[Footnote 2: Ablative of means.]

_189._ EXERCISE

1. Where had the boys been before? They had been in school. 2. Where had
Sextus been? He had been in a field next to the river. 3. Who has been
with Sextus to-day? Cornelius has been with him. 4. Who says so? Marcus.
5. If the wind has been suitable, the boys have been in the boat.
6. Soon we shall sail with the boys. 7. There[3] will be no danger,
if we are (shall have been) careful.[4]

[Footnote 3: The expletive _there_ is not expressed, but the verb
will precede the subject, as in English.]

[Footnote 4: This predicate adjective must be nominative plural to
agree with _we_.]

LESSON XXXII

THE PERFECT ACTIVE INDICATIVE OF THE FOUR REGULAR CONJUGATIONS

[Special Vocabulary]

NOUNS
/animus, -i:\, m., _mind, heart; spirit, feeling_ (animate)
/bracchium, bracchi:\, n., _forearm, arm_
/porta, -ae\, f., _gate_ (portal)

ADJECTIVES
/adversus, -a, -um\, _opposite; adverse, contrary_
/ple:nus, -a, -um\, _full_ (plenty)

PREPOSITION
/pro:\, with abl., _before; in behalf of; instead of_

ADVERB
/diu:\, _for a long time, long_

_190._ Meanings of the Perfect. The perfect tense has two distinct
meanings. The first of these is equivalent to the English present
perfect, or perfect with _have_, and denotes that the action of the verb
is complete at the time of speaking; as, _I have finished my work_. As
this denotes completed action at a definite time, it is called the
/perfect definite\.

The perfect is also used to denote an action that happened _sometime in
the past_; as, _I finished my work._ As no definite time is specified,
this is called the /perfect indefinite\. It corresponds to the ordinary
use of the English past tense.

_a._ Note carefully the difference between the following tenses:

_I {was finishing } my work_ (imperfect, Sec. 134)
{used to finish}
_I finished my work_ (perfect indefinite)
_I have finished my work_ (perfect definite)

When telling a story the Latin uses the _perfect indefinite_ to mark the
different _forward steps_ of the narrative, and the _imperfect_ to
_describe situations and circumstances_ that attend these steps. If the
following sentences were Latin, what tenses would be used?

"Last week I went to Boston. I was trying to find an old friend of
mine, but he was out of the city. Yesterday I returned home."

_191._ Inflection