(Grammar)Tenses+and+Voices+of+the+Infinitive

= Tenses and Voices of the Infinitive = The infinitive is, at its core, the unconjugated form of the verb. It can be used as a subject or object noun, it can complete the meaning of certain verbs like "be able"(//possum//) or "wish"(//volo// and //cupio//), and it can act as the main verb of an indirect statement. In poetry, authors sometimes use the infinitive when a character is so animated that they aren't thinking straight; in other words, they can't conjugate their verbs (the rant of Juno in Book I of the //Aeneid// is a good example).

When using the infinitive in indirect statement, it can be somewhat limiting if all a writer has access to is the present active infinitive, better known as the 2nd principle part of a verb. Fortunately, Latin does provide five other infinitive forms to allow for variations in tense and voice. The following three infinitives, while they are useful in indirect statement, see usage in some of the other ways mentioned above.


 * Present Active: this is the 2nd principle part of the verb. It translates as "to (verb)" by itself, or as a present tense verb in indirect statement.


 * Present Passive: take the 2nd principle part and remove the final "e." If the infinitive ends in a short "ere," remove all of these sounds. In place of the removed sound or sound, add a long "i." It translates to "to be (verb)ed" by itself, or as a present passive verb in indirect statement.


 * Perfect Active: take the 3rd principle part and add the letters "sse" to it. It translates to "to have (verb)ed" by itself, or as a perfect tense verb in indirect statement.

The next three rarely, if ever, see use outside indirect statement (the last one almost never gets used anywhere and most sources no longer teach it. But, this wiki is not most sources ;) ).


 * Perfect Passive: take the 4th principle part and follow it with //esse//. This stays consistent with the perfect passive system, using the 4th part with a form of //sum//. If it were to be used on its own, it would translate to "to have been (verb)ed." Typically, though, it will be a perfect passive verb in indirect statement.


 * Future Active: take the future active participle and follow it with //esse//. If it were to be used on its own, it would translate to "to be about to (verb)." This is consistent with the construction known as the active periphrastic (the future active participle with a form of //sum//, with each part being translated seperately). Typically, though, it will be a future active verb in indirect statement.


 * Future Passive: take the accusative supine (the 4th principal part ending in "um") and follow it with //iri//. If it were to be used on its own, it would translate to "to be about to be (verb)ed." Yeah, that's why you don't see it often. Even as a future passive verb in indirect statement, it doesn't get much use in Latin literature.

What does this look like on real verbs? Here are a couple of examples:


 * //Teneo, tenere, tenui, tentus//- to hold || **Active** || **Passive** ||
 * **Present** || //Tenere//- to hold (NOTE: the first "e" is long) || //Teneri-// to be held ||
 * ** Perfect ** || //Tenuisse-// to have held || //Tentus esse-// to have been held ||
 * ** Future ** || //Tenturus esse-// to be about to hold || //Tentum iri-// to be about to be held ||
 * //Mitto, mittere, misi, missus-// to send || **Active** || **Passive** ||
 * **Present** || //Mittere-// to send || //Mitti-// to be sent ||
 * **Perfect** || //Misisse-// to have sent || //Missus esse-// to have been sent ||
 * **Future** || //Missurus esse-// to be about to send || //Missum iri-// to be about to be sent ||