Chapter 8 of Wheelock teaches the third conjugation, which is like the third declension for verbs.
Third conjugation verbs are formed from stems ending in a consonant (often the same consonant stems as the third declension, like the stem reg- that forms both "king" and the verb "regere," to rule.)
So, the Romans had this stem that ended in a consonant and certain verb endings they needed to add to it, and they basically would put various vowels between the stem and the ending, so that the form would be easier to say. It's always a little hard to say a word that has several consonants in a row, and they wanted to avoid this situation.
In the infinitive, they added a short e between the stem and the ending: regere.
In the present they added a short i between the stem and the endings (this changes to u in the third plural): rego regis regit regimus regitis regunt.
In the future they used a long e (this changes to -a in the first person singular): regam reges reget regemus regetis regent.
In the imperfect they used a long e before the usual imperfect endings: regebam regebas regebat regebamus regebatis regebant.
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