Guide to Daily Study Drills for Latin Proficiency

Verbs

Finite verbs are parsed with these characteristics: person, number, tense, mood, voice

Conjugating the Present Tense

1. The first person singular is the first principal part of the verb: *ō

2. For the rest of the conjugation, add the personal endings to the stem:

portō, portāre, portāvī, portātus

portāre à porta (re)

*ō = *ō portō, “I carry,” “I am carrying,” “I do carry”

*ā + s = *as portas, “you (sg) carry,” “you are carrying,” “you do carry”

*ā + t = *at portat, “he carries,” “she is carrying,” “it does carry”

*ā + mus = *amus portamus, “we carry,” etc.

*ā + tis = *atis portatis, “you (pl.) carry,” etc.

*ā + nt = *ant portant, “they carry,” etc.

Conjugating a first-conjugation verb in the imperfect indicative active

1. Take infinitive; remove –re ending.

2. Add -ba to the stem.

3. Add appropriate personal endings.

Singular

1 porta + ba + m I was carrying, did carry, used to carry, carried

2 porta + ba + s you (sg) were carrying, did carry, used to carry, carried

3 porta + ba + t she was carrying, did carry, used to carry, carried

Plural

1 porta + ba + mus we were carrying, did carry, used to carry, carried

2 porta + ba + tis you (pl) were carrying, did carry, used to carry, carried

3 porta + ba + nt they were carrying, did carry, used to carry, carried

Conjugating a first-conjugation verb in the future indicative active

1. Take infinitive; remove –re ending.

2. Add -bi to the stem.*

3. Add appropriate personal endings.

* 1^st sg.: Add –bō to the stem [mnemonic: “I shall stink in the future”]

* 3d pl.: Add –bunt to the stem

Singular

1 porta + bō I shall carry, I shall be carrying

2 porta + bi + s you (sg) shall carry, you (sg) shall be carrying

3 porta + bi + t he shall carry, he shall be carrying

Plural

1 porta + bi + mus we shall carry, we shall be carrying

2 porta + bi + tis you (pl) shall carry, y’all shall be carrying

3 porta + bunt they shall carry, they shall be carrying

sum, esse, fui, futurus, the verb “to be”

Present Imperfect Future

sum, “I am” eram, “I was” ero, “I shall be”

es, “you are” eras, “you (sg.) were eris, “you (sg.) will be”

est, “she is” erat, “he was” erit, “it will be”

sumus, “we are” eramus, “we were” erimus, “we shall be”

estis, “y’all are” eratis, “you (pl.) were” eritis, “you (pl.) will be”

sunt, “they are” erant, “they were” erunt, “they will be”

Nouns

1. To determine the base of the noun, take the genitive singular and drop the ae ending.

2. To the base, add the case endings.

Nouns are parsed with these characteristics: case, number, gender

First Declension Nouns – Feminine and Masculine

*a, *ae [as in puella, puellae]

Singular Plural

Nominative *a puella *ae puellae

Genitive *ae puellae *arum puellarum

Dative *ae puellae *is puellis

Accusative *am puellam *as puellas

Ablative *ā puellā *is puellis

Second Declension Masculine

puer, -ī, “boy”

Singular Plural

Nominative púer púerī

Genitive púerī puerōrum

Dative púerō púerīs

Accusative púerum púerōs

Ablative púerō púerīs

[Vocative púer púerī]

amicus, -ī, “(male) friend”

Singular Plural

Nominative amī%cus amī%cī

Genitive amī%cī amīcōrum

Dative amī%cō amī%cīs

Accusative amī%cum amī8cōs

Ablative amī%cō amī%cīs

[Vocative amī%ce amī%cī]

Second Declension Neuter

donum, -ī, “gift”

Singular Plural

Nominative donum dona

Genitive donī donōrum

Dative donō donīs

Accusative donum dona

Ablative donō donīs

Notice that the second-declension neuter nominative and accusative endings are identical.

Memorize: “Adjectives agree with the noun they modify in number, gender, and case.”