Latin verbs are divided into 4 conjugations. We can deduct the conjugation from the form of 1st person singular praesens and infinitivus:
-o, -are - I conjugation (impero, imperare)
-eo, -ere - II conjugation (habeo, habere)
-o / -io, -ere - III conjugation (mitto, mittere ; facio, facere)
-io, -ire - IV conjugation (venio, venire).
The endings of the present tense are the following:
person | singular | plural |
1 | -o | -mus |
2 | -s | -tis |
3 | -t | -nt |
Except the 3rd conjugation, these endings are added to the form that we get after removing the infinitive ending -re. In the 1st conjugation, 1st person ends in -o (not -ao):
I conjugation:
person | singular | plural |
1 | impero | imperamus |
2 | imperas | imperatis |
3 | imperat | imperant |
II conjugation:
person | singular | plural |
1 | video | videmus |
2 | vides | videtis |
3 | videt | vident |
In the IV conjugation the 3rd person plur. ends in -iunt :
person | singular | plural |
1 | venio | venimus |
2 | venis | venitis |
3 | venit | veniunt |
The III conjugation removes the ending of infinitive -ere. Before the personal ending except -o, we add -i- or (only in 3rd person plural) -u-. Some verbs, like facio, add -i- before the endings -o and -unt.
III conjugation, regular verbs:
person | singular | plural |
1 | mitto | mittimus |
2 | mittis | mittitis |
3 | mittit | mittunt |
III conjugation, verbs adding -i-:
person | singular | plural |
1 | facio | facimus |
2 | facis | facitis |
3 | facit | faciunt |
Outside the conjugation system, there are irregular verbs. The first of them is sum, esse (to be). It's very frequent and very irregular:
person | singular | plural |
1 | sum | sumus |
2 | es | estis |
3 | est | sunt |
There are many verbs consisting of prefix + sum (absum, adsum, desum). They conjugate like esse. A very important exception is the verb posse. It has pos- before s and pot- before e.
person | singular | plural |
1 | possum | possumus |
2 | potes | potestis |
3 | potest | possunt |
Another exception, similar to possum, posse is: prosum, prodesse (prosum, prodes, prodest, prosumus, prodestis, prosunt).
The verb eo, ire is conjugated like a regular verb of III conjugation, but it has e- before endings -o and -unt.
person | singular | plural |
1 | eo | imus |
2 | is | itis |
3 | it | eunt |
Next irregular verb is fero, ferre. It has no vowel before -s and -t.
person | singular | plural |
1 | fero | ferimus |
2 | fers | fertis |
3 | fert | ferunt |
Next irregular verbs are volo, velle, nolo, nolle and malo, malle???. The verb volo also has no vowel before -s and -t, and changes o into u in this situation. Irregular forms are also vis and volumus.
person | singular | plural |
1 | volo | volumus |
2 | vis | vultis |
3 | vult | volunt |
The verb nolo is conjugated similarly to volo, but when the vowel in volo changes into i or u, the verb is replaced by non + form of volo (vis, vult, vultis).
person | singular | plural |
1 | nolo | nolumus |
2 | non vis | non vultis |
3 | non vult | nolunt |
The verb malo is conjugated similarly to nolo : instead of non, ma- is added :
person | singular | plural |
1 | malo | malumus |
2 | mavis | mavultis |
3 | mavult | malunt |
Other irregular verbs : fio, fieri, inquam, aio, aiere. Fio is conjugated like a regular verb of the IV conjugation in praesens (fio, fis, fit, fimus, fitis, fiunt). Aio, aiere is conjugated in the same way, but lacks forms in -mus and -tis (aio, ais, ait, aiunt).
Inquam has forms like facio, except the 1st person in -m: inquam, inquis, inquit, inquimus, inquitis, inquiunt.