Lesson 35 · Review
This lesson adds no new words. Its one new form is the fourth principal part — the perfect passive participle. Drop its -us and you have the participial stem, from which the whole passive perfect system and two new infinitives are built.
| Pres. indic. | Pres. infin. | Perf. indic. | Perf. pass. part. | Part. stem |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| amō | amāre | amāvī | amātus | amāt- |
| moneō | monēre | monuī | monitus | monit- |
| regō | regere | rēxī | rēctus | rēct- |
| capiō | capere | cēpī | captus | capt- |
| audiō | audīre | audīvī | audītus | audīt- |
The perfect passive participle is the last thing you learn about a verb, and it unlocks the most: strike the -us and the stem that remains (amāt-, monit-, rēct-, capt-, audīt-) carries every passive perfect tense and the future active infinitive.
amātus → amāt- · rēctus → rēct-
Just as English says I have been loved with a form of to be plus a participle, Latin joins the perfect passive participle to sum. The participle stays put; only the tense of sum moves the whole phrase through time.
| Tense | Auxiliary (tense of sum) | amō (1 sg.) | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perfect passive | present — sum | amātus sum | I have been / was loved |
| Pluperfect passive | imperfect — eram | amātus eram | I had been loved |
| Future perfect passive | future — erō | amātus erō | I shall have been loved |
The perfect passive of amō, inflected in full — the participle agrees with the subject, the auxiliary is the present of sum:
| Perfect passive | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person | amātus, -a, -um sum | amātī, -ae, -a sumus |
| 2nd person | amātus, -a, -um es | amātī, -ae, -a estis |
| 3rd person | amātus, -a, -um est | amātī, -ae, -a sunt |
The three passive tenses of completed action all use the perfect passive participle. The present of sum gives the perfect, the imperfect gives the pluperfect, and the future gives the future perfect. Change one word — the auxiliary — and you change the tense.
amātus est — was loved · amātus erat — had been loved · amātus erit — will have been loved
A participle is half verb, half adjective. As an adjective it is declined like bonus, -a, -um and agrees, as a predicate adjective, with the subject in gender and number — so its ending, and the auxiliary, shift with the subject.
| Subject | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|
| masc. sg. | Vir laudātus est | the man was praised |
| fem. sg. | Puella laudāta est | the girl was praised |
| neut. sg. | Cōnsilium laudātum est | the plan was praised |
| masc. pl. | Virī laudātī sunt | the men were praised |
| fem. pl. | Puellae laudātae sunt | the girls were praised |
| neut. pl. | Cōnsilia laudāta sunt | the plans were praised |
Because the participle is a predicate adjective, its ending must match the subject's gender and number — -us, -a, -um in the singular, -ī, -ae, -a in the plural — and the auxiliary becomes plural (sunt, erant, erunt) with a plural subject. Read the participle's ending and you know the subject.
Puellae vocātae sunt — the girls were called · Cōnsilium laudātum est — the plan was praised
The participial stem also gives two infinitives. Add esse (the present infinitive of sum) to the perfect passive participle for the perfect passive infinitive, or to the future active participle (stem + -ūrus, -a, -um) for the future active infinitive.
| Active infinitive | Latin | Built on | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | amāre | present stem | to love |
| Perfect | amāvisse | perfect stem | to have loved |
| Future | amātūrus esse | participial stem | to be about to love |
The perfect passive infinitive is the participle + esse: amātus esse, "to have been loved." The future active infinitive is the future participle (-ūrus, -a, -um) + esse: amātūrus esse, "to be about to love." Same esse — but the word before it fixes both the voice and the time.
monitus esse — to have been advised · monitūrus esse — to be about to advise
Six out of six before you start the exercises.
Question 1
How is the perfect passive indicative (e.g. "he was loved") formed?
Right. The perfect passive is the perfect passive participle joined to the present of sum: amātus est, "he was (has been) loved." Present stem + -bā- is the imperfect active; perfect stem + -erō is the future perfect active.
Not quite — the passive perfect tenses pair a participle with a form of sum. Which option shows the participle + sum?
Question 2
The pluperfect passive ("had been loved") joins the participle to which tense of sum?
Right. Present of sum → perfect, imperfect → pluperfect, future → future perfect. So the pluperfect passive is amātus erat, "he had been loved." Amātus est is the perfect; amātus erit the future perfect.
Not quite — the pluperfect ("had been ___") is the past-of-a-past, so it takes the past (imperfect) of sum. Which auxiliary is that?
Question 3
Which sentence is the future perfect passive, "the gold will have been carried"?
Right. The future perfect passive uses the future of sum: portātum erit, "will have been carried." Portātum est is the perfect ("was carried"); portātum erat the pluperfect ("had been carried").
Not quite — "will have been" needs the future of sum. Which of est, erat, erit is the future?
Question 4
"The girl was praised." Which participle agrees with puella?
Right. The participle is a predicate adjective and must match its subject. Puella is feminine singular, so the participle is laudāta (-a). Laudātus would need a masculine subject, laudātum a neuter one.
Not quite — the participle agrees with puella in gender. Which ending marks a feminine singular, like an adjective in -a?
Question 5
Make Vir monitus est plural: "the men were advised."
Right. Both pieces go plural: the participle becomes monitī (masc. pl.) and the auxiliary becomes sunt. Leaving monitus (sg.) or est (sg.) breaks the agreement with a plural subject.
Not quite — a plural subject needs a plural participle and a plural auxiliary. Which option makes both plural?
Question 6
What does the future active infinitive amātūrus esse mean?
Right. The future active participle (amātūrus) + esse means "to be about to love." "To have been loved" is the perfect passive infinitive amātus esse; "to have loved" is the perfect active infinitive amāvisse.
Not quite — the piece before esse here is the future participle (-ūrus), so the action is still to come. Which option looks forward?
Answered correctly: 0 / 6