Passive Personal Verb-Endings
Conjugations I-II

Cf. Wheelock 18

LatinPraxis Index

Many Latin verbs can take passive personal endings  that parallel the active ones.

In the passive voice, the subject is the receiver of the action of the verb. English often uses some part of the verb to be as part of the whole verb to indicate that the verb is in the passive voice:

The tower has been constructed.

The children were taken to the picnic.

We will be saved.

For the simple present, imperfect, and future tenses, the typical Latin passive endings for the first person are -r for the singular and -mur for the plural.

amor = I am (being) loved

amâbar = I was (being) loved

moneor = I am (being) reminded

monêbor = I will be reminded

monêmur = We are (being) reminded

amâmur = We are (being) loved

The typical Latin passive endings for the second person are -ris (sometimes -re) for the singular and -minî for the plural.

amâris / amâre = you are (being) loved

monêris / monêre = you are (being) reminded

amâminî = you (plural) are (being) loved

monêminî = you (plural) are (being) reminded

The typical Latin passive endings for the third person are -tur for the singular and -ntur for the plural.

amâtur = he / she / it is (being) loved

monêtur = he / she / it is (being) reminded

amantur = they are (being) loved

monentur = they are (being) reminded

Compare the active personal endings.

Compare the regular active perfect endings.

The rules about embedded subjects also apply here.

For the simple tenses in the first two conjugations, the forms will follow the patterns below. Note that where you might expect -bi- in the future passive 2d singular form, the spelling changes to -be-.

Latin Teaching Materials at Saint Louis University: © Claude Pavur 1997 - 2009.  This material is being made freely available for non-commercial educational use.