Half-Deponents: audeo, gaudeo, soleo

Level 5

Active in the present, deponent in the perfect.

How It Works

VerbPresentPerfectMeaning
audeoaudeo, audereausus sumI dare
gaudeogaudeo, gauderegavisus sumI rejoice
soleosoleo, soleresolitus sumI am accustomed
fidofido, fiderefisus sumI trust

The participle agrees with the subject, like any participle: Iulia gavisa est. Do not give the perfect a passive meaning. Ausus est does not mean he was dared.

The English meanings help. To dare, to rejoice, to be accustomed and to trust are things a person does, so the perfect stays active in sense.

Fido takes the dative of the person trusted: amico fisus sum. Confido (I trust in) is also a semi-deponent.

Examples (5)

  1. Audeo dicere.

    I dare to speak.

    Audeo is an ordinary active verb in the present.

  2. Neque ausus fuit quisquam ex illa die eum amplius interrogare.

    And from that day no one dared to ask him any more questions.

    Matthew 22:46. Ausus fuit is the perfect of audeo, with fuit instead of est.

  3. Iulia gavisa est.

    Iulia rejoiced.

    Gavisa est is the perfect: a participle that agrees with Iulia, and est. The meaning is active.

  4. Pueri in horto ludere soliti sunt.

    The boys used to play in the garden.

    Soliti sunt is the perfect of soleo. Soliti is masculine plural to agree with pueri.

  5. Amico fisus sum.

    I trusted a friend.

    Fisus sum is the perfect of fido. Amico is the dative.

Common Mistakes

  • Making a regular perfect for a semi-deponent verb.

    Marcus auduit dicere.
    Marcus ausus est dicere.

    Audeo has no regular perfect like habuit. Its perfect is the passive-looking ausus est, and it means he dared.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Half-Deponents: audeo, gaudeo, soleoLevel 5

Learn This First

Semi-deponent verbs turn deponent in the perfect.

Words in This Pattern

audeogaudeosoleofido