Lesson 34 · Review
This review lesson adds only five words — four adverbs and one verb. Its real work is to gather the whole active voice into a single system you can run through from memory.
Every tense of the indicative active is one of six recipes — three grow from the present stem, three from the perfect stem. Here they are on amō, first person singular, with the tense sign picked out.
| Tense | How it is formed | amō (1 sg.) | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | first principal part | amō | I love |
| Imperfect | present stem + -bā- | amābam | I was loving |
| Future | present stem + -bō (I, II) | amābō | I shall love |
| Perfect | third principal part | amāvī | I have loved / I loved |
| Pluperfect | perfect stem + -erā- | amāveram | I had loved |
| Future Perfect | perfect stem + -eri- | amāverō | I shall have loved |
The six tenses divide into two families. The present stem (the present infinitive minus -re: amā-) gives the present, imperfect, and future. The perfect stem (the third principal part minus -ī: amāv-) gives the perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect. Learn a verb's principal parts and all six tenses fall out.
amā- → amābam · amāv- → amāveram
In Conjugations I and II the future is present stem + -bō (amābō, movēbō); in III and IV it is present stem + -a- / -ē- (dūcam, dūcēs…, mūniam, mūniēs…). Watch the one-letter trap: amābō ("I shall love," future) versus amābam ("I was loving," imperfect).
amābō — I shall love · amābam — I was loving
A synopsis runs one verb through every form you have learned, in order. Master this on amō and you can give it for any verb — half from the present stem, half from the perfect.
| Present stem: amā- | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|
| Indicative — Present | amō | I love |
| Indicative — Imperfect | amābam | I was loving |
| Indicative — Future | amābō | I shall love |
| Imperative — Present | amā | love! |
| Infinitive — Present | amāre | to love |
| Perfect stem: amāv- | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|
| Indicative — Perfect | amāvī | I have loved |
| Indicative — Pluperfect | amāveram | I had loved |
| Indicative — Future Perfect | amāverō | I shall have loved |
| Infinitive — Perfect | amāvisse | to have loved |
The synopsis is usually shown in the first singular, but you should be able to run it out in any person and number on demand — amās, amābāmus, amāverint. Learn the template, then swap the personal endings.
amāverant — they had loved · amāveritis — you (pl.) will have loved
For every reviewed verb the perfect — the third principal part — is the only new form; learn it and the whole perfect system follows. A representative set:
| Present indic. | Present infin. | Perfect indic. | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| sum | esse | fuī | be |
| dō | dare | dedī | give |
| doceō | docēre | docuī | teach |
| iubeō | iubēre | iussī | order |
| respondeō | respondēre | respondī | reply |
| agō | agere | ēgī | drive |
| crēdō | crēdere | crēdidī | believe |
| fugiō | fugere | fūgī | flee |
| interficiō | interficere | interfēcī | kill |
| reperiō | reperīre | repperī | find |
The present stem is predictable; it is the perfect stem that varies. It may reduplicate (dedī, crēdidī, repperī), lengthen a vowel (ēgī, fūgī, interfēcī), add an -s- (iussī), add a -u- (docuī), or simply lengthen with no suffix (respondī). Drill the third principal part — the rest is machinery.
agō → ēgī · iubeō → iussī · dō → dedī
Six out of six before you start the exercises.
Question 1
How is the imperfect active indicative formed?
Right. The imperfect adds the tense sign -bā- to the present stem: amā-bam, "I was loving." The first principal part alone is the present (amō); perfect stem + -erā- is the pluperfect.
Not quite — the imperfect ("was ___-ing") is built on the present stem with a -bā-. Which option shows that?
Question 2
How is the future perfect active indicative built?
Right. The future perfect is the perfect stem plus -eri-, taking -erō in the first singular: amāv-erō, "I shall have loved." Present stem + -bō is the future of Conjugations I–II; perfect stem + -erā- is the pluperfect.
Not quite — the future perfect sits on the perfect stem, and its tense sign carries an i (-eri-), not an ā. Which option is that?
Question 3
The principal parts of interficiō are interficiō, interficere, ___. Which perfect completes them?
Right. interficiō forms its perfect by lengthening the stem vowel: interfēcī, "I killed." It takes neither an -īvī nor a -uī perfect.
Not quite — interficiō makes its perfect by lengthening the vowel to -fēcī, not by tacking on -īvī or -uī. Which form shows that?
Question 4
In the synopsis of amō, which form is built on the perfect stem amāv-?
Right. The pluperfect amāv-eram stands on the perfect stem. The imperfect amābam and the future amābō both grow from the present stem amā-. Half the synopsis comes from each stem.
Not quite — the present stem amā- gives the present, imperfect, and future; the perfect stem amāv- gives the perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect. Which option is a perfect-stem form?
Question 5
In the reading, Perseus victōriam reportāvit. What does reportāvit mean?
Right. reportāvit is the perfect (third principal part reportāvī), third singular: "he won, he brought back." The imperfect would be reportābat ("he was winning"); the future, reportābit ("he will win").
Not quite — the ending -āvit on the perfect stem marks the perfect tense, a completed act. What did Perseus do — once, and done?
Question 6
Which of this lesson's new adverbs means "suddenly"?
Right. subitō means "suddenly." celeriter is "quickly," dēnique is "finally," and graviter (the fourth new adverb) is "heavily, severely."
Not quite — celeriter is "quickly" and dēnique is "finally." Which one names something happening all at once, without warning?
Answered correctly: 0 / 6