Mittō means “send,” “dispatch,” “release,” “let go,” or “throw.” Its principal parts are mittō, mittere, mīsī, missum. The present uses mitt-, the perfect active mīs-, and the supine system miss-.
The object and directional phrase specify the event: one sends a letter to a friend, dispatches envoys to a city, throws a spear, or releases a prisoner.
Active Indicative and Subjunctive
| Tense | 1st sg. | 2nd sg. | 3rd sg. | 1st pl. | 2nd pl. | 3rd pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | mittō | mittis | mittit | mittimus | mittitis | mittunt |
| Imperfect | mittēbam | mittēbās | mittēbat | mittēbāmus | mittēbātis | mittēbant |
| Future | mittam | mittēs | mittet | mittēmus | mittētis | mittent |
| Perfect | mīsī | mīsistī | mīsit | mīsimus | mīsistis | mīsērunt / mīsēre |
| Pluperfect | mīseram | mīserās | mīserat | mīserāmus | mīserātis | mīserant |
| Future perfect | mīserō | mīseris | mīserit | mīserimus | mīseritis | mīserint |
| Subjunctive tense | 1st sg. | 2nd sg. | 3rd sg. | 1st pl. | 2nd pl. | 3rd pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | mittam | mittās | mittat | mittāmus | mittātis | mittant |
| Imperfect | mitterem | mitterēs | mitteret | mitterēmus | mitterētis | mitterent |
| Perfect | mīserim | mīserīs | mīserit | mīserīmus | mīserītis | mīserint |
| Pluperfect | mīsissem | mīsissēs | mīsisset | mīsissēmus | mīsissētis | mīsissent |
Māter epistulam fīliō mittit.
The mother sends her son a letter.
Dux explōrātōrēs ad flūmen mittēbat.
The commander was sending scouts to the river.
Crās tibi nūntium mittam.
Tomorrow I shall send you a message.
Senātus lēgātōs ad rēgem mīsit.
The senate sent envoys to the king.
First-person mittam is future indicative or present subjunctive. An independent future context gives “I shall send”; an ut/nē clause or another subjunctive environment gives “that I send.”
Passive Voice
| Tense | 1st sg. | 2nd sg. | 3rd sg. | 1st pl. | 2nd pl. | 3rd pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | mittor | mitteris | mittitur | mittimur | mittiminī | mittuntur |
| Imperfect | mittēbar | mittēbāris | mittēbātur | mittēbāmur | mittēbāminī | mittēbantur |
| Future | mittar | mittēris | mittētur | mittēmur | mittēminī | mittentur |
| Present subjunctive | mittar | mittāris | mittātur | mittāmur | mittāminī | mittantur |
| Imperfect subjunctive | mitterer | mitterēris | mitterētur | mitterēmur | mitterēminī | mitterentur |
Perfect passive uses missus, -a, -um plus sum: missus est, missa erat, missī erunt; missus sit, missa esset.
Litterae ad prōvinciam mittuntur.
Letters are being sent to the province.
Auxilium ab sociīs missum est.
Help was sent by the allies.
The item or person sent becomes nominative; the recipient remains dative or appears in a directional phrase. A personal agent uses ā/ab + ablative.
Commands and Non-Finite Forms
Present active imperatives are mitte, mittite. The future active has mittitō (second- or third-person singular), mittitōte (second-person plural), and mittuntō (third-person plural). Passive commands are mittere, mittiminī in the present and mittitor (second- or third-person singular), mittuntor (third-person plural) in the future. The future and passive commands are (formal/archaic or contextually rare).
Mitte mihi responsum quam prīmum.
Send me an answer as soon as possible.
| Category | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present infinitive | mittere | mittī |
| Perfect infinitive | mīsisse | missum esse |
| Future infinitive | missūrum esse | missum īrī |
| Participles | mittēns; missūrus | missus; mittendus |
| Gerund | mittendī, mittendō, mittendum, mittendō | — |
| Supines | missum, missū | — |
Dīxit sē lēgātōs iam mīsisse.
He said that he had already sent the envoys.
Nūntius sine morā mittendus est.
A messenger must be sent without delay.
Recipient and Direction
The person receiving a thing may be dative: tibi epistulam mittō. A dispatched person or object may take ad + accusative to mark the endpoint: lēgātōs ad Caesarem mittit. A place takes its ordinary direction construction: Rōmam mīsit, in Galliam mīsit.
Librum sorōrī mīsī, sed ministrum ad medicum mīsī.
I sent my sister a book, but I sent the attendant to the doctor.
The repeated English “to” represents two Latin structures: dative recipient sorōrī and directional ad medicum. See the dative as indirect object.
Release, Throwing, and Omission
The underlying idea is causing something to go. This supports captīvum mittere “release a prisoner,” tēlum mittere “throw/hurl a weapon,” and manū mittere “release from one’s hand, manumit.”
Centuriō captīvum līberum mīsit.
The centurion released the prisoner.
Mīles hastam in hostem mīsit.
The soldier hurled a spear at the enemy.
In colloquial commands mitte! can mean “leave it, stop!” (informal in comedy/dialogue). This is a pragmatic extension of letting something go.
Aspect and Purpose
Imperfect mittēbat can describe repeated dispatches or someone in the process of sending; perfect mīsit presents the dispatch as completed. English “sent” often hides the difference.
Dux cotīdiē explōrātōrēs mittēbat; tandem omnem equitātum mīsit.
The commander sent scouts every day; at last he dispatched all the cavalry.
A dispatched person’s purpose may be expressed with ut + subjunctive, a relative purpose clause, or the supine after motion. The main verb still governs the person sent as its object.
Lēgātōs mīsit ut pācem peterent.
He sent envoys to seek peace.
Lēgātōs pācem petītum mīsit.
He sent envoys to seek peace.
In this version petītum is the purpose supine. Unlike the finite ut and relative clauses, it does not mark person or number; its understood agent is the person sent.
Nūntium mīsit quī adventum rēgis nūntiāret.
He sent a messenger to announce the king’s arrival.
Do not turn English “send someone to do” into ad + infinitive. Latin ad governs a noun or gerundive, not a bare infinitive. A finite purpose clause clearly identifies who performs the intended action.
Leaving Out and Letting Pass
Simple mittō can mean release, but the compound omittō is the ordinary verb for leaving something out or stopping it. Remittere can send back, relax, or forgive; permittere can entrust and therefore “allow.” These semantic paths all develop from release or transfer, but each compound has its own collocations.
Hanc partem ōrātiōnis omittam, nē nimis diū loquar.
I shall omit this part of the speech so that I do not speak too long.
Compounds
| Verb | Perfect/supine | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| admittō | admīsī, admissum | admit, allow; commit |
| committō | commīsī, commissum | join; entrust; commit |
| dēmittō | dēmīsī, dēmissum | send/lower down |
| ēmittō | ēmīsī, ēmissum | send out, emit |
| omittō | omīsī, omissum | let go, omit |
| permittō | permīsī, permissum | entrust, permit |
| remittō | remīsī, remissum | send back, relax, remit |
| trānsmittō | trānsmīsī, trānsmissum | send across, transmit |
The prefix boundary is not identical in every compound. Ad- remains visible in admittō, con- assimilates to com- before m in committō, and ob- is absorbed before m in omittō. Other common forms, including dēmittō, permittō, and trānsmittō, preserve a readily recognizable prefix. Learn the written compound rather than mechanically joining two dictionary forms.
Imperātor sociīs custōdiam portae permīsit.
The commander entrusted the guarding of the gate to the allies.
Compounds preserve the mīs-/miss- alternation but acquire lexicalized meanings. Admittere facinus means “commit a crime,” not physically send it toward something.
Parsing Diagnostic
Identify mitt-, mīs-, or miss-. Then find the accusative item/person and distinguish a dative recipient from a directional phrase. Finally inspect any prefix and the object before choosing “send,” “release,” “throw,” or an idiomatic meaning.
Common Mistakes
Inventing a regular perfect
❌ Herī epistulam mittuī.
Incorrect — the perfect stem is mīs-.
✅ Herī epistulam mīsī.
Yesterday I sent a letter.
Using ad for every recipient
❌ Epistulam ad tibi mittō.
Incorrect — a personal recipient can be dative without ad.
✅ Epistulam tibi mittō.
I am sending you a letter.
Putting the wrong case after ad
❌ Servum ad medicō mittō.
Incorrect — ad requires the accusative, not the ablative.
✅ Servum ad medicum mittō.
I send the attendant to the doctor.
Taking a compound literally
❌ Facinus ad locum admittitur.
Incorrect interpretation of the idiom admittere facinus.
✅ Facinus grave admīsit.
He committed a serious crime.
Key Takeaways
- Memorize mittō, mittere, mīsī, missum.
- Dative marks a recipient; ad
- accusative or another direction construction marks an endpoint.
- “Send” extends naturally to release and throw.
- The verb has full active, passive, and non-finite systems.
- Compounds preserve the stem changes but often have nonliteral meanings.
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