- The case with conjugating finite verbs (CONIUGĀTIŌ): The latin language employs the usage of namely four conjugations, of which CAPT I covers two.
- i) Present Active Infinitive and Present Stem
- Verbs of the first conjugation have an āre ending with the stem vowel being ā. Example: laudāre (meaning- ‘to praise’)
- Verbs of the second conjugation have an ēre ending with the stem vowel being ē. Example: monēre (meaning- ‘to advise’)
- ii) Present Indicative Active and respective personal endings: Corresponds to simple / progressive / emphatic present in English depending on context (CONTEXTUS or CON-‘join’– + TEXTĒRE-‘to weave’-)
- Singular 1st person (I) : -ō or -m
- Singular 2nd person (you) : -s
- Singular 3rd person (he, she, it) : -t
- Plural 1st person (we) : -mus
- Plural 2nd person (you) : –tis
- Plural 3rd person (them) : -nt
- iii) Present Active Imperative: Used for giving commands; the singular form is the same as the present stem whereas the plural imperative is formed by adding -te to the stem.
- i) Present Active Infinitive and Present Stem
- Pronunciation (PRONUNTIATIŌ) tips and where to drop/include stem vowels:
- i) Accent marks (the ‘ ´ ’ written on top of the letters need not be included while conjugating verbs and are provided only for convenience’s sake.
- ii) Macrons must be included since they distinguish between long and short forms of vowels and not using them accordingly can drastically alter the meaning of the word. Rules for how to account for macrons that seem to appear and disappear arbitrarily:
- Vowels that are normally long are shortened when they are immediately followed by another vowel, Example: moneō and not monēō (notice the ē of the stem vowel gets shortened in verbs of the second conjugation).
- However in case of the first conjugation the stem vowel is not merely shortened but disappears all together in the first person singular. Example: laudō not laudāō (the ā gets contracted with the ō ending).
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