SIGNIFICATION OF THE FORMS OF THE VERB
Voices
The Active and Passive Voices in Latin generally correspond to the active and passive in English; but
The passive voice often has a reflexive meaning:
ferr accingor, I gird myself with my sword.
Turnus vertitur, Turnus turns (himself).
induitur vestem, he puts on his (own) clothes.
NOTE.This use corresponds very nearly to the Greek Middle voice, and is doubtless a survival of the original meaning of the passive (p. 76, footnote 2).
Many verbs are passive in form, but active or reflexive in meaning. These are called Deponents ( 190):
78 as, hortor, I exhort; sequor, I follow.
Some verbs with active meaning have the passive form in the perfect tenses; these are called Semi-Deponents: as, aude, audre, ausus sum, dare.
Moods
The Moods are used as follows:
The Indicative Mood is used for most direct assertions and interrogations: as,valsne? vale, are you well? I am well.
The Subjunctive Mood has many idiomatic uses, as in commands, conditions, and various dependent clauses. It is often translated by the English Indicative; frequently by means of the auxiliaries may, might, would, should;
79 sometimes by the (rare) Subjunctive; sometimes by the Infinitive; and often by the Imperative, especially in prohibitions. A few characteristic examples of its use are the following:
emus, let us go; n abeat, let him not depart.
adsum ut videam, I am here to see (that I may see).
t n quaesieris, do not thou inquire.
betus ss, may you be blessed.
quid morer, why should I delay?
nesci quid scrbam, I know not what to write.
s moneam, audiat, if I should warn, he would hear. [p. 74]
The Imperative is used for exhortation, entreaty, or command; but the Subjunctive is often used instead ( 439, 450):
lber est, he shall be free.
n ossa legit, do not gather the bones.
The Infinitive is used chiefly as an indeclinable noun, as the subject or complement of another verb ( 452, 456. N.). In special constructions it takes the place of the Indicative, and may be translated by that mood in English (see Indirect Discourse, 580 ff.).
NOTE.For the Syntax of the Moods, see 436 ff.
Participles
The Participles are used as follows:
The Present Participle (ending in -ns) has commonly the same meaning and use as the English participle in -ing; as, vocns, calling; legents, reading. (For its inflection, see egns, 118.)
The Future Participle (ending in -rus) is oftenest used to express what is likely or about to happen: as, rctrus, about to rule; audtrus, about to hear.
NOTE.With the tenses of esse, to be, it forms the First Periphrastic Conjugation (see 195): as, urbs est csra, the city is about to fall; mnsrus eram, I was going to stay.
The Perfect Participle (ending in -tus, -sus) has two uses:
1. It is sometimes equivalent to the English perfect passive participle: as, tctus, sheltered; acceptus, accepted; ictus, having been struck; and often has simply an adjective meaning: as, acceptus, acceptable.
2. It is used with the verb to be (esse) to form certain tenses of the passive: as, voctus est, he was (has been) called.
NOTE.There is no Perfect Active or Present Passive Participle in Latin. For substitutes see 492, 493.
The Gerundive (ending in -ndus), has two uses:
1. It is often used as an adjective implying obligation, necessity, or propriety (ought or must): as, audiendus est, he must be heard.
NOTE.When thus used with the tenses of the verb to be (esse) it forms the Second Periphrastic Conjugation: dligendus erat, he ought to have been chosen ( 196).
2. In the oblique cases the Gerundive commonly has the same meaning as the Gerund (cf. 159. a), though its construction is different. (For examples, see 503 ff.)
[p. 75] Gerund and Supine
The Gerund and Supine are used as follows:
The Gerund is a verbal noun, corresponding in meaning to the English verbal noun in -ing ( 502): as, loquend caus, for the sake of speaking.
NOTE.The Gerund is found only in the oblique cases. A corresponding nominative is supplied by the Infinitive: thus, scrbere est tile, writing (to write) is useful; but, ars scrbend, the art of writing.
The Supine is in form a noun of the fourth declension ( 94. b), found only in the accusative ending in -tum, -sum, and the dative or ablative ending in -t, -s.
The Supine in -um is used after verbs and the Supine in - after adjectives ( 509, 510):
vnit specttum, he came to see; mrbile dict, wonderful to tell.
Tenses of the Finite Verb
The Tenses of the Indicative have, in general, the same meaning as the corresponding tenses in English:
Of continued action,
1. PRESENT: scrb, I write, I am writing, I do write.
2. IMPERFECT: scrbbam, I wrote, I was writing, I did write.
3. FUTURE: scrbam, I shall write.
Of completed action,
4. PERFECT: scrps, I have written, I wrote.
5. PLUPERFECT: scrpseram, I had written.
6. FUTURE PERFECT: scrpser, I shall have written.
The Perfect Indicative has two separate uses,the Perfect Definite and the Perfect Historical (or Indefinite).
1. The Perfect Definite represents the action of the verb as completed in present time, and corresponds to the English perfect with have: as, scrps, I have written.
2. The Perfect Historical narrates a simple act or state in past time without representing it as in progress or continuing. It corresponds to the English past or preterite and the Greek aorist: as, scrpsit, he wrote.
The Tenses of the Subjunctive are chiefly used in dependent clauses, following the rule for the Sequence of Tenses; but have also special idiomatic uses (see Syntax).
For the use of Tenses in the Imperative, see 448, 449. [p. 76]
