videntur

Videntur is a Latin verb form that appears in the present tense. It is the present passive indicative, 3rd person plural, of the verb videre, meaning to see. In translation, videntur typically means “they are seen.”

Morphology and conjugation: Videntur is built from the stem vid- plus the standard present passive ending for the 2nd conjugation verb videre. The form is used when the subject is plural and the action is described as being carried out on the subject by an external agent or in a general passive sense. The corresponding singular present passive would be videtur (he/she/it is seen).

Usage and nuances: In classical Latin, videntur is used in ordinary descriptive or narrative contexts to state that certain things are visible or perceived. The literal sense is passive: the things are seen by someone. In some literary or rhetorical contexts, Latin often uses passive forms to convey perceptual or evaluative nuances, but videntur is not the standard way to render “they seem” in the sense of appearance; that is more commonly expressed with vidētur (it seems) or similar constructions. The form is also encountered in indirect expressions where a plural subject is understood as being observable or perceivable.

See also: video, videre, Latin verb forms, passive voice.