3rd Conjugation Latin Verbs: The Ultimate Guide for Students

Are you learning about 3rd conjugation Latin verbs? You’re in the right place! In this post I cover what they are, how to recognize them, how to conjugate them, and more.

The third conjugation has a reputation for being the hardest Latin conjugation to master. It is usually my students’ least favorite conjugation, and there are two primary reasons for this.

First, the third conjugation does not have regular principal parts. And second, there is a special subset of 3rd conjugation verbs called i-stem or –iō verbs.

Yes, these two factors can make the third conjugation a bit tricky. But don’t worry: in this post I will walk you through everything in a beginner-friendly way!

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What is a 3rd conjugation verb in Latin?

A Latin verb belongs to the third conjugation if its present stem ends in –e– (short E).

This short E disappears or lengthens in almost all conjugated forms (as you will see below). For this reason, it is best to check a verb’s second principal part to decide its conjugation.

3rd conjugation verbs feature a short E in their second principal part (right before the infinitive ending –re).

Be careful, since 2nd conjugation verbs have a second principal part ending in -ēre (with a long E). Vowel length matters!

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 3rd conjugation or not.

Speaking of principal parts . . .

Principal Parts of 3rd Conjugation Verbs

The principal parts of the 3rd conjugation are highly irregular. This means that it is extremely important for you to memorize each verb’s principal parts when you learn its definition.

Luckily, the first and second principal parts are consistent. It’s the third and fourth principal parts that cause issues.

1	-ō (or -iō)
2	-ere
3	???
4	???

While there is no consistent rule for forming the third and fourth principal parts, there are general patterns. After years of learning and teaching Latin, I can now guess a 3rd conjugation verb’s principal parts pretty accurately.

Even though it may feel like it, these verb forms are not completely random. With time, you will also get a sense for the various possibilities.

How to form the perfect stem of a 3rd conjugation verb

In this section, I will discuss the most common ways of forming the perfect stem (aka the third principal part) of 3rd conjugation Latin verbs.

You don’t need to memorize all the details below. Instead, what I recommend is that you familiarize yourself with the basic patterns. This will make it easier for you to memorize the principal parts of specific verbs.

Vowel Lengthening

One common way to form the perfect stem is to lengthen the verb’s root vowel (the vowel which shows up in the first and second principal parts).

Sometimes vowel length is all that distinguishes the tense of a verb! This is why it is so important to memorize the placement of macrons.

Here are some examples. Notice that short A lengthens to long E, not to long A.

• agō “I do” > ēgī “I did”
• edō “I eat” > ēdī “I ate”
• fugiō “I flee” > fūgī “I fled”
• legō “I read; I choose” > lēgī “I read; I chose”
• vincō “I conquer” > vīcī “I conquered”

The Suffix –S–

Some 3rd conjugation verbs form their perfect stems via the addition of the suffix –s–. This is usually accompanied by vowel lengthening, as well.

When you add –s– to the root of the verb, sound changes frequently occur. For example, C + S becomes X. This makes sense, when you consider the rules of Latin pronunciation: X is merely a combination of the C sound and the S sound.

Sometimes other consonants disappear before the S (examples are D, R, and T).

Here are some examples of 3rd conjugation verbs that add –s– to form the perfect stem.

• cēdō “I yield” > cessī “I yielded”
• dīcō “I say” > dīxī “I said”
• dūcō “I lead” > dūxī “I led”
• mittō “I send” > mīsī “I sent”
• vehō “I carry” > vexī “I carried”

Reduplication

Latin verbs can also form their perfect stems via reduplication, which in this context refers to the doubling of the verb’s initial consonant.

Let’s look at some examples of 3rd conjugation verbs that feature this doubling.

• cadō “I fall” > cecidī “I fell”
• currō “I run” > cucurrī “I ran”
• parcō “I spare” > pepercī “I spared”
• pellō “I drive” > pepulī “I drove”
• tangō “I touch” > tetigī “I touched”

The C in cadō is doubled to produced cecidī, the T in tangō is doubled to produce tetigī, and so forth. Notice that there are also some vowel changes following the reduplication.

Now that you are familiar with these three ways to form the perfect stem, you are ready to explore some of the most frequently used 3rd conjugation verbs.

List of 3rd Conjugation Latin Verbs

Many 3rd conjugation verbs are among the most frequently used words in the Latin language. They include key verbs like dīcō “say, speak” and pōnō “put, place.”

Here I have put together a list of the most common 3rd conjugation verbs (according to the DCC Core Vocabulary List). If you memorize these must-know verbs, you will be off to a great start!

I give lists of principal parts just like this one to my students to memorize. I’m sure they don’t like being quizzed on them, but the memorization pays off in the end!

Rank	Latin Verb	Meaning
1	dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, tell
2	agō, agere, ēgī, āctus	do, act; drive
3	petō, petere, petīvī, petītus	seek; ask
4	vincō, vincere, vīcī, victus	conquer
5	pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positus	put, place
6	crēdō, crēdere, crēdidī, crēditus	believe
7	quaerō, quaerere, quaesīvī, quaesītus	seek; inquire
8	mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus	send
9	dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductus	lead, guide
10	relinquō, relinquere, relīquī, relictus	leave (behind)
11	vīvō, vīvere, vīxī, vīctus	live
12	reddō, reddere, reddidī, redditus	give back, return
13	cadō, cadere, cecidī, cāsus	fall
14	trahō, trahere, trāxī, trāctus	drag, draw
15	gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus	bear, manage; wage
16	premō, premere, pressī, pressus	press, pursue
17	cōgō, cōgere, coēgī, coāctus	drive together; compel
18	vertō, vertere, vertī, versus	turn
19	trādō, trādere, trādidī, trāditus	hand over
20	cēdō, cēdere, cessī, cessus	yield, withdraw

Latin Third Conjugation Deponent Verbs

There are also extremely common 3rd conjugation deponent verbs. For instance, sequor “follow” and ūtor “use” are both 3rd conjugation deponents!

Here is a handy list. (If you aren’t sure what deponents are yet, then skip this section for now!)

Latin Verb	Meaning
sequor, sequī, secūtus sum	follow
nāscor, nāscī, nātus sum	be born
loquor, loquī, locūtus sum	speak
ūtor, ūtī, ūsus sum	use, consume (+ ablative)
queror, querī, questus sum	think, imagine
īrāscor, īrāscī, īrātus sum	grow angry
proficīscor, proficīscī, profectus sum	set out, depart
consequor, consequī, consecūtus sum	follow, overtake; attain
fruor, fruī, frūctus sum	enjoy, use (+ ablative)

How To Conjugate 3rd Conjugation Latin Verbs

This section includes the full paradigm of the 3rd conjugation verb vincō. All of its possible forms are included below, so if you are just starting on your Latin journey, skip the 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.

You are about to see the conjugation of the verb vincō, vincere, vīcī, victus. But remember: all 3rd 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 –ere from the verb’s second principal part and then add the appropriate 3rd 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 conquer / I am conquering, you conquer / you are conquering, etc.

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

Notice that the -e- which is at the end of the 3rd conjugation’s present stem disappears or changes in almost all of the forms. Instead short Is are characteristic of the present tense of the 3rd conjugation.

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	vincō	vincor
2 sing.	vincis	vinceris
3 sing.	vincit	vincitur
1 plur.	vincimus	vincimur
2 plur.	vincitis	vinciminī
3 plur.	vincunt	vincuntur

Future Tense

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

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

Unlike in the 1st conjugation and the 2nd conjugation, the future tense is NOT indicated by the addition of the tense marker –bi-. Instead, a vowel change (i to ē) signals the change to the future tense.

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	vincam	vincar
2 sing.	vincēs	vincēris
3 sing.	vincet	vincētur
1 plur.	vincēmus	vincēmur
2 plur.	vincētis	vincēminī
3 plur.	vincent	vincentur

Imperfect Tense

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

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

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	vincēbam	vincēbar
2 sing.	vincēbās	vincēbāris
3 sing.	vincēbat	vincēbātur
1 plur.	vincēbāmus	vincēbāmur
2 plur.	vincēbātis	vincēbāminī
3 plur.	vincēbant	vincēbantur

Perfect Tense

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

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

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	vīcī	victus, a, um sum
2 sing.	vīcistī	victus, a, um es
3 sing.	vīcit	victus, a, um est
1 plur.	vīcimus	victī, ae, a sumus
2 plur.	vīcistis	victī, ae, a estis
3 plur.	vīcērunt / vīcēre	victī, 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 conquered, you had conquered, etc.

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

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	vīceram	victus, a, um eram
2 sing.	vīcerās	victus, a, um erās
3 sing.	vīcerat	victus, a, um erat
1 plur.	vīcerāmus	victī, ae, a erāmus
2 plur.	vīcerātis	victī, ae, a erātis
3 plur.	vīcerant	victī, ae, a erant

Future Perfect Tense

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

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

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	vīcerō	victus, a, um erō
2 sing.	vīceris	victus, a, um eris
3 sing.	vīcerit	victus, a, um erit
1 plur.	vīcerimus	victī, ae, a erimus
2 plur.	vīceritis	victī, ae, a eritis
3 plur.	vīcerint	victī, 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.	vince conquer!	vincere be conquered!
2 plur.	vincite (y’all) conquer!	vinciminī (y’all) be conquered!

Note that there are a few common verbs of the 3rd conjugation that have irregular 2nd person singular present imperatives. Here they are:

• dūcō “I lead” > dūc “lead!”
• dīcō “I say” > dīc “say!”
• faciō “I make” > fac “make!”

Now let’s look at the much less common future imperatives:

Person	Active	Passive
2 sing.	vincitō conquer! (you shall conquer)	vincitor be conquered! (you shall be conquered)
3 sing.	vincitō he/she/it shall conquer	vincitor he/she/it shall be conquered
2 plur.	vincitōte (y’all) conquer! (y’all shall conquer)	none
3 plur.	vincuntō they shall conquer	vincuntor they shall be conquered

Infinitives

Tense	Active	Passive
Present	vincere to conquer	vincī to be conquered
Perfect	vīcisse to have conquered	victum esse to have been conquered
Future	victūrum esse to be about to conquer	victum īrī to be about to be conquered

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.

👉 Want to know more? Read all about the many uses of the subjunctive!

Present Subjunctive

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

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

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	vincam	vincar
2 sing.	vincās	vincāris
3 sing.	vincat	vincātur
1 plur.	vincāmus	vincāmur
2 plur.	vincātis	vincāminī
3 plur.	vincant	vincantur

Imperfect Subjunctive

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

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

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	vincerem	vincerer
2 sing.	vincerēs	vincerēris
3 sing.	vinceret	vincerētur
1 plur.	vincerēmus	vincerēmur
2 plur.	vincerētis	vincerēminī
3 plur.	vincerent	vincerentur

Perfect Subjunctive

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

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

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	vīcerim	victus, a, um sim
2 sing.	vīcerīs	victus, a, um sīs
3 sing.	vīcerit	victus, a, um sit
1 plur.	vīcerīmus	victī, ae, a sīmus
2 plur.	vīcerītis	victī, ae, a sītis
3 plur.	vīcerint	victī, ae, a sint

Pluperfect Subjunctive

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

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

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	vīcissem	victus, a, um essem
2 sing.	vīcissēs	victus, a, um essēs
3 sing.	vīcisset	victus, a, um esset
1 plur.	vīcissēmus	victī, ae, a essēmus
2 plur.	vīcissētis	victī, ae, a essētis
3 plur.	vīcissent	victī, ae, a essent

Participles, Gerunds, & Supines

Now it’s time to look at the 3rd conjugation forms of verbal nouns and adjectives. We will start with participles.

Tense	Active	Passive
Present	vincēns “conquering”	none
Perfect	none	victus, a, um “having been conquered”
Future	victūrus, a, um “going to conquer”	vincendus, a, um “about to be conquered”

Notice that you form the future active participle by additing –ūrus, a, um to the stem of the perfect passive participle. The perfect passive participle of vincō is victus; victus minus us equals vict-, to which we then add –ūrus.

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

• Gerund: vincendī
• Supine: victum

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 (victū). The accusative is identical to the neuter accusative of the perfect participle passive.

What are 3rd -IO conjugation Latin verbs?

Some Latin verbs of the third conjugation have an extra I that pops up in certain forms. For example, the 1st person singular present indicative active (aka the first principal part) of these verbs ends in –iō, not simply –ō as in regular 3rd conjugation verbs.

Because of this, we call these verbs 3rd conjugation -iō verbs or 3rd conjugation i-stem verbs.

Throughout this section, I will use accipiō, accipere, accēpī, acceptus “accept, receive” as my sample –iō verb. First let’s clear up an issue of terminology.

To find the present stem of a verb, you remove –re from its second principal part. That means that the stem of accipiō is accipe-, right? So how is it i-stem?

The underlying stem of accipiō is actually accipi-, and the stem vowel is a short I. This is the I that appears in most conjugated forms. But due to sound changes, in Classical Latin the present infinitive is accipere instead of *accipire.

How do you know if a verb is 3rd -IO conjugation?

Luckily it is very easy to tell if a verb belongs to the 3rd –iō conjugation. A verb is 3rd –iō if the following two conditions are met:

1. The second principal part ends in –ere AND
2. The first principal part ends in –iō.

If we look at the principal parts of accipiō (given above), we see that the second principal part (accipere) ends in –ere and the first principal part (accipiō) ends in –iō.

How to conjugate 3rd -IO verbs

3rd conjugation i-stem verbs are conjugated either like regular 3rd conjugation verbs or like 4th conjugation verbs. It all depends on the tense.

In the present indicative, 3rd conjugation –iō verbs have almost the same endings as regular 3rd conjugation verbs. The difference is that we find an extra I in the 1st person singular and the 3rd person plural.

In the following chart I have put the extra Is in red.

Active Translation: I receive / I am receiving, you receive / you are receiving, etc.

Passive Translation: I am (being) received, you are (being) received, etc.

Person	Active	Passive
1 sing.	accipiō	accipior
2 sing.	accipis	acciperis
3 sing.	accipit	accipitur
1 plur.	accipimus	accipimur
2 plur.	accipitis	accipiminī
3 plur.	accipiunt	accipiuntur

Present imperatives also have the same forms as regular 3rd conjugation verbs, as do imperfect subjunctives.

In the future and imperfect indicative, the future imperative, and the present subjunctive, –iō verbs are conjugated in the same way as 4th conjugation verbs. –iō verbs also follow 4th conjugation verbs in their present active participle and their future passive participle (gerundive).

Why? 3rd –iō verbs always want to have extra Is. 4th conjugation forms have those extra Is.

Verbs in the perfect system do not distinguish between conjugation, so 3rd –iō verbs have the same endings as all other Latin verbs in the perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect.

Comparing 3rd, 3rd –iō, and 4th Conjugation Verbs

3rd conjugation verbs have –e– as their stem vowel, 3rd –iō verbs have –i-, and 4th conjugation verbs have –ī-. These stem vowels result in slightly different endings.

Seeing all the endings side-by-side can help you to understand the patterns.

Here is the present indicative active, in which the 3rd –iō forms are closest to the 3rd conjugation forms, just with added Is. The extra I comes from the 3rd –iō stem vowel.

Note that the 4th conjugation features long Is in the 2nd person singular and plural and in the 1st person plural, while the 3rd and 3rd –iō endings have short Is.

Person	3rd	3rd –iō	4th
1 sing.	vinc·ō	accip·iō	sc·iō
2 sing.	vinc·is	accip·is	sc·īs
3 sing.	vinc·it	accip·it	sc·it
1 plur.	vinc·imus	accip·imus	sc·īmus
2 plur.	vinc·itis	accip·itis	sc·ītis
3 plur.	vinc·unt	accip·iunt	sc·iunt

But when we move to the future tense, the 3rd –iō endings are identical with those of 4th conjugation.

In the future tense, there is no difference in vowel length between 3rd –iō and 4th conjugation. All of the 4th conjugation Is have been shortened.

Why? Because in Latin, a vowel shortens before another vowel.

Person	3rd	3rd –iō	4th
1 sing.	vinc·am	accip·iam	sc·iam
2 sing.	vinc·ēs	accip·iēs	sc·iēs
3 sing.	vinc·et	accip·iet	sc·iet
1 plur.	vinc·ēmus	accip·iēmus	sc·iēmus
2 plur.	vinc·ētis	accip·iētis	sc·iētis
3 plur.	vinc·ent	accip·ient	sc·ient

The exact same thing happens in the imperfect tense. 3rd –iō and 4th conjugation have identical endings.

Person	3rd	3rd –iō	4th
1 sing.	vinc·ēbam	accip·iēbam	sc·iēbam
2 sing.	vinc·ēbās	accip·iēbās	sc·iēbās
3 sing.	vinc·ēbat	accip·iēbat	sc·iēbat
1 plur.	vinc·ēbāmus	accip·iēbāmus	sc·iēbāmus
2 plur.	vinc·ēbātis	accip·iēbātis	sc·iēbātis
3 plur.	vinc·ēbant	accip·iēbant	sc·iēbant

List of 3rd -IO Conjugation Verbs

The following list includes the eleven most commonly used –iō verbs (with data from the DCC). All of these verbs are in the top 500 most used words in the Latin language, so they are very important for you to memorize!

Latin Verb	Meaning
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	do, make
accipiō, accipere, accēpī, acceptus	accept, receive
capiō, capere, cēpī, captus	take, seize
fugiō, fugere, fūgī, fugitūrus	flee, escape
rapiō, rapere, rapuī, raptus	seize, tear away
recipiō, recipere, recēpī, receptus	take back, receive
ēripiō, ēripere, ēripuī, ēreptus	snatch away, rescue
excipiō, excipere, excēpī, exceptus	take out
incipiō, incipere, incēpī, inceptus	begin
cupiō, cupere, cupīvī, cupītus	desire
aspiciō, aspicere, aspexī, aspectus	look at, behold

FAQs about 3rd Conjugation Latin Verbs

Final Thoughts on 3rd Conjugation Latin Verbs

Whew, that was a long post. It took me a long time to write and I’m sure it took you a long time to read. It’s totally fine if you didn’t digest all of that information at once. You can save this page and come back to it over and over.

I hope that you now have a better idea of what 3rd conjugation Latin verbs are and how to use them. And now you may want to check out some of my other posts on Latin verbs:

First Conjugation Verbs

Second Conjugation Verbs

Fourth Conjugation Verbs

The Irregular Verb Sum (To Be)

The Irregular Verb Possum (To Be Able)