The present active participle

Latin uses two participles very frequently. You are already familiar with the perfect passive participle, which you already know as the fourth principal part of a verb’s dictionary entry. (Review the introduction to participles.)

The other common participle is present in tense, and active in voice. We looked at the English example “admiring” in the sentence “Admiring crowds flocked to the Botanical Garden.” “Admiring” is an adjective describing crowds as performing the action of admiring.

As with the perfect passive participle, however, you should emphasize the verbal aspect of the present active participle, and think of it as the equivalent of a dependent verbal idea in English. Ask the same kinds questions you ask about the perfect passive participle:

does it indicate contemporary time or circumstance, similar to a temporal clause? (The perfect passive participle would indicate earlier time or circumstance.)
does it identify a person or thing (similar to a relative clause)?
does it suggest a causal relation (like an English clause beginning “because…)?
suggest a concessive relation (like English “although…”)?

Forming the present participle

The present participle is a third-declension adjective with a single form for all three genders (a one-termination adjective).

for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd conjugation verbs, drop the final -re from the second principal part, and then add the endings -ns, -ntis to form nominative singular and genitive singular.
for 3rd-io or 4th conjugation verbs, drop the final -re from the second principal part, change the vowel to -ie-, and add the endings -ns, -ntis to form nominative singular and genitive singular.

Practice with participles

In the following sentences, first identify independent and dependent verbal constructions: clauses, indirect statements and participles. Place each on a separate line, and indent to show the level of subordination, as you did in translation 1.

Each sentence includes a participle (present active or perfect passive). Identify what noun or pronoun it agrees with. Suggest an interpretation to guide your translation of the participial expression as a dependent clause in English.. You should be able to explain what clues you looked at to decide on a possible translation.

From stories of Hercules you already know

1. Dexamenus centaurum timens pollicitus est se filiam suam daturum esse.

Jason and the Golden Fleece

Pelias had an oracle warning him to beware if a one-shoed man should appear while he was sacrificing to Neptune.

Juno stood by the bank of a river disguised as an old woman to see who would carry her across: only Jason, who was on his way to attend Pelias’ sacrifice to Neptue, was willing. Juno was angry with Pelias so she caused Jason to lose a sandal in the river.

Glosses:

aries, arietis (m): “ram”
hostis, hostis (m): “enemy”
inauro, inaurare, inauravi, inauratum: “cover with gold, gild”

2. id Pelias videns, iussit eum pellem arietis petere ab rege Aeeta hoste.

3. Phrixus Marti sacrauerat pellem arietis inauratam.

Oedipus

Oedipus was abandoned to die by his parents because of an oracle that said he would kill his father and marry his mother. The infant was discovered, and he was raised by Polybus, the ruler of Corinth.

Glosses:

credo, credere, credidi, creditus: “to believe”
moleste fero: “to take badly, to lament”

4. Oedipus audivit Polybum mortuum esse, et credens eum patrem suum esse moleste ferre coepit.