Irregular and defective verbs: recognise the real forms
Learn this complete reference set, recall meanings and construction clues, then apply the grammar in original short practice.
Exam scope and assessment notes
Original teaching foundations for the 2026–2028 syllabus. Six prescribed texts have passage-specific sequences; all 693 printed vocabulary rows have been reconciled into 692 distinct records, with additional number, comparison and compound-verb practice. Linked teaching and lexical self-checks do not certify mastery. Complete line-by-line annotation, further translation and scansion practice, qualified Latin-teacher review, full timed papers and human marking remain outstanding. Open the assigned edition alongside these lessons: public ancient texts can differ in spelling, punctuation or editorial readings from the prescribed prose anthology. Practice explanations are formative, not Cambridge questions, marks or predicted grades. Cambridge has announced withdrawal; the last assessment is June 2028, in administrative zones 3, 4, 5 and 6 only. Confirm entry with your centre.
Before you begin
- Identify noun, verb and clause roles
- Recall the whole dictionary record rather than only its first spelling
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
What does a dictionary meaning fail to establish on its own?
What you will learn
- Recognise irregular stems and defective systems
- Distinguish grammatical tense from conventional sense
Read the form, recall the meaning, then check the construction
Use the reference list to learn, then hide the meanings in recall practice. The usage note explains a grammatical clue or limit. Self-check labels do not award a grade or certify mastery.
24 of 24 entries shown · 0 marked for another review in this practice
absum, abesse, afuiIrregular or defective verb
be absent, be away
Retain the actual forms and construction rather than generate them by a regular verb pattern. The sentence still supplies person, time and role.
adsum, adesse, adfuiIrregular or defective verb
be present, be here
Retain the actual forms and construction rather than generate them by a regular verb pattern. The sentence still supplies person, time and role.
aufero, auferre, abstuli, ablatumIrregular or defective verb
take away, steal
Retain the actual forms and construction rather than generate them by a regular verb pattern. The sentence still supplies person, time and role.
coepi, coepisse, coeptum (defective)Irregular or defective verb
began; have begun
A defective perfect-system verb: coepi normally expresses began or have begun. Do not invent a regular present from this entry.
do, dare, dedi, datumIrregular or defective verb
give
Retain the actual forms and construction rather than generate them by a regular verb pattern. The sentence still supplies person, time and role.
eo, ire, i(v)i, itumIrregular or defective verb
go
Retain the actual forms and construction rather than generate them by a regular verb pattern. The sentence still supplies person, time and role.
exeo, exire, exii, exitumIrregular or defective verb
go out
Retain the actual forms and construction rather than generate them by a regular verb pattern. The sentence still supplies person, time and role.
fero, ferre, tuli, latumIrregular or defective verb
carry, bring, bear, endure
Retain the actual forms and construction rather than generate them by a regular verb pattern. The sentence still supplies person, time and role.
fio, fieri, factus sumIrregular or defective verb
become, be made
Can mean become or serve as the passive counterpart of facio. Choose the sense from the construction, not its spelling alone.
inquit (from inquam) (defective)Irregular or defective verb
he/she says (say)
A defective reporting form, commonly he or she says. Keep the speaker and the direct speech separate.
licet, -ere, licuit, licitumIrregular or defective verb
it is allowed
Distinguish the impersonal verb, it is permitted, from the connector licet with a subjunctive, although.
malo, malle, malui, –Irregular or defective verb
prefer
Retain the actual forms and construction rather than generate them by a regular verb pattern. The sentence still supplies person, time and role.
memini, meminisse, – (defective)Irregular or defective verb
remember, recollect
Perfect-system forms can express present remembering here. Morphological tense and the conventional sense need separate attention.
nolo, nolle, noluiIrregular or defective verb
be unwilling, be unwilling
Retain the actual forms and construction rather than generate them by a regular verb pattern. The sentence still supplies person, time and role.
odi, odisse, – (defective)Irregular or defective verb
hate
Perfect-system forms conventionally express present hatred. Do not translate every use as a completed past emotion.
offero, offerre, obtuli, oblatumIrregular or defective verb
offer, present
Retain the actual forms and construction rather than generate them by a regular verb pattern. The sentence still supplies person, time and role.
pereo, perire, perii, peritumIrregular or defective verb
perish, be lost, be destroyed
Retain the actual forms and construction rather than generate them by a regular verb pattern. The sentence still supplies person, time and role.
placet (2) (from placeo)Irregular or defective verb
it pleases (please)
Retain the actual forms and construction rather than generate them by a regular verb pattern. The sentence still supplies person, time and role.
possum, posse, potuiIrregular or defective verb
can, be able
Retain the actual forms and construction rather than generate them by a regular verb pattern. The sentence still supplies person, time and role.
redeo, redire, redii, reditumIrregular or defective verb
return, go back
Retain the actual forms and construction rather than generate them by a regular verb pattern. The sentence still supplies person, time and role.
refero, referre, rettuli, relatumIrregular or defective verb
bring back, return, tell
Retain the actual forms and construction rather than generate them by a regular verb pattern. The sentence still supplies person, time and role.
sum, esse, fuiIrregular or defective verb
am
Retain the actual forms and construction rather than generate them by a regular verb pattern. The sentence still supplies person, time and role.
videor, videri, visus sumIrregular or defective verb
seem
Passive forms of video can mean seem. This usage is not proof that videor is an ordinary deponent verb.
volo, velle, voluiIrregular or defective verb
want, wish, be willing
Retain the actual forms and construction rather than generate them by a regular verb pattern. The sentence still supplies person, time and role.
Learn what is actually supplied
Sum, possum, eo, fero, volo, nolo and malo cannot be generated by assuming one regular conjugation. Carry the printed forms together. Tuli and latum connect to fero; potui connects to possum. Compounds can preserve this irregularity while changing meaning.
Memini and odi use perfect-system forms with conventional present senses of remembering and hating. Coepi normally expresses began or have begun. Inquit introduces reported direct speech with a defective form set. Do not fill an imaginary regular paradigm from a familiar English gloss.
Use sentence structure
Possum governs an infinitive expressing what can be done; volo, nolo and malo express wanting, refusal and preference with their relevant complements. Fio can mean become or act as facio's passive counterpart. The clause decides the sense and actor.
Licet as an impersonal permitted verb differs from licet introducing an although-clause; videor's seem usage differs from an automatic was seen translation. Inspect the full record and construction rather than rely only on the first syllable.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
Must memini always be translated as a completed past memory?
Worked example
Translate original ‘Puer legere potest’.
Show the worked solution
- Puer supplies the subject.
- Potest is can, third-person singular.
- Legere completes what he can do.
Answer The boy can read. Potest belongs to possum and takes the infinitive legere; it is not a past verb simply because the headword also supplies potui.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Guided: Translate ‘Milites redire possunt’.
Give me a hint
The plural verb and infinitive work together.
Compare my reasoning
- Milites is plural.
- Possunt is can.
- Redire is return.
The soldiers can return. The actual plural form supplies person/number and the infinitive completes the ability; the separate record for redeo helps identify the returning action.
Look for these in your work
- Uses plural
- Uses ability
- Uses complement
Independent: Compare volo, nolo and malo as meanings.
Give me a hint
Do not decide from shared-looking endings alone.
Compare my reasoning
- Volo concerns wanting.
- Nolo concerns not wanting.
- Malo concerns preference.
The records distinguish wanting, unwillingness and preferring. Shared family features do not make the three interchangeable, and a sentence's complement is still needed to know what is wanted or preferred.
Look for these in your work
- Separates wanting
- Separates refusal
- Separates preference
Application: A student calls inquit a regular present with every form predictable. Explain the limitation.
Give me a hint
The record marks a defective verb.
Compare my reasoning
- Recognise the reporting use.
- Retain its actual forms.
- Do not invent a full regular system.
Inquit commonly marks he or she says in direct-speech narration and belongs to a defective system. A regular-paradigm assumption would invent forms; the reader must identify the speaker and the supplied construction.
Look for these in your work
- Uses reporting role
- Uses defectiveness
- Avoids invented forms
Common mistakes
- Inventing missing present forms
- Translating every perfect-system form as past regardless of usage
- Ignoring the infinitive complement
What can you explain now?
Must memini always be translated as a completed past memory?
Compare with the explanation
No
Its perfect-system form conventionally carries a present remembering sense.
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Make it stick
Must memini always be translated as a completed past memory?
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.