1st Conjugation Latin Verbs: The Ultimate Guide for Beginners

1st conjugation verbs are the very first thing that I teach my Latin students. It’s important for you to know what they are and how to conjugate them.

Once you learn a little bit about these verbs, you can understand simple Latin sentences. But without them, Latin will be incomprehensible.

The first conjugation is a crucial first step in your Latin-learning journey, so let’s dive right in.

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What is a 1st conjugation verb in Latin?

In Latin, the first conjugation is a category that includes verbs with a present stem ending in -ā-. The macron (the little line over the letter) indicates that the A is long.

All 1st conjugation verbs are conjugated in the same way. This means they have the same endings, which is a good thing for us all – less to memorize!

When we look at verb paradigms later on in this post, you will notice that most of the 1st conjugation endings contain an A. This is the influence of the present stem ending in -ā-.

Latin has four verb conjugations (or groups of verbs). So how do you tell if a verb belongs to the first conjugation?

I have written a whole post with details on determining a verb’s conjugation, but here’s the short answer:

A good Latin dictionary will list each verb’s principal parts, so you can look up an unfamiliar verb to find out if it is 1st conjugation or not.

Principal Parts of 1st Conjugation Latin Verbs

In your textbook or dictionary, you may have noticed that verbs are listed with multiple forms, usually four. We call these principal parts.

(If you aren’t familiar with the concept, I recommend that you read my post all about these four key verb forms.)

1st conjugation Latin verbs have a standard set of principal parts, which makes things easier. You can expect the following endings:

1	-ō
2	-āre
3	-āvī
4	-ātus

So, for example, the verb portō “carry” has the following principal parts: portō, portāre, portāvī, portātus.

Some verbs do have irregular 3rd and/or 4th principal parts. An example is the extremely common verb dō “give”, which has the forms dō, dare, dedī, datus.

Because most 1st conjugation verbs have regular principal parts, a kind of short-hand has developed to indicate a regular verb. Instead of writing out all the forms of portō, a dictionary or textbook may simply put “portō, 1”.

This means that you assume the rest of the principal parts follow the normal pattern. When you make your Latin flashcards, always list a verb’s principal parts (whether in full or abbreviated form).

List of Latin 1st Conjugation Verbs

There are hundreds of first conjugation verbs, so here I will focus on the most important ones to get you started. If you get comfortable with these verbs, you will be in good shape.

The following list contains the 25 most common 1st conjugation verbs (according to the DCC Core Vocabulary List). So these verbs are the ones you are most likely to come across when reading Latin texts.

The list includes each verb’s frequency rank, its full principal parts, and then the basic meaning in English. I have put irregular principal parts in bold so you know to pay special attention.

(Luckily, most Latin 1st conjugation verbs have regular principal parts!)

Rank	Latin Verb	Meaning
1	dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
2	vocō, vocāre, vocāvī, vocātus	call
3	parō, parāre, parāvī, parātus	prepare, acquire
4	putō, putāre, putāvī, putātus	think, suppose
5	stō, stāre, stetī, status	stand
6	amō, amāre, amāvī, amātus	love
7	servō, servāre, servāvī, servātus	save, guard
8	negō, negāre, negāvī, negātus	deny, refuse
9	mūtō, mūtāre, mūtāvī, mūtātus	change
10	iuvō, iuvāre, iūvī, iūtus	help; please
11	errō, errāre, errāvī, errātus	wander, go astray
12	optō, optāre, optāvī, optātus	choose, select
13	praestō, praestāre, praestitī, praestitus	excel, exhibit
14	temptō, temptāre, temptāvī, temptātus	try, test
15	laudō, laudāre, laudāvī, laudātus	praise
16	exspectō, exspectāre, exspectāvī, exspectātus	wait (for), expect
17	occupō, occupāre, occupāvī, occupātus	seize, occupy
18	spectō, spectāre, spectāvī, spectātus	look at, consider
19	cōgitō, cōgitāre, cōgitāvī, cōgitātus	think, reflect
20	dubitō, dubitāre, dubitāvī, dubitātus	hesitate, doubt
21	properō, properāre, properāvī, properātus	hasten, speed
22	rogō, rogāre, rogāvī, rogātus	ask
23	iūdicō, iūdicāre, iūdicāvī, iūdicātus	judge, decide
24	agitō, agitāre, agitāvī, agitātus	drive, put in motion
25	sonō, sonāre, sonuī, sonitus	sound, resound

Latin First Conjugation Deponent Verbs

If you haven’t learned about deponent verbs yet, then feel free to skip this section. But for slightly more advanced students, here is a helpful list of common 1st conjugation deponent verbs.

Latin Verb	Meaning
precor, precārī, precātus sum	ask, entreat
mīror, mīrārī, mīrātus sum	wonder at, marvel at
moror, morārī, morātus sum	delay
for, fārī, fātus sum	say, speak
hortor, hortārī, hortātus sum	urge, advise
cōnor, cōnārī, cōnātus sum	try, attempt
arbitror, arbitrārī, arbitrātus sum	judge, think

How to conjugate 1st conjugation Latin verbs

Now that you know what 1st conjugation verbs are, let’s look at how to conjugate them. Basically, you add a series of endings to change the verb’s person, number, tense, voice, etc.

In the next section of this post, I’ll give you a list of all the possible verb endings. Here I just want to talk about the basics, so I focus on the first Latin tense that you learn: the present tense.

Latin has 6 different present tense endings, one for each combination of person and number. You pick a different ending based on who is performing the action (I, you, he, they, etc.).

The easiest way to conjugate a verb in the present tense is to take the –āre off the second principal part and then add the present tense endings.

The following chart shows these endings as well as two verbs (vocō and errō) conjugated in the present tense. When we take the –āre off vocāre and errāre we end up with voc- and err-. These are the forms that I am adding the endings to.

Person	Ending	Example #1	Example #1
1 sing.	–ō	vocō “I call”	errō “I wander”
2 sing.	–ās	vocās “you call”	errās “you wander”
3 sing.	–at	vocat “he/she/it calls”	errat “he/she/it wanders”
1 plur.	–āmus	vocāmus “we call”	errāmus “we wander”
2 plur.	–ātis	vocātis “y’all call”	errātis “y’all wander”
3 plur.	–ant	vocant “they call”	errant “they wander”

As you can see, vocō and errō have the exact same endings. This is because they are both verbs of the 1st conjugation.

Here are two simple sentences:

Puella equum vocat. = The girl calls the horse.

Errāmus in silvīs. = We wander in the woods.

Now that you have seen an example of conjugation in action, let’s move on to a full list of 1st conjugation verb endings.

Verb Endings of the Latin 1st Conjugation

This section includes the full paradigm of the verb – that is, all its possible forms. If you are a beginning student, you should skip parts that aren’t relevant to you.

I would especially advise that beginners ignore the “passive” column since this refers to the passive voice. Just focus on the active voice, which is what you learn first.

I will provide the conjugation of the Latin verb amō, amāre (love). But remember: all 1st conjugation verbs use these same endings. The endings are in bold so you know what is common to all verbs.

For the tenses of the present system (present, future, and imperfect), remove the –āre from the verb’s second principal part and then add the appropriate 1st conjugation endings.

For tenses of the perfect system (perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect), remove the –ī from the verb’s third principal part and then add the appropriate tense endings.

Indicative Mood

Present Tense

Active translation: I love / I am loving, you love / you are loving, etc.

Passive translation: I am (being) loved, you are (being) loved, etc.

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	amō	amor
2 sing.	amās	amāris
3 sing.	amat	amātur
1 plur.	amāmus	amāmur
2 plur.	amātis	amāminī
3 plur.	amant	amantur

Future Tense

Active translation: I will love, you will love, etc.

Passive translation: I will be loved, you will be loved, etc.

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	amābō	amābor
2 sing.	amābis	amāberis
3 sing.	amābit	amābitur
1 plur.	amābimus	amābimur
2 plur.	amābitis	amābiminī
3 plur.	amābunt	amābuntur

Imperfect Tense

Active translation: I was loving, you were loving, etc.

Passive translation: I was being loved, you were being loved, etc.

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	amābam	amābar
2 sing.	amābās	amābāris
3 sing.	amābat	amābātur
1 plur.	amābāmus	amābāmur
2 plur.	amābātis	amābāminī
3 plur.	amābant	amābantur

Perfect Tense

Active translation: I loved / I have loved, you loved / you have loved, etc.

Passive translation: I was loved / I have been loved, you were loved / you have been loved, etc.

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	amāvī	amātus, a, um sum
2 sing.	amāvistī	amātus, a, um es
3 sing.	amāvit	amātus, a, um est
1 plur.	amāvimus	amātī, ae, a sumus
2 plur.	amāvistis	amātī, ae, a estis
3 plur.	amāvērunt / amāvēre	amātī, ae, a sunt

You form the passive of the perfect system by taking the perfect passive participle (the fourth principal part) and combining it with a form of the verb sum.

The participle can be either masculine, feminine, or neuter depending on the subject of the verb. This is because participles agree with their nouns in gender, number, and case, just like Latin adjectives.

Pluperfect Tense

Active translation: I had loved, you had loved, etc.

Passive translation: I had been loved, you had been loved, etc.

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	amāveram	amātus, a, um eram
2 sing.	amāverās	amātus, a, um erās
3 sing.	amāverat	amātus, a, um erat
1 plur.	amāverāmus	amātī, ae, a erāmus
2 plur.	amāverātis	amātī, ae, a erātis
3 plur.	amāverant	amātī, ae, a erant

Future Perfect Tense

Active translation: I will have loved, you will have loved, etc.

Passive translation: I will have been loved, you will have been loved, etc.

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	amāverō	amātus, a, um erō
2 sing.	amāveris	amātus, a, um eris
3 sing.	amāverit	amātus, a, um erit
1 plur.	amāverimus	amātī, ae, a erimus
2 plur.	amāveritis	amātī, ae, a eritis
3 plur.	amāverint	amātī, ae, a erunt

Imperative Mood

The imperative is the mood in which commands are made. The imperatives which we use most frequently are 2nd person present imperatives, but there are also future imperatives.

Here are the present imperatives:

Person	Active	Passive
2 sing.	amā love!	amāre be loved!
2 plur.	amāte (y’all) love!	amāminī (y’all) be loved!

And here are the much less common future imperatives:

Person	Active	Passive
2 sing.	amātō love! (you shall love)	amātor be loved! (you shall be loved)
3 sing.	amātō he/she/it shall love	amātor he/she/it shall be loved
2 plur.	amātōte (y’all) love! (y’all shall love)	none
3 plur.	amantō they shall love	amantor they shall be loved

Infinitives

Tense	Active	Passive
Present	amāre to love	amārī to be loved
Perfect	amāvisse to have loved	amātum esse to have been loved
Future	amātūrum esse to be about to love	amātum īrī to be about to be loved

Subjunctive Mood

The subjunctive mood is hard to translate out of context. I have provided sample translations, but there are many other possible options based on what is going on in any given sentence.

Present Subjunctive

Active translation: I may love, you may love, etc.

Passive translation: I may be loved, you may be loved, etc.

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	amem	amer
2 sing.	amēs	amēris
3 sing.	amet	amētur
1 plur.	amēmus	amēmur
2 plur.	amētis	amēminī
3 plur.	ament	amentur

Imperfect Subjunctive

Active translation: I might love, you might love, etc.

Passive translation: I might be loved, you might be loved, etc.

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	amārem	amārer
2 sing.	amārēs	amārēris
3 sing.	amāret	amārētur
1 plur.	amārēmus	amārēmur
2 plur.	amārētis	amārēminī
3 plur.	amārent	amārentur

Perfect Subjunctive

Active translation: I may have loved, you may have loved, etc.

Passive translation: I may have been loved, you may have been loved, etc.

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	amāverim	amātus, a, um sim
2 sing.	amāverīs	amātus, a, um sīs
3 sing.	amāverit	amātus, a, um sit
1 plur.	amāverīmus	amātī, ae, a sīmus
2 plur.	amāverītis	amātī, ae, a sītis
3 plur.	amāverint	amātī, ae, a sint

Pluperfect Subjunctive

Active translation: I might have loved, you might have loved, etc.

Passive translation: I might have been loved, you might have been loved, etc.

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	amāvissem	amātus, a, um essem
2 sing.	amāvissēs	amātus, a, um essēs
3 sing.	amāvisset	amātus, a, um esset
1 plur.	amāvissēmus	amātī, ae, a essēmus
2 plur.	amāvissētis	amātī, ae, a essētis
3 plur.	amāvissent	amātī, ae, a essent

Participles, Gerunds, & Supines

Now it’s time to look at the 1st conjugation forms of verbal nouns and adjectives. We will start with participles.

Tense	Active	Passive
Present	amāns “loving”	none
Perfect	none	amātus, a, um “having been loved”
Future	amātūrus, a, um “going to love”	amandus, a, um “about to be loved”

Notice that you form the future active participle by additing –ūrus, a, um to the stem of the perfect passive participle.

👉 Need a refresher on Latin participles? Then you will love this post.

Latin also has two types of verbal nouns: the gerund and the supine.

• Gerund: amandī
• Supine: amātum

The gerund has no nominative case. That is, it only exists in the genitive, dative, accusative, and ablative cases. It is identical to the neuter of the gerundive (the future passive participle).

The supine is only found in the accusative and in the ablative (amātū). The accusative is identical to the neuter accusative of the perfect participle passive.

Final Thoughts on Latin 1st Conjugation Verbs

First conjugation verbs often show up in the first chapter of Latin textbooks, but that doesn’t mean they are always easy. In fact, these verbs will keep returning in more and more complex contexts.

As you continue to study Latin, you will gradually grow more comfortable with verb conjugation and all the linguistic terminology. It’s important that you build a good foundation of knowledge now to help you later on.

So pay close attention to 1st conjugation verbs and their forms! Come back and review the basic principles every now and then – you will understand more each time.

And now, if you are feeling more comfortable with the first conjugation, you can move on to 2nd conjugation verbs!

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