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The perfect indicative active tense is the third principal part given in Latin dictionaries. In most verbs it uses a different stem from the present tense; for example, the perfect tense of dūcō 'I lead' is dūxī 'I led'.
See Latin tenses. For other meanings of the perfect and pluperfect subjunctive, see Latin tenses#Jussive subjunctive. Other forms: Perfect infinitive active: amāvisse (amāsse) "to have loved" Perfect infinitive passive: amātus esse (amātum esse) "to have been loved" Perfect participle passive: amātus, -a, -um "loved (by someone)"
The word perfect in this sense means "completed" (from Latin perfectum, which is the perfect passive participle of the verb perficere "to complete"). In traditional Latin and Ancient Greek grammar, the perfect tense is a particular, conjugated-verb form.
The three perfect tenses (Perfect, Future Perfect, and Pluperfect) are formed using the perfect participle together with part of the verb sum 'I am'. The ending of the participle changes according to the gender and number of the subject: captus est 'he or it was captured'; capta est 'she or it was captured'; captī sunt 'they were captured ...
Latin verbs have six basic tenses in the indicative mood. Three of these are based on the present stem (e.g. dūc- ) and three on the perfect stem (e.g. dūx- ). In addition, there are four tenses in the subjunctive mood, and two in the imperative.
Latin example English translation Comment perfect in imperfect past in present 'perfect subjunctive' mīror, quid causae fuerit quā rē cōnsilium mūtārīs. (Cicero) [52] 'I wonder what the reason was that you changed your plan' did in English quid tāmen agās, quaerō, et an tuīs pedibus pervēnerīs domum. (Petronius) [53]
In Latin, most verbs have four principal parts.For example, the verb for "to carry" is given as portō – portāre – portāvī – portātum, where portō is the first-person singular present active indicative ("I carry"), portāre is the present active infinitive ("to carry"), portāvī is the first-person singular perfect active indicative ("I carried"), and portātum is the neuter supine.
The Latin perfect has a dual meaning. It can describe a past event with a present result (e.g. 'he has died (and is laying dead somewhere)') or a past event without a present result (e.g. 'he died (last year)'). The perfect of cōnsuēscō, cōnsuēvī 'I have grown accustomed', is also often used with a present meaning: [125]