Lesson 18: Participles — Active and Passive

All four Latin participles (PAP, PPP, FAP, gerundive), their formation and declension, and the ablative absolute construction with worked examples.

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Overview

Latin has four participles — verbal adjectives that combine properties of a verb (tense, voice) with properties of an adjective (gender, number, case agreement). They allow Latin to compress complex ideas into participial phrases. The most important construction involving participles is the ablative absolute.

1. The Four Participles at a Glance

Participle Tense/Voice Stem Endings
PAP (Present Active) ongoing/simultaneous + active present stem 3rd decl., one-term. (-ns/-ntis)
PPP (Perfect Passive) completed + passive 4th principal part 1st/2nd decl. (-us/-a/-um)
FAP (Future Active) anticipated + active perf. stem 1st/2nd decl. (-ūrus/-ūra/-ūrum)
FPP/Gerundive (Future Passive) necessity + passive present stem 1st/2nd decl. (-ndus/-nda/-ndum)

2. Present Active Participle (PAP)

Formation: Present stem + -ns (nom. sg.) / -ntis (gen. sg.). Declines as a one-termination 3rd-declension adjective.

Conjugation PAP (nom./gen. sg.) Meaning
1st (amō) amāns / amantis loving
2nd (moneō) monēns / monentis warning
3rd (dūcō) dūcēns / dūcentis leading
3rd-io (capiō) capiēns / capientis taking
4th (audiō) audiēns / audientis hearing

Declension of PAP (model: amāns):

Case M/F N
Nom. sg. amāns amāns
Gen. sg. amantis amantis
Dat. sg. amantī amantī
Acc. sg. amantem amāns
Abl. sg. amantī (attrib.) / amante (absolute) amantī / amante
Nom./Acc. pl. amantēs amantia
Gen. pl. amantium amantium

Note on ablative: When the PAP is attributive (agreeing with a noun in a phrase), the ablative sg. ends in -ī. When it is part of an ablative absolute, it ends in -e.

Usage: The PAP describes an action happening at the same time as the main verb:

  • Puer canēns per viam ambulat. — The boy, singing, walks along the road.
  • Vidī mīlitēs pugnantēs. — I saw the soldiers fighting.

3. Perfect Passive Participle (PPP)

The PPP is the 4th principal part. It declines as bonus/bona/bonum. It describes an action already completed and passive:

Verb PPP Meaning
amō amātus/a/um having been loved
moneō monitus/a/um having been warned
dūcō ductus/a/um having been led
capiō captus/a/um having been taken
audiō audītus/a/um having been heard

Usage:

  • Oppidum captum erat magnīs moenibus. — The captured town had great walls.
  • Mīlitēs victī fugiēbant. — The defeated soldiers were fleeing.

4. Future Active Participle (FAP)

Formation: Perfect passive participle stem (= 4th principal part minus -um) + -ūrus/-ūra/-ūrum. Declines as 1st/2nd declension adjective.

Verb FAP Meaning
amō amātūrus/a/um about to love, going to love
moneō monitūrus/a/um about to warn
dūcō ductūrus/a/um about to lead
capiō captūrus/a/um about to take
audiō audītūrus/a/um about to hear

Usage: Often used with esse to form the active periphrastic ("I am about to..."):

  • Caesar pugnatūrus erat. — Caesar was about to fight.
  • Mīlitēs profectūrī sunt. — The soldiers are about to set out.

5. Gerundive / Future Passive Participle (FPP)

Formation: Present stem + -ndus/-nda/-ndum. Declines as 1st/2nd declension adjective. Expresses necessity or obligation (sometimes translated "must be _____" or "worthy of being _____"):

Verb Gerundive Meaning
amō amandus/a/um (needing) to be loved, must be loved
legō legendus/a/um must be read
capiō capiendus/a/um must be taken

The gerundive used predicatively with esse forms the passive periphrastic expressing obligation:

  • Hoc opus faciendum est. — This work must be done.
  • Caesar Rōmam redeundus est. — Caesar must return to Rome. (lit. "Caesar is one-who-must-return to Rome")

The agent with the passive periphrastic uses the dative of agent (not a/ab):

  • Carthāgō dēlenda est Rōmānīs. — Carthage must be destroyed by the Romans. (Rōmānīs = dative of agent)

6. The Ablative Absolute

The ablative absolute is a participial phrase in the ablative case whose subject is different from the subject of the main clause. It sets the temporal, causal, or circumstantial background for the main action.

Three types:

A. Active (PAP + noun in ablative): Hostibus fugientibus, Caesar victoriam nuntiavit.* The enemies fleeing (= while/as the enemies were fleeing), Caesar announced the victory.

B. Passive (PPP + noun in ablative): Oppidō captō, mīlitēs laetī erant. With the town having been captured (= after the town was captured), the soldiers were happy.

C. Noun + noun (no participle): Caesare duce, exercitus vīcit. Caesar being the leader (= with Caesar as leader), the army conquered.

Key rule: The subject of the ablative absolute must NOT be the same as the subject of the main clause.

Key Vocabulary

Latin English
canō, canere, cecinī, cantum to sing
fugiō, fugere, fūgī, fugitum to flee
revertō / redeō to return
nuntiō, nuntiāre to announce
dēleō, dēlēre, dēlēvī, dēlētum to destroy
faciō, facere, fēcī, factum to do, make
dux, ducis m. leader, general
victoria, -ae f. victory
opus, operis n. work, task
dum while (+ present indicative)

Example Sentences

  1. Puer librum legēns tacēbat. — The boy, reading the book, was silent. (PAP)
  2. Mīlitēs victī Rōmam rediērunt. — The defeated soldiers returned to Rome. (PPP)
  3. Caesar pugnātūrus mīlitēs hortātus est. — Caesar, about to fight, encouraged the soldiers. (FAP)
  4. Oppidō captō, dux praemia distribuit. — The town having been captured, the general distributed rewards. (Ablative absolute, PPP type)
  5. Hostibus fugientibus, Rōmānī victōriam celebrāvērunt.* — The enemy fleeing, the Romans celebrated victory. (Ablative absolute, PAP type)
  6. Caesare duce, Rōmānī nunquam vincēbantur. — Caesar being the leader, the Romans were never defeated. (Noun + noun absolute)
  7. Hoc opus omnibus faciendum est. — This work must be done by everyone. (Gerundive + dative of agent)
  8. Carthāgō dēlenda est. — Carthage must be destroyed. (Famous phrase of Cato the Elder)
  9. Puella canēns pulchra erat. — The singing girl was beautiful.
  10. Librum lectum reposuit. — He put down the read book (= the book he had read).
  11. Mīlitēs profectūrī arma sūmpsērunt. — The soldiers, about to depart, took up their weapons.
  12. Pāce factā, omnēs laetī erant. — Peace having been made, everyone was happy. (Ablative absolute)

Practice

A. Identify the participle type (PAP/PPP/FAP/FPP) and translate:

  1. mīlitēs vincentes
  2. urbs capta
  3. dux locūtūrus
  4. opus faciendum

B. Translate the ablative absolute and identify its type (A/B/C above):

  1. Rōmānīs vincentibus, Gallī fugērunt.
  2. Pāce factā, cīvēs laetī erant.
  3. Caesare imperātōre, exercitus fortiter pugnāvit.

C. Translate into Latin using a participle:

  1. The girl, reading the book, was sitting in the garden.
  2. After the city was captured, the soldiers rested.
  3. The leader, about to speak, stood before the soldiers.