Ch 8 · Lesson 16Latin · Chapter 8 · Lesson 16 · Grammar primer
Participles: present, perfect, future
, , : calling, having been called, about to call. And the gap: no having done, except on deponents. How to unfold a participle is the next lesson.
The short version
Three participles: -ns, -tus, -urus
, ,
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The present active adds -ns, genitive -ntis (, ), with an -e- in the third and fourth conjugations (). The perfect passive is the fourth principal part (). The future active adds -urus to the same stem (, ). The last two decline like ; the first like .
There is no perfect active participle, and the gap shows
,
Why?Hide
Latin has a present active in -ns, a perfect passive in the fourth principal part, and a future active in -urus. What it has not got is a having-done form for ordinary verbs: means having been captured, never having captured. verbs are the exception and fill the gap handsomely, since is having spoken and is having set out. That missing form is why the ablative absolute works so hard.
A participle is a verb dressed as an adjective. Like a verb it has a tense and a voice; like an adjective it agrees with a noun. Latin has three, and a gap where English keeps its favourite.
| Participle | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|
| present active | | calling |
| perfect passive | | having been called |
| future active | | about to call |
Missing: being called and, above all, having called.
The three participles
Present active: -ns, -ntis
Add -ns to the present stem; the genitive is -ntis. The third and fourth conjugations put an -e- in front:
| Verb | Participle | Genitive |
|---|---|---|
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
It declines like the adjective , : accusative , plural .
The ablative is usually -e ( , by the king as he calls), but -i when the participle has become a plain adjective.
Danaos .- I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts. (Virgil, Aeneid 2.49)
Perfect passive: the fourth principal part
The dictionary's fourth form, declined like , , :
.- We saw the captured city..- We heard the words (that had been) spoken.
Future active: -urus
The same stem plus -urus, also like :
| Verb | Participle | English |
|---|---|---|
| | about to come |
| | about to say |
| | about to be |
| | about to die |
gave English future. And gave the line Suetonius reports from the fighters at a show for the emperor Claudius:
salutant- those about to
The gap: no "having done"
Latin has no perfect active participle for ordinary verbs. English uses one all the time (having seen the city, he turned back); Latin cannot.
| Latin | Means | Never |
|---|---|---|
| the king, having been captured | having captured |
| the boy, having been seen | having seen |
If the noun looks like the doer rather than the victim, you have misread something. Latin says having seen the city with a clause, with two verbs joined by , or with the ablative absolute (below).
Deponents fill the gap
A deponent's perfect participle is active, so these are the only ones that can say having done:
| Verb | Participle | English |
|---|---|---|
| | having spoken |
| | having followed |
| | having set out |
| | having gone in |
| | having suffered |
| | having used |
, , .- Having said this, the king went away.
A handful of ordinary verbs have active ones too, such as cenatus, having dined, and , having sworn. They are exceptions you will recognise when you meet them.
Going further: Unfold it into a clause and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
Practise this lesson
10-question session
One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
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