The Four Dictionary Forms of a Verb

Foundations

Four forms per verb, learned together.

How It Works

Conjugation	Four parts	Meaning
first	amo, amare, amavi, amatum	love
second	habeo, habere, habui, habitum	have
third	duco, ducere, duxi, ductum	lead
third in -io	capio, capere, cepi, captum	take
fourth	audio, audire, audivi, auditum	hear

The perfect of a first conjugation verb ends in -avi, of a fourth conjugation verb in -ivi, and of a second conjugation verb usually in -ui. A third conjugation perfect has no rule: duxi, legi, scripsi. Learn it with the verb.

The verb sum (I am) is irregular and has its own parts: sum, esse, fui.

Examples (4)

duco, ducere, duxi, ductum
I lead, to lead, I led, led
The perfect duxi does not follow a pattern, so it belongs in the dictionary line.
capio, capere, cepi, captum
I take, to take, I took, taken
The vowel changes in the perfect: cepi, not capi.
Dux populum duxit.
The leader led the people.
Duxit is built on the third part, duxi.
Puella rosam cepit.
The girl took the rose.
Cepit is built on the third part, cepi.

Common Mistakes

Making the perfect of a third conjugation verb with -avi.
Dux populum ducavit.
Dux populum duxit.
The ending -avi belongs to the first conjugation. The perfect of duco is duxi, so the form is duxit.

How It Connects

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

The Four Dictionary Forms of a VerbFoundations

Learn This First

The four dictionary forms show which family a verb belongs to, so the families come first.

Five Families of Verbs
Know the verb families, because the four dictionary forms tell you the family: amo, amare, amavi, amatum.
Foundations

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Practice The Four Dictionary Forms of a Verb in Bubblegum

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