Sequor means “follow,” “come after,” “pursue,” “adopt,” or “result.” Its principal parts are sequor, sequī, secūtus sum. It is a third-conjugation deponent: its forms look passive but have active meaning. Thus sequitur means “he/she/it follows,” not “is followed.”
The person, route, example, or plan followed is normally a direct object in the accusative. English “follow after” does not require a Latin preposition. When sequor instead means “come next” or “result,” the event or conclusion that follows is the subject.
See what deponent verbs are for the morphology shared by this class.
Indicative: Active Meaning, Passive Form
| Tense | 1st sg. | 2nd sg. | 3rd sg. | 1st pl. | 2nd pl. | 3rd pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | sequor | sequeris | sequitur | sequimur | sequiminī | sequuntur |
| Imperfect | sequēbar | sequēbāris | sequēbātur | sequēbāmur | sequēbāminī | sequēbantur |
| Future | sequar | sequēris | sequētur | sequēmur | sequēminī | sequentur |
| Perfect | secūtus sum | secūtus es | secūtus est | secūtī sumus | secūtī estis | secūtī sunt |
| Pluperfect | secūtus eram | secūtus erās | secūtus erat | secūtī erāmus | secūtī erātis | secūtī erant |
| Future perfect | secūtus erō | secūtus eris | secūtus erit | secūtī erimus | secūtī eritis | secūtī erunt |
With a feminine subject use secūta sum; a feminine plural subject takes secūtae sumus. The participle agrees with the subject.
Puer patrem per forum sequitur.
The boy follows his father through the forum.
Mīlitēs ducem sine morā sequēbantur.
The soldiers were following their commander without delay.
Hanc viam sequar.
I shall follow this road.
Lūcia amīcam ad portum secūta est.
Lucia followed her friend to the harbor.
Complete Subjunctive
| Tense | 1st sg. | 2nd sg. | 3rd sg. | 1st pl. | 2nd pl. | 3rd pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | sequar | sequāris | sequātur | sequāmur | sequāminī | sequantur |
| Imperfect | sequerer | sequerēris | sequerētur | sequerēmur | sequerēminī | sequerentur |
| Perfect | secūtus sim | secūtus sīs | secūtus sit | secūtī sīmus | secūtī sītis | secūtī sint |
| Pluperfect | secūtus essem | secūtus essēs | secūtus esset | secūtī essēmus | secūtī essētis | secūtī essent |
First-person sequar is future indicative or present subjunctive. An independent future statement and a clause introduced by ut supply different analyses.
Dux imperat ut mīlitēs sē sequantur.
The commander orders the soldiers to follow him.
Sī ducem secūtī essēmus, nōn errāvissēmus.
If we had followed the commander, we would not have lost our way.
Imperatives and Non-Finite Forms
Present imperatives are sequere (singular) and sequiminī (plural). The future deponent imperative has sequitor for the second- or third-person singular and sequuntor for the third-person plural. These future forms belong especially to laws and precepts and are not ordinary conversational commands. All command active following despite their passive-looking endings.
Sequere mē; viam sciō.
Follow me; I know the way.
| Category | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Present infinitive | sequī — to follow |
| Perfect infinitive | secūtus, -a, -um esse — to have followed |
| Future infinitive | secūtūrus, -a, -um esse — to be about to follow |
| Present participle | sequēns — following |
| Perfect participle | secūtus — having followed |
| Future participle | secūtūrus — about to follow |
| Gerund | sequendī, sequendō, sequendum, sequendō |
| Gerundive | sequendus, -a, -um |
| Supines | secūtum, secūtū |
The present, perfect, and future participles have active meaning: sequēns “following,” secūtus “having followed,” and secūtūrus “about to follow.” Gerundive sequendus instead retains passive obligation: exemplum sequendum is “an example to be followed.” In omnibus sequendum est, the dative omnibus names the people obliged to follow it.
Vestīgia secūtī, ad flūmen pervēnimus.
Having followed the tracks, we reached the river.
Bonum exemplum omnibus sequendum est.
A good example must be followed by everyone.
Direct Object and Concrete Following
Simple sequor normally takes an accusative without ad, post, or cum: ducem sequor, viam sequor, vestīgia sequor. Another phrase may state the destination or route, but it does not replace the direct object.
Viātōrēs flūmen usque ad montēs secūtī sunt.
The travelers followed the river all the way to the mountains.
The object need not be a person. One can follow tracks, a road, a custom, advice, an example, or a philosophical school. The shared logic is orientation by something that goes before.
Cōnsilium sapientis sequāmur.
Let us follow the wise man’s advice.
Temporal and Logical Sequence
An event that comes next can be the subject of sequitur: post noctem diēs sequitur “day follows night.” In argument, sequitur can mean “it follows, the consequence is.” This is still active deponent syntax; the consequence performs the following.
Post tantam tempestātem tranquillitās secūta est.
After such a great storm, calm followed.
Ex hīs argumentīs sequitur ut cōnsilium mūtandum sit.
From these arguments it follows that the plan must be changed.
The latter is (formal/academic) argumentation. Ex plus ablative identifies premises from which a conclusion follows, and sequitur ut plus the subjunctive states that conclusion. Because this sequitur presents a consequence rather than reported speech, do not replace the ut-clause mechanically with an accusative and infinitive.
Pursuing a Course or Party
Sequor can mean adopt or adhere to an example, leader, policy, or school. Context decides whether the following is physical or figurative.
Iuvenēs doctrīnam illīus philosophī secūtī sunt.
The young men adopted that philosopher’s teaching.
Aspect matters: imperfect sequēbantur presents ongoing adherence or movement; perfect secūtī sunt presents a completed act of following or adoption.
Compounds and Changed Government
Common compounds remain deponent: cōnsequor “follow up, overtake, attain”; persequor “pursue, prosecute, recount fully”; prōsequor “follow onward, escort”; īnsequor “follow after, assail”; assequor “catch up with, attain”; obsequor “comply with.” Most take an accusative, but obsequor commonly takes a dative person.
Equitēs hostēs fugientēs cōnsecūtī sunt.
The cavalry caught up with the fleeing enemies.
Fīlius parentibus obsecūtus est.
The son complied with his parents.
That dative parentibus belongs to the compound’s lexical government; simple sequor would take accusative parentēs.
Parsing Diagnostic
Recognize sequ-, secūt-, and compounds in -sequor. Do not label an -tur form passive until the lemma is identified. Parse secūtus est as one perfect deponent verb, checking agreement. Then find the direct object; with obsequor, test for a dative instead.
Common Mistakes
Inventing active endings
❌ Ducem sequō.
Incorrect — sequor is deponent.
✅ Ducem sequor.
I follow the commander.
Translating the form passively
⚠️ Puer patrem sequitur.
Correct Latin, but not ‘the boy is followed by his father’: sequitur means ‘follows.’
✅ Puer patrem sequitur.
The boy follows his father.
Adding an unnecessary preposition
⚠️ Post ducem sequimur.
Possible when post deliberately means ‘behind/after the commander,’ but not the ordinary unmarked way to say ‘we follow the commander.’
✅ Ducem sequimur.
We follow the commander.
Failing to agree the perfect participle
❌ Lūcia amīcam secūtus est.
Incorrect — the feminine subject requires secūta.
✅ Lūcia amīcam secūta est.
Lucia followed her friend.
Key Takeaways
- Memorize sequor, sequī, secūtus sum as a deponent paradigm.
- Passive-looking finite forms and perfect secūtus sum have active meaning.
- Simple sequor normally takes a direct accusative without a preposition.
- The perfect participle is active in meaning; the gerundive retains passive obligation.
- Compounds may specialize the meaning and, in obsequor, change government to the dative.
Now practice Latin
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Latin →Related Topics
- Loquor: To SpeakA2 — A complete reference for the deponent loquor, including its active meaning, full paradigm, conversation and topic phrases, non-finite forms, and compounds.
- Utor: To UseA2 — A complete reference for the deponent ūtor, including its ablative government, full paradigm, active-meaning participles, gerundive, and compounds.
- What Deponent Verbs AreB1 — Understand why deponent verbs have passive morphology but normally active meaning, and parse their present and perfect systems reliably.
- Accusative as Direct ObjectA1 — Identify and form the Latin accusative that marks the person or thing selected as the direct object of a transitive verb.