Latin/Lesson 6-Irregular Verbs

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Latin
Intro: 12
Chapter 1 123456
Chapter 2 12345678
Chapter 3 12345678
Chapter 4 12345678910
Chapter 5 123456789

Irregular Verbs[edit | edit source]

Irregular verbs do not fit in any particular conjugation. Irregular verbs conjugate but not in a predictable manner. An example of an irregular verb that you have met is 'esse'. There are a few others which will be listed in the present indicate active tense below for you to memorise and refer to.


Verb Meaning ego tu is/ea nos vos ei/eae Imperative sing. Imp. pl
ire to go eo is it imus itis eunt i ite
esse to be sum es est sumus estis sunt es este
fieri to become fio fis fit fimus fitis fiunt fi fite
velle to wish volo vis vult volumus vultis volunt (none) (none)
malle to prefer malo mavis mavult malumus mavultis malunt (none) (none)
nolle to be unwilling nolo non vis non vult nolumus non vultis nolunt noli* nolite
ferre* to carry fero fers fert ferimus fertis ferunt fer ferte
The imperatives noli and nolite are used to mean "don't", eg. "nolite ire" = "don't go!"
Sometimes ferre is considered to be an 'o' stem 3rd conjugation verb. For practical purposes ferre is irregular.

Exercise 1[edit | edit source]

EXERCISE • Lesson 6-Irregular Verbs • Copy out previous table and translate from Latin to English.
  1. ... from Latin
SOLUTION • Latin/Lesson 6-Irregular Verbs • Copy out previous table and translate from Latin to English.
  1. ... to English
EXERCISE • Lesson 6-Irregular Verbs • Translate the following Latin sentences into English.
  1. fero portam
  2. fers portam
  3. fert portam
  4. ferimus portam
  5. fertis portam
  6. ferunt portam
  7. sum bonus
  8. es bonus
  9. est bonus
  10. sumus bonī
  11. estis bonī
  12. sunt bonī
  13. este bonī!
  14. nolī currāre!
SOLUTION • Latin/Lesson 6-Irregular Verbs • Translate the following Latin sentences into English.
  1. to be translated into English
  2. to be translated into English
  3. to be translated into English
  4. to be translated into English
  5. to be translated into English
  6. to be translated into English
  7. to be translated into English
  8. to be translated into English
  9. to be translated into English
  10. to be translated into English
  11. to be translated into English
  12. to be translated into English
  13. to be translated into English
  14. to be translated into English
EXERCISE • Lesson 6-Irregular Verbs • Answer the following English questions about previous Latin sentences.
  1. What do the irregular verbs have in common with regular verbs?
  2. Why do we use 'boni' in question 10, 11, and 12 but 'bonus' in question 7, 8 and 9?
SOLUTION • Latin/Lesson 6-Irregular Verbs • Answer the following English questions about previous Latin sentences.
  1. write answer 1
  2. write answer 2

Exercise 2[edit | edit source]

1. Decline the following five nouns in both singular and plural number in the five common cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative):

Singular
Nominative nauta ātrium servus dictātor rēx cornū diēs
Accusative
Genitive
Dative
Ablative
Plural
Nominative
Accusative
Genitive
Dative
Ablative

2. Conjugate the verb 'servāre' in both singular and plural number and all three persons.

3. Conjugate the verb 'esse', in both singular and plural number and all three persons.

4. Translate:

Nota Bene: Often Latin uses the present to indicate a 'vivid past'. It would be suitable to translate the following passage in the past tense.

Latin English Notes
heri yesterday heri is an adverb. Don't try to use it as a noun ("Yesterday was a good day")
taberna, -ae shop 1st declension feminine
solea, -ae sandle 1st declension feminine
sic so, and so, thus
solus, -a, -um alone The adverb form (only) is solum
casa, -ae house, hut 1st declension feminine
sto, stare, steti, statum stand One of the few irregular first conjugation verbs

Heri, ad tabernam eō. In tabernā sunt trēs rēs quārum amō duas sōleās et unam mensam. Habeō trēs denariōs, sīc ego emeō mensam sōlum quod sum nōn dīvīnitās. Hodiē, mensa est in casā meā. In triclīnio stat.