Infinitives: Formation Rules

Transcription

1 Infinitives: Formation Rules There are three tenses of the infinitive mood in Latin and in English: perfect infinitive (active and passive voices) present infinitive (active and passive voices) future infinitive (active voice only) The perfect active infinitive is formed on the third principal part stem, or perfect stem, by adding isse to the stem: vocavisse monuisse rexisse cepisse audivisse to have called to have warned to have ruled to have taken to have heard

2 The perfect passive infinitive is formed on the fourth principal part, or perfect passive participle, by adding the present infinitive of sum: vocatus esse monitus esse rectus esse captus esse auditus esse to have been called to have been warned to have been ruled to have been taken to have been heard The perfect infinitive always indicates that its action happened before the action of the main verb in its clause. Nota Bene: the perfect passive infinitive only exists for those verbs which are transitive; transitive verbs are identifiable in Latin by their fourth principal part, which must end in tus or sus. Verbs which either end in urus in the fourth principal part, or which have no fourth principal part, are intransitive verbs. Intransitive verbs have no passive forms whatsoever.

3 The present active infinitive of all verbs is the second princpal part of the verb. vocare monere regere capere audire to call to warn to rule to take to hear The present passive infinitive is formed by modifying the second principal part of a transitive verb; the ending of the present passive infinitive features the letter i. Note the third conjugation formation rule carefully! vocari to be called capi to be taken moneri to be warned audiri to be heard regi to be ruled The present infinitive always happens at the same time as the main verb in its clause.

4 The future active infinitive is formed by modifying the fourth principal part, or perfect passive participle, by adding ur- to the stem before the case ending. Adding this sign has two important effects: it makes the tense future, and it makes the voice active. The present infinitive of sum follows this form. vocatus becomes vocaturus esse monitus becomes moniturus esse rectus becomes recturus esse captus becomes capturus esse auditus becomes auditurus esse to be about to, going to, intending to call to be about to, going to, intending to warn to be about to, going to, intending to rule to be about to, going to, intending to take to be about to, going to, intending to hear The future infinitive always indicates that its action happens after or later than the action of the main verb in its clause.

5 The Major Uses of the Infinitive Mood The infinitive is a verbal noun, and thus its uses reflect common grammatical uses of nouns. There are four such uses. 1. The Complementary Infinitive simply completes the meaning begun by the main verb. In English, when the main verb is followed immediately by the formula to + another verb the infinitive is complementary. I like to run. I want to be kept safe. Currere amo. Servari desidero. 2. The Subjective Infinitive replaces a traditional noun as the subject of certain verbs. Verbs with an apparent subject of it take subjective infinitives. Such it verbs are called impersonal verbs. It is pleasant to see you. (Seeing you is pleasant.) It is necessary to work well. (Working well is necessary.) Videre te gratum est. Bene laborare oportet.

6 3. The Objective Infinitive replaces a traditional noun as the direct object of certain verbs. The most common of these verbs are jubeo, order; prohibeo, prevent; veto, forbid; cogo, force or compel. Numerous verbs, however, may take the objective infinitive. The Objective Infinitive has as its subject a subject accusative. Caesar ordered the men to attack. Caesar viros oppugnare jussit. The consuls were forbidding the people to be free. Senatores populum esse liberum vetabant. 4. The Infinitive in Indirect Discourse (or Indirect Statement) is similar to the Objective Infinitive, except that the main verb is an action of saying, thinking, knowing, or perceiving. Note well that verbs of perceiving are numerous: seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding, realizing, and learning are verbs of perceiving. Note also that the Infinitive in Indirect Discourse is not translated with to, and that the subject accusative noun is preceded in English by the conjunction that. Vir dicit filium diligenter laborare. The man says that his son works hard.

7 Indirect Discourse: Sequence of Tenses of the Infinitives Since the infinitive in indirect statement is translated to sound like an indicative verb, the sequence of tenses must be observed. There are actually two sequences for verb action: primary and secondary. Primary Sequence means that the main verb is in the present, future, or future perfect tense. Secondary Sequence means that the main verb is in the past tense imperfect, perfect, or pluperfect. Translation patterns for Primary Sequence: Vir dicit filium diligenter laboravisse. The man says that his son (has) worked hard. Vir dicit filium diligenter laborare. The man says that his son is working hard. Vir dicit filium diligenter laboraturum esse. The man says that his son will work hard. Perfect infinitive = before Present infinitive = same Future infinitive = later

8 Translation patterns for Secondary Sequence: Vir dixit filium diligenter laboravisse. The man says that his son (had) worked hard. Vir dixit filium diligenter laborare. The man says that his son was working hard. Vir dixit filium diligenter laboraturum esse. The man says that his son would work hard. Perfect infinitive = before Present infinitive = same Future infinitive = later