Pono: To Put | Latin Grammar

Pōnō means “put,” “place,” “set down,” “establish,” or “assume.” Its principal parts are pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positum. The present retains pōn-, the perfect active uses posu-, and the supine system posit-.

The object names what is placed; a location phrase names the resulting position. Abstract objects create idioms such as spem pōnere “place hope” and lēgem pōnere “lay down a rule.”

Active Indicative and Subjunctive

Tense	1st sg.	2nd sg.	3rd sg.	1st pl.	2nd pl.	3rd pl.
Present	pōnō	pōnis	pōnit	pōnimus	pōnitis	pōnunt
Imperfect	pōnēbam	pōnēbās	pōnēbat	pōnēbāmus	pōnēbātis	pōnēbant
Future	pōnam	pōnēs	pōnet	pōnēmus	pōnētis	pōnent
Perfect	posuī	posuistī	posuit	posuimus	posuistis	posuērunt / posuēre
Pluperfect	posueram	posuerās	posuerat	posuerāmus	posuerātis	posuerant
Future perfect	posuerō	posueris	posuerit	posuerimus	posueritis	posuerint

Subjunctive tense	1st sg.	2nd sg.	3rd sg.	1st pl.	2nd pl.	3rd pl.
Present	pōnam	pōnās	pōnat	pōnāmus	pōnātis	pōnant
Imperfect	pōnerem	pōnerēs	pōneret	pōnerēmus	pōnerētis	pōnerent
Perfect	posuerim	posuerīs	posuerit	posuerīmus	posuerītis	posuerint
Pluperfect	posuissem	posuissēs	posuisset	posuissēmus	posuissētis	posuissent

Puer librum in mēnsā pōnit.

The boy puts the book on the table.

Mīlitēs prope flūmen castra pōnēbant.

The soldiers were pitching camp near the river.

Crās novum signum in forō pōnēmus.

Tomorrow we shall place a new statue in the forum.

Māter cibum ante līberōs posuit.

The mother set the food before the children.

First-person pōnam is future indicative or present subjunctive. Clause structure—not the English word “will”—settles the mood.

Passive Voice

Tense	1st sg.	2nd sg.	3rd sg.	1st pl.	2nd pl.	3rd pl.
Present	pōnor	pōneris	pōnitur	pōnimur	pōniminī	pōnuntur
Imperfect	pōnēbar	pōnēbāris	pōnēbātur	pōnēbāmur	pōnēbāminī	pōnēbantur
Future	pōnar	pōnēris	pōnētur	pōnēmur	pōnēminī	pōnentur
Present subjunctive	pōnar	pōnāris	pōnātur	pōnāmur	pōnāminī	pōnantur
Imperfect subjunctive	pōnerer	pōnerēris	pōnerētur	pōnerēmur	pōnerēminī	pōnerentur

Perfect passive uses positus, -a, -um plus sum: positus est, posita erat, positī erunt; positus sit, posita esset.

Cibus in mēnsā pōnitur.

The food is being placed on the table.

Statua in mediō forō posita est.

The statue was placed in the middle of the forum.

The participle agrees with the thing placed. The location remains a location phrase; it does not become an agent or object when the voice changes.

Commands and Non-Finite Forms

Present active imperatives are pōne, pōnite. The future active has pōnitō (second- or third-person singular), pōnitōte (second-person plural), and pōnuntō (third-person plural). Passive commands are pōnere, pōniminī in the present and pōnitor (second- or third-person singular), pōnuntor (third-person plural) in the future. The future and passive commands are (formal/archaic or contextually rare).

Pōne gladium et verba mea audī.

Put down the sword and listen to my words.

Category	Active	Passive
Present infinitive	pōnere	pōnī
Perfect infinitive	posuisse	positum esse
Future infinitive	positūrum esse	positum īrī
Participles	pōnēns; positūrus	positus; pōnendus
Gerund	pōnendī, pōnendō, pōnendum, pōnendō	—
Supines	positum, positū	—

Dīxit sē arma posuisse.

He said that he had laid down his weapons.

Fīnis huic certāminī pōnendus est.

An end must be put to this contest.

Placement and Resulting Location

With ordinary placement, Latin often describes the resulting place with in + ablative: librum in mēnsā pōnit “puts the book on the table.” English motion-oriented “onto/into” can tempt learners toward an accusative, but the verb already expresses placement and the phrase answers “where is it set?”

Nummōs in arcā, nōn in sacculō, posuī.

I put the coins in the chest, not in the bag.

When actual motion into a space is foregrounded, Latin usage can vary with viewpoint. For reliable production, use the ablative for the resulting location after ordinary pōnō and reserve accusative in for clear motion toward/into. See in with accusative or ablative.

Abstract Objects and Idioms

Expression	Meaning
castra pōnere	pitch camp
arma pōnere	lay down arms
spem in aliquō pōnere	place hope in someone
fīnem pōnere + dative	put an end to
lēgem / condiciōnem pōnere	lay down a law/condition
ante oculōs pōnere	set before the eyes, make vivid

Cīvēs omnem spem in novō duce posuērunt.

The citizens placed all their hope in the new leader.

Pāx tandem bellō fīnem posuit.

Peace finally put an end to the war.

Aspect and Maintained Position

Imperfect pōnēbat presents repeated or ongoing placement; perfect posuit marks a completed setting-down. Once the object is in position, Latin may switch to iacet, stat, or est to describe its state rather than repeat pōnō.

Servus cibum in mēnsā pōnēbat; paulō post omnia parāta erant.

The attendant was setting food on the table; a little later everything was ready.

Librum in scamno posuī; nunc ibi iacet.

I put the book on the bench; now it is lying there.

This event-state distinction helps explain why location after pōnō often uses the ablative. The verb encodes the change, while the prepositional phrase presents the position achieved.

With human objects, pōnere can mean appoint or station: custōdēs ad portam pōnere “post guards at the gate.” The people remain accusative objects, and the duty or station supplies the lexical interpretation.

Dux custōdēs ad utramque portam posuit.

The commander posted guards at each gate.

Compounds

Compounds preserve -pōnō, -posuī, -positum:

Verb	Perfect/supine	Meaning
appōnō	apposuī, appositum	place beside, add, serve
compōnō	composuī, compositum	put together, arrange, compose
dēpōnō	dēposuī, dēpositum	lay down, deposit, remove
dispōnō	disposuī, dispositum	arrange, distribute
expōnō	exposuī, expositum	set out, expose, explain
impōnō	imposuī, impositum	place upon, impose
oppōnō	opposuī, oppositum	place against, oppose
prōpōnō	prōposuī, prōpositum	set forth, propose

Prefixes can assimilate before p: ad- + pōnō gives appōnō, con- gives compōnō, and ob- gives oppōnō. The present compound retains -pōnō, while the perfect and supine use -posuī and -positum; the added table forms therefore belong to one predictable family.

Magister rem difficilem paucīs verbīs exposuit.

The teacher explained a difficult matter in a few words.

Impōnō commonly gives the burden or thing imposed as accusative and the person affected as dative: onus mihi impōnit “he imposes a burden on me.”

Parsing Diagnostic

Identify pōn-, posu-, or posit-. Then find the object and resulting location, or recognize an abstract collocation. With compounds, the prefix often shifts “put” into “explain,” “compose,” or “impose.”

Common Mistakes

Inventing a regular perfect

❌ Librum in mēnsā pōnuī.

Incorrect — the perfect stem is posu-.

✅ Librum in mēnsā posuī.

I put the book on the table.

Using a bare accusative for location

❌ Librum mēnsam pōnō.

Incorrect — the table cannot be a second bare accusative here.

✅ Librum in mēnsā pōnō.

I put the book on the table.

Ignoring participial agreement

❌ Statua in forō positum est.

Incorrect — positum does not agree with feminine statua.

✅ Statua in forō posita est.

The statue was placed in the forum.

Reading a compound literally

❌ Magister rem ex pōnit.

Incorrect — expōnit is one compound verb meaning ‘explains/sets out.’

✅ Magister rem expōnit.

The teacher explains the matter.

Key Takeaways

Memorize pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positum.
Ordinary placement commonly takes in
- ablative for the resulting location.
Abstract objects create frequent idioms for hope, laws, conditions, and endings.
The verb has full active, passive, and non-finite systems.
Compounds preserve the stem changes but often develop nonliteral meanings.

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