Nolo: Not to Want | Latin Grammar

Nōlō means “not want,” “be unwilling,” or, in a completed context, “refuse.” Its principal parts are nōlō, nōlle, nōluī. The verb grew from the old negative ne- plus volō, and its present still reveals that history: some persons are fused (nōlō, nōlumus, nōlunt), while others remain the two-word phrases nōn vīs, nōn vult, nōn vultis.

Do not try to invent a perfectly symmetrical present. The mixture is the Classical paradigm.

Principal Parts and Stem Map

Part or stem	Forms supplied	Examples
nōlō	present indicative	nōlō, nōn vīs, nōlunt
nōlle	present infinitive; imperfect subjunctive	nōlle, nōllem
nōlē-/nōla-	imperfect and future indicative	nōlēbam, nōlam
nōluī	perfect active system	nōluit, nōluerat, nōluerit

Indicative: Complete Paradigm

Tense	1st sg.	2nd sg.	3rd sg.	1st pl.	2nd pl.	3rd pl.
Present	nōlō	nōn vīs	nōn vult	nōlumus	nōn vultis	nōlunt
Imperfect	nōlēbam	nōlēbās	nōlēbat	nōlēbāmus	nōlēbātis	nōlēbant
Future	nōlam	nōlēs	nōlet	nōlēmus	nōlētis	nōlent
Perfect	nōluī	nōluistī	nōluit	nōluimus	nōluistis	nōluērunt / nōluēre
Pluperfect	nōlueram	nōluerās	nōluerat	nōluerāmus	nōluerātis	nōluerant
Future perfect	nōluerō	nōlueris	nōluerit	nōluerimus	nōlueritis	nōluerint

Hodiē labōrāre nōlō.

I do not want to work today.

Cūr nōn vīs nōbīscum venīre?

Why do you not want to come with us?

Puer dormīre nōlēbat.

The boy did not want to sleep.

Dux aciem committere nōluit atque lēgātōs mīsit.

The commander refused to join battle and sent envoys.

The last translation shows an important aspectual effect. Imperfect nōlēbat usually describes continuing reluctance; perfect nōluit often presents unwillingness as a completed decision, so “refused” is natural. It is not a separate lexical tense rule: context can still require “did not want.”

Subjunctive: Complete Paradigm

Tense	1st sg.	2nd sg.	3rd sg.	1st pl.	2nd pl.	3rd pl.
Present	nōlim	nōlīs	nōlit	nōlīmus	nōlītis	nōlint
Imperfect	nōllem	nōllēs	nōllet	nōllēmus	nōllētis	nōllent
Perfect	nōluerim	nōluerīs	nōluerit	nōluerīmus	nōluerītis	nōluerint
Pluperfect	nōluissem	nōluissēs	nōluisset	nōluissēmus	nōluissētis	nōluissent

Independent nōlim politely or cautiously distances the speaker from an unwanted possibility: “I should not like.” The phrase velim nōlim “whether I want to or not” is (idiomatic/formal or literary).

Nōlim tē hodiē discedere.

I would not want you to leave today.

Rogāvit cūr proficīscī nōllēmus.

He asked why we did not want to set out.

Velim nōlim, hoc faciendum est.

Whether I want to or not, this must be done. (formal/literary)

Imperatives and Negative Commands

Unlike volō, nōlō has highly useful present imperatives: nōlī singular and nōlīte plural. Follow them with a present infinitive to give a standard negative command. The construction addresses a controllable action and means “do not…,” not merely “be unwilling to….”

Nōlī hanc iānuam aperīre; canis forīs est.

Do not open this door; the dog is outside.

Nōlīte spem dēpōnere.

Do not give up hope.

The complete future imperative is nōlītō (second or third person singular), nōlītōte (second person plural), and nōluntō (third person plural). These forms belong chiefly to (formal/archaic) instructions and are much rarer than the present imperative. For normal prose commands addressed to “you,” nōlī/nōlīte is the productive pattern. See negative commands with nōlī and nōlīte.

Non-Finite Forms and Missing Voice

Category	Form/status
Present infinitive	nōlle
Perfect infinitive	nōluisse
Present participle	nōlēns, nōlentis “unwilling”
Future infinitive/participle	no ordinary Classical form
Gerund, gerundive, supine	not part of the ordinary Classical paradigm
Passive voice	none

Dīxit sē manēre nōlle.

He said that he did not want to stay.

Dīxit sē ante noctem proficīscī nōluisse.

He said that he had not wanted to depart before nightfall.

The adjective-like participle can express concession:

Nōlēns tamen parentibus pāruit.

Though unwilling, he nevertheless obeyed his parents.

Complements

With the same subject, nōlō normally takes a complementary infinitive: abīre nōlō “I do not want to leave.” With a different subject, accusative-and-infinitive is common. A substantive subjunctive is also possible; with volō and its compounds, Classical Latin often omits ut before that subjunctive.

Nōlō tē sōlum redīre.

I do not want you to return alone.

Nōlō puer sine auxiliō maneat.

I do not want the boy to remain without help.

English speakers often expect “not want that,” but Latin requires a complete Latin complement frame. Do not write nōlō ut tē redīre: after ut, the verb must be finite subjunctive, while accusative tē instead belongs with an infinitive such as redīre.

Negation and Scope

Because nōlō already contains negative force, do not add nōn merely to translate English “do not want.” Nōn nōlō, with two negatives, instead means “I am not unwilling” and can imply cautious consent. This is logically different from simple nōlō.

Nōn nōlō tē adiuvāre, sed nunc tempus nōn habeō.

I am not unwilling to help you, but I do not have time now.

The position of negation can also change what is rejected. Venīre nōn vult normally says “he does not want to come”: the unwillingness has scope over the action. Vult nōn venīre says “he wants not to come”: not coming is itself presented as the desired outcome. Context often makes the practical result similar, but the grammatical packaging differs.

Nōn vult tacēre; loquī vult.

He does not want to be silent; he wants to speak.

In a finite complement, use nē to make the desired event negative: volō nē veniat “I want him not to come.” With nōlō, avoid piling negatives together when a positive infinitive or a clearer clause expresses the intended scope.

Formation and Lexical Status

Although nōlō historically contains the negative of volō, it is a separate lexeme with its own principal parts. The language does not create new verbs by attaching arbitrary negatives or prefixes to volō. Nor should every occurrence be replaced with nōn volō: the unfused phrase appears in the three present cells shown above, while the rest of the paradigm uses established nōl- forms.

To parse a form, identify the layer: nōn vult is present indicative; nōlit present subjunctive; nōllet imperfect subjunctive; nōluit perfect indicative. Then use the complement and discourse context to choose among “does not want,” “would not want,” and “refused.”

Common Mistakes

Inventing a fused second-person present

❌ Nōvīsne nōbīscum venīre?

Incorrect — Nōvīsne is not the Classical second-person singular question form.

✅ Nōnne vīs nōbīscum venīre?

Do you not want to come with us?

Adding nē after nōlī

❌ Nōlī nē clāmāre.

Incorrect — nōlī takes the infinitive directly.

✅ Nōlī clāmāre.

Do not shout.

Treating nōluit as continuing reluctance automatically

❌ Tōtam noctem dormīre nōluit, id est dormīre nōlēbat.

Incorrect equation — the perfect often presents a bounded refusal, while the imperfect presents continuing unwillingness; context, however, can translate either with ‘did not want.’

✅ Tōtam noctem dormīre nōlēbat.

All night he was unwilling to sleep.

Inventing a passive

❌ Hoc ā mē nōlitur.

Incorrect — nōlō has no passive voice.

✅ Hoc facere nōlō.

I do not want to do this.

Key Takeaways

Memorize nōlō, nōlle, nōluī, including the split present nōn vīs, nōn vult, nōn vultis.
Imperfect nōlēbat describes ongoing reluctance; perfect nōluit often means “refused.”
Nōlī/nōlīte plus a present infinitive gives a standard negative command.
The verb has no passive and only a limited non-finite inventory.
Stem shape separates nōlit, nōllet, and nōluit before translation begins.

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