Lesson 33 · Review

The Pluperfect and Future Perfect — the model verbs, three new forms, and a self-check

IVocabulary

No new words this lesson — it drills three new forms on verbs you already know. Every one of them is built on the perfect stem: take the third principal part (the perfect, in ) and drop that .

amō → amāvīlove — stem amāv-
moneō → monuīadvise — stem monu-
regō → rēxīrule — stem rēx-
capiō → cēpītake — stem cēp-
audiō → audīvīhear — stem audīv-
sum → fuībe — stem fu-

IIThe Pluperfect Active Indicative

Perfect stem + the tense sign -erā- + the personal endings — "I had loved," action complete before some point in the past.

I · amōII · moneōIII · regōIII · capiōIV · audiō
1 sg.amāverammonueramrēxeramcēperamaudīveram
2 sg.amāverāsmonuerāsrēxerāscēperāsaudīverās
3 sg.amāveratmonueratrēxeratcēperataudīverat
1 pl.amāverāmusmonuerāmusrēxerāmuscēperāmusaudīverāmus
2 pl.amāverātismonuerātisrēxerātiscēperātisaudīverātis
3 pl.amāverantmonuerantrēxerantcēperantaudīverant
Rule 1 — The pluperfect

The pluperfect active indicative is the perfect stem plus -erā- and the personal endings. It names an action already finished before another past action — "I had loved," "they had ruled."

rēx- + erat → rēxerat, "he had ruled"

IIIThe Future Perfect Active Indicative

Perfect stem + the tense sign -eri- + the endings (1 sg. -erō, 3 pl. -erint) — "I shall have loved," action that will be complete before some future point.

I · amōII · moneōIII · regōIII · capiōIV · audiō
1 sg.amāverōmonuerōrēxerōcēperōaudīverō
2 sg.amāverismonuerisrēxeriscēperisaudīveris
3 sg.amāveritmonueritrēxeritcēperitaudīverit
1 pl.amāverimusmonuerimusrēxerimuscēperimusaudīverimus
2 pl.amāveritismonueritisrēxeritiscēperitisaudīveritis
3 pl.amāverintmonuerintrēxerintcēperintaudīverint
Rule 1 — The future perfect

The future perfect active indicative is the perfect stem plus -eri- and the endings — with -erō in the first singular and -erint in the third plural. It names an action that will already be finished before a later moment: "I shall have loved."

mūnīv- + erimus → mūnīverimus, "we shall have fortified"

Rule 2 — One vowel apart

The pluperfect and the future perfect are near-twins on the page. Between the stem and the ending, the pluperfect carries an -erā- and the future perfect an -eri-; watch the third plural especially — amāverant (had loved) versus amāverint (will have loved).

cēperāmus — we had taken  ·  cēperimus — we shall have taken

IVThe Perfect Active Infinitive

Perfect stem + -isse — "to have loved." One ending, every conjugation.

ConjugationPerfect stemPerfect infinitiveMeaning
I  (amō)amāv-amāvisseto have loved
II  (moneō)monu-monuisseto have advised
III  (regō)rēx-rēxisseto have ruled
III -iō  (capiō)cēp-cēpisseto have taken
IV  (audiō)audīv-audīvisseto have heard
sumfu-fuisseto have been
Rule 1 — Don't confuse it with the present infinitive

The perfect active infinitive adds -isse to the perfect stem: rēxisse, "to have ruled." The present infinitive is built on the present stem and means simply "to rule" — regere. Same verb, different stem, different time.

rēxisse — to have ruled  ·  regere — to rule

VSelf-check

Six out of six before you start the exercises.

Question 1

How is the pluperfect active indicative formed?

Right. The pluperfect is the perfect stem plus the tense sign -erā-: amāv-eram, rēx-erat, audīv-erant. Present stem + -bā- is the imperfect; perfect stem + -eri- is the future perfect.

Not quite — the pluperfect is built on the perfect stem, and its tense sign has a long ā. Which option shows -erā-?

Question 2

Translate: amāverat.

Right. amāv- + -erat is the pluperfect third singular: "he had loved," an action finished before some other point in the past. "He has loved" is the perfect (amāvit); "he will have loved" is the future perfect (amāverit).

Not quite — the tense sign -erā- marks the pluperfect, the "had ___" tense. Which English wording is that?

Question 3

Give the future perfect, first person singular, of regō — "I shall have ruled."

Right. The future perfect first singular takes the special ending -erō on the perfect stem: rēx-erō, "I shall have ruled." rēxeram is the pluperfect ("I had ruled") and rēxī is the plain perfect ("I ruled").

Not quite — in the future perfect the first singular ends in -erō, not -eram. Build it on the perfect stem rēx-.

Question 4

cēperāmus and cēperimus differ by a single vowel. Which is the pluperfect ("we had taken")?

Right. The pluperfect sign is -erā-, so cēperāmus = "we had taken"; the future perfect sign is -eri-, so cēperimus = "we shall have taken." The vowel between stem and ending is the whole tell.

Not quite — the pluperfect carries a long ā in its tense sign (-erā-), the future perfect an i (-eri-). Which form has the ā?

Question 5

What is the perfect active infinitive of audiō — "to have heard"?

Right. The perfect active infinitive adds -isse to the perfect stem: audīv-isse, "to have heard." audīre is the present infinitive ("to hear"), and audīverit is a finite verb (future perfect, "he will have heard").

Not quite — the perfect infinitive ending is -isse, added to the perfect stem audīv-. audīre is the present infinitive.

Question 6

What is monuisse?

Right. monu- + -isse is the perfect active infinitive, "to have advised." The present infinitive of moneō is monēre ("to advise"), built on the present stem; a future perfect like monuerit is a finite verb, not an infinitive.

Not quite — the ending -isse on the perfect stem is the perfect infinitive. The present infinitive of moneō is monēre.

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