Fourth-conjugation verbs have a present active infinitive in long -īre: audīre “to hear,” venīre “to come,” and dormīre “to sleep.” Their long ī remains visible in much of the present paradigm, while an additional u appears before the third-person plural endings: audiunt and audiuntur.
In ordinary Classical prose the present indicative is stylistically unmarked. It can describe an action underway, a repeated event, a continuing state, or a general truth. In (literary) narrative the same morphology can function as a historical present, making a past scene feel immediate.
Find the present stem and confirm the class
Remove -re from the second principal part to find the fourth-conjugation present stem:
| Principal parts | Infinitive | Present stem | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| audiō, audīre, audīvī, audītum | audīre | audī- | hear, listen to |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventum | venīre | venī- | come |
| dormiō, dormīre, dormīvī, dormītum | dormīre | dormī- | sleep |
| aperiō, aperīre, aperuī, apertum | aperīre | aperī- | open |
The infinitive, not simply the first person, distinguishes fourth conjugation from third-iō. Both audiō and capiō end in -iō, but audīre has long ī while capere has short e. See Third-io Present Indicative for the mixed pattern.
Present indicative active
The stem vowel is long in audīs, audīmus, and audītis. It is shortened before final -t in audit and before another vowel in audiō; the third-person plural inserts u: audiunt.
| Person | Form | Analysis | Possible English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | audiō | audī- + -ō → audiō | I hear / am listening |
| 2nd singular | audīs | audī- + -s | you hear / are listening |
| 3rd singular | audit | audī- + -t | he/she hears |
| 1st plural | audīmus | audī- + -mus | we hear / are listening |
| 2nd plural | audītis | audī- + -tis | you all hear |
| 3rd plural | audiunt | audī- + -u- + -nt | they hear / are listening |
Tē bene audiō; pergere potes.
I can hear you clearly; you may continue.
Cūr tam diū dormīs? Omnēs tē exspectant.
Why are you sleeping so long? Everyone is waiting for you.
Iūlia fenestram aperit, quia in cubiculō calet.
Julia opens the window because it is hot in the bedroom.
Ad forum venīmus ut amīcōs videāmus.
We are coming to the forum to see our friends.
Puerī strepitum audiunt et ad iānuam currunt.
The children hear a noise and run to the door.
The ending identifies the subject without an expressed pronoun. Venīmus means “we come/are coming”; nōs venīmus is appropriate when “we” is contrasted with someone else. This pronoun economy is normal, not especially (formal) or (literary).
Present indicative passive
Add the passive endings to the same stem. The alternative second-person singular in -re, audīre, is identical to the active infinitive. It is standard Classical usage; syntax distinguishes the finite passive from “to hear.”
| Person | Form | Analysis | Basic English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | audior | audī- + -or → audior | I am heard |
| 2nd singular | audīris / audīre | audī- + -ris/-re | you are heard |
| 3rd singular | audītur | audī- + -tur | he/she/it is heard |
| 1st plural | audīmur | audī- + -mur | we are heard |
| 2nd plural | audīminī | audī- + -minī | you all are heard |
| 3rd plural | audiuntur | audī- + -u- + -ntur | they are heard |
Vōx tua in tōtā domō audītur.
Your voice is heard throughout the house.
Iānua ā servō aperītur, et hospitēs intrant.
The door is opened by the servant, and the guests enter.
Etiam ultimī discipulī audiuntur.
Even the students at the back can be heard.
Compare active servus iānuam aperit with passive iānua ā servō aperītur. The first clause makes servus the nominative actor and iānuam the accusative object. The second makes iānua the nominative receiver and expresses the personal agent with ā plus ablative servō. Word order can vary; case and the verbal ending establish the roles.
Present meaning is broader than English present morphology
Latin audit can correspond to “he hears,” “he is listening,” or, in a vivid past narrative, “he heard.” The Latin form is still present indicative in all three readings.
| Use | Latin | Idiomatic English |
|---|---|---|
| current perception | Nunc clāmōrem audit. | She hears a shout now. |
| habit | Cotīdiē magistrum audit. | He listens to the teacher every day. |
| continuing state | Omnia scīmus. | We know everything. |
| historical present (literary) | Subitō nūntius venit. | Suddenly a messenger came. |
Hodiē Rōmam venīmus; herī Tūsculum vēnimus.
Today we are coming to Rome; yesterday we came to Tusculum.
This minimal contrast is clearest with macrons: present venīmus has long ī, while perfect vēnimus has long ē. Unmacronized both are venimus, so hodiē and herī may be decisive. Vowel quantity and discourse context work together; neither English translation nor spelling alone is always sufficient.
Parsing and production diagnostics
To parse aperiuntur, begin with -ntur: third-person plural passive. The preceding -iu- fits a fourth-conjugation or third-iō present. The infinitive aperīre confirms fourth conjugation, so the full parse is present indicative passive: “they are opened/are being opened.”
To produce “you all hear,” choose present indicative active, second-person plural. Take audī- from audīre and add -tis: audītis. Do not select a form of sum merely because an English rendering says “you are listening”; Latin’s single finite verb supplies the present meaning.
Common Mistakes
1. Confusing fourth conjugation with third-iō
❌ Nōs ad forum venimus.
Incorrect quantity for present ‘we are coming’ when teaching vowel length; venīre has long ī.
✅ Nōs ad forum venīmus.
We are coming to the forum.
2. Omitting u in the third-person plural
❌ Discipulī magistrum audīnt.
Incorrect — fourth-conjugation third-person plural is audiunt.
✅ Discipulī magistrum audiunt.
The students listen to the teacher.
3. Building a Latin progressive from English “is”
❌ Mārcus est dormiēns.
Incorrect as the ordinary translation of ‘Marcus is sleeping.’
✅ Mārcus dormit.
Marcus is sleeping.
4. Using an active form for a passive subject
❌ Fenestra ā puellā aperit.
Incorrect for ‘the window is opened by the girl’ — aperit is active.
✅ Fenestra ā puellā aperītur.
The window is opened by the girl.
Key Takeaways
Long -īre identifies the fourth conjugation. Its present retains ī in forms such as audīs, audīmus, and audītis, shortens it in some environments, and uses -iu- in audiunt/audiuntur. Determine the conjugation from principal parts and the grammatical categories from the ending; only after that should context choose an English simple, progressive, or narrative translation.
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