The Irregular Latin Verb Sum To Be

The Latin word sum is perhaps among the best known of all the Latin verbs and it is among the hardest to learn. Sum is the present indicative tense of the verb esse, meaning to be. As with many other living and dead languages, esse is one of the oldest verb forms in Latin, one of the most frequently used of the verbs, and one of the most irregular verbs in Latin and related languages. It is also often contracted in casual use (such as in English Im, thats, theyre, hes), so that the verb is almost invisible to the listener. Etymology The progenitor form of to be is in the Proto-Indo-European  (PIE) language, the parent language of Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, Iranian, Germanic, and indeed most of the languages spoken in all of Europe, India, and Iran. Each of the PIE languages has a form of to be, perhaps because it is so eminently useful: sometimes to be can have an existential significance (To be or not to be, I think therefore I am), but also retains its use in everyday language. In etymological circles, to be is the b-root word, and like all of the b-roots probably is derived from an ancient PIE root, today reconstructed as *h1à ©s-mi (I am). It is also possible that to be in Latin derives from the root word *bhuH- meaning to grow.  Other closely related words to esse are asmi  in Sanskrit and eÃ… ¡mi in Hittite. Conjugating Sum Mood Tense Person Singular Plural indicative Present First sum sumus Second es estis Third est sunt Imperfect First eram eramus Second eras eratis Third erat erant Future First ero erimus Second eris eritis Third erit erunt Perfect First fui fuimus Second fuisti fuistis Third fuit fuerunt Pluperfect First fueram fueramus Second fueras fueratis Third fuera fuerant Future Perfect First fuero fuerimu Second fueris fueritis Third fuerit fuerint Subjunctive Present First sim simus Second sit sitis Third sit sint Imperfect First essem essemus Second esses essetis Third esset essent Perfect First fuerim fuerimus Second fueris fueritis Third fuerit fuerint Pluperfect First fuissem fuissemus Second fuisses fuissetis Third fuisset fuissent Irregular Verbs and Compounds There are several other Latin irregular verbs and compound verbs formed from sum. Eo - to go Fio - to become nolo, nolle, nolui - 'to be unwilling' and malo, malle, malui 'to prefer' are similar. Volo - to wish Fero - to carry Sum - to becompounds: adsum, desum, insum, intersum, praesum, obsum, prosum, subsum, supersum Do - to give Edo - to eat Sources Moreland, Floyd L., and Fleischer, Rita M. Latin: An Intensive Course. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977.Traupman, John C. The Bantam New College Latin English Dictionary. Third Edition. New York: Bantam Dell, 2007.