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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'.
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.
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)"
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.
When the main verb is negative, the perfect tense is used in the main clause: Balbum, posteāquam tū es profectus, nōn vīdī (Cicero) [22] "I haven't seen Balbus since you left" If the action is continuous, where English would use the perfect continuous tense, Latin uses the present tense in the main clause:
Latin word order is relatively free. The verb may be found at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a sentence; an adjective may precede or follow its noun (vir bonus or bonus vir both mean 'a good man'); [5] and a genitive may precede or follow its noun ('the enemies' camp' can be both hostium castra and castra hostium; the latter is more common). [6]
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]
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]