First conjugation present
The first conjugation is the largest and most regular family of Latin verbs, so learning it hands you a key that unlocks hundreds of words.
Can recognize First conjugation present in a short Latin prompt
Schau dir diese Beispiele an. Kannst du das grammatische Muster erkennen?
Marcus reads.
Julia sees the tablet.
Achte auf die hervorgehobenen Teile. Was haben sie gemeinsam?
The first conjugation is the largest and most regular family of Latin verbs, so learning it hands you a key that unlocks hundreds of words. You spot these verbs by the -are ending of the infinitive (the dictionary form): amare (to love), laborare (to work), ambulare (to walk). The tell-tale vowel is a, which runs through almost every present-tense form.
Here is the present tense of amo (I love). Notice that the ending alone tells you who is acting:
| Person | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | amo | I love |
| 2nd sg. | amas | you love |
| 3rd sg. | amat | he/she/it loves |
| 1st pl. | amamus | we love |
| 2nd pl. | amatis | you (all) love |
| 3rd pl. | amant | they love |
Examples: Puella cantat. - The girl sings. In horto laboramus. - We work in the garden.
For English speakers: the habit to unlearn is reaching for a subject pronoun. English needs "I" or "we", but Latin does not: the ending -o already means "I" and -mus already means "we". So amo is a whole sentence, "I love". Read the ending first, and add "I", "you", or "they" only in your English, never in the Latin.
Marcus reads.
Example for First conjugation present.
Julia sees the tablet.
A short A1 sentence with visible endings.
Im Kurs üben
Wende diese Grammatik in den Übungen des Kurses A1 an