Dare is the plural imperative form of do, dare in Latin, and here’s why it matters.

Title: The Command Mood in Latin: Why “date” is the plural imperative of dare (and what that teaches us)

If you’ve ever tried to translate a quick line in Latin, you know how tiny forms can change everything. One little syllable can turn a simple sentence into a command, a request, or a stubborn instruction. For learners in Certamen for Beginners, getting these moods and endings straight is half the fun. Let’s unpack a tiny, but mighty, piece of Latin: the imperative plural form of the verb dare, “to give” or “to do.” And yes, there’s a surprising twist worth noting.

Question to chew on

Here’s a classic little prompt you might encounter in reading exercises or in a friendly Latin quiz:

What is the imperative plural form of the verb “do, dare”?

• A. Dare

• B. Datum

• C. Datibus

• D. Darete

Spoiler alert: the tidy, textbook answer isn’t any of these. In standard Latin, the plural command with “give” (dare) is actually date. That’s the form you’d use when you’re telling more than one person to give something or to do something together. So how does that work, and why do the other forms show up in choices like Datum, Datibus, or Darete? Let’s break it down.

Imperatives 101: commands in Latin

First, a quick refresher on mood matters. The imperative mood is the way Latin speakers issue direct commands or give instructions. It’s the bossy cousin of the indicative, the one that doesn’t hedge or hesitate. Imperatives come in two numbers:

• Singular: you (singular)

• Plural: you all (plural)

Latin is famously pattern-driven, but it’s also beautifully systematic. For first-conjugation verbs—the group that includes dare in its infinitive form dare, to give—the present imperative singular usually ends in a simple -a or -e (depending on the vowel pattern of the stem). The plural takes a tidy -te. That’s the little trick that often trips learners at first.

So for the verb dare, the stem you work with is da- (the “give” root). Add -te for the second-person plural, and you get date. In other words, you’d shout “Date!” to a group and mean “Give!” or “Do this (tend to this) you all.”

A neat little aside about how Latin verbs work

Latin isn’t just a vocabulary deck; it’s a tiny orchestra of endings that signal mood, voice, tense, person, and number. The same root can sing different endings to tell you who is doing what, and when. With dare, you’re watching:

• the stem: da-

• the mood: imperative (a direct command)

• the number: plural (you all)

• the ending: -te

That “-te” ending is a dead giveaway that you’re looking at the plural imperative for many 1st-conjugation stems. If you’ve trained your eye on amare (to love), you’ll recognize the pattern quickly: ama-te becomes amate in the plural. Dare follows the same logic, just with its own stem and meaning.

Why the other options show up in quizzes

Let’s take the distractors you see in the multiple-choice list and map them to what Latin learners bump into in real life:

• Datum: a noun, neuter, singular or sometimes plural in different uses. If you’re reading, you’ll spot datum as “that which is given” or “a data point” in modern contexts. It’s not a verb form at all, which is the core misdirection here.

• Datibus: a dative/ablative plural form of datum, or more simply, a plural form you’d see in noun paradigms, not as a command. It’s familiar to students who’ve practiced noun endings, but it doesn’t function as a verb imperative in real sentences.

• Darete: this one looks tempting to some learners who catch the -te ending for second-person plural. But “darete” isn’t the standard present imperative form in classical Latin; it isn’t the form you’d actually use in ordinary speech or writing. It’s a tempting imitation, but it’s not correct for the imperative of dare.

• Dare (the choice you might instinctively lean toward): this is the infinitive form of the verb, not the command. It’s a perfectly correct dictionary form, but it’s not telling someone to do something in the moment. In the world of imperatives, we want the firm, action-driving form.

What the right form looks like in use

To make the idea concrete, picture a classroom or a campfire scene where you’re guiding a group through a quick activity:

• Singular command: Da! (Give!)

• Plural command: Date! (Give! to you all)

If you’re translating a line that says “You all give the gifts,” you’d keep the word as date, not damnably as dare. The difference is subtle on paper, but it’s decisive in Latin syntax.

Why accuracy here matters for beginners

You’ll often encounter small but telling details like this as you move from reading simple phrases to parsing longer passages. The imperative forms show up in inscriptions, in dialogues in Latin prose, and even in well-tended Latin glossaries and dictionaries that learners rely on to build confidence. Knowing the exact plural form helps you keep the action clear, the sense precise, and your translation fluid.

A few tips that help with Latin imperatives

• Memorize the general pattern for first-conjugation verbs: stem + -a for singular, stem + -te for plural in the present imperative. For dare, the stem is da-, so date fits the pattern.

• Distinguish the infinitive from the imperative. If you see -re in the form, you’re looking at an infinitive; if you see -te, you’re in the plural imperative territory.

• Practice with a short roster of verbs you know well. For amare, singular is ama, plural is amate. For dare, think date. Seeing the parallel structure helps the brain latch onto the rule.

• Don’t panic if a distractor looks plausible. Datum and datibus are noun forms; darete, while visually tempting, isn’t the standard present imperative for dare.

A stroll through related ideas (little tangents that still relate)

• The Latin command mood isn’t just about telling people to do something. It’s a social tool, a way to coordinate group actions, especially in classroom Latin or small-group translations. The energy of a group gets channeled when you shout a simple Date! and everyone knows the next step.

• You might notice that modern Latin adoptees or enthusiasts occasionally create modern phrases that preserve the old endings. In that spirit, if you wanted to say “Let’s give” in a playful, communal sense in a modern dialogue, Latin could still convey that shared action with a balanced mix of mood and number.

• Data and datum show up in a surprising way, too. Datum (the noun) reminds us that language isn’t only about verbs; nouns, adjectives, and pronouns dance together to carry meaning. The moment you switch from a verb to a noun, the entire sentence’s skeleton changes—and that’s the beauty of Latin’s precision.

Putting it all together

Here’s the bottom line you can carry with you:

• The imperative plural form of dare is date, not dare.

• The options Datum and Datibus belong to noun usage, while Darete isn’t the standard plural imperative for this verb in classical usage.

• Understanding the stem + -te pattern helps you spot the plural imperative across many 1st-conjugation verbs, making translated passages smoother and more accurate.

A tiny, practical recap for quick recall

• Imperative mood = direct commands

• Singular imperative for dare = da

• Plural imperative for dare = date

• Common distractors you’ll see: datum (noun), datibus (noun form), darete (nonstandard for this verb)

As you move through Certamen for Beginners, you’ll encounter these little moments often. They’re more than trivia; they’re clues about how Latin speakers thought and how the language organizes ideas. Embrace the pattern, and you’ll find that many other verbs echo the same logic, making the next translation feel more like a confident conversation than a puzzle.

A closing thought

Latin rewards careful observation. A single ending change can flip a sentence from a mere description to a direct command. The more you tune into these patterns, the more fluent your reading and translating will become. And who knows—maybe you’ll start seeing Latin forms pop up in places you didn’t expect, from historical inscriptions to clever labels on today’s science museums.

If you’re curious to explore more about imperatives, or you want a gentle, engaging way to build confidence with Latin forms, you’re not alone. The language—with its crisp endings and its precise logic—has a way of rewarding learners who stick with it, one small, confident step at a time. And that, in the end, is what makes the journey worth taking.