Irregular Verbs: “esse” and “posse” Present System Magister Henderson Latin II

About “sum, esse” (to be) The verb sum, esse is a linking verb, meaning it takes a predicate nominative rather than a direct object. It is irregular in all three forms of the present system (present, imperfect, and future). Present Tense Singular Plural First Person sum = I am sumus = we are Second Person es = you are estis Third Person est = he / she / it is sunt = they are

Imperfect and Future of “esse” Imperfect Tense Singular Plural First Person eram = I was erāmus = we were Second Person erās = you were erātis Third Person erat = he / she/ it was erant = they were Future Tense Singular Plural First Person erō = I will be erimus = we will be Second Person eris = you will be eritis Third Person erit = he will be erunt = they will be

About “possum, posse” (to be able) Compound form of potis and sum, esse. The prefix “pot-” is used for forms of esse that begin with “s” (sum, sumus, and sunt). For forms that begin with “e” (es, est, and estis), the prefix assimilates to “pos-”. Present Tense Singular Plural First Person possum = I can possumus = we can Second Person potes = you can potestis Third Person potest = he / she / it can possunt = they can

Imperfect and Future of “posse” All the imperfect and future tense forms of posse use “pot-” since all forms of esse in the imperfect and future tenses begin with the letter “e”. Imperfect Tense Singular Plural First Person poteram = I could poterāmus = we could Second Person poterās = you could poterātis Third Person poterat = he / she / it could poterant = they could Future Tense Singular Plural First Person poterō = I will be able potermus = we will be able Second Person poteris = you will be able poteritis Third Person poterit = he will be able poterunt = they will be able

Translating the verb “posse” To translate possum, posse use either the defect verb “can” or the phrase “be able (to)”. Defective verbs are verbs that are missing forms. For the missing forms you will need to use some form of “be able (to)”. Form Latin Verb Translation Phrase Translation Infinitive posse n/a = to be able (to) Present tense possum = I can = I am able (to) Imperfect Tense poteram = I could = I was able (to) Future Tense poterō = I will be able (to)