Skip to content

Appendix

A. Latin verb conjugations

Latin verbs fall into five textbook conjugation classes, plus the irregular verbs. In Select verb groups these are the six groups: 1st conjugation (-āre), 2nd conjugation (-ēre), 3rd conjugation (-ere), 3rd-iō conjugation, 4th conjugation (-īre) and Fully irregular.

1st conjugation — -āre

The stem ends in long -ā-, and almost all these verbs are regular: amō, amāre, amāvī, amātum; laudō, laudāre; vocō, vocāre.

2nd conjugation — -ēre

The stem ends in long -ē-. The present system is regular, but perfect stems vary more: videō → vīdī, moneō → monuī, habeō → habuī. Examples: moneō, monēre; videō, vidēre; habeō, habēre.

3rd conjugation — -ere

The infinitive ends in short -ere, and the stem vowel changes across the paradigm (regis, regit, regunt). Perfect stems vary widely: regō, regere, rēxī, rēctum; dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductum; agō, agere, ēgī, āctum. This is the largest group in the catalogue.

3rd-iō (3rd conjugation -iō type)

This is a mixed pattern. The first principal part ends in -iō, like the 4th conjugation, but the infinitive ends in short -ere, like the 3rd: capiō, capere, cēpī, captum; faciō, facere, fēcī, factum; iaciō, iacere, iēcī, iactum.

The i appears wherever the 4th conjugation has it before a vowel: capiō, capiunt, the imperfect capiēbam, the future capiam, capiēs, the participle capiēns. Elsewhere the verb behaves like the 3rd conjugation: capis, capit, capimus, capitis, capere, caperem.

4th conjugation — -īre

The stem ends in long -ī-: audiō, audīre, audīvī, audītum; veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventum; sciō, scīre, scīvī, scītum.

Irregular verbs

These verbs don't follow any of the regular classes, and the catalogue stores their irregular forms explicitly.

  • sum, esse, fuī, futūrus — to be.
  • possum, posse, potuī — to be able. A compound of pot- (from potis, "able") and sum.
  • eō, īre, iī, itum — to go.
  • ferō, ferre, tulī, lātum — to bring, to bear. Its perfect and supine come from different roots.
  • volō, velle, voluī — to want.
  • nōlō, nōlle, nōluī — not to want (nē + volō).
  • mālō, mālle, māluī — to prefer (magis + volō).
  • fīō, fierī, factus sum — to become, to be made. It serves as the passive of facere.

The Fully irregular group holds sum, possum, eō and fīō, together with compounds such as absum, abeō, redeō and trānseō. Ferō, volō, nōlō and mālō are filed under the 3rd conjugation, with their irregular forms stored.

Then there are the defective verbs. Each is filed under its conjugation, and the tenses it lacks show a dash:

  • meminī, meminisse — to remember. It has only perfect-system forms, with present meaning.
  • ōdī, ōdisse — to hate. Same pattern.
  • coepī, coepisse, coeptum — to have begun.

B. Latin tense system

The classical Latin tense system is built on two stems. The present stem comes from the infinitive, the second principal part (amā-re). The perfect stem is the third principal part minus its -ī (amāv-ī). Latin has six indicative tenses, four subjunctive tenses and two imperative tenses, plus the non-finite forms.

Indicative — present system

These tenses are built on the present stem.

  • Praesens — amō, amās, amat, amāmus, amātis, amant — "I love / am loving".
  • Imperfectum — amābam, amābās, amābat… — "I was loving / used to love".
  • Futurum — amābō, amābis, amābit… in the 1st and 2nd conjugations; regam, regēs, reget… (and audiam, audiēs…) in the 3rd and 4th — "I will love".

The passives are formed directly from the same stem: amor, amāris, amātur… / amābar, amābāris… / amābor, amāberis….

Indicative — perfect system

The active forms are built on the perfect stem. The passive forms combine the perfect participle with a form of esse.

  • Perfectum — amāvī, amāvistī, amāvit, amāvimus, amāvistis, amāvērunt — "I have loved / I loved". Passive: amātus sum.
  • Plūsquamperfectum — amāveram, amāverās… — "I had loved". Passive: amātus eram.
  • Futūrum Exactum — amāverō, amāveris… — "I will have loved". Passive: amātus erō.

Subjunctive

The subjunctive has four tenses, each in the active and the passive. It is used in subordinate clauses (purpose, result, indirect command, indirect question, conditions, fearing and more), and in main clauses with jussive, optative, deliberative or potential meaning.

  • Subjunctivus Praesens — amem, amēs, amet, amēmus, amētis, ament. Passive: amer, amēris….
  • Subjunctivus Imperfectum — amārem, amārēs, amāret… (the present infinitive plus personal endings). Passive: amārer, amārēris….
  • Subjunctivus Perfectum — amāverim, amāverīs…. Passive: amātus sim.
  • Subjunctivus Plūsquamperfectum — amāvissem, amāvissēs…. Passive: amātus essem.

Imperative

  • Present — amā (singular), amāte (plural). This is the everyday "do this!".
  • Future — amātō (2nd and 3rd person singular), amātōte (2nd plural), amantō (3rd plural). It belongs to a formal register and appears in laws, prayers and maxims.

The passive forms are amāre and amāminī in the present, and amātor and amantor in the future.

Non-finite forms

  • Six infinitives: three tenses × two voices (amāre, amāvisse, amātūrus esse; amārī, amātus esse, amātum īrī).
  • Four participles: present active (amāns), perfect passive (amātus), future active (amātūrus), and future passive, also called the gerundive (amandus).
  • Gerund: the verbal noun, amandī, amandō, amandum, amandō.
  • Supine: the accusative in -um expresses purpose after verbs of motion (spectātum eō, "I go to watch"). The ablative in -ū expresses respect (mīrābile dictū, "wonderful to say").

You can turn any tense on or off in Select tenses.

C. Latin declensions

The five declensions are the main way to select Latin nouns. The genitive singular ending tells you the declension. You can often predict the gender from the declension and the ending, though not always, so every noun's gender is stored in the catalogue.

First declension

The stem ends in -a-, and the genitive singular ends in -ae. Almost all these nouns are feminine. The exceptions are masculine nouns for men and their roles: agricola, nauta, poēta, pīrāta, scrība, aurīga.

Endings (singular / plural): nominative -a / -ae · genitive -ae / -ārum · dative -ae / -īs · accusative -am / -ās · ablative -ā / -īs. The vocative is the same as the nominative.

Second declension

The stem ends in -o-, and the genitive singular ends in -ī. There are two main types:

  • Masculine -us (servus, dominus, amīcus), with a vocative singular in -e (serve!). Nouns in -er (puer, ager, magister) take the same endings, except that the nominative and vocative singular end in -er. Some keep the e in the other cases (puer, puerī), others drop it (ager, agrī); the genitive shows which.
  • Neuter -um (bellum, dōnum, oppidum). As with all neuters, the nominative and accusative are identical, and the nominative and accusative plural end in -a.

Deus has irregular plural forms (dī, deōrum, dīs), which the catalogue stores.

Third declension

The stem ends in a consonant or in -i-, and the genitive singular ends in -is. Nouns of all three genders belong here. This is the most varied declension: you can't predict the nominative from the genitive, so learn both.

  • Consonant stems: rēx, rēgis; cōnsul, cōnsulis; pater, patris; corpus, corporis. Genitive plural in -um.
  • i-stems: urbs, urbis; cīvis, cīvis; mare, maris. The genitive plural ends in -ium (urbium). Neuters in -e, -al and -ar have the ablative singular in -ī and the nominative and accusative plural in -ia (marī, maria). Masculine and feminine i-stems can have the accusative plural in -īs as well as -ēs. A few nouns, such as turris and puppis, also have an accusative singular in -im and an ablative in -ī.

Nouns in -or are usually masculine. The exceptions arbor, soror and uxor are feminine, and the catalogue records them that way. Bōs, bovis has the irregular plurals boum and bōbus.

Fourth declension

The stem ends in -u-, and the genitive singular ends in -ūs. Most of these nouns are masculine. The best-known feminines are manus (hand) and domus (house). Domus borrows some second-declension forms, such as the ablative domō. The neuters cornū (horn) and genū (knee) end in -ū throughout the singular.

Fifth declension

The stem ends in -ē-. The genitive and dative singular end in -ēī after a vowel (diēī) and in -eī after a consonant (reī, fideī, speī). Almost all these nouns are feminine, except diēs (day), which is usually masculine. It is a small group; the catalogue has seven: rēs, diēs, fidēs, spēs, faciēs, glaciēs, aciēs. Most have few or no plural forms. Spēs, for example, has no genitive, dative or ablative plural.

Irregular nouns

Two nouns have their whole paradigm stored by hand: vīs (force, power; plural vīrēs, strength) and Iuppiter (genitive Iovis). In the catalogue, vīs has no genitive or dative singular, and Iuppiter has no plural. You can drill both like any other noun. The drills use the stored forms and skip the missing ones.

Plūrāle tantum

Some nouns exist only in the plural. In the catalogue these are moenia (city walls), līberī (children), arma (weapons), hīberna (winter quarters), īnsidiae (ambush), tenebrae (darkness) and dīvitiae (riches). Their singular forms are marked as missing, so the declension drills only ask for plural forms.

D. Latin adjective patterns

Latin adjectives follow five textbook patterns. Every adjective in the catalogue has a full case × number × gender paradigm.

1st/2nd-declension -us / -a / -um

The masculine takes the 2nd-declension -us endings, the feminine the 1st-declension -a endings, and the neuter the 2nd-declension -um endings: bonus, bona, bonum; magnus, magna, magnum. This is by far the largest pattern: 213 of the 339 adjectives in the catalogue.

1st/2nd-declension -er / -a / -um

The same endings as the -us pattern, but the masculine nominative singular ends in -er. There are two types:

  • Keeps the e in the other forms: miser, misera, miserum (genitive miserī); līber, lībera, līberum.
  • Drops the e: pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum; sacer, sacra, sacrum; noster, nostra, nostrum.

Each of these adjectives is stored with its genitive, which shows whether the e stays, so the app generates the right forms.

3rd-declension two-ending

The masculine and feminine share one form, and the neuter has another: fortis, forte; brevis, breve; facilis, facile; omnis, omne.

These adjectives follow the i-stem third declension: ablative singular in -ī, genitive plural in -ium, and neuter nominative and accusative plural in -ia.

3rd-declension one-ending

One nominative singular form serves all three genders, and the genitive shows the stem: ingēns (genitive ingentis), fēlīx (fēlīcis), audāx (audācis), sapiēns (sapientis), vetus (veteris), pār (paris).

The app always cites these adjectives with their genitive (ingēns, ingentis), so the stem is clear.

3rd-declension three-ending

Here the masculine, feminine and neuter nominative singular all differ. This is the smallest group, with eight adjectives in the catalogue, including ācer, ācris, ācre; celer, celeris, celere; alacer, alacris, alacre; equester, equestris, equestre.

Comparative and superlative

The app derives a comparative and a superlative for each adjective in the catalogue, and the Sentence parser recognises these forms.

  • Comparative: add -ior (masculine and feminine) or -ius (neuter) to the stem: altus → altior, altius; fortis → fortior, fortius. It declines like a 3rd-declension two-ending adjective, but with consonant-stem endings (ablative -e, genitive plural -um, neuter plural -a).
  • Superlative: the regular ending is -issimus, -issima, -issimum. Adjectives in -er take -rimus instead (miser → miserrimus, pulcher → pulcherrimus, ācer → ācerrimus). Six adjectives in -ilis take -limus: facilis → facillimus, and likewise difficilis, similis, dissimilis, gracilis, humilis.

Irregular comparison

A few common adjectives use entirely different stems for the comparative and superlative:

Positive Comparative Superlative
bonus melior, melius optimus
magnus maior, maius maximus
malus peior, peius pessimus
parvus minor, minus minimus
multus plūs plūrimus

The catalogue stores the irregular forms of bonus, magnus, malus and parvus explicitly rather than deriving them. It also stores the six superlatives in -illimus and the comparison of multus (plūs, plūrimus).