Latin Deponent Verbs

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The Deponent Verbs

Deponent verbs are a special group of Latin verbs that look passive but are really active in meaning. The word deponent comes from Latin dēpōnō (“I lay aside”) — these verbs have, as it were, laid aside their active forms.

Think of this English sentence:

I was born in a hospital.

This looks like something that was done to you, but it is really something you did — you were born. In Latin, this idea is expressed with a deponent verb: passive in form, but active in meaning.

So when you see a deponent verb, you must not translate it as though it were an ordinary passive.

For example:

loquitur = he speaks
not “he is spoken”

This is why deponents need special care. Their endings look passive, but their meaning is active throughout.

Deponent Verbs You Need to Know for CASE / GCSE

These verbs appear throughout Latin set texts and unseen passages. Learn all three parts for each verb:
the present, the infinitive, and the perfect.
The perfect uses sum, just like a passive, but it is still active in meaning.

Present (I am…) Infinitive (to…) Perfect (I …ed) Meaning
cōnor cōnārī cōnātus sum I try
ēgredior ēgredī ēgressus sum I go out / I leave
hortor hortārī hortātus sum I encourage
ingredior ingredī ingressus sum I enter
loquor loquī locūtus sum I speak
mīror mīrārī mīrātus sum I admire / I am amazed
morior morī mortuus sum I die
patior patī passus sum I suffer / endure
precor precārī precātus sum I pray / beg
proficīscor proficīscī profectus sum I set out / depart
prōgredior prōgredī prōgressus sum I advance / go forward
sequor sequī secūtus sum I follow
ūtor (+ abl.) ūtī ūsus sum I use
vereor verērī veritus sum I fear / am afraid

How to Recognise Them

In the present system, deponents use passive-looking endings:

loquor = I speak
loqueris = you speak
loquitur = he speaks

In the perfect system, they use a perfect participle with sum:

locūtus sum = I spoke
ingressus est = he entered
secūtī sunt = they followed

These forms may look passive, but they are still translated actively.

Grammatical Notes

  • All deponents are passive in form, but active in meaning.
  • They form their perfect tense like passive verbs: locūtus sum, ingressus est, and so on.
  • Their perfect participles are active in meaning, unlike regular verbs where the perfect participle is passive.
  • ūtor takes the ablative.
Rule: When you meet a deponent verb, do not be misled by its passive-looking form.
Ask yourself: what does it mean actively?

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