Faciō means “do,” “make,” “produce,” or “cause.” Its principal parts are faciō, facere, fēcī, factum. It is a third-conjugation -iō verb in the present system, but its ordinary present-system passive is supplied by fīō, fierī rather than an expected facior.
The stems divide cleanly: faci-/face- for the present system, fēc- for the perfect active, and fact- for participles, supines, and the perfect passive.
Indicative: Complete Active Paradigm
| Tense | 1st sg. | 2nd sg. | 3rd sg. | 1st pl. | 2nd pl. | 3rd pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | faciō | facis | facit | facimus | facitis | faciunt |
| Imperfect | faciēbam | faciēbās | faciēbat | faciēbāmus | faciēbātis | faciēbant |
| Future | faciam | faciēs | faciet | faciēmus | faciētis | facient |
| Perfect | fēcī | fēcistī | fēcit | fēcimus | fēcistis | fēcērunt / fēcēre |
| Pluperfect | fēceram | fēcerās | fēcerat | fēcerāmus | fēcerātis | fēcerant |
| Future perfect | fēcerō | fēceris | fēcerit | fēcerimus | fēceritis | fēcerint |
Quid nunc facis? Epistulam scrībō.
What are you doing now? I am writing a letter.
Faber mēnsam ex lignō faciēbat.
The craftsperson was making a table from wood.
Crās iter longum faciēmus.
Tomorrow we shall make a long journey.
Mīlitēs ante noctem castra fēcērunt.
The soldiers made camp before nightfall.
Subjunctive: Complete Active Paradigm
| Tense | 1st sg. | 2nd sg. | 3rd sg. | 1st pl. | 2nd pl. | 3rd pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | faciam | faciās | faciat | faciāmus | faciātis | faciant |
| Imperfect | facerem | facerēs | faceret | facerēmus | facerētis | facerent |
| Perfect | fēcerim | fēcerīs | fēcerit | fēcerīmus | fēcerītis | fēcerint |
| Pluperfect | fēcissem | fēcissēs | fēcisset | fēcissēmus | fēcissētis | fēcissent |
Future indicative faciam and present subjunctive faciam are identical. A future assertion such as crās hoc faciam contrasts with purpose or command syntax such as rogat ut hoc faciam.
Early and poetic Latin also preserves the old future-perfect form faxō and perfect subjunctive faxim alongside regular fēcerō and fēcerim. In context faxō often has simple future force, “I shall do it” or “I shall see to it”; neither form is a productive substitute in neutral Classical prose. See faxō, ausim, and archaic subjunctives.
Rogat ut omnia diligenter faciāmus.
He asks us to do everything carefully.
Sī plūs temporis habērem, opus melius facerem.
If I had more time, I would do the work better.
Passive Voice: Fīō and Factus Sum
Simple faciō has no ordinary present passive facior in Classical Latin. Use fīō: fit, fīēbat, fīet; fīat, fieret. The perfect passive returns to factus plus sum.
| Active | Passive | Time |
|---|---|---|
| facit | fit | present |
| faciēbat | fīēbat | imperfect |
| faciet | fīet | future |
| fēcit | factus est | perfect |
| fēcerat | factus erat | pluperfect |
| fēcerit | factus erit | future perfect |
Artifex statuam facit; statua ā perītō artifice fit.
An artist makes a statue; the statue is made by a skilled artist.
Dōna ab amīcīs facta sunt.
The gifts were made by friends.
The participle agrees: mēnsa facta est, dōna facta sunt. The independent meanings “become” and “happen” make fīō more than a passive table; see fīō: to become or be made.
Imperatives and Non-Finite Forms
The present active imperative is the short irregular fac, plural facite. The future forms are facitō (second- or third-person singular), facitōte (second-person plural), and faciuntō (third-person plural); they are (formal/archaic). The corresponding present passive or inchoative command uses fī, fīte.
Fac quod rectum esse putās.
Do what you think is right.
| Category | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present infinitive | facere | fierī |
| Perfect infinitive | fēcisse | factum esse |
| Future infinitive | factūrum esse | factum īrī |
| Participles | faciēns; factūrus | factus; faciendus |
| Gerund | faciendī, faciendō, faciendum, faciendō | — |
| Supines | factum, factū | — |
The gerundive faciendus remains a regular present-stem form even though the finite present passive is suppletive.
Hoc opus ante hiemem faciendum est.
This work must be done before winter.
Dīxit sē omnia fēcisse quae potuisset.
He said that he had done everything he could.
Objects, Results, and Idioms
Physical creation takes an accusative object, often with material expressed by ex + ablative. “Do” likewise takes the thing performed: opus facere, iter facere. A second accusative can name the resulting role or state.
Cīvēs Mārcum cōnsulem fēcērunt.
The citizens made Marcus consul.
Both Mārcum and cōnsulem are accusative: one is the object, the other its result predicate. With an adjective, agreement is equally important: nūntius eum laetum fēcit “the news made him happy.”
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| iter facere | make a journey |
| impetum facere in + accusative | make an attack on |
| finem facere + dative/genitive | put an end to |
| magnī facere | value highly |
| certiōrem facere | inform, make more certain |
The genitive of value in magnī facere is idiomatic; English “make much of” is only an approximate parallel.
Causing an Event
Productive prose often uses faciō ut + subjunctive to mean “bring it about that” or “make sure that.” A direct faciō + infinitive causative exists, but in Classical Latin it is comparatively marked, especially (literary/formal).
Faciam ut causam tōtam intellegās.
I shall make sure that you understand the whole case.
Subitus clāmor mīlitem fugere fēcit.
A sudden shout made the soldier flee. (Marked causative syntax.)
In the second sentence, accusative mīlitem is the subject of fugere. For fuller restrictions, see faciō plus infinitive and causation.
Compounds
Compounds require two patterns. Lexical first elements plus -faciō keep forms such as calefaciō, patefaciō and often have passive calefīō, patefīō. Fully prefixed -ficiō verbs follow regular third-iō passive morphology: cōnficiō, cōnficere, cōnfēcī, cōnfectum → cōnficior; efficiō → efficior; perficiō → perficior.
Dux opus perfēcit, quod anteā vix efficī posse vidēbātur.
The commander completed the task, which previously seemed scarcely possible to accomplish.
Learn each compound’s perfect and supine. English “complete” cannot predict whether Latin uses cōnficiō or perficiō in a given collocation.
Parsing Diagnostic
Identify the stem: faci- present, fēc- perfect active, fact- supine/perfect passive. If the meaning is present passive of simple faciō, expect fīō. Then inspect objects and predicate complements before translating “make,” because eum cōnsulem facere and eum venīre facere have different structures.
Common Mistakes
Inventing the present passive
❌ Domus facitur.
Incorrect as the ordinary Classical passive of simple faciō.
✅ Domus fit.
The house is being built.
Regularizing the perfect
❌ Herī iter faciīvī.
Incorrect — the perfect stem is fēc-.
✅ Herī iter fēcī.
Yesterday I made a journey.
Using an archaic command as neutral Classical Latin
⚠️ Face quod tē rogō.
The full form face occurs in Early and deliberately archaic Latin; neutral Classical prose uses fac.
✅ Fac quod tē rogō.
Do what I ask you.
Failing to agree a result predicate
❌ Haec epistula mē laetus fēcit.
Incorrect — laetus must agree with accusative me.
✅ Haec epistula mē laetum fēcit.
This letter made me happy.
Key Takeaways
- Fāciō? No: the headword is faciō, with short a; its principal parts are faciō, facere, fēcī, factum.
- Present active uses faci-, perfect active fēc-, and the supine system fact-.
- Simple faciō uses fīō for its present-system passive but keeps factus sum in the perfect.
- Object + result predicate differs from the marked infinitival causative.
- Compounds in -faciō and -ficiō have different passive behavior.
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Start learning Latin →Related Topics
- Fio: To Become or Be MadeA2 — A complete reference for fīō as ‘become,’ ‘happen,’ and the suppletive passive of faciō.
- Do: To GiveA2 — A complete reference for dō, including its short-vowel forms, two-object syntax, passive, idioms, and compounds.
- The Passive of Facio: FioB1 — Use fīō for the present-system passive of faciō, distinguish ‘be made,’ ‘become,’ and ‘happen,’ and return to factus sum in the perfect system.
- Facio plus Infinitive and CausationC1 — Recognize the marked Classical faciō-plus-infinitive causative and choose accurately among infinitive, ut-clause, predicate, and more specific causative verbs.
- FioB1 — Conjugate fīō across its suppletive system and distinguish ‘be made,’ ‘become,’ and ‘happen’ from the active meanings of faciō.