I. Infinitive
Basics
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What is an infinitive?
I.
II.
III.
When you look up a Latin verb in a
Latin-English lexicon or dictionary, you
will see 4 entries (principal parts) for
most verbs.
The 2nd entry, usually abbreviated "are," "-ere" or "-ire," is the infinitive.
More specifically, it's the present
active infinitive, which is translated into
English as "to _____."
The vowel (a, e, or i) of the infinitive
indicates which conjugation it belongs
to.
Example
 the
dictionary entry for a verb in Latin:
Laudo,
-are, -avi, -atus. Praise
Looking up a verb
 The
1st entry in the dictionary entry is the
present, active, singular, 1st person form
of the verb.
 Note the -o ending.
 Laudo 'I praise' is a first conjugation verb
and therefore has an infinitive ending in "are."
 The entire present active
infinitive of laudo is laudare, which we
translate into English as "to praise.“
On Interpreting the Infinitive
Although
it may be easy
enough to translate the infinitive
as "to" plus whatever the verb is
(plus whatever person and tense
markers may be required), it can
be hard to explain the infinitive.
It acts like a verbal noun, for
which reason, it is sometimes
taught alongside the gerund.
Tense in Latin
Complementary Infinitives
As
an example of why tense is a
difficult concept with present
infinitives, Allen says that in
Cicero and Caesar, 1/3 of their
present infinitives follow the
verb possum 'to be able'.
 If
you are able to do something, that
ability precedes the time of the
statement.
Other Uses of the Infinitive
An
infinitive can also be used
as the subject of a sentence.
The subjective infinitive is
found after impersonal
expressions like necesse est 'it
is necessary'.
Necesse est dormire.
it is necessary to sleep.
What do I need to know?
 2nd
principal part of the verb
 Ends with an “-re”
 The “to _____” version of the verb
 Used most often with possum or volo
 Determines to what CONJUGATION a
verb belongs
CONJUGATIONS
-are
– 1st
nd
-Ere – 2
rd
-ere – 3
-ire – 4th