Latin Future, Pluperfect and Future Perfect
By Michael McGettrickUpdated 12 October 2026
Latin has six tenses in the indicative. The future (, he will say) is built on the present stem; the pluperfect (, he had said) and the future perfect (, he will have said) are built on the perfect stem. Here are all six on one verb.
| Tense | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|
| Present | | he says |
| Imperfect | | he was saying |
| Future | | he will say |
| Perfect | | he said |
| Pluperfect | | he had said |
| Future perf. | | he will have said |
Quick check
Now use it: three quick questions on the chart above. The full practice is further down.
Spot the mistake
0/3One verb is in the wrong tense for its time word. Tap it.
dixerat: he had said (before a past moment)
dicebat: he was saying
dixit: he said
dicit: he says
dixerit: he will have said (before a future moment)
dicet: he will say
Timeline from past to future, with now marked.
Three tenses on the present stem -, three on the perfect stem dix-. Learn the perfect and the last three cost almost nothing.
The future comes in two shapes
First and second conjugation verbs put -b- and a vowel before the personal ending:
| Person | voco (1st) | habeo (2nd) |
|---|---|---|
| I | | |
| you | | |
| he, she | | |
| we | | |
| you (pl) | | |
| they | | |
petram aedificabo .- On this rock I will build my church. (Matthew 16:18, in the Vulgate)
Third and fourth conjugation verbs have no -b-. They use -a- for I and -e- everywhere else:
| Person | dico (3rd) | audio (4th) |
|---|---|---|
| I | | |
| you | | |
| he, she | | |
| we | | |
| you (pl) | | |
| they | | |
.- Seek and you will find. (Matthew 7:7, in the Vulgate)
The third-conjugation verbs in -io go with , keeping their -i-:
.- He will take the book..- I will do this.
and are also the present subjunctive, I may say, I may do. On its own the first person cannot tell you which; the rest of the sentence does.
One vowel tells the tense
Both futures sit one vowel away from another tense, and the vowel is in the middle of the word, the last place an English reader looks.
| Future | Not future | English |
|---|---|---|
| | will call / was calling |
| | will have / was having |
| | will say / says |
| | will take / takes |
In the first two conjugations -bi- is future and -ba- is imperfect. In the third and fourth, -e- is future and -i- is present.
The irregular futures
has its own future, and the verbs built on it copy it:
| Verb | I, he, they | English |
|---|---|---|
| , , | will be |
| , , | will be able |
| , , | will go |
| , , | will want |
| , , | will carry |
paradiso.- Today you will be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:43)regit , .- The Lord rules me, and I shall want for nothing. (Psalm 22:1 in the Vulgate, Psalm 23 in most English Bibles)
is the odd one out: its infinitive rhymes with , yet its future has the -b- of the first conjugation. and go the other way and take the -am, -et future.
Every compound of follows :
.- I will be present..- He will be absent tomorrow.
The pluperfect: had done
Take the perfect, drop its -i, and add the imperfect of (, , ):
| Person | dico (dixi) | venio (veni) |
|---|---|---|
| I | | |
| you | | |
| he, she | | |
| we | | |
| you (pl) | | |
| they | | |
It means had done: finished before another moment in the past.
, .- When father came back, his son had already left., , .- I have read the letter you had written me.
works the same way from : , he had been.
The future perfect: will have done
Same stem, plus the future of (, , ), with one change: the third plural is -erint, not -.
| Person | dico (dixi) | venio (veni) |
|---|---|---|
| I | | |
| you | | |
| he, she | | |
| we | | |
| you (pl) | | |
| they | | |
That -erint keeps the future perfect apart from the perfect . The tense means will have done: finished before a moment in the future.
, .- When I have written the letter, I will come.
When you come: the future perfect after cum and si
English puts a future action into the present after when and if: when you come, I will tell you. Latin marks the time. If the action will be finished before the main verb, it takes the future perfect.
| After | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|
| , . | When you come, I will tell you. |
| , . | If you do this, you will be happy. |
| , . | When we reach the port, we will write. |
Catullus invites a friend to dinner with exactly this pattern, and the joke is in the condition: the guest brings the dinner.
Cenabis , Fabulle, ... attuleris cenam.- You will dine well at my house, Fabullus, if you bring a good big dinner with you. (Catullus 13)
Cenabis is a plain future; attuleris is the future perfect of , because the bringing comes first.
After postquam: the perfect, not the pluperfect
In past narrative the habit runs the other way. After (after), (when) and ac (as soon as), Latin normally uses the plain perfect where English says had:
, .- After he had taken the city, he went back home., .- When he had said this, he went away.
The perfect is translated had taken. So do not hunt for a Latin pluperfect behind every English had, and do not force a Latin perfect into a plain past when had reads better. The true pluperfect stands out for that reason: in the section above marks a past before the past.
Mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| | -e- is the third-conjugation future |
| | -bi- is future, -ba- imperfect |
mittebit | | third conjugation: no -b- (classical) |
| | future perfect plural is -erint |
What to do next
- Learn the two future tables, then read every verb's middle vowel before its ending.
- Run the drill below: build the forms, then sort them by tense.
- Then meet if clauses: si and nisi, which use the future you have just learned.