What is a verb?

A verb is a word that describes an action. Verbs are often called doing words. Examples of verbs: to work, to call, to pray, to be, to think.

First conjugation verbs

Verbs are divided into groups called conjugations. You can recognise first conjugation verbs as they end are. These are examples of first conjugation verbs

confirmare dare edificare laborare legare orare vocare

to confirm to give to build to work to leave, bequeath to pray to call

To conjugate, or list the parts, of first conjugation verbs 1. 2. Remove the are Add these endings Top of page

-o -as -at -amus -atis -ant

I you he/she/it we you they

Look at our example of dare

Latin do das

Means in English I give you give

dat damus datis dant

he/she/it gives we give you give they give

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Did you notice that most of the endings include a? This is called the key letter The exception is the form for I which ends in o. Can you see how these examples were made?

Latin laboro legas edificat oramus vocatis legant

Means in English I work you bequeath he/she/it builds we pray you call they bequeath

Differences between English and Latin verbs

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1. Look at the verb to give. In English, the ending of the verb changes once: it acquires
an s in he gives. In Latin, the ending of the verb changes every time. The ending of the verb is crucial as it tells you the

Tense (when the action happens - the present person number its plural)

tense

(who is doing the action - I, you, he, she, it, we or they) (how many people are doing the verb if one, then its singular; if two or more,

Read through dare again and notice how the endings change.

2. In English, the words I, you, she, he, it, we or they show who is doing the verb. In
Latin, these words are usually unnecessary. damus means we give. A separate word for we is not needed.

3. In Latin, there are two ways of saying you. For example, both das and datis mean you
give. The form used depends on the number of people:

You (singular) when there is one person, for example das You (plural) when there are two or more people, for example datis There were two forms of you in English: thou givest and you give. Thou is not used widely in modern English.
Latin document points

This tutorial concentrates on I, he/she/it, we and they. These are more likely to appear in records than the two forms of you.

4. In our example of dare, the action is happening now the present tense.
In English, there are three ways of describing actions in the present:

In Latin, just one word can be used to convey all three meanings. Latin is more concise than English. It uses fewer words to express the same meaning. Dont worry if this seems like a lot to take in. You will get used to Latin and it will become easier. You can get encouragement and advice on the help the learning process page.
Checklist: Are you confident with all the stages? If not, read through the lesson again, if you are, tick and move to the next section of the tutorial.

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Why the ending of a verb is important?

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How to conjugate dare?

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Why there are two ways of saying you in Latin?

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What is a noun?
A noun is a person, place or thing. For example: the queen, a parish, the charter. Nouns are divided into groups called declensions . Nouns that end in a belong to the first declension. They are mostly feminine.

In Latin, there are no words for a or the.

When you are reading a document, you can decide which meaning is appropriate. These are examples of Latin nouns from the first declension.

domina ecclesia parochia terra vidua

Have you noticed that they all end in a?

lady church parish land widow

Peoples names are also nouns. In Latin, womens names often end in a.

Maria Isabella

Mary Isabella

All Latin nouns have a gender they are either masculine, feminine or neuter. Even charters and parishes have a gender! In English we give some nouns a gender, for example we describe ships as she.
Checklist: Are you confident with:

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The Latin for a land, the land and land?

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