How to Conjugate Verbs in the Latin Subjunctive Using the Active Voice in the Second Conjugation

In Latin, the subjunctive mood is used to express hopes or wishes. Learning how to conjugate verbs in the subjunctive case will enable you to express a desire in Latin. There are only four tenses in the subjunctive mood: present, imperfect, perfect, and pluperfect.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. To form the present subjunctive in the second conjugation use the infinitive as the starting point and take off the ending.
   
   Example: monere = to warn, the stem will be mone-
   
   Since we are conjugating in the subjunctive the endings will be:
   
   moneam (1st person singular)
   moneas (2nd person singular)
   moneat (3rd person singular)
   moneamus (1st person plural)
   moneatis (2nd person plural)
   moneant (3rd person plural)

2. To form the imperfect subjunctive in the second conjugation use the infinitive as the starting point and just add the endings onto the stem.
   
   monerem (1st person singular)
   moneres (2nd person singular)
   moneret (3rd person singular)
   moneremus (1st person plural)
   moneretis (2nd person plural)
   monerent (3rd person plural)

3. To form the perfect subjunctive in the second conjugation use the infinitive as the starting point and take off the ending and add a u before the e in the ending and than add the ending for the subject.
   
   stem: mone- add u = monue-
   
   monuerim (1st person singular)
   monueris (2nd person singular)
   monuerit (3rd person singular)
   monuerimus (1st person plural)
   monueritis (2nd person plural)
   monuerint (3rd person plural)

4. To form the pluperfect subjunctive in the second conjugation use the infinitive as the starting point and take off the ending and add a u instead of an e before adding the endings for the subject.
   
   stem: mone- take off e and add u = monu- + endings
   
   monuissem (1st person singular)
   monuisses (2nd person singular)
   monuisset (3rd person singular)
   monuissemus (1st person plural)
   monuissetis (2nd person plural)
   monuissent (3rd person plural)

Tips & Warnings

• Notice that second conjugations ending for the infinitive is -ere, whereas for first conjugations it is -are.

[woody778]

on 11/9/2008 for the perfect and pluperfect you may as well just use the 3rd principal part