This chapter adds the final indicative tense: the future perfect. Its idea is simple: two actions are still future, but one will already be complete when the other begins.
Cum hospes vēnerit, cēna incipiet.
When the guest has arrived, dinner will begin.
The arrival is not past when you speak. It is merely earlier than the beginning of dinner, which is itself future.
1. The active form
Take the perfect stem, the same stem seen in parāvī, recēpī, or vēnī, and add:
| person | ending | parāre | recipere |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | -erō | parāverō | recēperō |
| you (sg.) | -eris | parāveris | recēperis |
| he, she | -erit | parāverit | recēperit |
| we | -erimus | parāverimus | recēperimus |
| you (pl.) | -eritis | parāveritis | recēperitis |
| they | -erint | parāverint | recēperint |
The first person singular alone has -ō. All the other endings begin with -eri-.
2. Perfect or future perfect?
Both tenses use the same stem, but they have different reference points.
- Hospes vēnit: the guest arrived in the past.
- Cum hospes vēnerit, cēna incipiet: his arrival will be complete before another future event.
Look for the second future: incipiet, ferent, cēnābimus. It shows that the form in -erit also points forwards.
3. Words that arrange the two actions
You will often meet:
- cum: when;
- ubi: as soon as, when;
- postquam: after.
Ubi cocus carnem coxerit, ministrī eam apportābunt.
The cooking must be complete before the serving. Latin marks this relationship more regularly than everyday English does.
4. The passive: two visible words
In the passive, Latin combines the perfect participle with the future of esse:
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | parātus erō | parātī erimus |
| feminine | parāta erit | parātae erunt |
| neuter | parātum erit | parāta erunt |
Ubi cēna parāta erit, convīvae accumbent.
The two words stay separate. The first agrees with what will have been prepared; the second carries person and future time.
5. singulī, bīnī, ternī
These words do not count a total. They distribute something to each person or group.
- singulī convīvae singula vāsa habent: each guest has one vessel;
- bīnī ministrī veniunt: the attendants come two by two;
- terna pōcula apportant: they bring three cups per group.
They occur chiefly in the plural because distribution presupposes several people or groups.
6. vās: one singular pattern, another plural
In the singular, vās, vāsis follows the third declension:
vās · vās · vās · vāsis · vāsī · vāse
In the plural, it moves to the pattern in -a:
vāsa · vāsa · vāsa · vāsōrum · vāsīs · vāsīs
This is a genuine change of pattern, not a spelling variant.
7. Banquet vocabulary
People and places: hospes, convīva, cocus, minister, culīna, triclīnium, convīvium.
Food and tastes: holus, nux, carō, sal, mel, merum; dulcis, acerbus, merus.
Actions: coquere, gustāre, aspergere, fundere, miscēre, complēre, apportāre.
Narrative time: diū, paulisper, prīdem, dēmum.
Remember
The future perfect does not mean “very far in the future”. It means already completed at the time of another future event. In a sentence with two actions, simply ask which one must finish before the other can begin.