Beginning Latin Grammar, Lesson 4: The First Conjugation

"I would make them all learn English;

and then I would let the clever ones learn Latin as an honour, and Greek as a treat." --Sir Winston Churchill

(If your student needs work on English verbs first, go to Simple Grammar lessons 3 and 4.)

Lesson 1: Latin Nouns

Lesson 2: The First Declension

Lesson 3: Latin Verbs

The vowel sign of Latin verbs of the first conjugation is long a, pronounced ah.

The Personal endings of Latin verbs are:

o......I

s.......you (singular)

t.......he, she or it

mus......we

tis......you (plural)

nt......they

Here are some important verbs in the first conjugation. They are given in the third person singular.

          Latin Verb...pronunciation.....English Derivation. ......Meaning he, she it...

1. portat (pore-taht).....porter.....carries
2. vocat (woe-kaht).....vocal.....calls
3. cantat (kahn-taht).....cantata....sings
4. laborat (lah-bore-aht).....laboratory.....works
5. natat (nah-taht).....natatorium (swimming pool).....swims
6. ambulat (ahm-bue-laht).....amble.....walks
7. amat (ah-maht).....amorous.....loves
8. laudat (lou-daht).....laud (praise).....praises
9. exspectat (ex-spec-taht).....expect.....waits for
10. delectat (day-leck-taht).....delectable.....it delights, pleases

Practice Exercises

Translate and explain the endings on each word. You will need to add in articles the, a and an to make more sense in the English translation as they are never expressed in Latin.

(example) Puella ambulat. The girl walks. Puella...subject (noun, first declension, nominative singular),.....predicate (verb, first conjugation, third person singular)

1. Agricola laborat.
2. Femina cantat.
3. Nautae natant. (Remember, a plural noun must have a plural verb)
4. Regina laudat.

Give the nominative (singular and plural) forms of these words in Latin.

1. girl
2. poet
3. woman
4. sailor

Give the following verb forms in Latin:

1. she calls
2. he swims
3. it pleases
4. he praises

Translate the following subjects and predicates into English.

1. Nauta vocat.
2. Agricola ambulat.
3. Exspectat.
4. Regina cantat.