as we don’t mix it with the imperfect.
- present stem
- future morpheme b
- variable ĭ/ŭ (when necessary: see below)
- active endings
- ĭ in the 2nd and 3rd persons singular and 1st and 2nd plural
- ŭ in the 3rd person plural
1st conjugation | 2nd conjugation | sum | |
---|---|---|---|
amabo amabis amabit amabimus amabitis amabunt | monebo monebis monebit monebimus monebitis monebunt | ero eris erit erimus eritis erunt |
(underlined vowels are variable vowels)



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The future of the 3rd, mixed and 4th conjugations
In the conjugations 3rd, mixed and 4th, the thing is a bit harder and it can look like the present subjunctive.
- present stem
- future morpheme ă/ē (see below)
- active endings
- ă is only used in the 1st person singular
- ē is used in all the other persons
3rd conjugation | mixed conjugation | 4th conjugation |
---|---|---|
ducam duces ducet* ducemus ducetis ducent | capiam capies capiet* capiemus capietis capient | audiam audies audiet* audiemus audietis audient |
* a phonetic law shortens the vowel in the 3rd person singular: ducēt > ducĕt, etc.
That’s all we need to know about the future tense. Now let’s practice with some analysis and translation!
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