A verb in the future tense represents an act which will occur at some point in the future, e.g. he will shout, he shall shout, he is going to shout. Note that whereas English has three ways of expressing the future tense, there is only one form in Latin, i.e. clamabit.

The future tense in Latin is formed differently, depending on which conjugation a verb is from.

Conjugations I & II: take the present stem (infinitive minus -re) and add the following person endings:

-bo	I		-bimus	we
-bis	you (sing.)		-bitis	you (pl.)
-bit	he, she, it		-bunt	they

Note that the -bi- changes to -bo in the first person singular, and to -bu- in the third person plural. This occurs for all first and second conjugation verbs.

Conjugations III, III-io & IV: take the present stem (infinitive minus -re) and add the following person endings:

-am	I		-emus	we
-es	you (sing.)		-etis	you (pl.)
-et	he, she, it		-ent	they

For third and fourth conjugation verbs, -ia- or -ie- is found before the person ending, e.g. capiam, audiet. Basically, the i of the present tense changes to e for a third, or to ie for a third-io or fourth. The first person singular forms always end in -am.

The future tense of first and second conjugation verbs in Latin is easily recognized by the -bi- before the person ending. As soon as you see this -ba-, translate as will, or shall, or going to. The future tenses of third, third-io and fourth conjugation verbs are much harder to recognize. Here are two methods to remember them:

The Vitamin E Factor: verbs from the third, third-io and fourth conjugations need a bit of extra pep in the future; therefore they replace -bi- with a 'vitamin e factor', so that instead of amabit, you get reget. This vitamin e changes to vitamin a for the first person singular, e.g. regam.

The Royal Conjugations: the verb rego, regere, to rule, is from the third conjugation (just as for nouns rex, regis, a king, is from the third declension. This idea of royalty or ruling applies to the third conjugation, and all conjugations after it, i.e. third-io and fourth. They are therefore called the Royal Conjugations. Now, the idea is that, while the first and second conjugations take -bo to form the future, e.g. amabo, royalty cannot be associated with BO (bad odour); indeed, a king cannot possibly have BO! Therefore, these Royal Conjugations take -am, -es, -et, -emus, -etis, -ent instead. [I know it's a silly explanation, but if it helps you to remember the rule, use it!]

The First Conjugation.

The first conjugation is where all the a-stem verbs are grouped together. The common vowel -a- can be seen running right through the future tense before the -bi- and person ending. Only first conjugation verbs like amo, amare have this a-vowel running through the future indicative active. Note that the -bi- changes to -bo in the first person singular, and to -bu- in the third person plural.

Other verbs conjugated like amo are:

rogo, rogare, rogavi, rogatum	to ask
ambulo, ambulare, ambulavi, ambulatum	to walk
clamo, clamare, clamavi, clamatum	to shout
navigo, navigare, navigavi, navigatum	to sail

Practising the First Conjugation Future Active Indicative.

Practise forming a first conjugation verb in the future active indicative by studying the table in the previous section, and then applying the rules to the first conjugation verb directly above. Type in the verb forms, and then press << Check Answers >> to see whether you are correct. You can move between the text boxes by using the << Tab >> key.

Be tested on different first conjugation verbs by clicking on the pictures below. You can be tested on either Latin to English, or English to Latin.

Latin to English			English to Latin

The Second Conjugation.

The second conjugation is where all the long-e-stem verbs are grouped together. The common vowel -e- (long) can be seen running right through the future tense before the person ending. Only second conjugation verbs like moneo, monere have this long-e vowel running through the future indicative active. Note that the -bi- changes to -bo in the first person singular, and to -bu- in the third person plural.

Other verbs conjugated like moneo are:

video, videre, vidi, visum	to see
habeo, habere, habui, habitum	to have
timeo, timere, timui	to fear
maneo, manere, mansi, mansum	to remain

Practising the Second Conjugation Future Active Indicative.

Practise forming a second conjugation verb in the future active indicative by studying the table in the previous section, and then applying the rules to the second conjugation verb directly above. Type in the verb forms, and then press << Check Answers >> to see whether you are correct. You can move between the text boxes by using the << Tab >> key.

Be tested on different second conjugation verbs by clicking on the pictures below. You can be tested on either Latin to English, or English to Latin.

Latin to English			English to Latin

The Third Conjugation.

The third conjugation is where all the short-e-stem verbs are grouped together. Remember that instead of taking -bi-, third conjugation verbs are Royal verbs, and must instead take the vitamin e factor. The common vowel changes from the -i- of the present tense to an -e-, which runs through the future tense before the person ending. The first person singular ends in -am. All third conjugation verbs follow this pattern. It is difficult to recognize what tense a verb with -e- in it is. Take great care not to confuse the second conjugation present with the third conjugation future!

Other verbs conjugated like rego are:

mitto, mittere, misi, missum	to send
dico, dicere, dixi, dictum	to say
duco, ducere, duxi, ductum	to lead
scribo, scribere, scripsi, scriptum	to write

Practising the Third Conjugation Future Active Indicative.

Practise forming a third conjugation verb in the future active indicative by studying the table in the previous section, and then applying the rules to the third conjugation verb directly above. Type in the verb forms, and then press << Check Answers >> to see whether you are correct. You can move between the text boxes by using the << Tab >> key.

Be tested on different third conjugation verbs by clicking on the pictures below. You can be tested on either Latin to English, or English to Latin.

Latin to English			English to Latin

The Third-io Conjugation.

The third-io conjugation is a small sub-branch of the third conjugation. These verbs belong to the third conjugation, for their infinitive ends in -ere (short), but in the future system they look exactly like a fourth conjugation verb in every respect. Like fourths, which also count among the Royal verbs, they take -ie- before the person ending, and this can be seen running right through the future tense, except for the first person singular form, which ends in -am. All third-io conjugation verbs follow this pattern.

Other verbs conjugated like capio are:

facio, facere, feci, factum	to do, make
cupio, cupere, cupivi, cupitum	to desire
accipio, accipere, accepi, acceptum	to receive, accept
interficio, interficere, interfeci, interfectum	to kill

Practising the Third-io Conjugation Future Active Indicative.

Practise forming a third-io conjugation verb in the future active indicative by studying the table in the previous section, and then applying the rules to the third-io conjugation verb directly above. Type in the verb forms, and then press << Check Answers >> to see whether you are correct. You can move between the text boxes by using the << Tab >> key.

Be tested on different third-io conjugation verbs by clicking on the pictures below. You can be tested on either Latin to English, or English to Latin.

Latin to English			English to Latin

The Fourth Conjugation.

The fourth conjugation is where all the i-stem verbs are grouped together. Like all Royal verbs in the future, the common vowels -ie- can be seen running right through the future tense before the person ending, apart from the first person singular, which ends in -iam. All fourth conjugation verbs follow this pattern.

Other verbs conjugated like audio are:

custodio, custodire, custodivi, custoditum	to guard
finio, finire, finivi, finitum	to finish
venio, venire, veni, ventum	to come
punio, punire, punivi, punitum	to punish

Practising the Fourth Conjugation Future Active Indicative.

Practise forming a fourth conjugation verb in the future active indicative by studying the table in the previous section, and then applying the rules to the fourth conjugation verb directly above. Type in the verb forms, and then press << Check Answers >> to see whether you are correct. You can move between the text boxes by using the << Tab >> key.

Be tested on different fourth conjugation verbs by clicking on the pictures below. You can be tested on either Latin to English, or English to Latin.

Latin to English			English to Latin

Summary of the Future Active Indicative.

Formation: (I & II) present stem (infinitive - re) + bi + person ending; (III, III-io & IV) present stem (infinitive - re) + -am, -es, -et, -emus, -etis, -ent (vitamin e factor). Note that III-io & IV take -ia- and -ie- before the person ending.
Meanings: I will love, I shall love, I am going to love.
Forms to note: amabo, amabunt, monebo, monebunt, regam, capiam, audiam.

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