and
Forming the Present Active Imperatives
|
There are five major types of regular verbs in Latin, often designated by Roman numerals (I, II, III, III-io, IV). You need to know a verb's conjugation number to be able to identify the set of endings that it will take.
To identify a verb's conjugation, look at the second principal part, the infinitive.
amô, amâre, amâvî, amâtum
moneô, monêre, monuî, monitum
currô, currere, cucurrî, cursum
capiô, capere, cêpî, captum
audiô, audîre, audîvî, audîtum
|
If the infinitive ends in: |
|
then the verb's conjugation is the: |
|
-âre |
|
FIRST |
|
-êre |
|
SECOND |
|
-ere |
|
THIRD |
|
-ere |
AND the verb's first principal part ends in -iô |
THIRD-io |
|
-îre |
|
FOURTH |
Active imperative forms of first, second, and fourth conjugations share similarities, as do those of the third and third-io conjugations.
|
I |
laudâre |
laudâ! praise! |
laudâte! (you pl.) praise! |
|
II |
monêre |
monê! warn! |
monête! (you pl.) warn! |
|
III |
carpere |
carpe! pluck! |
carpite! (you pl.) pluck! |
|
III-io |
capere |
cape! take! |
capite! (you pl.) take! |
|
IV |
audîre |
audî! hear! |
audîte! (you pl.) hear! |
General rules for forming present active imperatives for Conjugations I, II, and IV :
1. Remove the -re from the infinitive (the second principal part):
laudâ- da- amâ- monê- vidê- audî-
2. You now have the present singular active imperative:
laudâ! da! amâ! monê! vidê! audî!
3. Add -te and you have the present plural active imperative:
laudâte! date! amâte! monête! vidête! audîte!
General rules for forming present active imperatives for Conjugations III and III-io :
1. Remove the -ere of the infinitive (the second principal part):
carp- cap- pon- curr-
2. Add -e to get the present singular active imperative:
carpe! cape! pone! curre!
Exceptions: dîc, dûc, fac, fer (speak, lead, do, carry) have lost the -e of the singular active imperative form.
3. Change -e to -ite to get the present plural active imperative:
carpite! capite! ponite! currite!
The pattern of the regular present active imperative endings is easy to see:
|
I, II, IV |
III, III-io |
|
-â, -âte -ê, -ête -î, -îte |
-e, -ite |
|
LONG first syllables |
SHORT first syllables |
Some famous examples of regular present active imperatives:
I: Nota bene. [= N.B.] Note well.
II: Vide infra. [= v.inf.] See below.
III: Carpe diem! Pluck the day!
III-io: The Suscipe.
The name of famous prayer of Ignatius of Loyola. It begins with the words Sume, Domine, et suscipe or "Take, Lord and receive."
IV: Venîte, adôrêmus. "Come, let us adore."
The beginning of the refrain of a famous Latin Christmas carol, Adeste Fideles (="Be present, faithful ones," translated as "O Come, All Ye Faithful").
Forming Negative Commands
Turn such forms into negative commands by placing NÔLÎ (= "be unwilling") or NÔLÎTE (= "[you pl.] be unwilling") before the PRESENT ACTIVE INFINITIVE of the verb:
|
I |
laudâre |
nôlî laudâre! don't praise! |
nôlîte laudâre! (you pl.) don't praise! |
|
II |
monêre |
nôlî monêre! don't warn! |
nôlîte monêre! (you pl.) don't warn! |
|
III |
carpere |
nôlî carpere! don't pluck! |
nôlîte carpere! (you pl.) don't pluck! |
|
III-io |
capere |
nôlî capere! don't take! |
nôlîte capere! (you pl.) don't take! |
|
IV |
audîre |
nôlî audîre! don't hear! |
nôlîte audîre! (you pl.) don't hear! |
Some famous examples of negative imperatives:
Noli me tangere! Do not cling to me!
Jesus to Mary Magdalene. Also used in art history to describe paintings of this gospel scene.
Laborate et nolite tristari. Work and do not grieve.
A motto attributed to Saint Benedict.
Latin Teaching Materials at Saint Louis University: © Claude Pavur 1997 - 2009. This material is being made freely available for non-commercial educational use.
