The Perfect Tense
Conceptual Overview
The perfect tense is one of three different past tenses (along with the imperfect and pluperfect) used in Latin. In its usage in the indicative mood, the perfect refers to a singular action that has been completed in the past.
For instance, for the active form of the English verb “to make”, we can translate the Latin perfect as “has/have made”, “did make”, or simply “made.” Similarly, for the passive form of the English verb “to make” (i.e. “to be made”), we can translate the Latin perfect as “has/have been made” or simply “was/were made.”
Below are some English examples where we would use the Latin perfect:
- She has done (fēcit) her homework.
- They gave (dedērunt) the football players free pizza on Friday.
- The students did write (scrīpsērunt) their exams.
- Katie has been asked (petīta est) to play Beyonce.
Perfect Active
Unlike the imperfect, the perfect active and perfect passive are formed differently. However, in the indicative mood, both are relatively easy to create and recognize.
To form the perfect active indicative, we need to find the perfect active stem. To do this, we simply take the 3rd principal part and take away the final -ī.
For instance in the verb videō, the third principal part is vīdī and, thus, our perfect active stem is vīd-.
Once we have the perfect active stem, forming the perfect active indicative is simple, we just add the personal endings for the perfect to the stem:
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | -ī | -īmus |
| 2nd | -istī | -istis |
| 3rd | -it | -ērunt/-ēre |
NB: There are two endings that can be used for the 3rd personal plural of the perfect active indicative.
So if we wanted to form the 3rd person singular perfect active indicative of videō:
vīdī -> vīd- (perfect active stem) -> (add personal ending) vīdit
Perfect Passive
To form the perfect passive indicative, we need to find the perfect passive stem. To do this, we simply take the adjectival form of 4th principal part (the reason we need the adjectival form is because the verb must agree with its subject in number and gender).
For instance in the verb videō, the fourth principal part is vīsus and thus our perfect passive stem is vīsus, vīsa, vīsum.
To make the perfect passive indicative, we take the perfect passive stem and add the present indicative form of “to be” (sum, esse, fui, futūrus) that matches the person and number of the verb. In the case of videō, it looks like this:
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | vīsus/vīsa/vīsum* sum | vīsī/vīsae/vīsa sumus |
| 2nd | vīsus/vīsa/vīsum es | vīsī/vīsae/vīsa estis |
| 3rd | vīsus/vīsa/vīsum est | vīsī/vīsae/vīsa sunt |
NB: Look at how the adjectival form changes as we go from singular to plural. Why does it happen?