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
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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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