Translation
to do, act; to drive, lead; to spend (time)
Examples
?
How are you? (literally, what are you doing?)
, dic .
Come on, tell me the truth.
egit.
He spent his life in the fields.
.
The matter is being conducted in the senate house.
.
The soldiers were driving the enemy before them.
Ago, agere, egi, actum, third conjugation. The root sense is physical: to drive, as you drive cattle or an enemy in front of you. Everything else grows out of that push. You drive a matter forward, rem agere, "to conduct business"; you drive time along, vitam agere, "to spend a life"; and the imperative wears down into a bare interjection, age and agite, "come on then".
The trap is that ago and facio both come out as "do" in English and are not interchangeable. Facio makes a thing; ago carries on an activity. Gratias agere is "to give thanks", never "to do thanks", and actum est de nobis means "it is all over for us". The perfect egi looks unrelated to the present, which catches people. Family: actio, actor, agmen, cogo (co-ago), exigo, redigo. English act, agent, agenda, agitate, exact, cogent, ambiguous.
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ago: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "ago" (to do, act; to drive, lead; to spend (time)): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 5.