[715.] There are three Moods, Indicative, Subjunctive, and Imperative.
[716.] There are six Tenses in the indicative, three of the present system, Present, Imperfect, and Future; and three of the perfect system, Perfect, Pluperfect, and Future Perfect. The subjunctive lacks the futures; the imperative has only the present.
[717.] The meanings of the moods and tenses are best learnt from reading. No satisfactory translation can be given in the paradigms, especially of the subjunctive, which requires a variety of translations for its various uses.
[718.] The verb has two principal stems: I. The Present stem, which is the base of the present system; II. The Perfect stem, which is the base of the perfect active system.
[719.] The perfect system has no passive; its place is supplied by the perfect participle with a form of sum, am, or less frequently of fuī, am become.
[720.] Many verbs have only the present system: as, maereō, mourn; some have only the perfect system: as, meminī, remember. Some verbs have a present and perfect system made up of two separate roots or stems: as, present indicative ferō, carry, perfect indicative tulī, and perfect participle lātus; present possum, can, perfect potuī.
[THE PERSON ENDING.]
[721.] The person ending limits the meaning of the stem by pointing out the person of the subject. There are three Persons, the First, used of the speaker, the Second, of what is spoken to, and the Third, of what is spoken of. The person ending furthermore indicates number and voice.
[722.] There are two Numbers: the Singular, used of one, and the Plural, used of more than one.
[723.] There are two Voices: the Active, indicating that the subject acts, and the Passive, indicating that the subject acts on himself, or more commonly is acted on by another.