ducunt

Ducunt is the third-person plural present indicative active form of the Latin verb ducere, meaning to lead, guide, conduct, or draw. In English translations, ducunt is typically rendered as "they lead" or "they are leading." The base infinitive is ducere, and the verb belongs to the third conjugation of Latin verbs.

Morphology and related forms: Ducere is a 3rd-conjugation verb with a present-system paradigm that includes duco, ducis, ducit, ducimus, ducitis, ducunt for the present indicative. The corresponding perfect, pluperfect, and future forms are formed with the appropriate participial and suffix patterns (e.g., duxi, ductum; ducam, duces, ducet, etc.). The past participle is ductus, and the passive voice uses ducitur, ducuntur, etc.

Usage and sense: In classical Latin, ducunt is used to describe leading or guiding people or things, facilitating movement, or directing a course of action. It can refer to literal leadership (leading an army, guiding along a road) or metaphorical guidance (leading a discussion, leading a procession). The subject is ordinarily the agent performing the action, with objects in the accusative when specifying what is led.

Examples:

- Milites iter ducunt. The soldiers lead the march (or the soldiers are leading the way on the march).

- Cives legatos ducunt ad senatum. The citizens lead the envoys to the Senate.

- Ducunt rem per vias diligenter. They lead the matter along the roads carefully.

Related forms: The verb’s passive counterpart is ducitur (he/she/it is led) or ducuntur (they are led). The noun ductus (a leading, conduct) and the adjective ductus/ducta/ductum (led, conducted) derive from the same root.

Ducunt is a standard example of a common Latin present tense form used for straightforward, present-tense statements about leading or guiding actions.