First and Second Conjugation Verbs
Learn to conjugate -āre and -ēre verbs in the present tense. Understand person, number, and the Latin personal endings.
A lesson of Latin A1 — Beginner, in Verb Conjugations, about 10 minutes.
By the end of this lesson, you will conjugate -are and -ere verbs in the present tense and use personal endings to indicate person and number.
How Latin Verbs Work
In English you need a pronoun: "I walk," "she walks." In Latin, the ending of the verb carries that information — no separate pronoun needed.
A Latin verb in the present tense tells you:
- Person: 1st (I/we), 2nd (you), 3rd (he/she/it/they)
- Number: singular or plural
- Tense: present, imperfect, future, etc.
- Voice: active or passive
The Latin Personal Endings (Active Present)
These endings attach to every present-tense active verb regardless of conjugation:
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | -o (I) | -mus (we) |
| 2nd | -s (you) | -tis (you all) |
| 3rd | -t (he/she/it) | -nt (they) |
Memorize these. They are the heartbeat of every Latin verb.
First Conjugation: -are Verbs
First-conjugation verbs have -are in the infinitive and -a- as their characteristic stem vowel.
Dictionary form
Latin dictionaries give four principal parts. For now, use the first two: amo, amare — "to love" (1st conjugation)
The stem is found by removing -re from the infinitive: ama-
Conjugating amare in the present tense
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | amo (I love) | amamus (we love) |
| 2nd | amas (you love) | amatis (you all love) |
| 3rd | amat (he/she loves) | amant (they love) |
Note: 1st singular amo drops the -a- from ama+o for phonetic reasons. All other forms keep the -a-.