Rogo: To Ask | Latin Grammar

Rogō means “ask,” “question,” “request,” or in civic language “propose.” Its principal parts are rogō, rogāre, rogāvī, rogātum. It is regular first conjugation, but English “ask” hides three different complements: a question, a requested thing, and a requested action.

Active Paradigms

Tense	1st sg.	2nd sg.	3rd sg.	1st pl.	2nd pl.	3rd pl.
Present	rogō	rogās	rogat	rogāmus	rogātis	rogant
Imperfect	rogābam	rogābās	rogābat	rogābāmus	rogābātis	rogābant
Future	rogābō	rogābis	rogābit	rogābimus	rogābitis	rogābunt
Perfect	rogāvī	rogāvistī	rogāvit	rogāvimus	rogāvistis	rogāvērunt / rogāvēre
Pluperfect	rogāveram	rogāverās	rogāverat	rogāverāmus	rogāverātis	rogāverant
Future perfect	rogāverō	rogāveris	rogāverit	rogāverimus	rogāveritis	rogāverint

Subjunctive	1st sg.	2nd sg.	3rd sg.	1st pl.	2nd pl.	3rd pl.
Present	rogem	rogēs	roget	rogēmus	rogētis	rogent
Imperfect	rogārem	rogārēs	rogāret	rogārēmus	rogārētis	rogārent
Perfect	rogāverim	rogāverīs	rogāverit	rogāverīmus	rogāverītis	rogāverint
Pluperfect	rogāvissem	rogāvissēs	rogāvisset	rogāvissēmus	rogāvissētis	rogāvissent

Tē causam rogō.

I ask you the reason.

Discipulī magistrum multa rogābant.

The students were asking the teacher many things.

Crās eum quid acciderit rogābō.

Tomorrow I shall ask him what happened.

Ā tē auxilium rogāvī.

I asked you for help.

Passive Voice

Tense	1st sg.	2nd sg.	3rd sg.	1st pl.	2nd pl.	3rd pl.
Present	rogor	rogāris	rogātur	rogāmur	rogāminī	rogantur
Imperfect	rogābar	rogābāris	rogābātur	rogābāmur	rogābāminī	rogābantur
Future	rogābor	rogāberis	rogābitur	rogābimur	rogābiminī	rogābuntur
Present subjunctive	roger	rogēris	rogētur	rogēmur	rogēminī	rogentur
Imperfect subjunctive	rogārer	rogārēris	rogārētur	rogārēmur	rogārēminī	rogārentur

Perfect passive is rogātus, -a, -um plus sum: rogātus est, rogāta erat, rogātī erunt; rogātus sit, rogāta esset. Because active rogō can take two accusatives, passive choices depend on which participant becomes prominent.

Testis ā iūdice rogātus est quid vīdisset.

The witness was asked by the judge what he had seen.

Senātor sententiam rogātus est.

The senator was asked his opinion.

Here the person questioned becomes the nominative subject, while the accusative of the thing (sententiam) remains. The thing can instead become the passive subject when it is presented as what was requested; the source is then normally expressed with ā/ab.

Imperatives and Non-Finite Forms

Present imperatives are rogā, rogāte; passive rogāre, rogāminī. The (formal/archaic) future imperative has active rogātō (2nd/3rd singular), rogātōte (2nd plural), rogantō (3rd plural), and passive rogātor (2nd/3rd singular), rogantor (3rd plural).

Rogā eum ubi clāvēs posuerit.

Ask him where he put the keys.

Category	Active	Passive
Present infinitive	rogāre	rogārī
Perfect infinitive	rogāvisse	rogātum esse
Future infinitive	rogātūrum esse	rogātum īrī
Participles	rogāns; rogātūrus	rogātus; rogandus
Gerund	rogandī, rogandō, rogandum, rogandō	—
Supines	rogātum, rogātū	—

In the compact infinitive forms above, rogātum esse and rogātūrum esse stand for participles that agree with their accusative subject. Future passive rogātum īrī, however, contains the indeclinable accusative supine rogātum.

Dīxit sē testem rogāvisse.

He said that he had questioned the witness.

Omnēs testēs rogandī sunt.

All the witnesses must be questioned.

Asking a Person a Thing

Classical rogō can take two accusatives: the person questioned and the thing asked. Neuter pronouns are especially common: tē hoc rogō, eum multa rogāvī.

Tē ūnum hoc rogō: quis vēnit?

I ask you this one thing: who came?

Alternative phrasing marks a source with ā/ab and the requested thing as object: auxilium ab amīcō rogāre. Learn the available frames instead of copying English “ask to/from” mechanically. See two accusatives with asking.

Questions and Requests

An information question uses an interrogative word or particle plus subjunctive.

Rogāvit num frāter domī esset.

She asked whether her brother was at home.

The subjunctive marks an indirect question. A requested action instead uses ut plus subjunctive, or nē for a negative request.

Amīcum rogāvī ut mē adiuvāret.

I asked my friend to help me.

Eum rogāmus nē discēdat.

We ask him not to leave.

Thus rogō quid faciat asks what he is doing; rogō ut faciat asks him to do it. The visible introducer decides the clause type.

Civic and Legal Uses

In Roman public language rogāre lēgem means formally propose a law to the people, and sententiam rogāre ask a senator’s opinion or vote (formal/historical). These are institutional extensions of “ask,” not everyday requests.

Cōnsul senātōrem sententiam rogāvit.

The consul asked the senator for his opinion.

Compounds

Interrogō “question closely,” prōrogō “extend/prolong,” dērogō “repeal in part/detract,” and ērogō “pay out” have lexicalized meanings. They retain regular -rogāv- and -rogāt- stems, but not necessarily simple rogō’s complement patterns.

Aspect, Persistence, and Politeness

Imperfect rogābat can describe repeated questioning, an interview in progress, or a request pressed over time. Perfect rogāvit treats one question or request as a complete speech act; it says nothing about whether an answer or favor followed.

Iūdex testem iterum atque iterum rogābat.

The judge questioned the witness again and again.

Auxilium rogāvit, sed nēmō respondit.

He requested help, but no one answered.

Adverbs and framing control tone. Quaesō or amābō can soften a request, while bare imperative rogā! simply tells someone to ask. The grammar of ut does not itself make a request polite; status, wording, and context matter.

Direct versus Indirect Questions

Direct speech preserves the original mood and person: rogāvit: “quid vidistī?” Indirect reporting changes the question to a subordinate subjunctive: rogāvit quid vīdissem. The tense follows sequence and relative time, not an English backshift formula.

Mē rogāvit: ‘Cūr tam serō vēnistī?’

He asked me, ‘Why did you come so late?’

Mē rogāvit cūr tam serō vēnissem.

He asked me why I had come so late.

This conversion explains why indicative vēnistī becomes subjunctive vēnissem and why the addressee changes from second to first person.

Parsing Diagnostic

Identify rogā-, rogāv-, or rogāt-. Locate the person asked and the requested information, thing, or action. A question word plus subjunctive marks an indirect question; ut/nē plus subjunctive marks a request. In institutional contexts, test “propose” or “ask for an opinion.”

Common Mistakes

Giving the questioned person a dative

❌ Tibi causam rogō.

Incorrect — the person questioned is normally accusative.

✅ Tē causam rogō.

I ask you the reason.

Using ut for a question

❌ Rogō ut ubi sit.

Incorrect — an indirect question begins with ubi itself.

✅ Rogō ubi sit.

I ask where he is.

Using nōn for a negative request

❌ Eum rogō ut nōn discēdat.

Incorrect as the regular negative request.

✅ Eum rogō nē discēdat.

I ask him not to leave.

Inventing the perfect

❌ Eum roguī.

Incorrect — the perfect is rogāvī.

✅ Eum rogāvī.

I asked him.

Key Takeaways

Memorize rogō, rogāre, rogāvī, rogātum.
Distinguish the person asked, the information/thing requested, and the requested action.
Indirect questions use interrogative words plus subjunctive; requests use ut/nē plus subjunctive.
Civic compounds and uses are lexicalized and often formal or historical.

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