Ch 8 · Lesson 8Latin · Chapter 8 · Lesson 8 · Grammar primer
Six infinitives: vocare, vocari, vocavisse
To call, to be called, to have called: three tenses of infinitive, active and passive, all from the principal parts. Indirect statement, which runs on them, is the next lesson.
The short version
Six infinitives, all from the principal parts
, ,
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Present: , to call; , to be called. Perfect: , to have called; , to have been called. Future: , to be about to call, and the rare . In the third conjugation the present passive is a bare -i: , to be led; , to be sent.
English reports speech with a small word: he says that the king is coming. Latin has no such word. It puts the reported subject into the accusative and its verb into the infinitive:
| Direct | Reported | English |
|---|---|---|
. | . | He says that the king is coming. |
. | . | He says that the king came. |
. | . | He says that the king will come. |
Three infinitives, one each for the same time, earlier and later. First the forms, then the construction.
The six infinitives
Latin has three tenses of infinitive, each active and passive:
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| present | | |
| perfect | | |
| future | | |
In English: to call, to be called; to have called, to have been called; to be about to call, to be about to be called. Each one comes from a principal part you already know.
| Infinitive | Built from | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| present active | the dictionary's 2nd part | |
| present passive | -ri; 3rd conj. a bare -i | |
| perfect active | perfect stem + - | |
| perfect passive | participle + | , |
| future active | stem + -urus | , |
The third-conjugation passive is so short it looks like a misprint: , to be sent; , to be taken. And , to be about to be, has a one-word twin, , and both are common.
The future passive, , is rare even in Cicero. Recognise it and move on.
Deponents
A deponent's present infinitive looks passive and means active:
| Verb | Infinitive | English |
|---|---|---|
| | to speak |
| | to follow |
| | to be born |
| | to use |
Their perfect infinitive is participle plus , and still active: , to have spoken.
Going further: He says that: the accusative and infinitive and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
Practise this lesson
10-question session
One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
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