The Latin Infinitive

📚 Year 9 Latin ⏱️ 25 min 📊 Intermediate

Can you translate this sentence? Click on each word to reveal its meaning.

Starter Sentence:
legere amō

Breaking it down:

legere → to read (infinitive)
amō → I like / I love
💡 Click to see alternative translation

I like to read

or

I like reading

Both translations work in English!

What is the Infinitive?

The infinitive captures the basic meaning of a verb and is translated to X (to carry, to warn, etc.).

Finite Verb
portō
I carry
Specific person (I), specific time (present), specific number (singular)
Infinitive
portāre
to carry
General action - no specific person, time, or number
🤔 What does "non-finite" mean?

Finite comes from Latin fīnītus meaning "limited" or "defined". A finite verb describes an action done by a specific person on a specific occasion.

The infinitive is non-finite because it describes the action in a general sense, without limiting it to a specific person or time.

Easy to Spot!
The infinitive is easy to recognise because it has a distinctive -re ending. If you see a Latin verb ending in -re, it's an infinitive!

The infinitive is formed by adding -re to the stem and characteristic vowel for each conjugation.

1st Conjugation
port-āre
to carry
stem + ā + re
2nd Conjugation
mon-ēre
to warn
stem + ē + re
3rd Conjugation
trah-ere
to drag
stem + e + re
4th Conjugation
aud-īre
to hear
stem + ī + re
💡 A note about the 3rd conjugation

We noted that it's hard to pin down the characteristic vowel for the third conjugation. Here in the infinitive (and in some other places), it uses -e-.

🔊 Important pronunciation note

Though the ending of the infinitive looks the same in the second and third conjugations (-ere), the pronunciation is different:

2nd conjugation: monēre
The first 'e' is long
3rd conjugation: trahere
The first 'e' is short
The infinitive of sum (to be)
esse
to be

The infinitive follows some verbs naturally. Here are the most common ones:

Verbs that take infinitives
timeō + infinitive
I am afraid to...
amō + infinitive
I like to... / I like ...ing
Example with timeō:
epistulam legere timeō
I am afraid to read the letter
Example with amō:
legere amō
I like to read or I like reading
💡 A note on word order

Notice that the infinitive can come before or after the main verb. Latin word order is flexible! Both legere amō and amō legere mean "I like to read".

An Important Verb: iubeō

iubeō (2nd conjugation)
I order

This verb has a special pattern. It takes:

The Pattern
verb
iubeō
+
accusative object
who is ordered
+
infinitive
what to do
Example:
servōs sedēre iubemus
We order the slaves to sit (down)

Breaking it down:

iubemus → we order (main verb)
servōs → the slaves (accusative - who is being ordered)
sedēre → to sit (infinitive - what they are ordered to do)
Remember!
The person being ordered is in the accusative case. The action they are ordered to do is in the infinitive.
Exercise 2.30: Translate into English

Click each sentence to reveal the translation.

1. fēminae ancillās in hortum venīre iubent.
The women order the slave-girls to come into the garden.
2. nūntiī ad īnsulam nāvigāre timent.
The messengers are afraid to sail to the island.
3. in hortō cum amīcīs sedēre amāmus.
We like to sit in the garden with our friends. (or: We like sitting in the garden with our friends.)
4. dominus servōs cibum parāre iubet.
The master orders the slaves to prepare food.
5. librōs legere et epistulās scrībere amō.
I like to read books and write letters. (or: I like reading books and writing letters.)
Exercise 2.31: Translate into Latin

Click each sentence to reveal the Latin.

1. The slaves like to drink wine.
servī vīnum bibere amant.
2. The girl is afraid to walk into the temple.
puella in templum ambulāre timet.
3. I order the slave-girl to guard the money.
ancillam pecūniam custōdīre iubeō.
4. You (pl) like to walk through the fields.
per agrōs ambulāre amātis.
5. We order the boys to carry the gift into the house.
puerōs dōnum in villam portāre iubēmus.