Chapter 177Allen and Greenough's Latin GrammarDickinson CollegeChristopher Francese
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Supine Stem
The Perfect Stem is formed as follows:—
The suffix
v
(
u
) is added to the verb-stem: as,
vocā-v-ī
,
audī-v-ī
;
or to the root: as,
son-u-ī
(
sonā-re
, root SON),
mon-u-ī
(
monē-re
, MON treated as a root).
The
v-
perfect is a form of uncertain origin peculiar to the Latin.
In a few verbs the vowel of the root is transposed and lengthened: as,
strā-v-ī
(
sternō
, STAR),
sprē-v-ī
(
spernō
, SPAR).
The suffix
s
is added to the root: as,
carp-s-ī
(CARP),
tēx-ī
(for
tēg-s-ī
, TEG).
The
s-
perfect is in origin an aorist. Thus,
dīx-ī
(for
†dīcs-ī
) corresponds to the Greek aorist
ἔ-δειξ-α
(for
†ἔ-δεικσ-α
).
The modifications of the present stem sometimes appear in the perfect: as,
fīnx-ī
(FIG, present stem
fingĕ-
),
sānx-ī
(SAC, present stem
sancī-
).
The root is
reduplicated
by prefixing the first consonant—generally with
ĕ
, sometimes with the root-vowel: as,
ce-cid-ī
(
cadō
, CAD),
to-tond-ī
(
tondeō
, TOND).
In
fid-ī
(for
†fe-fid-ī
,
find-ō
),
scid-ī
(for
†sci-scid-ī
,
scindō
), the reduplication has been lost, leaving merely the root.
The root vowel is lengthened, sometimes with vowel change: as,
lēg-ī
(
lĕg-ō
),
ēm-ī
(
ĕm-ō
),
vīd-ī
(
vĭd-e-ō
),
fūg-ī
(
fŭg-i-ō
),
ēg-ī
(
ăg-ō
).
Sometimes the perfect stem has the same formation that appears in the present tense: as,
vert-ī
(
vert-ō
),
solv-ī
(
solv-ō
).
Sometimes the perfect is formed from a lost or imaginary stem: as,
petī-v-ī
(as if from
†peti-ō
,
†petī-re
, PET)
.