Latin stream/Present Participles

This is the Present Participles lesson, part of Humanities >> Classics>> Latin !

This lesson is intended for England's GSCE Higher Latin

Present Participles

Present Participles are adjectives which come from verbs. A Latin present participle describes an action which is going on at the same time as the main verb. They cannot be used as nouns, unlike gerunds.

In English e.g.:

• a loving father
• a warning notice
• the ruling monarch
• the listening bank

English adds ~ing to the verb to make it a participle.

In Latin e.g.:

• amans gen. amantis (loving)
• monens gen. monentis (warning)
• regens gen. regentis (ruling)
• audiens gen. audientis (hearing)

To form the present participle in Latin, take the verb's present stem+ ns, -ntis. They are conjugated the same as third-declension adjectives. Present participles function like adjectives and must agree with a noun or pronoun in gender, case and number.

Translation

A Latin participle may be translated:

• by one word in English; e.g.:

ambulans in via, puellam vidi.

walking in the street, I saw a girl

• by two words; e.g.:

ambulans in via, puellam vidi.

while / when walking in the street, I saw a girl.

• by more than two words in a clause; e.g.:

ambulans in via, puellam vidi.

As/while I was walking in the street, I saw the girl. In this case, the verb of the subordinate clause (was walking) reflects the verb of the main clause (saw) in the translation. Since the main verb is perfect (past tense), the action of walking also has to have started some time in the past.

• Casus obliqui

Note that the present participles also appear in other cases then the nominative case.

- The present participle in the dative case: "Dicit ambulanti se puellam videre"

He told the person who was walking, that he saw a girl.

- The present participle in the genitive case: "Vidit asinum ambulantis"

He saw the donkey of the walking person.

Notes

• The verb 'sum, esse' (to be) does not have a present participle
• The present participle of 'eo, ire' (to go) is irregular:

iens gen euntis