Second conjugation present

Frequently asked questions

When is Second conjugation present used?

The second conjugation covers many everyday verbs of the senses and the mind - seeing, warning, holding, fearing. Its signature is the long e that you hear in the infinitive -ere : monere (to warn), videre (to see), tenere (to hold), habere (to have). Once you recognize that steady e , these verbs read predictably.

How is Second conjugation present formed?

Here is the present tense of moneo (I warn). The e is what marks this family. It is long in the infinitive and in monēs, monēmus, monētis , and it shortens before a final -t or -nt: Examples: Magistrum videmus. - We see the teacher. Canem timet. - He fears the dog. For English speakers: do not confuse this family with the third conjugation, whose infinitive also ends in -ere . The difference is the vowel, but test it on the SECOND singular rather than the third: monēs against regis . In the third person the two families nearly merge, because a long vowel shortens before a final -t - monet and regit both have a short e.