Imperfect Tense ReviewAll Four Conjugations

Magister HendersonLatin II

About the Imperfect Tense

• The imperfect tense is one of Latin’s three past tenses.

• It is created from the present stem, by adding the following endings:

Singular Plural

First Person -bam -bāmus

Second Person -bās -bãtis

Third Person -bat -bant

Building the Imperfect Tense

• For the first, second, third conjugations, you form the imperfect tense by dropping the –re ending of the infinitive and adding the endings on the previous page.

1st Conjugation Singular Plural

First Person amābam amābāmus

Second Person amābās amābãtis

Third Person amābat amābant

amō, amāre = to love

Building the Imperfect Tense

2nd Conjugation Singular Plural

First Person habēbam habēbāmus

Second Person habēbās habēbãtis

Third Person habēbat habēbant

3rd Conjugation Singular Plural

First Person ponēbam ponēbāmus

Second Person ponēbās ponēbãtis

Third Person ponēbat ponēbant

ponō, ponere = to put

habeō, habēre = to have

Building the Imperfect Tense

• The 3rd –iō conjugation and 4th conjugations form their imperfect slightly differently.

• Both these conjugations drop the entire infinitive ending (-ere or –īre) and add the letters –iē- to the stem.

• The imperfect tense endings are them added on to this modified verb stem.

Building the Imperfect Tense

3rd -iō Conjugation Singular Plural

First Person capiēbam capiēbāmus

Second Person capiēbās capiēbãtis

Third Person capiēbat capiēbant

4th Conjugation Singular Plural

First Person audiēbam audiēbāmus

Second Person audiēbās audiēbãtis

Third Person audiēbat audiēbant

audiō, audīre = to hear

capiō, capere = to capture

Translating the Imperfect Tense

• The imperfect tense usually carries the sense of the English progressive past tense, translated with the helping verbs “was” or “were”.

• It can also show a habitual or customary action, translated with the phrase “used to”.

• Occasionally it can carry the meaning of the the emphatic past tense, translated with the helping verb “did”.

Translating the Imperfect Tense• The imperfect can occasionally be translated

with the simple past tense, though that job is usually handled by the perfect tense.

• It can also show a repeated action, translated with the phrase “kept (on)”.

vidēbam Translation

Progressive Past = I was seeing

Customary Action = I used to see

Emphatic Past = I did see

Simple Past = I saw

Repeated Action = I kept on seeing