Latin tenses in dependent clauses
In Latin, there are different modes of indicating past, present and future processes. There is the basic mode of free clauses and there are multiple dependent modes found exclusively in dependent clauses. In particular, there is the "infinitive" mode for reported satetements and the "subjunctive" mode for reported questions.
Tenses in "infinitive" mode
In reports of statements or ideas and in statements of facts known by others, the subject is represented by an "accusative" noun and the event is represented by an "infinitive" verb or verb group. For this reason, the structure of a reported statement is known as "accusative and infinitive". Usually an "infinitive" verb or verb group represents an event at relative time: the event is either future, present or past at the time of the reported statement. Often the verb of speaking, knowing, expecting or hoping is omitted, but can be recovered from the context of discourse or situation.Secondary tense
Secondary future
"Infinitive" verb groups can represent an event that is future at the time of saying, knowing, expecting or hoping.The "active infinitive" mode is often realised by a simple accusative future participle. The "passive infinitive" mode can be realised by the "īrī infinitive" paradigm of the perfect periphrasis, but this option is comparatively rare. There are three additional future infinitive periphrases for both active and passive/deponent verbs.
Secondary present
A "present infinitive" verb represents an event that is present at the time of stating, perceiving or knowing.| Inner Meaning | Outer Meaning | Paradigm | Latin example | English translation | Comment |
| relative present | present in past | "present infinitive" | sēnsit in sē īrī Brutus | 'Brutus noticed that an attack was being made on him' | that x was doing in English |
Secondary past
For active verbs, a "perfect infinitive" verb represents an event that is past at the time of stating, perceiving or knowing. Alternatively, the "present infinitive" paradigms of the "habeō" perfect periphrasis can also represent a past event at the time of stating, stressing that the result is present at that time.For passive and deponent verbs, the relative past event is represented by either the "present infinitive" paradigm of the perfect periphrasis or a simple accusative perfect participle.
When it comes to remembering, a "present infinitive" verb represents an event that is present at the time of perceiving, but past at the time of remembering.
| Inner Meaning | Outer Meaning | Paradigm | Latin example | English translation | Comment |
| relative past | past in present | "perfect infinitive" | patrem lanium fuisse, ferunt | 'they say that his father was a butcher' | that x did in English |
| relative past | past in present | "perfect infinitive" | dīcitur, eō tempore mātrem Pausaniae vīxisse | 'it is said that at that time the mother of Pausanias was still living | that x did in English |
| relative past | past in present | "present infinitive of periphrastic perfect" | lictōrem tuum occīsum esse, dīcis | 'you are saing that your bodyguard was killed | that x did in English |
| relative past | past in present | "present infinitive" | meminī, mē intrāre scholam eius, cum recitātūrus esset in Milōnem | 'I remember that I went into his school when he was just about to recite a speech against Milo' | that x did in English |
| relative past | past in past | "perfect infinitive" | cognōvērunt, Caesarem vēnisse | 'they learnt that Caesar had come | that x had done in English |
| relative past | past in past | "perfect infinitive" | rem atrōcem incidisse | 'a terrible thing had happened | that x had done in English |
| relative past | past in past | "perfect infinitive" | mihī nūntiāvit, M. Marcellum pugiōne percussum esse, et duo vulnera accēpisse | 'he reported to me that Marcus Marcellus had been stabbed with a dagger and had received two wounds' | that x had done in English |
| relative past | past in past | "present infinitive of the pariphrastic 'habeō' perfect" | sē ita triennium illud praetūrae Siciliēnsis distribūtum habēre, ut... | ' he had divided up that three-year period of his Sicilian praetorship in such a way that...' | that x had done in English |
| relative past | past in past | "present infinitive of periphrastic perfect" | mihī nūntiāvit, M. Marcellum pugiōne percussum esse, et duo vulnera accēpisse | 'he reported to me that Marcus Marcellus had been stabbed with a dagger and had received two wounds' | that x had done in English |
| relative past | past in past | "accusative perfect participle" | frātrem interfectum audīvit | 'he heard that his brother had been killed | that x had done in English |
Tertiary tense
Tertiary past
For both passive and deponent verbs, the "fore infinitive" paradigm of the perfect periphrasis can be used in reported statements for an event that is past at the time of another event, which is future at the time of the statement.Occasionally a "perfect infinitive" paradigm of the perfect periphrasis is found. While the perfect periphrasis with the "present infinitive" auxiliary esse merely refers to an event which took place before the time of the reported statement, the perfect periphrasis with "perfect infinitive" auxiliary fuisse has two markers of past and it refers to an event prior to another event, which is also prior to the reported statement. Thus there are three times involved: the primary is the time of stating, the secondary is the time of another event, and the tertiary is the time of the event represented by the perfect periphrasis.
Just as a "perfect indicative" verb can represent either a past event or the present result, so the perfect periphrasis with the "perfect infinitive" auxiliary fuisse often represent either a past-in-past event or present-in-past result at the time of the reported statement.
| Inner Meaning | Outer Meaning | Paradigm | Latin example | English translation | Comment |
| relative past in future | past in future in present | "fore infinitive of periphrastic perfect" | hoc possum dīcere, mē satis adeptum fore, sī nūllum in mē perīculum redundārit | 'I can say this, that I will have achieved enough, if no danger redounds on me' | that x will have done in English |
| relative past in future | past in future in present | "fore infinitive of periphrastic perfect" | Carthāginiēsēs dēbellātum mox fore rēbantur | 'the Carthaginians thought that the war would soon have been brought to an end | that x would have done in English |
| relative past in future | past in future in present | "fore infinitive of periphrastic perfect" | metum sī quī sustulisset, omnem vītae dīligentiam sublātam fore | 'if someone were to remove fear, all carefulness of life would have been removed too' | that x would have done in English |
| relative past in past | past in past in present | "perfect infinitive of periphrastic "habeō" perfect" | pollicērer tibī ... mē sēgregātum habuisse, uxōrem ut dūxit, ā mē Pamphilum | 'I promise you that, by the time Pamphilus got married, I had separated him from myself' | that x had done in English |
| relative past in past | past in past in present | "perfect infinitive of periphrastic "habeō" perfect" | tē... fatēris... aurum occultum habuisse | 'you confess that you had hidden the gold' | that x had done in English |
| relative past in past | past in past in present | "perfect infinitive of periphrastic "habeō" perfect" | Cauniī praetereā dēbent, sed aiunt sē dēpositam pecūniam habuisse | 'the people of Caunus also owe him money, but they say that they had already deposited a sum of money' | that x had done in English |
| relative past in past | past in past in present | "perfect infinitive of periphrastic perfect" | quod iūdicium cum agerētur, exercitum in forō collocātum ā Gn. Pompeiō fuisse...ex ōrātiōne appāret | 'it appears from the speech that while the trial was in progress, an army had been stationed in the forum by Gnaeus Pompeius' | that x had done in English |
| relative past in past | past in past in present | "perfect infinitive of periphrastic perfect" | tūn mēd indūtum fuisse pallam praedicās? | 'are you saying that I had dressed a lady's mantle?' | that x had done in English |
| relative past in past | past in past in present | "perfect infinitive of periphrastic perfect" | dēprehēnsus dēnique cum ferrō ad senātum is quem ad Cn. Pompeium interimendum conlocātum fuisse cōnstābat | 'finally a man who, it was established, had been stationed there to kill Gnaeus Pompeius was arrested with a weapon near the Senate' | that x had done in English |
| relative past in past | past in past in present | "perfect infinitive of periphrastic perfect" | satis est ... docēre magnam eī spem in Milōnis morte prōpositam ... fuisse | 'it is sufficient to show that for Clodius great hope had been placed in Milo's death' | that x had done in English |
| relative past in past | past in past in present | "perfect infinitive of periphrastic perfect" | idque ... eius imperātōris nōmine positum ac dēdicātum fuisse | 'and that had originally been placed there and dedicated in the name of that general ' | that x had done in English |
| relative past in past | past in past in past | "perfect infinitive of periphrastic perfect" | Herculēs ... dēvēnit ad Promēthea, quem in Caucasō monte vīnctum fuisse suprā dīximus | 'Hercules eventually came to Prometheus, who, as we said above, had earlier been chained up in the Caucasus mountain' | that x had earlier done in English |
| relative past in past | past in past in past | "perfect infinitive of periphrastic perfect" | populum Tanaquil adloquitur: ... sōpītum fuisse rēgem subitō ictū; ... iam ad sē redīsse | 'Tanaquil addressed the people: she said that the king had earlier been knocked unconscious by the sudden blow, but he had now recovered' | that x had earlier done in English |
| relative past in past | past in past in past | "perfect infinitive of periphrastic perfect" | cognōvī tibi eum falsō suspectum fuisse | 'I found out that he had earlier been unfairly suspected by you' | that x had earlier done in English |
| relative past in past | - | - | - | - | - |
| relative past in past | - | - | - | - | - |
Tenses in "subjunctive" mode
For acts of asking, wondering and hoping, events are represented in the "subjunctive" mode in the reported locutions or ideas. Dependent clauses representing the cause of the dominant clause are also in the "subjunctive" mode. This applies to multiple causal conjunctions such as the causal cum, the causal quī, the final ut/utī, the final nē and the final quī.Secondary tenses
Secondary future
| Inner Meaning | Outer Meaning | Paradigm | Latin example | English translation | Comment |
| imperfect in imperfect | future in future | "present subjunctive" | neque quaerēs, ubī nocte dormiat, aut sī quaesieris, prō singulīs injūriīs nūmerābis praesentēs dēnāriōs dūcēnōs. | 'you will not ask where he will sleep at night, and if you do, for each harassment you will pay twenty denarii on the spot.' | will do in English |
| imperfect in imperfect | future in present | "present subjunctive" | oportet ēsse ut vīvās, nōn vīvere ut edās | 'you should eat to live, not live to eat | do in English |
| imperfect in perfect | future in past | "imperfect subjunctive" | Lacedaemoniī lēgātōs Athēnās mīsērunt, quī eum absentem accusārent | 'the Spartans sent ambassadors to Athens to accuse him while absent' | do in English |
Secondary present
| Inner Meaning | Outer Meaning | Paradigm | Latin example | English translation | Comment |
| imperfect in imperfect | present in future | "present subjunctive" | quaerēs fortāsse, cūr, cum haec in urbe sint, nōn absim, quemadmodum tū. | ' you may ask yourself why, since this will take place in the city, I will not be away like you' | will do in English |
| imperfect in imperfect | present in present | "present subjunctive" | quid tāmen agās, quaerō, et an tuīs pedibus pervēnerīs domum. | 'However, I'm asking how you are doing and whether you arrived home on foot.' | am doing in English |
| imperfect in imperfect | present in present | "present subjunctive" | et forsitan quaeris, quārē sōlus Corinthea vēra possideam. | 'and you may be asking why only I own true Corinthean goods.' | do in English |
| imperfect in imperfect | present in present | "present subjunctive" | quaerunt, ubī sit. | 'they are asking where it is.' | do in English |
| imperfect in imperfect | present in present | "present subjunctive" | velim, vērum sit. | 'I hope it is true.' | do in English |
| imperfect in imperfect | present in present | "present subjunctive" | quae cum ita sint, dubitās, sī... | 'since this is the case, you do not know, if you...' | do in English |
| imperfect in perfect | present in past | "imperfect subjunctive" | quaerēbātur, ubī esset | 'people were asking where he was | did in English |
Secondary past
| Inner Meaning | Outer Meaning | Paradigm | Latin example | English translation | Comment |
| perfect in imperfect | past in present | "perfect subjunctive" | mīror, quid causae fuerit quā rē cōnsilium mūtārīs. | 'I wonder what the reason was that you changed your plan' | did in English |
| perfect in imperfect | past in present | "perfect subjunctive" | quid tāmen agās, quaerō, et an tuīs pedibus pervēnerīs domum. | 'however, I'm asking how you are doing and whether you arrived home on foot.' | did in English |
| perfect in imperfect | past in present | "perfect subjunctive" | mē caecum quī haec ante nōn vīderim! | 'I must be blind since I didn't see this before!' | did in English |
| perfect in perfect | past in past | "pluperfect subjunctive" | cum quaererem, num quid nōbīs in prandium frater parāsset... | 'when I asked whether my boyfriend had prepared anything for lunch...' | had done in English |
Tertiary tense
Tertiary past
In "if" clauses within reported locutions, a "present subjunctive" verb can represent a "relative perfect" event at the time of another event, as long as that other event takes place after the time of the reported locution.| Inner Meaning | Outer Meaning | Paradigm | Latin example | English translation | Comment |
| relative perfect in imperfect | future in future in past | "present subjunctive" | nisī dēcēdat atque exercitum dēdūcat, sēsē illum prō hoste habitūrum | ' if he did not retreat and withdraw his army, he would treat him as an enemy' | did in English |
Expansive meanings
Tenses in "subjunctive" mode for conditional clauses
The following unfulfillable wish also uses the double pluperfect subjunctive passive:Imperfect subjunctive + pluperfect subjunctive:
When the main verb is primary, an imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive in a clause that is already subordinate in the original sentence may often remain:
In other examples in reported speech, the subjunctive in the "if" clause represents an original present subjunctive with potential meaning:
In some sentences, the pluperfect subjunctive is a reflection of an original imperfect indicative, as in the following example, where the original verbs would have been mīlitābāmus and habēbāmus:
In other sentences, the pluperfect subjunctive is a transformation of a future perfect indicative, put into historic sequence. The original words of the following sentence would presumably have been tū, sī aliter fēcerīs, iniūriam Caesarī faciēs 'if you do otherwise, you will be doing Caesar a disservice':