sum, es, est, sumus, estis, sunt

To Be in Every Person

Level 2

The six forms of to be.

How It Works

You know est and sunt from Level 1. The new forms are sum, es, sumus and estis.

Add the pronoun only to stress it: Ego sum Marcus means I am Marcus, not you. Without it, Sum Marcus says the same thing quietly.

The pronunciation is the same in both journeys: SOOM, EHS, EHST, SOO-moos, EHS-tees, SOONT.

Sum links a subject to a noun or an adjective: Marcus est puer and Marcus est laetus. The noun or adjective after sum stays in the nominative.

Ego sum Marcus.
I am Marcus.
Sum is the first person. Ego adds stress.
Tu es Iulia.
You are Iulia.
Es is the second person singular.
Nos sumus amici.
We are friends.
Sumus is the first person plural.
Vos estis in villa.
You all are in the house.
Estis is the second person plural. In villa is in plus the ablative.
Ego sum via, et veritas, et vita.
I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
A line from the Gospel of John. Via, veritas and vita are the nominative after sum.

Using the third person form for I.
Ego est Marcus.
Ego sum Marcus.
Est is for he, she or it. When the speaker says ego, the verb is the first person sum.
Using the singular form for several people.
Vos es amici.
Vos estis amici.
Es is you one person. Vos means several people, so the verb is estis.

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

sum, es, est, sumus, estis, suntLevel 2To Be in Every Person

The six forms of to be use the endings you know, so est and sunt and the endings come first.

Patterns that build on this one.

sum

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