Latin tenses

rdf:langString Latin tenses

rdf:langString Latin has six main tenses: three non-perfect tenses (the present, future, and imperfect) and three perfect tenses (the perfect, future perfect, and pluperfect). In technical language, the first three tenses are known as the īnfectum tenses, while the three perfect tenses are known as perfectum tenses. The two sets of tenses are made using different stems. For example, from the verb dūcō 'I lead' the three non-perfect tenses are dūcō 'I lead, I am leading', dūcam I will lead, I will be leading}, and dūcēbam 'I was leading', made with the stem dūc-, and the three perfect tenses are dūxī 'I led, I have led', dūxerō 'I will have led', and dūxeram 'I had led', made with the stem dūx-. To these six main tenses can be added various periphrastic or compound tenses, made using either the future participle, such as ductūrus sum 'I am going to lead', or the perfect participle, e.g. ductum habeō 'I have led'. However, these are less commonly used than the six basic tenses. Latin tenses do not have exact English equivalents, so that often the same tense can be translated in different ways depending on its context: for example, dūcō can be translated as 'I lead', 'I am leading' or 'I led', and dūxī can be translated as 'I led' and 'I have led'. In some cases Latin makes a distinction which is not made in English: for example, imperfect eram and perfect fuī both mean 'I was' in English, but they differ in Latin. In addition to these six tenses of the indicative mood, there are four tenses in the subjunctive mood: present, imperfect, perfect, and pluperfect (dūcam, dūcerem, dūxerim, dūxissem). Participles in Latin have three tenses (present, perfect, and future) and the imperative mood has two tenses (present and future). The infinitive has two main tenses (present and perfect) as well as a number of periphrastic tenses used in reported speech. The indicative and subjunctive tenses each have six persons: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person singular, and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person plural. These are shown by changing the ending of the verb, e.g. dūcis 'you (singular) lead', dūcit 'he/she/it leads', dūcimus 'we lead' etc. (see Latin conjugation for details). In transitive verbs, each basic tense also has a corresponding passive form (e.g. active dūcō 'I lead' vs. passive dūcor 'I am being led'). The three perfectum passive tenses are made periphrastically using the perfect participle, e.g. ductus sum 'I was led, I have been led'. There are also some verbs with passive formation but an active meaning, e.g. loquor 'I speak', locūtus sum 'I spoke'; these verbs are known as deponent verbs.