A handful of very common Latin verbs are irregular, and two you meet early are eo (to go) and fero (to carry, to bring, to bear).
Can recognize Irregular verbs eo and fero in a short Latin prompt
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
I am going to the forum.
The standard-bearer carries the standard.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
A handful of very common Latin verbs are irregular, and two you meet early are eo (to go) and fero (to carry, to bring, to bear). They matter because they turn up everywhere in narrative and everyday phrases, yet they refuse to follow the standard conjugations, so learn their present tenses by heart.
Eo is built on a stem that shrinks to just i- or e-:
| Person | eo (to go) | fero (to carry) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | eo - I go | fero - I carry |
| 2nd sg. | is - you go | fers - you carry |
| 3rd sg. | it - he/she goes | fert - he/she carries |
| 1st pl. | imus - we go | ferimus - we carry |
| 2nd pl. | itis - you go | fertis - you carry |
| 3rd pl. | eunt - they go | ferunt - they carry |
Examples: Romam eo. - I am going to Rome. Aquam ferunt. - They are carrying water.
For English speakers: resist "translating" the pattern. Fero looks like a third-conjugation verb but drops the connecting vowel in a few forms, giving the short fers and fert instead of the expected "feris/ferit". With eo, notice how tiny the forms become - is, it - and that "they go" is eunt with that same -unt plural ending you have already seen. Because the forms are so short, read them in context and let the ending point you to the person.
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesI am going to the forum.
Eo has a one-vowel stem, so its forms are short and hard to recognize: is, it, imus. Learn them as a list.
The standard-bearer carries the standard.
Fert, not *ferit: fero drops the connecting vowel - fers, fert, fertis. Signum is the maniple's standard, and the signifer walks at the head of the column.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises