743. A few of the oldest and commonest verbs of everyday life have a
bare root as stem in the present indicative or in parts of it; and some
of them have other peculiarities; such are called _Root Verbs_, or by
some, _irregular_ (744-781). Most primitives are verbs in #-ere#, like
#regō# (782).
(A.) ROOT VERBS.
_Irregular Verbs._
(_a._) WITH A PREVALENT BARE ROOT.
744. Primitives with the bare root as present indicative stem in almost
all their forms are #sum#, _am_, #dō#, _give_, _put_, and compounds; and
with the root doubled, #bibō#, _drink_, #serō#, _sow_, and #sistō#,
_set_.
(1.) #sum#, _am_ (#es-#, #s-#).
745. #sum#, _am_, is used only in the present system (720). The perfect
system is supplied by forms of #fuī# (#fu-#).
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PRINCIPAL PARTS. |
| PRES. INDIC. PRES. INFIN. PERF. INDIC. PERF. PART. |
| sum esse (fuī) ---- |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| INDICATIVE MOOD. |
| |
| PRESENT TENSE. |
| Singular. | Plural. |
| sum, _I am_ | sumus, _we are_ |
| es, _thou art_ | estis, _you are_ |
| est, _he is_ | sunt, _they are_ |
| |
| IMPERFECT TENSE. |
| eram, _I was_ | erāmus, _we were_ |
| erās, _thou wert_ | erātis, _you were_ |
| erat, _he was_ | erant, _they were_ |
| |
| FUTURE TENSE. |
| erō, _I shall be_ | erimus, _we shall be_ |
| eris, _thou wilt be_ | eritis, _you will be_ |
| erit, _he will be_ | erunt, _they will be_ |
| |
| PERFECT TENSE. |
| fuī, _I have been_, | fuimus, _we have been_, |
| or _was_ | or _were_ |
| fuistī, _thou hast been_, | fuistis, _you have been_, |
| or _wert_ | or _were_ |
| fuit, _he has been_, | fuērunt or -re, |
| or _was_ | _they have been_, or _were_ |
| |
| PLUPERFECT TENSE. |
| fueram, _I had been_ | fuerāmus, _we had been_ |
| fuerās, _thou hadst been_ | fuerātis, _you had been_ |
| fuerat, _he had been_ | fuerant, _they had been_ |
| |
| FUTURE PERFECT TENSE. |
| fuerō, _I shall have been_ | fuerimus, _we shall have been_ |
| fueris, _thou wilt have been_ | fueritis, _you will have been_ |
| fuerit, _he will have been_ | fuerint, _they will have been_ |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. |
| |
| PRESENT TENSE. |
| Singular. | Plural. |
| sim, _may I be_ | sīmus, _let us be_ |
| sīs, _mayst thou be_ | sītis, _be you_, _may you be_ |
| sit, _let him be_, _may he be_ | sint, _let them be_, |
| | _may they be_ |
| |
| IMPERFECT TENSE. |
| essem, _I should be_ | essēmus, _we should be_ |
| essēs, _thou wouldst be_ | essētis, _you would be_ |
| esset, _he would be_ | essent, _they would be_ |
| |
| PERFECT TENSE. |
| fuerim, _I may have been_ | fuerīmus, _we may have been_ |
| fuerīs, _thou mayst have been_ | fuerītis, _you may have been_ |
| fuerit, _he may have been_ | fuerīnt, _they may have been_ |
| |
| PLUPERFECT TENSE. |
| fuissem, | fuissēmus, |
| _I should have been_ | _we should have been_ |
| fuissēs, | fuissētis, |
| _thou wouldst have been_ | _you would have been_ |
| fuisset, | fuissent, |
| _he would have been_ | _they would have been_ |
| |
| IMPERATIVE MOOD. |
| es or estō, _be thou_, | este or estōte, _be you_, |
| _thou shalt be_ | _you shall be_ |
| estō, _he shall be_ | suntō, _they shall be_ |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NOUNS OF THE VERB. |
| |
| INFINITIVE. | PARTICIPLE. |
| _Pres._ esse, _to be_ | _Pres._ See 749 |
| _Perf._ fuisse, _to have been_ | _Perf._ ---- |
| _Fut._ futūrus esse, | _Fut._ futūrus, _going to be_ |
| _to be going to be_ | |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
746. For the first person #sum#, Varro mentions #esum# as an archaic
form. This #e# was probably prefixed by analogy with the other forms;
for the #-m#, and for #es#, see 728. For #sim#, &c., and #siem#, &c.,
see 841. In the imperfect #eram#, &c., and the future #erō#, &c., #s#
has become #r# (154).
747. The indicative and imperative #es# is for older #ess# (171, 1), and
is regularly used long by Plautus and Terence. The #e# of #es# and #est#
is not pronounced after a vowel or #-m#, and is often omitted in
writing: as #experrēcta es#, pronounced #experrēctas#; #epistula est#,
pronounced #epistulast#; #cōnsilium est#, pronounced #cōnsiliumst#. In
the dramatists, #-s# preceded by a vowel, which is usually short, unites
with a following #es# or #est#: thus, #tū servos es# becomes #tū
servos#; #similis est#, #similist#; #virtūs est#, #virtūst#; #rēs est#,
#rēst#.
748. Old forms are: SONT (inscr. about 120 B.C.); with suffix #-scō#
(834), #escit# (for #*esscit#), _gets to be_, _will be_, #escunt#;
present subjunctive, #siem#, #siēs#, #siet#, and #sient# (841), common
in inscriptions down to 100 B.C., and in old verse; also in compounds;
imperative #estōd# rare.
749. The present participle is used only as an adjective. It has two
forms: #sontem# (accusative, no nominative), which has entirely lost its
original meaning of _being_, _actual_, _the real man_, and has only the
secondary meaning of _guilty_, and #īnsōns#, _innocent_; and #-sēns# in
#absēns#, _away_, #praesēns#, _at hand_, #dī cōnsentēs#, _gods
collective_; also once INSENTIBVS. #sum# has no gerund or gerundive.
750. A subjunctive present #fuam#, #fuās#, #fuat#, and #fuant# occurs in
old Latin; and an imperfect #forem#, #forēs#, #foret#, and #forent#, in
all periods. The present infinitive #fore#, _to get to be_, _become_,
has a future meaning. Old forms in the perfect system are FVVEIT
(29, 1), FVET; #fūit#, #fūimus#, #fūerim#, #fūerit#, #fūerint#,
#fūisset# (Plaut., Enn.). #fuī# has no perfect participle or supine.