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Latin from scratch course › #21: Irregular verbs › #21.41: Irregular verbs

Latin from scratch #21.41: The most frequent irregular verbs

In the forty-first class of the Latin from Scratch course, we’ll study the most frequent irregular verbs in Latin. Luckily for us, they are not many, but they are quite common and need to be learned by heart.

Contents

  • eo “go”
  • fero “bear, carry”
  • fio “be made”, “become”, “happen”…
  • volo “want”
    • nolo “not want”
    • malo “prefer”

I explain everything in the following video (⏳ 08m 15s ⌛):

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In the following tables, the underlined forms are irregular. The perfect stem is always regular (although the root itself might not be predictable from the present stem).

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eo “go”

Its statement is eo, ire, i(v)i, itum.

The present stem is e‑ when followed by a vowel other than e; it is i‑ when followed by a consonant or e.

present ind.imperfect ind.future ind.present subj.imperfect subj.
eo
is
it
imus
itis
eunt
ibam
ibas
ibat
ibamus
ibatis
ibant
ibo
ibis
ibit
ibimus
ibitis
ibunt
eam
eas
eat
eamus
eatis
eant
irem
ires
iret
iremus
iretis
irent

Its present participle is iens, euntis.

This verb can have many compounds (e.g. exeo “to go out”), all of which have the same irregularities.

fero “bear, carry”

Its statement is fero, ferre, tuli, latum.

Apart from the completely different roots in the perfect and the supine stem, the irregularity lies in the fact that some forms lack a vowel between the root and the ending.

present ind. act.present ind. pas.imperfect subj. act.imperfect subj. pas.
fero
fers
fert
ferimus
fertis
ferunt
feror
ferris
fertur
ferimur
ferimini
feruntur
ferrem
ferres
ferret
ferremus
ferretis
ferrent
ferrer
ferreris
ferretur
ferremur
ferremini
ferrentur

Its active present infinitive is ferre, and the passive is ferri.

fio “be made”, “become”, “happen”…

Its statement is fio, fieri, factus sum, —.

present ind.imperfect ind.future ind.present subj.imperfect subj.
fio
fis
fit
fimus
fitis
fiunt
fiebam
fiebas
fiebat
fiebamus
fiebatis
fiebant
fiam
fies
fiet
fiemus
fietis
fient
fiam
fias
fiat
fiamus
fiatis
fiant
fierem
fieres
fieret
fieremus
fieretis
fierent

The verb fio requires an attribute (or predicative of the subject, depending on the analysis). Quite often it is used as the passive voice of facio.

volo “want”

Its statement is volo, velle, volui, —.

present ind.imperfect ind.future ind.present subj.imperfect subj.
volo
vis
vult
volumus
vultis
volunt
volebam
volebas
volebat
volebamus
volebatis
volebant
volam
voles
volet
volemus
voletis
volent
velim
velis
velit
velimus
velitis
velint
vellem
velles
vellet
vellemus
velletis
vellent

The verb volo has two compounds, each of which has its own peculiarities.

nolo “not want”

Its statement is nolo, nolle, nolui, —.

It is a compound of non volo. The syllable vo‑ or ve‑ has been lost, except in the 2nd and 3rd persons singular and 2nd plural in the present indicative: non vis, non vult, non vultis.

malo “prefer”

Its statement is malo, malle, malui, —.

It is a compound of magis volo (‘want more’ → ‘prefer’). The syllable vo‑ or ve‑ has been lost without exception.

After the irregular verbs (including the compounds of sum), let’s go and have some practice.

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Next: The most frequent irregular verbs →

Paco Álvarez

About Paco Álvarez

I’m Paco Álvarez, a Spanish classical philologist. For years I’ve been teaching Latin and Greek online to Spanish students. When I saw there was nothing like my AcademiaLatin.com for English-speaking Latin lovers, I decided to create it myself, and that’s how LatinFromScratch.com was born.

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Course content

  1. Quick start
  2. Introduction
  3. Cases and their functions
  4. The five declensions
  5. First declension
  6. Verbal conjugation
  7. Present tense
  8. Second declension
  9. 2-1-2 adjectives
  10. Imperfect past tense
  11. Future tense
  12. Third declension nouns
  13. Third declension adjectives
  14. Perfect past tense
  15. Adverbials of place
  16. Fourth declension
  17. Fifth declension
  18. Pluperfect tense
  19. Possessives
  20. Personal pronouns
  21. Apposition
  22. Predicative complement
  23. Present subjunctive
  24. Imperfect subjunctive
  25. Perfect subjunctive
  26. Perfect future indicative
  27. Pluperfect subjunctive
  28. Syntax of cum
  29. Syntax of ut & ne
  30. Comparison of adjectives
  31. Superlative adjectives
  32. Adverbs from adjectives
  33. Demonstratives
  34. Relative clauses
  35. Passive voice
  36. Deponent verbs
  37. Relative time
  38. Participles: morphology
  39. Participles: syntax
  40. Infinitives
  41. Compounds of sum
  42. Irregular verbs
  43. Imperative

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