Lesson 26 · Review
Five new verbs that end in -iō — yet their short -ere infinitives put them in the third conjugation, not the fourth. Two familiar verbs return because their commands are irregular.
The ending -iō looks fourth-conjugation, but the infinitive decides: a short -ĕre (capere) is third, a long -īre (audīre) is fourth. So capiō is third — it only borrows the fourth-conjugation -i- where two vowels fall together.
Never trust the -iō; read the infinitive. capiō, capere has the third conjugation's short -ĕre, so it is third — set beside audiō, audīre, whose long -īre marks the fourth.
capiō, capere → III · audiō, audīre → IV
| Person | Present | Imperfect | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 sg. | capiō | capiēbam | capiam |
| 2 sg. | capis | capiēbās | capiēs |
| 3 sg. | capit | capiēbat | capiet |
| 1 pl. | capimus | capiēbāmus | capiēmus |
| 2 pl. | capitis | capiēbātis | capiētis |
| 3 pl. | capiunt | capiēbant | capient |
Compare capiō with audiō: the two run together wherever a vowel already follows — capiō / capiunt (like audiō / audiunt) and right through the imperfect and future (capiēbam, capiam). Everywhere else capiō is pure third conjugation: capis like regis, capit like regit.
has the -i-: capiō, capiunt, capiēbat, capiet · lacks it: capis, capit, capimus, capitis
The imperative gives a command. It exists only in the second person: a singular for one hearer, a plural for many. The singular is the present stem; the plural adds -te.
| Conjugation | Singular — "…thou" | Plural — "…ye" |
|---|---|---|
| I. amō | amā | amāte |
| II. moneō | monē | monēte |
| III. regō | rege | regite |
| III. (-iō) capiō | cape | capite |
| IV. audiō | audī | audīte |
| sum (irreg.) | es | este |
Add -te to the singular, but in the third conjugation the stem's final -ĕ- weakens to -ĭ- before it: rege → regite, and the same for the -iō verbs, cape → capite. The other conjugations simply keep their stem vowel (amā → amāte, audī → audīte).
rege → regite · cape → capite · fuge → fugite · iace → iacite · rape → rapite
Three common verbs have a clipped singular imperative: dīcō → dīc, dūcō → dūc, and faciō → fac (not dīce, dūce, face). Their plurals are perfectly regular — dīcite, dūcite, facite — so only the one-person command is odd.
dīc / dīcite · dūc / dūcite · fac / facite
Six out of six before you start the exercises.
Question 1
capiō, capere ("take") ends in -iō. To which conjugation does it belong?
Right. The -iō is a decoy — the infinitive decides. capere has the third conjugation's short -ĕre, so capiō is third, unlike fourth-conjugation audiō, audīre with its long -īre.
Not quite — ignore the -iō and read the infinitive. A short -ĕre (capere) means third conjugation; only a long -īre (audīre) would make it fourth.
Question 2
Which form of capiō means "they take"?
Right. In the third person plural two vowels fall together, so the -iō verb borrows the fourth conjugation's -i-: capiunt, just like audiunt. capunt drops the needed -i-, and capent is not a present form at all.
Not quite — capiō keeps its -i- wherever a vowel follows, as in the third plural. Compare audiunt: the answer is capiunt.
Question 3
The singular command "take thou!" from capiō is —
Right. The singular imperative simply is the present stem: cape- → cape. capite is the plural ("take ye!"), and capī is not a form of this verb.
Not quite — the singular imperative equals the present stem, cape. capite is the plural command, and capī is no real form here.
Question 4
fugiō, fugere ("flee") is a third-conjugation -iō verb. What is the plural command "flee ye!"?
Right. Add -te to the singular fuge, and the third conjugation's final -ĕ- weakens to -ĭ-: fuge → fugite, exactly as rege → regite. So it is neither fugete nor the fourth-conjugation-looking fugīte.
Not quite — in the third conjugation the stem's -ĕ- becomes -ĭ- before -te: fuge → fugite, like rege → regite.
Question 5
Which is the correct singular command "make!" from faciō?
Right. faciō is one of the three verbs — with dīcō → dīc and dūcō → dūc — whose singular imperative drops the -e: fac, not face. The plural facite stays regular.
Not quite — faciō has an irregular clipped singular imperative fac (like dīc, dūc). face is wrong, and facite is the plural.
Question 6
Translate the command Rapite praedam! (rapiō = seize; praeda = booty).
Right. The -te ending marks the plural imperative, a command to more than one person: Rapite! A command to a single person would be Rape!, and "they seize" is the indicative rapiunt.
Not quite — -te is the plural command ending, so Rapite! addresses more than one person. The singular would be Rape!, and rapiunt would be "they seize."
Answered correctly: 0 / 6