Relinquō means “leave,” “leave behind,” “abandon,” “forsake,” or “leave in a condition.” Its principal parts are relinquō, relinquere, relīquī, relictum. Present relinqu-, perfect relīqu-, and supine relict- must be learned separately.
Unlike motion verb “leave/depart,” relinquō is transitive: it foregrounds the person or thing left behind. For departure without an object, Latin often uses discēdō or proficīscor.
Active Paradigms
| Tense | 1sg | 2sg | 3sg | 1pl | 2pl | 3pl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | relinquō | relinquis | relinquit | relinquimus | relinquitis | relinquunt |
| Imperfect | relinquēbam | relinquēbās | relinquēbat | relinquēbāmus | relinquēbātis | relinquēbant |
| Future | relinquam | relinquēs | relinquet | relinquēmus | relinquētis | relinquent |
| Perfect | relīquī | relīquistī | relīquit | relīquimus | relīquistis | relīquērunt / relīquēre |
| Pluperfect | relīqueram | relīquerās | relīquerat | relīquerāmus | relīquerātis | relīquerant |
| Future perfect | relīquerō | relīqueris | relīquerit | relīquerimus | relīqueritis | relīquerint |
| Subjunctive | 1sg | 2sg | 3sg | 1pl | 2pl | 3pl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | relinquam | relinquās | relinquat | relinquāmus | relinquātis | relinquant |
| Imperfect | relinquerem | relinquerēs | relinqueret | relinquerēmus | relinquerētis | relinquerent |
| Perfect | relīquerim | relīquerīs | relīquerit | relīquerīmus | relīquerītis | relīquerint |
| Pluperfect | relīquissem | relīquissēs | relīquisset | relīquissēmus | relīquissētis | relīquissent |
Librum in mēnsā relinquō.
I leave the book on the table.
Paucōs mīlitēs in castrīs relinquēbant.
They were leaving a few soldiers in the camp.
Crās urbem relinquēmus.
Tomorrow we shall leave the city behind.
Omnia arma relīquērunt atque fūgērunt.
They left all their weapons behind and fled.
Passive Voice
| Tense | 1sg | 2sg | 3sg | 1pl | 2pl | 3pl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | relinquor | relinqueris | relinquitur | relinquimur | relinquiminī | relinquuntur |
| Imperfect | relinquēbar | relinquēbāris | relinquēbātur | relinquēbāmur | relinquēbāminī | relinquēbantur |
| Future | relinquar | relinquēris | relinquētur | relinquēmur | relinquēminī | relinquentur |
| Present subj. | relinquar | relinquāris | relinquātur | relinquāmur | relinquāminī | relinquantur |
| Imperfect subj. | relinquerer | relinquerēris | relinquerētur | relinquerēmur | relinquerēminī | relinquerentur |
Perfect passive uses relictus, -a, -um with sum: relictus est, relicta erat, relictī erunt; relictus sit, relicta esset.
The participle agrees with what remains behind. The auxiliary supplies tense and mood, so relicta erat is “she/it had been left,” while relicta esset is subjunctive.
| Form | Parsing | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| relictus est | perfect indicative | he was / has been left |
| relictus erat | pluperfect indicative | he had been left |
| relictus erit | future perfect indicative | he will have been left |
| relictus sit | perfect subjunctive | he may have been left |
| relictus esset | pluperfect subjunctive | he would have been left |
Paucae cōpiae in oppidō relictae erant.
A few troops had been left in the town.
Urbs sine praesidiō relinquitur.
The city is left without a garrison.
Lūcia sōla relicta est.
Lucia was left alone.
Imperatives and Non-Finite Forms
Present commands are relinque, relinquite; passive relinquere, relinquiminī. The (formal/archaic) future imperative has active relinquitō (2nd/3rd singular), relinquitōte (2nd plural), relinquuntō (3rd plural), and passive relinquitor (2nd/3rd singular), relinquuntor (3rd plural).
| Category | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present infinitive | relinquere | relinquī |
| Perfect infinitive | relīquisse | relictum esse |
| Future infinitive | relictūrum esse | relictum īrī |
| Participles | relinquēns; relictūrus | relictus; relinquendus |
| Gerund | relinquendī, relinquendō, relinquendum, relinquendō | — |
| Supines | relictum, relictū | — |
In the compact infinitive forms above, relictum esse and relictūrum esse stand for participles that agree with their accusative subject. Future passive relictum īrī, however, contains the indeclinable accusative supine relictum.
Dīxit sē pecūniam domī relīquisse.
He said that he had left the money at home.
Nūlla spēs relinquenda est.
No hope must be abandoned.
The future active participle relictūrus expresses intention or imminence: it describes someone about to leave something behind. The gerundive relinquendus is passive and expresses necessity or, with a negative, what must not be abandoned.
Dux praesidium in colle relictūrus erat.
The commander was about to leave a garrison on the hill.
Amīcī in perīculō nōn relinquendī sunt.
Friends must not be abandoned in danger.
Leaving Behind versus Departing
Relinquō urbem views the city as what one abandons or leaves behind. Ex urbe discēdō views the subject’s departure. Both may describe the same journey, but their grammatical perspectives differ.
Urbem relīquit et ad mare profectus est.
He left the city behind and set out for the sea.
The object can also be a person, duty, possession, or opportunity. Context determines whether “leave,” “abandon,” “bequeath,” or “reserve” is best.
English “leave” is unusually broad. Latin separates leaving an object behind (relinquō), departing (discēdō), setting out (proficīscor), allowing (sinō), and ceasing an activity (dēsinō). Before choosing relinquō, ask what accusative object remains after the subject’s action. If there is none, a motion or cessation verb is usually more precise.
Convīvae post cēnam discēssērunt, sed dona in mēnsā relīquērunt.
The guests departed after dinner but left the gifts on the table.
Leaving Something in a State
An object can be followed by an agreeing predicate adjective or noun: eum sōlum relinquere “leave him alone,” urbem līberam relinquere “leave the city free.” Both are accusative in the active and nominative in the passive.
Dux portās apertās relīquit.
The commander left the gates open.
Portae apertae relictae sunt.
The gates were left open.
Agreement reveals the structure. See verbs taking two accusatives.
The predicate describes the object’s resulting condition, not a second independent patient. This is why it changes to nominative when passivized: portās apertās relīquit becomes portae apertae relictae sunt. English word order alone does not reveal that agreement relationship.
Remainder, Reservation, and Inheritance
The verb can mean leave something remaining or reserve it for someone. A dative can name the beneficiary: fīliō pecūniam relinquere “leave money to a son.”
Pater fīliīs parvam vīllam relīquit.
The father left his sons a small country house.
This can describe inheritance without implying physical abandonment. Result and legal context choose the translation.
The beneficiary is dative, but the property remains accusative. A will or historical narrative may omit the beneficiary when obvious. The passive reverses only the direct object: vīlla fīliō relicta est means “the country house was left to the son,” with fīliō still dative.
Vīlla fīliae ā mātre relicta est.
The country house was left to the daughter by her mother.
Compounds and Related Forms
Relinquō is already a prefixed historical formation and has few productive further compounds. Dērelinquō intensifies the idea to “forsake completely, abandon”; the simplex linquō “leave” is chiefly poetic, while ordinary prose normally uses relinquō. Its participle gives adjective relictus “abandoned” and noun reliquiae “remains.” Do not confuse reliquus “remaining” with a finite verb form.
Aspect
Imperfect relinquēbat can show repeated abandonment or the arrangement underway; perfect relīquit presents the leaving as complete. It does not state what happened later to the object.
Cotīdiē cibum canī relinquēbat.
Every day she left food for the dog.
The perfect can also focus attention on a present remainder: what someone relīquit is now available, exposed, or missing from the traveler. That result comes from lexical context, not from a separate “present perfect” conjugation. Pluperfect relīquerat places the leaving before another past event.
Clāvem domī relīquerat; igitur intrāre nōn potuit.
He had left the key at home, so he could not enter.
Parsing Diagnostic
Identify relinqu-, relīqu-, or relict-. Find the object left and any place, beneficiary, or predicate describing its resulting state. Distinguish transitive “leave behind” from intransitive departure, then check agreement carefully in passive constructions.
Common Mistakes
Inventing the perfect
❌ Urbem relinquīvī.
Incorrect — the perfect is relīquī.
✅ Urbem relīquī.
I left the city behind.
Inventing the participle
❌ Lūcia relinquita est.
Incorrect — the participle is relicta.
✅ Lūcia relicta est.
Lucia was left behind.
Failing predicate agreement
❌ Portās apertum relīquit.
Incorrect — apertās agrees with portās.
✅ Portās apertās relīquit.
He left the gates open.
Using relinquō without an object for departure
❌ Crās ad urbem relinquō.
Incorrect for ‘tomorrow I depart for the city.’
✅ Crās ad urbem proficīscor.
Tomorrow I set out for the city.
Key Takeaways
- Memorize relinquō, relinquere, relīquī, relictum.
- The verb is transitive and foregrounds what is left behind.
- Object plus agreeing predicate describes the resulting state.
- A dative can mark the beneficiary of something left or bequeathed.
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