The Ending Shows Who Acts
One verb word can be a whole sentence.
How It Works
| Person | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | -o | canto, I sing |
| you (one person) | -s | cantas, you sing |
| he, she, it | -t | cantat, she sings |
| we | -mus | cantamus, we sing |
| you (several people) | -tis | cantatis, you all sing |
| they | -nt | cantant, they sing |
English uses the same word for one you and several, but the Latin endings keep them apart: -s for one person and -tis for several.
The vowel before the ending changes from family to family: amas, habes, ducis, audis. The endings stay the same. The next entry shows the five families.
Examples (5)
- Canto.
I sing.
The ending -o shows the person, so no word for I is needed.
- Cantas.
You sing.
The ending -s means one person is being spoken to.
- Iulia cantat.
Iulia sings.
A noun subject takes the third person ending -t.
- Laudamus te.
We praise you.
The ending -mus already means we. Te is the word for you.
- Cantatis.
You all sing.
The ending -tis means several people are being spoken to.
Common Mistakes
Using a second person ending with a noun subject.
Marcus cantas.Marcus cantat.A noun like Marcus is a third person subject, so the verb ends in -t.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The first thing to see in a Latin verb is its ending, so the overview of Latin is enough to start.
Related Patterns
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice The Ending Shows Who Acts in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Latin lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
