A verb in the perfect tense represents a single, completed act in the past, e.g. he shouted, he has shouted, he did shout. Note that whereas English has three ways of expressing the perfect tense, there is only one form in Latin, i.e. clamavit.

The formation of the perfect tense in Latin is entirely regular; there are no exceptions for any verb. Simply find the perfect stem (third principal part minus the last -i) and add the following person endings:

Note that the third principal part of any verb is always the first person singular of the perfect tense. In many cases there is a significant change from the present stem, e.g. ama- becomes amav-, reg- changes to rex-, parc- reduplicates to peperc-, etc. You must learn the principal parts of verbs so that you can recognize perfect forms, and connect them to a present stem, e.g. dedi comes from do; tuli comes from ferro; fui comes from sum, etc.
To test yourself on some common perfect stems, click here.

In time, you will begin to see certain patterns which run through the conjugations. For example, first conjugation verbs almost invariably have principal parts -o, -are, -avi, -atum, and it becomes easy and quick to recognize such verbs. Likewise, second conjugation verbs usually have principal parts -eo, -ere, -ui, -itum, and fourth conjugation verbs -io, -ire, -ivi, -itum. The major headache comes with third and third-io conjugations verbs, where the perfect stem is almost always distinctly different, and there is no common pattern (which is why I refer to the third conjugation as 'the rubbish conjugation', because all the weird, strange and bizzare junk that doesn't fit anywhere else gets chucked into this conjugation!). The principal parts of these verbs must be learned very carefully.

Sometimes, it is difficult to discern whether a verb form is present or perfect, because the perfect stem sometimes looks like the present stem. This occurs in the third person singular and first person plural forms of verbs such as venio, where the present venit and venimus look exactly like the perfect venit and venimus. Technically, the ven- of the present has a short e, while the ven- of the perfect is lengthened, but this is impossible to know unless vowel quantities have been marked in the text. As a general rule of thumb, if most of the verbs around the verb form in question are perfect, then assume that a verb like venit will also be perfect. Otherwise, if it fits the context better, translate it as a present. [If the word occurs in poetry, you will be expected to scan the line and thereby work out the quantity, and then translate accordingly.]

The First Conjugation.

The first conjugation is where all the a-stem verbs are grouped together. The consonant -v- can be seen running right through the perfect tense before the person ending, and this is the regular signpost for the perfect tenses of first conjugation verbs. [There are some exceptions to this normal pattern, e.g. veto, vetare, vetui, vetitum, to forbid, but they are very few.]

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 Perfect Active Indicative.

Practise forming a first conjugation verb in the perfect 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 -u- can be seen running right through the perfect tense before the person ending, and this is the regular signpost for the perfect tenses of second conjugation verbs.

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 Perfect Active Indicative.

Practise forming a second conjugation verb in the perfect 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. Because the perfect stem of a third conjugation verb is usually radically different from its present stem, there is no common vowel or consonant which runs through the perfect tense before the person ending. Instead, you have to learn the principal parts, or look them up in a dictionary so that you can recognize them easily.

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 Perfect Active Indicative.

Practise forming a third conjugation verb in the perfect 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. Because the perfect stem of a third-io conjugation verb is usually radically different from its present stem, there is no common vowel or consonant which runs through the perfect tense before the person ending. Instead, you have to learn the principal parts, or look them up in a dictionary so that you can recognize them easily.

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 Perfect Active Indicative.

Practise forming a third-io conjugation verb in the perfect 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. The consonant -v- can be seen running right through the perfect tense before the person ending, and this is the regular signpost for the perfect tenses of fourth conjugation verbs. [There are some exceptions to this normal pattern, but they are very few.]

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 Perfect Active Indicative.

Practise forming a fourth conjugation verb in the perfect 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 Perfect Active Indicative.

Formation: perfect stem (third principal part) + perfect endings -i, -isti, -it, -imus, -istis, -erunt.
Meanings: I loved, I have loved, I did love.
Forms to note: -no exceptions-.

Go to Part IV			Return to Main Index			Go to Part VI

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