Memorize Latin Verb Conjugations: 98 Flashcards From Principal Parts to the Periphrastics

Latin verbs look endless until you notice that the whole system runs on two things: four principal parts and a handful of tense markers. The deck Latin Verb Conjugations (code AT0692, 98 cards) is built around exactly that, using amō as its model verb. Here is how to get the most out of it.

What the deck actually covers

You'll drill: the 4 conjugations and their infinitives (-āre, -ēre, -ere, -īre), principal parts of amō, videō, regō and audiō, active and passive voice, the six tenses (present, imperfect, future, perfect, pluperfect, future perfect), indicative, subjunctive and imperative moods, the -bam / -bō / -am-ēs markers, perfect stems in -vī, -uī, -sī and reduplication, deponents (moror, sequor, mentior), the semi-deponent audeō, the irregulars sum, possum, volō, nōlō, mālō, eō, ferō and fīō, the four participles, five infinitives, the gerund in four cases, both supines, and the first and second periphrastic conjugations.

How to study it

Cards 1-14 first, as one block. They are the map: conjugations, principal parts, voices, tenses, moods. Learn the four principal-part sets aloud until amō, amāre, amāvī, amātum comes out as a single word. Everything after card 47 is built on the 3rd and 4th parts.

Then the full paradigms (cards 15-33 and 60-71). Only amō and sum get a complete present table. That is enough: together they give you the active personal endings (-ō/-m, -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -nt). The passive endings appear only as three forms (amor, amāris, amātur), so write one extra card with the full set: -r, -ris, -tur, -mur, -minī, -ntur. It unlocks every passive form in every conjugation.

Finish with the non-finite forms (cards 81-98). Participles, gerund, gerundive and supine are where most learners mix things up. Contrast them in pairs: gerund amandī (a verbal noun, active) vs. gerundive amandus (an adjective, passive, "needing to be loved").

Two tips specific to this deck

1. Watch the 3rd conjugation switch. Principal parts use regō (card 10), but the paradigm cards use dūcō (cards 38-42). They behave identically, so tag them together, and remember that the 3rd conjugation future is the trap: dūcam means "I will lead", not a subjunctive. Note also that the deck never shows 3rd conjugation -iō verbs (capiō, capere, cēpī, captum); add two cards for them before you start reading real texts.
2. Know your textbook's 4th principal part. The deck uses the supine (amātum); Wheelock gives amātum too, but many grammars list the perfect passive participle (amātus). Same stem, so just add the alternative in the hint. Likewise, card 98 counts the gerundive as a fourth participle; some grammars call it the future passive participle and list three.

Once verbs are solid, pair them with nouns: our guide to Latin noun declensions and the 7 cases covers the other half of every sentence.

Find AT0692 — Latin Verb Conjugations in the library at flip-it.app.