modificavimus

Modificavimus is a Latin verb form meaning we modified or we have modified. It is the perfect active indicative of the verb modificare, a regular first-conjugation verb meaning to modify or alter. The form is built from the stem modific- with the perfect personal ending -avimus, indicating first-person plural and a completed action.

Grammatical details and usage: Modificavimus expresses a completed past action and is commonly translated as “we modified” in English. In Latin manuscripts and texts, the subject is often understood from context or supplied as nos. The form appears most often in prose that discusses revisions, edits, or changes to texts, laws, or policies. While the root concept of modification is widespread, modern Latin writers and medieval authors more frequently employ related terms such as emendare (to correct) or mutare (to change); modificare and its perfect forms become more common in later Latin for discussions of revisions or alterations.

Related forms and derivatives: The verb has the usual principal parts for the first conjugation: modificare (infinitive), modifico (present indicative, I modify), modificavi (perfect active, I modified), and modificatus (supine or perfect passive participle). The noun modificatio denotes the act or process of modifying.

Examples and translations:

- Latin: Nos modificavimus leges.

English: We modified the laws.

- Latin: Textum modificavimus ad melius intellectum.

English: We modified the text for clearer understanding.

Notes: Modificavimus is distinct from forms like modificavit (he modified) and from other verbs used to express revisions; it belongs to the broader Latin vocabulary for describing changes and edits in texts and policies.