What is the Latin future tense?

The future tense describes actions that will take place in the future.

It refers to actions that will happen after the present moment.

In English, the Latin future tense can be translated with the will-future, the going-to-future or the present continuous, depending on the context.

Example:

Latin: Marcus amicum visitabit.

English: Marcus will visit his friend. / Marcus is going to visit his friend. / Marcus is visiting his friend tomorrow (if an arrangement is meant).

The verb visitabit is in the future indicative active, third person singular.

What does indicative active mean?

The indicative is the verb mood used to present statements as facts or expected events.

The indicative presents actions as real, expected or asserted events.

Active voice means that the subject performs the action.

Example:

Puella cantabit.

The girl will sing.

The girl herself performs the action.

How is the future tense formed in Latin?

In Latin, there are two main patterns for forming the future tense.

The formation depends on the conjugation to which the verb belongs.

The a- and e-conjugations use the future markers -b-, -bi- and -bu-.

The consonant, short-i and i-conjugations form the future with -a- and -e-.

The a-conjugation: amare – to love

The present stem of amare is ama-.

The future endings are added to this stem.

Person	Future I	English translation
1st person singular	amabo	I will love
2nd person singular	amabis	you will love
3rd person singular	amabit	he/she/it will love
1st person plural	amabimus	we will love
2nd person plural	amabitis	you will love
3rd person plural	amabunt	they will love

Examples:

Marcus Iuliam amabit.

Marcus will love Julia. / Marcus is going to love Julia.

Discipuli patriam amabunt.

The students will love their homeland.

The e-conjugation: monere – to warn

The present stem of monere is mone-.

The future is formed according to the same pattern as in the a-conjugation.

Person	Future I	English translation
1st person singular	monebo	I will warn
2nd person singular	monebis	you will warn
3rd person singular	monebit	he/she/it will warn
1st person plural	monebimus	we will warn
2nd person plural	monebitis	you will warn
3rd person plural	monebunt	they will warn

Examples:

Magister discipulos monebit.

The teacher will warn the students.

Amicos monebimus.

We will warn our friends.

The consonant conjugation: regere – to guide

The present stem of regere is reg-.

The first person singular takes the ending -am.

The other persons use forms containing -e-.

Person	Future I	English translation
1st person singular	regam	I will guide
2nd person singular	reges	you will guide
3rd person singular	reget	he/she/it will guide
1st person plural	regemus	we will guide
2nd person plural	regetis	you will guide
3rd person plural	regent	they will guide

Examples:

Rex populum reget.

The king will rule the people.

Navem regemus.

We will steer the ship.

The short-i conjugation: capere – to take or capture

The present stem of capere is cap-.

In the future forms, an -i- appears between this stem and the endings.

Person	Future I	English translation
1st person singular	capiam	I will take
2nd person singular	capies	you will take
3rd person singular	capiet	he/she/it will take
1st person plural	capiemus	we will take
2nd person plural	capietis	you will take
3rd person plural	capient	they will take

Examples:

Milites urbem capient.

The soldiers will capture the city.

Donum capiam.

I will accept the gift.

The i-conjugation: audire – to hear

The present stem of audire is audi-.

The future forms follow the same ending pattern as capere.

Person	Future I	English translation
1st person singular	audiam	I will hear
2nd person singular	audies	you will hear
3rd person singular	audiet	he/she/it will hear
1st person plural	audiemus	we will hear
2nd person plural	audietis	you will hear
3rd person plural	audient	they will hear

Examples:

Vocem tuam audiam.

I will hear your voice.

Discipuli magistrum audient.

The students will hear the teacher.

Comparing the two future-tense patterns

The a- and e-conjugations form the future with the characteristic endings -bo, -bis, -bit, -bimus, -bitis, -bunt.

The other conjugation groups use the ending pattern -am, -es, -et, -emus, -etis, -ent.

In the short-i and i-conjugations, an additional -i-, or an -i- already belonging to the stem, appears before these endings.

Memory tip:

The a- and e-conjugations use b; the other groups use a and e!

How do we translate the Latin future into English?

The Latin future tense can be translated with the English will-future, going-to-future or present continuous.

The will-future often expresses predictions or spontaneous decisions, the going-to-future often expresses intentions or plans, and the present continuous can describe arranged future events.

Example:

Cras veniam.

I will come tomorrow.

I am going to come tomorrow. / I am coming tomorrow.

All three English translations are possible when the context supports the intended meaning.

For recognizing and practising Latin tenses, translating with will is usually the clearest starting point.

Common mistakes with the Latin future

Mistake 1: Confusing the future with the imperfect

Amabit means “he will love”.

Amabat, by contrast, means “he was loving” or “he used to love”.

The a-conjugation future contains -bi-, whereas the imperfect is formed with -ba-.

In the first person singular, the future is amabo, whereas the imperfect is amabam.

Mistake 2: Using the same future pattern for every conjugation

The form regbo is incorrect.

The correct form is regam.

The consonant conjugation does not use the future marker -b-.

Mistake 3: Forgetting the short-i conjugation

The form capet is not a correct future form of capere.

The correct form is capiet.

The -i- must be included.

Mistake 4: Confusing the future indicative with the present subjunctive

Some Latin verb forms can look identical despite belonging to different tenses or moods.

For example, regam may be either the future indicative active or the present subjunctive active.

The context of the sentence determines the intended meaning.

Questions and exercises on the future indicative active

Part A – Comprehension questions

01 – What does the Latin future tense express?

02 – Which three English future constructions can be used to translate the Latin future tense?

03 – What does the indicative mood mean?

04 – What does active voice mean?

05 – Which two conjugations form the future with -b-?

06 – Which three conjugation groups form the future with -a- and -e-?

07 – Why is regbo not a valid future form?

08 – How can you distinguish amabit from amabat?

09 – What is particularly important when forming capiet?

10 – Why can regam be ambiguous?

Part B – Forming future-tense verbs

Form the requested future indicative active form of each verb.

11 – amare – 1st person singular

12 – amare – 3rd person plural

13 – monere – 2nd person singular

14 – monere – 1st person plural

15 – regere – 3rd person singular

16 – regere – 2nd person plural

17 – capere – 1st person singular

18 – capere – 3rd person plural

19 – audire – 2nd person singular

20 – audire – 1st person plural

Part C – Identifying verb forms

Identify the person, number, tense, mood and voice of each of the following verb forms.

21 – amabimus

22 – monebit

23 – regent

24 – capies

25 – audiam

26 – amabis

27 – monebunt

28 – regemus

29 – capiet

30 – audietis

Part D – Translating from Latin into English

Translate the following sentences into English.

31 – Marcus Iuliam amabit.

32 – Magister discipulos monebit.

33 – Rex populum reget.

34 – Milites urbem capient.

35 – Discipuli magistrum audient.

36 – Cras amicum visitabo.

37 – Navem regemus.

38 – Vocem tuam audiam.

39 – Amicos monebitis.

40 – Patriam amabimus.

Part E – Translating from English into Latin

Translate the following sentences into Latin.

41 – I will love my friend.

42 – The teacher will warn the students.

43 – We will steer the ship.

44 – The soldiers will capture the city.

45 – You (plural) will hear the voice.

46 – You (singular) will love Julia.

47 – They will warn their friends.

48 – The king will rule the people.

49 – I will accept the gift.

50 – We will hear the teacher.

Part F – Finding and correcting mistakes

Each exercise contains an incorrect future form.

Write the correct form and briefly explain the mistake.

51 – regbo

52 – capet

53 – audibo

54 – moneam

55 – amabent

Part G – Changing the present into the future

Change the following verbs from the present indicative active to the future indicative active.

56 – amo

57 – mones

58 – regit

59 – capimus

60 – audiunt

Key points at a glance

The Latin future tense describes an action in the future.

In the a- and e-conjugations, the future can be recognized by forms containing -b-.

In the consonant, short-i and i-conjugations, the future uses the ending pattern with -am and -e-.

In English, the Latin future can be translated using will, be going to or the present continuous, depending on the context.

To translate a Latin future form correctly, first identify the conjugation of the verb.

Model answers to all exercises

A separate article provides complete model answers and explanations for all 60 questions and exercises.

You can find the model answers in my shop at polyglotmona.com under the category “Model Answers”.

You can purchase the corresponding answer set for €0.50 once the product is available in the shop.

Free model answers for my Latin students

If you take Latin lessons with me, you receive the model answers free of charge.

You can complete the exercises independently and then compare your answers with the model answers.

During lessons, we also discuss any exercises you still find difficult.

This way, you not only learn the correct forms but also understand why they are formed in this way.

Enjoy learning Latin, and good luck!