reading morphologically

A resource for using morphophonology in Ancient Greek and Latin language instruction.

Sigmatic Aorist Active Infinitive

Introduction

To make the sigmatic aorist active infinitive, take the base, add /σ/ to mark aorist aspect, and add the infinitive marker /αι. The accent falls on the last syllable of the base:

          ποιέ/σ/αι > ποιήσαι
          θαυμάτ/σ/αι > θαυμάσαι
          ἀγγέλ/σ/αι > ἀγγεῖλαι

BASE/σ//αι

Only indicative verbs have independent time, so (like the subjunctive, optative, imperative, and participle) the infinitive does not use a past time marker. The time of the infinitive is dependent on the main verb.