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Latin from scratch course › #1: Our first translation from Latin › #1.6: Present indicative

Latin from scratch #1.6: The active indicative present tense

In the sixth class of the Latin from Scratch course, we’ll study the present indicative in the active voice. For that, we have to learn how this is done in each of the conjugations. Also, we have to study the present of sum, a verb which is quite frequent and irregular.

Contents

  • Morphology of the Latin present indicative
  • The verb sum and its present indicative

I explain everything in the following video (⏳ 09m 03s ⌛):

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Morphology of the Latin present indicative

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The present tense in the indicative mood in the active voice is formed in the following way:

  1. present stem
  2. variable ĭ/ŭ (when necessary: see below)
  3. active endings
  • We use ĭ in the 2nd and 3rd persons singular and 1st and 2nd plural, only in the 3rd conjugation
  • We use ŭ in the 3rd person plural, only in the 3rd, mixed and 4th conjugations
1st conjugation2nd conjugation3rd conjugationmixed conjugation4th conjugation
amo*
amas
amat
amamus
amatis
amant
moneo
mones
monet
monemus
monetis
monent
duco
ducis
ducit
ducimus
ducitis
ducunt
capio
capis
capit
capimus
capitis
capiunt
audio
audis
audit
audimus
auditis
audiunt

(we would have expected *amao; underlined vowels are variable vowels)

The verb sum and its present indicative

The verb sum is the most frequent irregular verb, which is why we need to be studying it separately every time we study a new tense. This is the copulative verb of Latin, and it can be translated as ‘to be’, ‘to exist’, ‘there is/are’, etc.

Its statement is sum, esse, fui, – (no supine).

sum
es
est
sumus
estis
sunt

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After studying the present tense, and with all the knowledge from the five previous classes, we are ready to embark upon the adventure of our first texts, which we will analyze and translate from Latin into English.

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Join the Latin from scratch course!

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Next: Our first translation from Latin →

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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