Present Tense: habere

Level 1

Drop -re from the infinitive and add the endings.

How It Works

PersonLatinEnglish
IhabeoI have
you (one)habesyou have
he, she, ithabethe has
wehabemuswe have
you (all)habetisyou all have
theyhabentthey have

Other second conjugation verbs follow the same pattern: videre (see), ridere (laugh), tenere (hold), monere (warn), timere (fear), valere (be well).

Compare habet (he has) with the first conjugation amat. Only the stem vowel is different, and amo drops its a while habeo keeps its e. Learn the two chants side by side.

Learn the chant -eo, -es, -et, -emus, -etis, -ent.

Examples (5)

  1. Marcus librum habet.

    Marcus has a book.

    Habet is the third person singular of habere.

  2. Videmus villam.

    We see the house.

    Videmus is the first person plural of videre.

  3. Pueri rident.

    The boys laugh.

    Rident is the third person plural of ridere.

  4. Iulia puellam monet.

    Iulia warns the girl.

    Monet is the third person singular of monere.

  5. Tenetis rosas.

    You all hold roses.

    Tenetis is the second person plural of tenere.

Common Mistakes

  • Dropping the e in the first person, as in the first conjugation.

    Habo librum.
    Habeo librum.

    In the second conjugation the e stays in every form, so the first person is habeo.

How It Connects

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

Present Tense: habereLevel 1

Learn This First

The second family takes the same endings as the first, so amare comes first.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

habeo