Operatives, look at the following examples:

quō tempōre mīlitēs urbem oppugnābunt ?
When will the soldiers attack the city?

tacē! Mīlites nōs audient.
Be quiet! The soldiers will hear us.

The verbs in these sentences are in a new tense, the future. The future tense in Latin denotes a simple action which takes place in the future, i.e. after the present tense. Notice however, that oppugnābunt has a different ending than audient even though they are both in the future tense. The reason is that verbs in the 1st and 2nd conjugation form their future tense in one way while verbs in the 3rd and 4th conjugation in another.

The formula for the future tense in the 1st and 2nd conjugation is as follows:

present stem + ā/ē + bō (1st person singular) / bi / bu (3rd person plural) + personal endings

Here are examples of the 1st and 2nd conjugation verbs:

Now let's look at how 3rd and 4th conjugation verbs are formed:

The 3rd conjugation simply uses its present stem + the active personal endings to form its future, except in the first person singular where the stem vowel -a is used.

The 4th conjugation, likewise uses its present stem, but then adds an -e, except in the 1st person singular where an -a is added instead of -e.

For your edification, here are the future forms of sum:

Operatives, this is why it has been imperative that you know to which conjugation each verb belongs because at this point. It can become very easy to mix up to which tense a verb belongs because the futures of 3rd and 4th conjugation verbs look frighteningly similar to the present indicative of 2nd conjugation verbs as well as the present subjunctive of 1st conjugation verbs. It's enough to make your head spin! Let's hope that you have all mastered your verb conjugations at this point.

CULTURALIA Comprehension Questions
Directions: Using the CULTURALIA section of your CODEX as a guide, answer the following questions:

dē Nerōne

1. How did Nero come into power and how long did he rule for?

2. Who influenced Nero is his early reign? What was his relationship with his mother like? In what ways could have this influence Nero's behavior?

3. How did Nero establish his authority? What effects would this have on perception of his rule?

4. What types of administrative policies did Nero push? Pick two and explain how they can give us insight into Nero's character or agenda. How would they have been received by the population as a whole?

5. What were some of Nero's actions during the great fire of 64? Are these unexpected? Which group of people did Nero blame as a scapegoat for the fire?

6. What were the three major power struggles or rebellions which plagued Nero later in his reign?

7. What happens in Nero's last year of rule? How does his reign end?

dē coniūrātiōne Pīsōnis

1. When did the Pisonian Conspiracy take place? Who was involved?

2. What was their goal?

3. How was the plot almost done before it could be initiated?

4. How did Nero find out about the plot? What was his reaction?