Lesson 18 · Review
This lesson's new words — and the star of the show, the irregular verb sum, “I am,” whose single words carry “am,” “was,” and “shall be” across the three tenses.
English spreads a verb's meaning across pronouns and helpers — I shall be. Latin packs it all into one word, erō. Learn what conjugation is, the personal endings every verb uses, and the three tenses of sum.
The inflection of a verb is its conjugation. Where English uses pronouns and auxiliaries (I am, we have been, they will be), Latin changes the word itself to show tense, mood, voice, person, and number.
erat — (he) was · erunt — (they) will be. No pronoun needed; the form says it all.
One word for each combination of person and number. You already met -t (3rd sg.) and -nt (3rd pl.); here is the full set:
Sg. -m / -ō (I), -s (you), -t (he/she/it) · Pl. -mus (we), -tis (you), -nt (they).
What is true now, or usually. The present is the most irregular of the three — learn it as a block.
sum, es, est · sumus, estis, sunt — I am, you are, he is; we are, you are, they are.
What was going on in past time — was, used to be. Every form starts with the past signal era- (with a short era- in eram, erat, erant and a long erā- in erāmus, erātis).
eram, erās, erat · erāmus, erātis, erant — I was, you were, he was; we were, you were, they were.
What is going to be. Built on er- like the imperfect, but with the vowels -i-/-u- instead of -a-: watch erō (I shall be) and erunt (they will be).
erō, eris, erit · erimus, eritis, erunt — I shall be, you will be, he will be; we shall be, you will be, they will be.
English you are and you were can be one person or many; Latin keeps them distinct. The ending alone tells you the number, so context is never required to count heads.
es (you, one) vs. estis (you, several) · erās (you were, one) vs. erātis (you were, several).
Six out of six before you start the exercises.
Question 1
In the present indicative of sum, “we are” is —
Right. sumus is first person plural present, “we are” (Rule 3). sunt = they are; estis = you (several) are.
Not quite — you want first person plural, “we.” Which form carries the -mus ending?
Question 2
“He was” — the imperfect, third person singular — is —
Right. erat is the imperfect, “he was” (Rule 4). est is the present “he is”; erit is the future “he will be.” Notice how one vowel sets them apart: erat vs. erit.
Not quite — you want PAST time, “was.” The imperfect carries an -a- (erat), the future an -i- (erit).
Question 3
“I shall be” — the future, first person singular — is —
Right. erō is the future, “I shall be” (Rule 5). sum = I am (present); eram = I was (imperfect).
Not quite — you want FUTURE time, “shall be.” The first-person future ends in -ō.
Question 4
The personal ending -mus always marks —
Right. -mus is the “we” ending across every tense: sumus, erāmus, erimus (Rule 2). The plural “you” ending is -tis, and “they” is -nt.
Not quite — look at sumus, erāmus, erimus. Who is the subject they share?
Question 5
English “you were” hides the number. To say it to a GROUP — “you (several) were” — Latin uses —
Right. erātis is second person plural imperfect, “you (several) were” (Rule 4 and the N.B.). erās is “you (one) were”; erāmus is “we were.”
Not quite — Latin never blurs singular and plural. The plural “you” ending is -tis, so which form has it?
Question 6
Which adverb points to the FUTURE, and so naturally pairs with erit / erunt?
Right. mox, “soon,” looks ahead to the immediate future, matching the future tense. nūper, “lately,” looks back (it pairs with the imperfect erat); hodiē, “to-day,” sits in the present.
Not quite — think about which adverb means “soon.” That is the one that points forward in time.
Answered correctly: 0 / 6