3.1 First conjugation

Overview of first conjugation

First conjugation verbs are identified by their -āre infinitive ending (e.g., amāre, laudāre, portāre). They make up roughly half of all Latin verbs, so you'll encounter them constantly. Their defining feature is a long -ā- theme vowel that runs through nearly every form, which makes them predictable and a great starting point for learning the other conjugations.

Characteristics of first conjugation

Stem ending in -ā-

To find the present stem of any first conjugation verb, drop the -re from the infinitive. For amāre, that gives you amā-. This -ā- stem stays consistent across most conjugated forms, which makes first conjugation verbs easy to spot in a text.

A few common first conjugation infinitives: laudāre (to praise), portāre (to carry), vocāre (to call).

Present tense endings

Personal endings attach directly to the -ā- stem, with one important exception: the first person singular active drops the -ā- entirely. You get amō, not amāō.

• Active endings: -ō, -ās, -at, -āmus, -ātis, -ant
• Passive endings: -or, -āris, -ātur, -āmur, -āminī, -antur

Formation of present tense

Present active indicative

Here's how to build each form, using amō (I love) as the model:

1. Start with the stem: amā-

2. For the first person singular, drop the -ā- and add -ō → amō

3. For all other persons, keep the -ā- and add the personal ending:

Note that the -ā- shortens before -t and -nt (amat, amant). This is a natural Latin vowel rule, not an irregularity.

The present tense covers actions happening now ("I love") and habitual actions ("I love [every day]").

Present passive indicative

The passive is formed the same way, but with passive personal endings on the -ā- stem. The -ā- is retained in every person.

Translate these with "is/are being" + past participle, or simply "is/are" + past participle: amātur = "he/she is loved" or "he/she is being loved."

Imperative mood

The imperative is used for direct commands. It only exists in the second person (you're telling someone to do something).

Active imperative forms

• Singular: stem + -ā → amā! ("Love!")
• Plural: stem + -āte → amāte! ("Love!" to a group)

These are straightforward: just the bare stem with its theme vowel, plus -te for the plural.

Passive imperative forms

• Singular: stem + -āre → amāre! ("Be loved!")
• Plural: stem + -āminī → amāminī! ("Be loved!" to a group)

Passive imperatives are rare in real Latin texts, but you should recognize them. Notice that the singular passive imperative (amāre) looks identical to the present active infinitive. Context will tell you which is which.

Infinitive forms

Present active infinitive

Formed by adding -re to the stem: amā- + re = amāre ("to love").

This is the form you'll find in dictionaries and vocabulary lists. It also appears in indirect statements and can function as a verbal noun (the subject or object of another verb).

Present passive infinitive

Formed by adding -rī to the stem: amā- + rī = amārī ("to be loved").

This form shows up in passive constructions and indirect statements where the subject is being acted upon.

Common first conjugation verbs

These are verbs you'll see again and again:

• amō, amāre — love
• laudō, laudāre — praise
• portō, portāre — carry
• vocō, vocāre — call
• parō, parāre — prepare
• pugnō, pugnāre — fight
• labōrō, labōrāre — work
• cōgitō, cōgitāre — think
• spērō, spērāre — hope
• errō, errāre — wander, err

Irregular first conjugation verbs

A few first conjugation verbs have quirks worth memorizing:

• dō, dare (give): The stem vowel is a short -a-, not the usual long -ā-. This affects its rhythm and some of its forms. It also has irregular perfect tense forms (dedī).
• stō, stāre (stand): Regular in the present tense, but its perfect is stetī (a reduplicated form, not the expected pattern).
• iuvō, iuvāre (help): Regular in the present, but the perfect is iūvī and the supine is iūtum.

You won't need to worry about perfect tense forms until later, but it's good to flag these verbs now so they don't surprise you.

Conjugation patterns

Full paradigm of amō

Here's everything in one place for quick reference:

Present Active Indicative: amō, amās, amat, amāmus, amātis, amant

Present Passive Indicative: amor, amāris, amātur, amāmur, amāminī, amantur

Active Imperative: amā (sg.), amāte (pl.)

Passive Imperative: amāre (sg.), amāminī (pl.)

Infinitives: amāre (active), amārī (passive)

Comparison with other conjugations

Each Latin conjugation has its own theme vowel and infinitive ending:

Usage in Latin texts

Examples from classical literature

• "Ōdī et amō." (Catullus 85) — "I hate and I love." Here amō is a first conjugation present active form.
• "Gallia est omnis dīvīsa in partēs trēs." (Caesar, Dē Bellō Gallicō) — "All Gaul is divided into three parts." The form dīvīsa est is a perfect passive built on dīvidō, which is actually a third conjugation verb, not first conjugation.

Frequency in everyday Latin

First conjugation verbs cover many common, everyday actions: ambulāre (walk), nārrāre (tell), labōrāre (work), habitāre (live/dwell). Their prevalence in inscriptions, letters, and graffiti from the ancient world reflects how central they are to basic Latin expression.

Pronunciation and stress

Vowel length in first conjugation

The long -ā- in the stem stays long in most forms but shortens before -nt and -t at the end of a word. So amāmus has a long -ā-, but amant and amat have a short -a- in that position. This matters for reading poetry and for applying accent rules correctly.

Accent rules for conjugated forms

Latin accent follows a simple two-step rule:

1. If the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable is long, stress it: amā́mus, amā́tis
2. If the penultimate is short, stress the antepenultimate (third-to-last): ámō

For the singular imperative amā, there are only two syllables, so the stress falls on the first: ámā.

Translation strategies

Identifying first conjugation verbs

When you encounter an unfamiliar verb in a text:

1. Check the dictionary entry for an -āre infinitive
2. Look for the -ā- theme vowel in the conjugated form
3. Identify the personal ending to determine person and number
4. Check whether the ending is active or passive

Rendering tenses in English

The Latin present tense is flexible in English translation:

• amō can mean "I love," "I am loving," or "I do love"
• amātur can mean "he is loved" or "he is being loved"

Context determines which English translation fits best. A sentence describing a habitual action calls for simple present ("she praises"), while one describing something happening right now may work better as progressive ("she is praising").

Practice exercises

Conjugation drills

• Write out the full present active and passive paradigms for laudō, parō, and pugnō
• Fill in missing forms in partially completed paradigm charts
• Convert active sentences to passive (e.g., Puella poētam laudat → Poēta ā puellā laudātur)

Translation practice

• Translate short Latin sentences using first conjugation verbs into English
• Render simple English sentences into Latin, choosing the correct person, number, and voice
• Identify all first conjugation verbs in a short passage and parse each one (person, number, voice, mood)