# Miserere



## belvidere

This word has me confused. Is it an irregular imperative of misereō, miserḗre, miseruī, miséritum?  Or is it a form of this verb:misereor (miserērī, deponent verb), misertus sum?


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## Cagey

Welcome, belvidere. 

Misderere  could be a form of either verb.  

Please give us the complete sentence.  That is how we will know which form it is in the context you have.


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## belvidere

Okay, I am interested in the Agnus Dei wherein the verb appears as:

Miserere nobis, i.e., have mercy/pity on us.


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## Cagey

Yes, it is the second person singular imperative of the deponent _misereor_, with the meaning you have above.


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## belvidere

I read at one place that it was an imperative form of misereō, miserḗre, miseruī, miséritum, so I was misled.  Thank you.  Do you happen to know the rule for constructing imperative deponents?


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## Cagey

Deponents like _miserereor_, are passive in form, though we translate them as active.   The rule for passives is:The singular uses the alternate form of the present passive indicative  (which looks like the present active infinitive) and the plural uses the  present passive indicative form of the second person plural.​The Wiki article on Latin conjugation has this rule, along with a chart showing the form in different conjugations.


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## belvidere

Thank you.


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