Volō means “want,” “wish,” or “be willing.” Its principal parts are volō, velle, voluī. It has no fourth principal part and no passive voice. Most irregularity is concentrated in the present: volō, vīs, vult. The imperfect uses volē-, the subjunctive uses veli-/velle-, and the perfect uses volu-.
English “want” is only a starting gloss. The Latin complement reveals whether someone wants an action for themselves, wants another person to act, or wishes someone well.
Principal Parts and Stem Map
| Part or stem | Forms supplied | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| volō | irregular present indicative | volō, vīs, vult, volunt |
| velle | present infinitive; imperfect subjunctive | velle, vellem |
| volē-/vola- | imperfect and future indicative | volēbam, volam |
| voluī | perfect active system | voluit, volueram, voluerim |
Indicative: Complete Paradigm
| Tense | 1st sg. | 2nd sg. | 3rd sg. | 1st pl. | 2nd pl. | 3rd pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | volō | vīs | vult | volumus | vultis | volunt |
| Imperfect | volēbam | volēbās | volēbat | volēbāmus | volēbātis | volēbant |
| Future | volam | volēs | volet | volēmus | volētis | volent |
| Perfect | voluī | voluistī | voluit | voluimus | voluistis | voluērunt / voluēre |
| Pluperfect | volueram | voluerās | voluerat | voluerāmus | voluerātis | voluerant |
| Future perfect | voluerō | volueris | voluerit | voluerimus | volueritis | voluerint |
Quid facere vīs?
What do you want to do?
Hodiē domī manēre volumus.
We want to stay at home today.
Puer discere volēbat, sed librum nōn habēbat.
The boy wanted to learn, but he did not have a book.
Tē adiuvāre voluī, sed āfuistī.
I wanted to help you, but you were away.
The perfect voluit presents willing as a completed decision or episode; the imperfect volēbat presents an ongoing desire. Context may translate both as “wanted,” so the aspect must be read from the Latin form.
Subjunctive: Complete Paradigm
| Tense | 1st sg. | 2nd sg. | 3rd sg. | 1st pl. | 2nd pl. | 3rd pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | velim | velīs | velit | velīmus | velītis | velint |
| Imperfect | vellem | vellēs | vellet | vellēmus | vellētis | vellent |
| Perfect | voluerim | voluerīs | voluerit | voluerīmus | voluerītis | voluerint |
| Pluperfect | voluissem | voluissēs | voluisset | voluissēmus | voluissētis | voluissent |
Independent velim often softens a request or desire: “I should like.” It is tactful and frequent in (formal) prose, not a special Latin conditional tense. Vellem may express a present unreal wish, a desire viewed from past time, or the consequence of an unreal condition.
Velim paucīs verbīs tēcum loquī.
I would like to speak briefly with you.
Vellem adesse, sed iter facere nōn possum.
I wish I were there, but I cannot make the journey.
Rogāvit quid facere vellēmus.
He asked what we wanted to do.
Missing Forms and Non-Finite Forms
Volō has no ordinary imperative. Latin normally commands the desired action directly or uses sī vīs “if you wish.” It also has no passive: wanting is construed as the subject’s mental stance, not as an action received by a passive subject.
| Category | Form/status |
|---|---|
| Present infinitive | velle |
| Perfect infinitive | voluisse |
| Present participle | volēns, volentis “willing,” often adjectival |
| Future infinitive/participle | no ordinary Classical form |
| Gerund, gerundive, supine | not part of the ordinary Classical paradigm |
Volēns hoc fēcī, nōn coāctus.
I did this willingly, not under compulsion.
Here volēns is formally the present participle but functions much like the adjective or adverbial idea “willing” or “willingly.” It does not supply the missing future or passive forms.
Dīcit sē nōbīs opem ferre velle.
He says that he wants to bring us help.
Here sē is the accusative subject of both velle and ferre. Perfect voluisse marks earlier willing:
Dīxit sē nōbīs opem ferre voluisse.
He said that he had wanted to bring us help.
Choosing the Complement
When the person who wants also performs the desired action, use a complementary infinitive without a preposition:
Dormīre volō.
I want to sleep.
When a different person performs the action, an accusative-and-infinitive is common: volō tē venīre. Latin can also frame the event with ut or nē plus subjunctive, especially when the emphasis is on willing that something happen. The choice of construction is not itself a same-subject/different-subject rule: ut or nē can introduce either kind of subject.
Volō tē crās adesse.
I want you to be here tomorrow.
Volumus ut omnēs ante noctem redeant.
We want everyone to return before nightfall.
Volō nē quis hodiē sine cibō maneat.
I want no one to remain without food today.
Do not splice these architectures. Tē adesse has accusative tē plus infinitive; ut adsīs has a finite subjunctive. For the general syntax, see complementary infinitives and accusative-and-infinitive.
Objects and Idioms
Volō can take a neuter pronoun as a direct object: hoc volō “I want this,” quid vīs? “what do you want?” Several idioms are highly frequent:
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| sī vīs | if you wish; if you like |
| quid sibi vult? | what does it mean? what is it getting at? |
| bene velle + dative | wish someone well |
| male velle + dative | wish someone ill |
Sī vīs, paulīsper in hortō ambulēmus.
If you like, let us walk in the garden for a while.
Nesciō quid hoc verbum sibi velit.
I do not know what this word means.
Nōlō and mālō arose historically beside volō, but Classical Latin treats them as separate irregular verbs, not freely created compounds. There is no productive prefix system for volō.
Parsing Diagnostic
Start with the stem. Vīs/vult is present indicative; veli- marks present subjunctive; velle- marks imperfect subjunctive; volu- marks the perfect system. Then identify the complement. A bare infinitive normally shares the subject; an accusative before an infinitive can introduce a different subject; ut/nē requires a finite subjunctive.
Common Mistakes
Regularizing the second person
❌ Volisne venīre?
Incorrect — the second-person singular present is vis.
✅ Vīsne venīre?
Do you want to come?
Adding a preposition before an infinitive
❌ Volō ad dormīre.
Incorrect — Latin uses the infinitive directly.
✅ Dormīre volō.
I want to sleep.
Mixing complement patterns
❌ Volō ut tē hīc manēre.
Incorrect — ut requires a finite subjunctive.
✅ Volō ut hīc maneās.
I want you to stay here.
Inventing a passive
❌ Hoc ā mē volitur.
Incorrect — volo has no passive paradigm.
✅ Hoc volō.
I want this.
Key Takeaways
- Memorize volō, velle, voluī and the present sequence volō, vīs, vult.
- Present subjunctive velim often expresses a softened, polite desire.
- A same-subject action uses a complementary infinitive; a different subject uses accusative-and-infinitive or ut/nē plus subjunctive.
- The verb has no passive or ordinary imperative and only a limited non-finite system.
- Stem recognition separates present vult, subjunctive velit, imperfect vellet, and perfect voluit.
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- Complementary InfinitivesA2 — How an infinitive completes the meaning of a modal, volitional, habitual, or phase verb while normally sharing its subject.