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Latin grammar Part of Chapter 3

CEFR A1

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Test yourself (25 questions)

Latin Imperfect Tense: -bam, -bas, -bat and eram

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 12 October 2026

. It was night. Two words, and the scene is set. is the imperfect: the Latin tense for what was going on, what used to happen and how things were. It is also the easiest past tense to build: present stem, then -ba-, then endings you already know.

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

Choose the imperfect form that fits the subject.

  1. Milites (were coming)

  2. Tu (used to see)

  3. Mater (was writing)

the vowel before -ba--ba-, the imperfect signpersonal endingWhat do the colours mean?

The imperfect on one screen

PersonEndingvideodico
I-bam
you (sg)-bas
he, she, it-bat
we-bamus
you (pl)-batis
they-bant

The endings after -ba- are the verb endings of the present with one change: I is -m, not -o, the -m you know from .

  • . - Father was writing.
  • . - The soldiers could see the city.

The vowel before -ba-

The only thing that changes from verb to verb is the vowel in front of -ba-, and it follows the conjugation:

FamilyVerbI was ...
First
First
Second
Third
Third -io
Fourth
Fourth

A shortcut for verbs whose headword ends in -io:

  • , , , : the infinitive is not in -are, so -ieba-.
  • nuntio, nuntiare, I announce: first conjugation, so -aba-, nuntiabam.
  • , : these end in -eo, not -io, so a plain -eba-.

, I go, is the odd one out, with bare -ba- on its stem i-: , he/she was going.

sum and possum: eram, poteram

has no -ba-. Its imperfect is built on er-, with the same six endings:

Personsumpossum
I
you (sg)
he, she, it
we
you (pl)
they

is pot- welded onto , so its imperfect is pot- welded onto :

  • . - The king was in the city.
  • . - I was not able to come.

What the imperfect means

English needs several phrasings for what Latin does with one tense:

the vowel before -ba--ba-, the imperfect signpersonal endingWhat do the colours mean?
UseLatinEnglish
in progress .Father was writing.
habit .The boy often used to come.
description .The king was in the city.
repeated .He always told the truth.

The last one: English says told, a simple past, but the telling was a habit, so Latin usually reaches for the imperfect. Translate by meaning, not by matching English forms.

Six panels following the same woman with long hair and a bow through her day: the alarm clock rings beside her bed while she is still asleep; she stretches as she gets up, the sun at the window; she has breakfast at a table with a bowl, toast and a cup; she talks on the phone; she shops, holding a full bag in front of the shelves; she comes home to her house in the evening.
  1. .
  2. .

Her old routine: dormiebat, she was still asleep when the alarm rang (in progress); domum veniebat, she used to come home in the evening (a habit). Both are imperfect.

Imperfect or perfect?

Both are past tenses. The perfect reports an event as a finished whole; the imperfect shows it as ongoing, repeated or as the setting:

ImperfectPerfectThe difference
he was saying / he said
he used to make / he made
he was able / he managed

In a story the split is clean: the imperfect paints the set, the perfect moves the plot.

  • . . - It was night and father was writing. Then a boy came and said a word.

  • nox erat (it was night: the scene)

  • pater scribebat (father was writing)

  • puer venit (a boy came: one event)

  • verbum dixit (he said a word)

Timeline from past to now, with now marked.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
dicebothe imperfect's I ending is -m
audibamfourth conjugation takes -ieba-
sumbam has its own imperfect
(used to say)a past habit is imperfect

Audibam is not a pure invention: early Latin and some poets use it. In ordinary prose, and in your own Latin, write .

What to do next

  1. Write out the imperfect of and side by side, and say where they differ.
  2. Learn until it is automatic: it is on every page of a Latin story.
  3. Do the drill below.

Practise: test yourself

Build the word

0/5

Build the imperfect: stem and vowel, then -ba-, then the ending.

  1. video: he/she was seeing

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  2. audio: I was hearing

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  3. dico: we were saying

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  4. facio: they were making

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  5. sum: they were

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

Complete the story

0/5

The story in English: it was night and father was writing. The boy often used to come at night. Then he came and said a word. Choose the tense for each gap.

A word in the night

Nox et pater . Puer saepe nocte . Tum et verbum .

Gap 1 of 5

Sort into groups

0/8

Imperfect or perfect?

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Pick the right one

0/4

Choose the imperfect form that fits the subject.

  1. Milites (were coming)

  2. Tu (used to see)

  3. Mater (was writing)

  4. Ego non (was able)

Spot the mistake

0/3

Tap the mistake.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you form the imperfect tense in Latin?
Take the present stem, add -ba-, then the personal endings -m, -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -nt. The vowel before -ba- depends on the conjugation: , , , . The only irregular imperfect you need early on is , which gives , and its compound , which gives .
What is the difference between the imperfect and the perfect in Latin?
Both are past, but they frame the action differently. The perfect reports an event as a completed whole: , he/she said. The imperfect shows it as ongoing, repeated or as background: , he/she was saying, or used to say. In a story the perfect moves the plot on and the imperfect sets the scene: , , it was night, then a boy came.
What is the imperfect of in Latin?
, , , , , : I was, you were, he/she was, we were, you were, they were. It has no -ba- at all, but the personal endings are the usual ones. simply puts pot- in front: , , , I was able.
Why does the imperfect end in -m and not -o?
Because Latin has more than one ending for I: -o in the present, -i in the perfect, and -m in several other tenses. You already know -m from . The imperfect takes -m (, ), and so do the future of third and fourth conjugation verbs and the subjunctive, so it is worth getting used to now.
How do you say used to in Latin?
With the imperfect, and no extra word. is the boy often used to come. The imperfect covers was doing, used to do and kept doing, so English has to choose a phrasing where Latin has one tense: read the context to pick the English.