Forming the Future Tense in Latin

The Future Tense: The FUTURE tense is formed either by connecting the PRESENT TENSE STEM to the FUTURE TENSE VOWEL and then the FUTURE TENSE ENDINGS (for the first and second conjugation verbs) OR by connecting the PRESENT TENSE STEM to the FUTURE TENSE ENDINGS (for the third and fourth conjugation verbs).

First, decide which conjugation your verb belongs to. Remember the table you memorized: First PartSecond Part Conjugation -o-arefirst -eo-eresecond -o ( or –io)-erethird -io-irefourth

Then, find the PRESENT TENSE STEM. For most verbs, just remove the –o from the first part. If the verb is from the second conjugation, remove the –eo. If the verb ends in – io, remove the –io. am stup ag adven o eo o io

First and Second Conjugations Only: Once you have the PRESENT TENSE STEM, add the FUTURE TENSE VOWEL. The vowel for each conjugation is in the chart below, which you must memorize. Luckily, they are the same as the PRESENT and IMPERFECT TENSE VOWELS ConjugationPresent Tense Vowel Firsta Seconde

Next, add the endings. -bo (I will…)-bimus (we will….) -bis (you will…)-bitis (you plural will …) -bit (she, he, it will …)-bunt (they will…) Future Tense Endings for the first and second conjugations

Examples amaboI will loveamabimuswe will love amabisyou will loveamabitisyou (all) will love amabithe, she, it will love amabuntthey will love stupeboI will gapestupebimuswe will gape stupebisyou will gapestupebitisyou (all) will gape stupebithe, she, it will gape stupebuntthey will gape

Third and Fourth Conjugations Only: Once you have the PRESENT TENSE STEM, add the FUTURE TENSE ENDINGS. The endings all start with a vowel, so there’s no need to add one. Future Tense Endings for the third and fourth conjugations -am (I will…)-emus (we will….) -es (you will…)-etis (you plural will …) -et (she, he, it will …)-ent (they will…)

Examples adveniamI will arriveadveniemuswe will arrive adveniesyou will arrive advenietisyou (all) will arrive adveniethe, she, it will arrive advenientthey will arrive agamI will driveagemuswe will drive agesyou will driveagetisyou (all) will drive agethe, she, it will drive agentthey will drive

So, you should now be able to identify which tense a verb is in: present, imperfect, FUTURE, or perfect. amavistiperfect stupebuntfuture adveniemusfuture egitperfect advenimuspresent amabatimperfect

After reviewing the tenses presented here, you must take the multiple choice quiz on X2. This quiz will ask you to identify the TENSE of a few verbs. See you tomorrow!