portavi

Portavi is the first person singular perfect active indicative form of the Latin verb portare, meaning “I carried” or “I have carried.” It is part of the first conjugation, formed from the present infinitive portare with the perfect ending -avi. The principal parts are porto, portare, portavi, portatum.

Grammatically, portavi is transitive and takes a direct object in the accusative. The subject is usually supplied by the verb ending, but may be made explicit with a subject pronoun such as ego. The form is used to express a completed action in the past and appears in narrative, descriptive, and historical contexts. For example, Portavi librum ad scholam means “I carried the book to the school.” In indirect discourse, portavi may be used within subordinate clauses to report past events.

Related forms include the present participle portans (carrying), the perfect passive participle portatus (carried, having been carried) and the passive voice portatus sum (I was carried). The corresponding imperfect, future, and pluperfect forms follow regular conjugation patterns of portare (e.g., portabas, portabo, portaveram). Mastery of portavi helps in reading Latin texts across genres, from terse inscriptions to prose and poetry, where past action is narrated and linked to the surrounding events.

Portavi thus represents a core element of Latin's tense and aspect system, signaling a completed action by the speaker or narrator. As with other perfect forms, its exact temporal distance relative to the main narrative can depend on context, mood, and translation choices.