Lesson 23 · Review
Twelve words, almost all verbs. Nine new verbs give you the third and fourth conjugations to practice — regō, audiō, agō, dīcō, dūcō, mittō, mūniō, reperiō, veniō — joined by a woman's name from the reading, an adverb, and the pronoun tū.
You already inflect the first (amō) and second (moneō) conjugations. This lesson adds the last two. They keep the same personal endings you know (-ō/-m, -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -nt); what changes is the vowel that carries them.
Tell the two apart by the infinitive. The third conjugation's present stem ends in a short -ĕ (infinitive -ere, as regere); the fourth's ends in a long -ī (infinitive -īre, as audīre). From these stems you build the present active indicative.
regĕ- → regō, regis, regit… (III) · audī- → audiō, audīs, audit… (IV)
| Person | III. regō (rule) | IV. audiō (hear) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 sg. | regō — I rule | audiō — I hear |
| 2 sg. | regis — you rule | audīs — you hear |
| 3 sg. | regit — he rules | audit — he hears |
| 1 pl. | regimus — we rule | audīmus — we hear |
| 2 pl. | regitis — you rule | audītis — you hear |
| 3 pl. | regunt — they rule | audiunt — they hear |
The short -e- of regĕ- almost never survives unchanged: it fuses with the -ō of the first person (regō), turns into -u- in the third person plural (regunt), and appears as short -ĭ- everywhere else (regis, regit, regimus, regitis). The whole run mirrors erō, eris, erit…, the future of sum.
agō → agis, agit, agimus, agitis, agunt · dīcō → dīcis… dīcunt · mittō → mittis… mittunt
The fourth conjugation simply adds the endings to its long audī-. The only surprise is the third person plural, where a -u- is slipped in before the ending: audi-u-nt, not audunt. And the long -ī- shortens before final -t (audit), exactly as in amat and monet.
mūniō → mūnīs, mūnit, mūnīmus, mūnītis, mūniunt · veniō → venīs… veniunt · reperiō → reperīs… reperiunt
The single most useful signal: the linking -i- is short in the third conjugation and long in the fourth — regimus but audīmus, regitis but audītis — except where a long vowel is regularly shortened (before final -t, and in the -nt forms).
regis / regit / regimus (short) vs. audīs / audīmus / audītis (long)
Six out of six before you start the exercises.
Question 1
The infinitives mittere ("to send") and venīre ("to come") tell you the conjugation. To which do they belong?
Right. The third conjugation's present stem ends in a short -ĕ, giving an infinitive in -ere (mitt-ere); the fourth's ends in a long -ī, giving -īre (ven-īre). Read the infinitive and the conjugation announces itself (Rule 1).
Not quite — compare the infinitive endings: short -ere marks the third conjugation (like regere), long -īre marks the fourth (like audīre).
Question 2
agō, agere ("drive") is a third-conjugation verb. Which form means "we drive"?
Right. In the third conjugation the stem's short -e- shows up as short -ĭ- before -mus: ag-i-mus, just like reg-i-mus (Rule 2). The vowel -ā- would belong to the first conjugation (amāmus).
Not quite — the third conjugation links its ending with a short -ĭ- here, exactly as in regimus. So "we drive" is ag-i-mus.
Question 3
"They rule" and "they hear" both end in -unt, yet they are built differently. Which pair is correct?
Right. In the third conjugation the stem vowel itself becomes -u-: reg-u-nt (Rule 2). In the fourth the long stem keeps its -i- and a -u- is inserted before the ending: audi-u-nt (Rule 3). So regunt and audiunt.
Not quite — the third conjugation turns its own vowel into -u- (reg-u-nt), while the fourth inserts an extra -u- after its -i- (audi-u-nt).
Question 4
Translate Puer venit (puer = boy; veniō, venīre = come).
Right. venit is third person singular of the present (the long -ī- shortens before final -t, giving venit, Rule 3), so with the singular subject puer it is "the boy comes." "The boys come" would be veniunt; the Latin present is not a past tense.
Not quite — venit is singular present ("comes"). The plural "they come" is veniunt, and the present never means "came."
Question 5
mūniō, mūnīre ("fortify") is fourth conjugation. Which form means "we fortify"?
Right. The fourth conjugation keeps its long -ī- before -mus: mūnī-mus, just like audī-mus (N.B.). Contrast the third conjugation's short -i- in regimus. The macron matters — it is the mark of the fourth conjugation here.
Not quite — in the fourth conjugation the linking -i- is long: mūnī-mus (compare audīmus). The short-i form regimus is third-conjugation.
Question 6
What does Quem dūcunt? mean? (quem = whom; dūcō, dūcere = lead)
Right. dūcunt is the third-conjugation third person plural: the stem vowel becomes -u- before -nt (dūc-u-nt = "they lead," Rule 2). With quem ("whom," accusative): "Whom do they lead?" The singular "whom does he lead?" would be quem dūcit.
Not quite — dūcunt ends in -unt, the third person plural ("they lead"). quem is the object "whom." "He leads" would be dūcit.
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