The perfect tense reports a completed action in the past: "I loved", "he came", "they built".
Can recognize Perfect tense recognition in a short Latin prompt
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
I came, I saw, I conquered.
Romulus founded Rome.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
The perfect tense reports a completed action in the past: "I loved", "he came", "they built". At A1 your goal is simply to recognize it on sight so you know the story has moved into the past. The signal is a distinctive perfect stem plus a fixed set of endings.
Latin builds the perfect stem in several ways, but three patterns cover most verbs you will meet:
| Marker | Present | Perfect (I ...ed) |
|---|---|---|
| -v- | amo (I love) | amavi (I loved) |
| -u- | moneo (I warn) | monui (I warned) |
| -s- | rego (I rule) | rexi (I ruled; rec + si) |
Onto that stem go the perfect personal endings, the same for every verb:
| Ending | Person | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -i | I | amavi |
| -isti | you (sing.) | amavisti |
| -it | he / she / it | amavit |
| -imus | we | amavimus |
| -istis | you (pl.) | amavistis |
| -erunt | they | amaverunt |
Examples:
For English speakers: the third-person singular ending is the great trap. Present amat = "he loves" but perfect amavit = "he loved": the difference is that inserted -v- and the ending -it versus -t. Train your eye to catch the -vi / -ui / -si stem markers and the -it ending, and you will not mistake a past action for a present one.
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesI came, I saw, I conquered.
The perfect has its own stem for every verb, which must be learned. Caesar's three words are all perfects.
Romulus founded Rome.
Condidit is a third-conjugation perfect. In the legend Romulus founds the city alone, having killed Remus, and names it after himself; the traditional date is 753 BC.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises