Lesson 7: Imperfect and Future Tenses

future tense

As in English, the future tense in Latin expresses things which will happen in the future: “I will give. You will watch. They will go.”

imperfect tense

The imperfect tense has no exact translation in English. It expresses an action which was going on in the past but was incomplete. The most common translation is: “I was calling. You were sailing. He was riding.” These things were happening in the past, but were not necessarily finished (and might still be happening). The imperfect can also be translated as, “I used to call,” or, “I began to call.” All these show action happening in the past but incomplete.

tense-sign

A short sequence of letters that is placed between a verb's stem and its endings to show a tense. We'll learn two tense-signs below.

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We learned earlier that we form the present tense by taking the present stem of a verb and adding the personal endings -o (or -m), -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -nt. So from oro (I pray), the stem of which is ora-, we got the present tense forms:

To form the imperfect tense, we use the same present stem (ora-) and the same personal endings, but we insert the imperfect tense-sign -ba- between them:

Note that the first person singular gets the alternative ending -m instead of -o, because orabao would be difficult to say.

To form the future tense, we use the same present stem (ora-) and the same personal endings, but we insert the future tense-sign -bi- between them.

Note two exceptions in the future tense: The 'i' of the -bi- tense-sign is dropped before the -o ending. Also, the -bi- changes to -bu- before the -nt third-person plural ending.

To memorize the similarities and differences between the three tenses we've learned so far—the present, the imperfect, and the future—it may help to compare them side by side:

• appellō, I call, I name
• convocō, I call together, I summon
• exspectō, I wait for, I await
• habitō, I live, I dwell
• labōrō, I labor, I suffer
• nārrō, I tell, I relate
• nūntiō, I announce, I report
• superō, I surpass, I defeat
• volō, I fly
• vulnerō, I wound

• Habito has the meaning of dwelling or living in a place, not being alive in a general sense.
• Appello can take two accusatives when a person or thing is being called by name:
  • Appello puerum Marcum. - I call the boy Marcus.
  • Appellabimus oppidum Romam. - We will call the town Rome.
• Don't forget the 's' in exspecto, which is missing in the similar English word “expect.” It may help to know that exspecto is formed by combining ex- (out of) and specto (watch for): “I watch out for: I wait for.”

a. Translate (pay close attention to any tense-signs):

1. Bonam fortunam meam exspectabunt.
2. Agricolae servi in agris laborabant.
3. Lucius viros et feminas convocabat.
4. Tuos filios non superabitis.
5. Equi feri non volant.
6. Nautae legatum in lato campo vulnerabant.
7. Legatus nuntios de bello exspectabat.
8. In oppido parvo habitabamus.
9. Spectabo meos magnos equos in campo lato.
10. Viri signum a legato exspectabant.

b. Translate:

1. You shall sail to the long island.
2. The bad sailor was wounding the friend of the farmer.
3. The envoys were assembling the men and the women.
4. The horses will carry grain out of the high fields into the small town.
5. The bad farmer used to live in a large farmhouse.
6. The messengers were preparing a long letter.
7. Will you carry much water into the farmhouse?
8. The envoy's small son was looking at my horses.
9. I was laboring in my fields.
10. The messenger will carry many large gifts.

c. Think of an English word related to each Latin word in the vocabulary.

Now that we've learned to use a couple of simple tense-signs, we can talk about past and future actions in addition to actions in the present. Next lesson: our first use of the dative case and a bit more on adjectives.

a. Translate (pay close attention to any tense-signs):

1. Bonam fortunam meam exspectabunt. - They will await my good fortune.
2. Agricolae servi in agris laborabant. - The farmer's slaves were working in the fields.
3. Lucius viros et feminas convocabat. - Lucius was calling together the men and the women.
4. Tuos filios non superabitis. - You will not surpass your sons.
5. Equi feri non volant. - Wild horses do not fly.
6. Nautae legatum in lato campo vulnerabant. - The sailors were wounding the envoy on the wide plain.
7. Legatus nuntios de bello exspectabat. - The lieutenant was waiting for messages about the war.
8. In oppido parvo habitabamus. - We were living in a small town.
9. Spectabo meos magnos equos in campo lato. - I will watch my great horses in the wide plain.
10. Viri signum a legato exspectabant. - The men were waiting for a sign from the envoy.

b. Translate:

1. You shall sail to the long island. - Navigabis ad longam insulam.
2. The bad sailor was wounding the friend of the farmer. - Malus nauta amicum agricolae vulnerabat.
3. The envoys were assembling the men and the women. - Legati viros et feminas convocabant.
4. The horses will carry grain out of the high fields into the small town. - Equi frumentum ex altis agris in parvum oppidum portabunt.
5. The bad farmer used to live in a large farmhouse. - Malus agricola in villa magna habitabat.
6. The messengers were preparing a long letter. - Nuntii litteras longas parabant. (Remember, littera in the singular means a single letter of the alphabet; use the plural to mean a letter you write someone. It's a little like “scissors” that way.)
7. Will you carry much water into the farmhouse? - Portabisne multam aquam in villam?
8. The envoy's small son was looking at my horses. - Legati parvus filius equos meos spectabat.
9. I was laboring in my fields. - In meis agris laborabam.
10. The messenger will carry many large gifts. - Nuntius multa et magna dona portabit.

c. Think of an English word related to each Latin word in the vocabulary.

• appellō, I call, I name - appellation
• convocō, I call together, I summon - convocation
• exspectō, I wait for, I await - expect
• habitō, I live, I dwell - habitat
• labōrō, I labor, I suffer - labor
• nārrō, I tell, I relate - narrate
• nūntiō, I announce, I report - announce
• superō, I surpass, I defeat - superior
• volō, I fly - volatile
• vulnerō, I wound - vulnerable