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An Introduction to Latin Verbs

To tackle the progressively more advanced sentences, you should begin by understanding the present and perfect tenses of verbs. All verbs come under 4 conjugation groups, and each group has a different ending for each tense and pronoun.

For the purposes of ease, the examples to convey each conjugation group are:

  • Group 1: Confirmo – I Confirm

  • Group 2: Teneo – I Hold

  • Group 3: Concedo – I Grant

  • Group 4: Servio – I Serve

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Listed below is the present tense with their corresponding verb endings:

Latin Verbs: Resources

Group 1:

Confirmo - I Confirm

Below is a list of the pronoun with their corresponding verb form. Note that the conjugation verb ending is highlighted: 

  • I - Confirmo

  • You (s) - Confirmas

  • He/She/It - Confirmat

  • We - Confirmamus

  • You (pl) - Confirmatis

  • They - Confirmant

Group 2:

Teneo - I Hold

Below is a list of the pronoun with their corresponding verb form. Note that the conjugation verb ending is highlighted: 

  • I - Teneo

  • You (s) - Tenes

  • He/She/It - Tenet

  • We - Tenemus

  • You (pl) - Tenetis

  • They - Tenent

Group 3:

Concedo - I Grant

Below is a list of the pronoun with their corresponding verb form. Note that the conjugation verb ending is highlighted: 

  • I - Concedo

  • You (s) - Concedis

  • He/She/It - Concedit

  • We - Concedimus

  • You (pl) - Conceditis

  • They - Concedunt

Group 4:

Servio - I Serve

Below is a list of the pronoun with their corresponding verb form. Note that the conjugation verb ending is highlighted: 

  • I - Servio

  • You (s) - Servis

  • He/She/It - Servit

  • We - Servimus

  • You (pl) - Servitis

  • They - Serviunt

Latin Verbs: List

There are subtle changes within each conjugation group but it should be fairly straightforward on how to distinguish between them. Moving on, the perfect tense is a form of the past tense (in Medieval Latin there are a few different past tenses; perfect, imperfect, pluperfect) and it translates as such:

  • Group 1: Confirmavi – I Confirmed

  • Group 2: Tenui – I Held

  • Group 3: Concessi – I Granted

  • Group 4: Servio – I Served

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When comparing present and perfect verbs, you will notice that the stem changes within each group.


For group 1 verbs, the present stem: Confirm- changes to the perfect stem: Confirmav-

In other words, the stem of group 1 verbs gain ‘av’ when in the perfect tense.


The other groups also extend their stems:

In Group 2, the present stem: Ten- changes to become the perfect stem Tenu-, thus gaining ‘u’.


Group 3 verbs are irregular meaning that the whole stem changes in the perfect tense. Whilst the stem in the present tense is: Conced-, in the perfect tense it becomes Concess- (Note that dictionaries will give the stem of group 3 verbs).


In Group 4, the present stem: Serv- changes to become the perfect stem Serviv-, thus gaining ‘iv’.

Latin Verbs: Text

Group 1:

Confirmavi - I Confirmed

Below is a list of the pronoun with their corresponding verb form. Note that the conjugation verb ending is highlighted: 

  • I - Confirmavi

  • You (s) - Confirmavisti

  • He/She/It - Confirmavit

  • We - Confirmavimus

  • You (pl) - Confirmavistis

  • They - Confirmaverunt

Group 2:

Tenui - I Held

Below is a list of the pronoun with their corresponding verb form. Note that the conjugation verb ending is highlighted: 

  • I - Tenui

  • You (s) - Tenuisti

  • He/She/It - Tenuit

  • We - Tenuimus

  • You (pl) - Tenuistis

  • They - Tenuerunt

Group 3:

Concessi - I Granted

Below is a list of the pronoun with their corresponding verb form. Note that the conjugation verb ending is highlighted: 

  • I - Concessi

  • You (s) - Concessisti

  • He/She/It - Concessit

  • We - Concessimus

  • You (pl) - Concessistis

  • They - Concesserunt

Group 4:

Servivi - I Serve

Below is a list of the pronoun with their corresponding verb form. Note that the conjugation verb ending is highlighted: 

  • I - Servivi

  • You (s) - Servivisti

  • He/She/It - Servivit

  • We - Servivimus

  • You (pl) - Servivistis

  • They - Serviverunt

Latin Verbs: List
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