Latin Conjugation Chart — All Tenses and the 4 Conjugations
A Latin conjugation chart lays out a verb’s endings so you can read off any form at a glance. Latin has four regular conjugations, plus a mixed group and a handful of irregular verbs. You tell the four conjugations apart by the vowel in the present infinitive: -āre (1st), -ēre (2nd), -ere (3rd) and -īre (4th). This chart covers the active indicative — the everyday forms you meet first. It is part of the Learn Latin section of Lapicida.
- Four conjugations, told apart by the infinitive vowel: -āre, -ēre, -ere, -īre
- Personal endings (active): -ō / -s / -t / -mus / -tis / -nt
- Six tenses shown in full for amāre (to love)
- esse (to be) is irregular — learn it separately
The personal endings at a glance
Every active form in this chart is stem + one of these personal endings; once you know them, the whole system falls into place (the 1st person present is -ō, but -m in the imperfect and elsewhere).
| Person | Ending |
|---|---|
| I | -ō (also -m) |
| you (sg.) | -s |
| he / she / it | -t |
| we | -mus |
| you (pl.) | -tis |
| they | -nt |
📸 SCREENSHOT HERE (block can be hidden/replaced): Forms trainer — one active form (e.g. amāmus) with the colour-coded morpheme split (stem·ending). Just the screen, in a row.
Present tense — all four conjugations
Read each column top to bottom. The stem stays the same; only the ending changes with the person. The mixed 3rd -iō group (capere) behaves like the 3rd but keeps an i before most endings.
| Person | 1st (amāre) | 2nd (monēre) | 3rd (regere) | 3rd -iō (capere) | 4th (audīre) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | amō | moneō | regō | capiō | audiō |
| you (sg.) | amās | monēs | regis | capis | audīs |
| he / she / it | amat | monet | regit | capit | audit |
| we | amāmus | monēmus | regimus | capimus | audīmus |
| you (pl.) | amātis | monētis | regitis | capitis | audītis |
| they | amant | monent | regunt | capiunt | audiunt |
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Meanings: amāre = to love, monēre = to warn, regere = to rule, capere = to take, audīre = to hear. Notice how the 3rd conjugation’s “they” form ends in -unt (regunt, capiunt, audiunt), while the 1st and 2nd end in -nt (amant, monent).
The six tenses — full paradigm of amāre
The same verb, amāre (to love), across all six tenses of the active indicative. Each tense adds its own marker between stem and ending — the middot shows the split (e.g. amā·bam).
| Person | Present | Imperfect | Future | Perfect | Pluperfect | Future perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | amō | amā·bam | amā·bō | amāvī | amāv·eram | amāv·erō |
| you (sg.) | amās | amā·bās | amā·bis | amāv·istī | amāv·erās | amāv·eris |
| he / she / it | amat | amā·bat | amā·bit | amāv·it | amāv·erat | amāv·erit |
| we | amāmus | amā·bāmus | amā·bimus | amāv·imus | amāv·erāmus | amāv·erimus |
| you (pl.) | amātis | amā·bātis | amā·bitis | amāv·istis | amāv·erātis | amāv·eritis |
| they | amant | amā·bant | amā·bunt | amāv·ērunt | amāv·erant | amāv·erint |
📸 SCREENSHOT HERE (block can be hidden/replaced): Sentence quiz — a sentence with an amāre form highlighted in colour (e.g. amāvērunt). Just the screen, in a row.
Tense markers to spot: the imperfect adds -bam / -bās / -bat / -bāmus / -bātis / -bant; the future (1st & 2nd conj.) adds -bō / -bis / -bit / -bimus / -bitis / -bunt; the future (3rd & 4th conj.) instead uses -am / -ēs / -et / -ēmus / -ētis / -ent; and the perfect uses -ī / -istī / -it / -imus / -istis / -ērunt on the perfect stem.
Train these forms actively
How to read the chart + common mistakes
- Find the conjugation from the infinitive vowel: -āre is 1st, -ēre is 2nd, -ere is 3rd, -īre is 4th. That vowel tells you which column of the present chart to use.
- The future trap: the future is -bō / -bis in the 1st and 2nd conjugations, but -am / -ēs in the 3rd and 4th — the single most common mix-up.
- The perfect stem differs from the present stem: amō gives amāvī, not “amō-forms”. Always learn the perfect stem separately.
- esse is irregular: it does not follow the chart at all — learn it as its own paradigm (see below).
esse (to be) — the irregular verb
| Person | Present | Imperfect | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | sum | eram | erō |
| you (sg.) | es | erās | eris |
| he / she / it | est | erat | erit |
| we | sumus | erāmus | erimus |
| you (pl.) | estis | erātis | eritis |
| they | sunt | erant | erunt |
The perfect of esse is regular in its endings, on the stem fu-: fuī · fuistī · fuit · fuimus · fuistis · fuērunt.
Latin verb endings at a glance
Two things build every finite form: a personal ending (who is doing it) and, for most tenses, a tense sign slotted between stem and ending (when it happens).
Personal endings
| Person | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| I | -ō (also -m) | -r |
| you (sg.) | -s | -ris |
| he/she/it | -t | -tur |
| we | -mus | -mur |
| you (pl.) | -tis | -minī |
| they | -nt | -ntur |
Tense signs
| Tense | Sign between stem & ending | Example (3rd sg.) |
|---|---|---|
| Present | — (bare present stem) | amat |
| Imperfect | -bā- | amā·bat |
| Future (1st & 2nd conj.) | -bi- / -bō- | amā·bit |
| Future (3rd & 4th conj.) | -a- / -ē- | reg·et |
| Perfect | perfect stem + -ī / -istī / -it … | amāv·it |
| Pluperfect | perfect stem + -erā- | amāv·erat |
| Future perfect | perfect stem + -eri- | amāv·erit |
The biggest trap sits in the future: -bi- in the 1st and 2nd conjugations, but -a-/-ē- in the 3rd and 4th. Each class in full on the Latin verbs overview.
The 6 tenses at a glance (amāre, “he” form)
| Tense | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| Present | amat | he loves |
| Imperfect | amābat | he was loving |
| Future | amābit | he will love |
| Perfect | amāvit | he has loved / he loved |
| Pluperfect | amāverat | he had loved |
| Future perfect | amāverit | he will have loved |
Frequently asked questions — Latin conjugation
How many conjugations are there in Latin?
There are four regular conjugations, told apart by the vowel of the present infinitive. In addition there is a mixed 3rd -io group (capere) and a small set of irregular verbs such as esse (to be).
How do I know which conjugation a verb belongs to?
Look at the ending of the present infinitive: -are is 1st, -ere (long e) is 2nd, -ere (short e) is 3rd, and -ire is 4th. That vowel tells you which set of endings the verb uses.
What are the Latin personal endings?
The active personal endings are -o (or -m), -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -nt. The first person is -o in the present but -m in the imperfect, pluperfect and elsewhere.
Learn the conjugation chart by heart
About the author
Andreas Blankenstein is the founder of Lapicida Latinus — and dyslexic himself. When he had to catch up on his Latinum in record time, one thing became clear: endless table-cramming fails exactly the people who learn differently. That is why Lapicida trains grammar in the context of real authorial texts, colour-coded and in short steps. More about Andreas and the Lapicida method →
Understand Latin instead of cramming — try it right now.
