Download What are Infinitives?

Complimentary Infinitives
Magister Henderson
Latin I
What are Infinitives?
• The infinitive is a type of verbal noun, similar to a
gerund.
• It is usually preceded by the particle “to” in
English, such as: “to be”, “to have”, “to go”, “to
see”, etc.
• “Infinitive” comes from the Latin word infinitīvus
(“unlimited”) since it is often used to express the
basic meaning of a verb, without limiting it to a
particular pronoun such as “he”, “she”, or “they”.
How are Infinitives Used?
• An infinitive cannot be the main verb of a
sentence, but it may be used to complete the
meaning of certain verbs.
• Verbs that may be followed by an infinitive
include: “want”, “need”, “can”, “like”, “love”,
“ought”, etc.
• When it is used this way, it is called a
complimentary infinitive.
Infinitives in Latin
Puella legere amat. = The girl loves to read.
Arborem ascendere vult = He wants to climb the tree.
Servus lupum repellere nōn timet.
= The slave is not afraid to drive off the wolf.
• The infinitive typically ends in –re.
• In Latin it usually precedes the main verb, but it
usually follows the main verb in English.
Other Uses of the Infinitive
• Since it is a verbal noun, the infinitive can also
be used as the subject of a sentence.
• This called the subjective infinitive.
Errāre hūmānum est.
= To err is human.
-L. Annaeus Seneca
Other Uses of the Infinitive
• The infinitive can also be used together with an
impersonal verb.
• Impersonal verbs are verbs that are only used
with the pronoun “it”.
• The infinitive can also be used as the object of
certain verbs, along with a direct object, to show
an action performed by the direct object.
• This is called the objective infinitive.
• We will see both of these uses in coming lessons.