Perfect Tense Latin I 11.7.05
What is the perfect tense? The perfect tense is used to describe action that has taken place in the past AND has been finished/completed. Ex.: I have done all my homework. “I have done” is a perfect tense verb phrase in English. Notice that we use the helping verb “have” (or “has”) in the phrase.
The perfect tense in Latin . . . In Latin, we must use a set of endings on our verbs which tell us that the verbs are in the perfect tense: Sing. Pl. 1st -I (I) -imus (we) 2nd -isti (you) -istis (you) 3rd -it (he/she/it) -erunt (they)
What is the perfect stem? In order to use these new perfect tense endings, we must first learn how to find the perfect stem: a.) go to the third principal part of the verb (Ex.: laboravi) b.) remove the –i (Ex.: laboravi - -i = laborav-) c.) add the perfect tense endings
Conjugating in the Perfect Tense Singular Plural Laboravi laboravimus Laboravisti laboravistis Laboravit laboraverunt I have worked we have worked You have worked you have worked He/she/it has worked they have worked
Practice Go to p. 100 and conjugate each verb in that vocabulary list in the perfect tense. Also, give the English translation for each Latin verb form. This is a classwork grade.