4.2 The first conjugation
The endings of Latin verbs, like those of nouns, are predictable because verbs belong to one of four groups, known as conjugations. A conjugation is a pattern of verb endings, just as a declension is a pattern of noun endings.
The verb dōnō (‘I give’, ‘I present’) belongs to the first conjugation. It takes the following endings in the present tense (strictly speaking, the present indicative active):
| Number and person | Latin | English equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| singular | ||
| 1 | dōnō | I give |
| 2 | dōnās | you (singular) give |
| 3 | dōnat | he / she / it gives |
| plural | ||
| 1 | dōnāmus | we give |
| 2 | dōnātis | you (plural) give |
| 3 | dōnant | they give |
Activity 20
a.
Yes
b.
No
The correct answer is a.
Answer
Yes, but nothing like to the same extent as Latin. With ‘he/she/it’ or a singular noun (e.g. ‘the dog’, ‘the cat’), English verbs in the present tense add ‘-s’ (‘she walks’ or ‘the cat skulks’ ).
Most English verbs also change their ending in the past tense (i.e. when describing events in the past) by adding ‘-ed’, thus ‘I walk’ becomes ‘I walked’. Some verbs undergo a more radical change, e.g. ‘I eat’ becomes ‘I ate’.
Practice
Activity 21
Using the conjugation table (repeated below), match the following first conjugation verbs with their English equivalents.
Two lists follow, match one item from the first with one item from the second. Each item can only be matched once. There are 4 items in each list.
-
amant
-
rogās
-
ambulāmus
-
festīnat
Match each of the previous list items with an item from the following list:
a.we walk
b.they love
c.you (singular) ask
d.she hurries
- 1 = b,
- 2 = c,
- 3 = a,
- 4 = d
| Number and person | Latin | English equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| singular | ||
| 1 | dōnō | I give |
| 2 | dōnās | you (singular) give |
| 3 | dōnat | he / she / it gives |
| plural | ||
| 1 | dōnāmus | we give |
| 2 | dōnātis | you (plural) give |
| 3 | dōnant | they give |