The Syntax of Infinitives
Time and Aspect in Infinitives
In most cases (indirect statement is the sole exception, for which see below) the difference between the progressive infinitive, aorist infinitive, and perfect infinitive is simply one of aspect. All three are by default present in time. So for instance, there is no such thing as a past aorist infinitive. As a result, you will never find a past time marker on an infinitive. Consider the following:
| τὰ ἱππικὰ διδάξαι ἐθέλω | “I want to teach things concerning horses” |
In this sentence, the aorist active infinitive διδάξαι refers to the event or idea of teaching, regardless the time it takes to do so or what I am currently doing. If I want to teach people about horses, that is how I will say it.
Compare this sentence, which uses the progressive active infinitive διδάσκειν:
| τὰ ἱππικὰ διδάσκειν ἐθέλω | “I want to teach things concerning horses” |
In contrast to the aorist, the progressive infinitive suggests it is a thing I wish I were now doing, as if I were watching a teacher stumble over information that I think I could teacher better. Perhaps we can capture the progressive aspect of διδάσκειν better if we translate the sentence like this:
“I want to be teaching things concerning horses.”
The future infinitive, however, does have explicit time built within it. Consider this pair of sentences:
| τὰ ἱππικὰ διδάξαι ἐλπίζω | “I expect to teach things concerning horses” |
As we saw before, the aorist active infinitive διδάξαι simply refers to the event or idea of teaching. Contrast this with the following:
| τὰ ἱππικὰ διδάξειν ἐλπίζω | “I expect to teach things concerning horses” |
Here clearly the future active infinitive διδάξειν refers to a future expectation, as if I am currently in school to become a teacher of things concerning horses, and for that reason I expect to teach the subject in the future. Perhaps a clearer way to translate this sentence is:
“I expect that I will teach things concerning horses”
But this brings us to the topic of indirect statement, on which again see below.
Uses of the Infinitive
The Infinitive as a Verbal Noun
and the Articular Infinitive
The infinitive is by definition a verbal noun. That the infinitive is a noun should be evident in the following English examples:
I want to be sailing
To sing off key is easy for me.
In the first sentence, the infinitive “to be sailing” is the direct object of the verb “I want.” Thus, “to be sailing” must be a noun in the same way that “cheese” is in the sentence “I want cheese.”
In the second sentence, “to sing” is the subject of “is,” meaning that it is a noun in the nominative case.
The infinitive works the same way in Greek. To emphasize the nominal nature of the infinitive in this context, Greek speakers sometimes add the article:
| τοῦ ταῦτα διδάσκειν ἐπιθυμέω | I am desirous of teaching these things / I desire to teach these things |
This is called the articular infinitive.
As a noun, the infinitive is neuter and singular only.
Complementary Infinitive
Statements like “I want” and “I order” seem incomplete. What do you want? Whom are you ordering, and what do you want them to do?
Statements like these are regularly accompanied by a complementary infinitive, where “complementary” means “filling out” (not “complimentary,” which refers to polite praise). The complementary infinitive “fills out” a phrase like “I want,” as we saw at the beginning of this page:
| πλέειν ἐθέλω | I want to be sailing |
If the subject of the infinitive is not the subject of the main verb, the subject of the infinitive is in the accusative case:
| τοὺς Ἀθυναίους πλέειν κελεύω | I order the Athenians to be sailing |
| χρὴ τοὺς Ἀθυναίους πλέειν | it’s necessary for the Athenians to be sailing* |
* So called impersonal verbs, where the subject is a generic “it,” like “it is necessary” and “it is pleasing,” are more common in Greek than they are in English simply due to the nature of the Greek verbs in question. Feel free to personalize these verbs in your translation. In other words, instead of saying “it is necessary for the Athenians to be sailing,” say something like “the Athenians need to be sailing.” For more on idiomatic translations, see here.
Because the whole phrase “the Athenians to be sailing” is the direct object of a verb like κελεύω, “I order,” it makes sense that the subject of the infinitive is in the accusative case. It turns out, however, that the subject of the infinitive is always in the accusative case, no matter the function of the infinitive. In the following example, note the placement of the infinitive’s subject between the article and infinitive:
| τοῦ τὸν Σωκράτη ταῦτα διδάσκειν ἐπιθυμέω | I am desirous for Socrates to be teaching these things |
The Epexegetical or Explanatory Infinitive
The word “exegesis” means “explaining,” and the prepositional prefix “epi” means “in addition.” So an epexegetical infinitive is one that offers additional explanation to a statement:
| δεινὸς λέγειν εἰμί | I am clever at speaking |
—Plato, Apology 17b3 (adapted)
| δίκαιός εἰμι ἀπολογήσασθαι | I am right to defend myself |
| ἐγὼ βρῶσιν ἔχω φαγεῖν | I have food to eat |
The Infinitive in Result Clauses
When a statement indicates the actual result of an action, Greek uses the indicative:
| ἐγὼ δὲ δὴ εἰς τοσοῦτον ἀμαθίας ἥκω ὥστε καὶ τοῦτ’ ἀγνοῶ | and yeah, I’ve arrived at so great a degree of ignorance that I do not actually know even this thing |
But when the speaker wants to emphasize the logical consequence of an action, whether or not the consequence has occurred, he will use the infinitive:
| πολλαὶ μὲν ἀπέχθειαί μοι γεγόνασι … ὥστε πολλὰς διαβολὰς ἀπ’ αὐτῶν γεγονέναι | many bad feelings have come about about me that many false accusations have naturally come about from them |
The difference between an actual result and a natural result may seem like splitting hairs, and sometimes it is. For instance, it is actually true that there were false accusations against Socrates and that they came about because of his negative reputation among Athenians. But Socrates’ point in the passage quoted above is that bad feelings inevitably lead to false accusations. Thus, he uses the infinitive.
For more on result clauses, see here.
The Infinitive with πρίν
Simply put, when πρίν introduces a finite verb, it means “until”:
| ταῦτα ἐπράξαμεν πρὶν τὴν πόλιν εἷλομεν | we did these things until we captured the city |
But when πρίν introduces an infinitive, it means “before”:
| ταῦτα ἐπράξαμεν πρὶν τὴν πόλιν ἑλεῖν | we did these things before we captured the city |
For details, see here on the infinitive with πρίν and here on uses of πρίν generally.
The Infinitive in Indirect Statement
Indirect statements are discussed in greater detail elsewhere <link>. Some verbs, like φα/, οἰο/, νομιδ/, ἡγε/, and ἐλπιδ/, form indirect statements with an infinitive:
| νόμιζω αὐτὸν σοφὸν εἶναι | I think that he is wise* |
* A hyperlieral translation of this sentence is “I think him to be wise.” Occasionally this works in English, but as a general rule it is always best to introduce the indirect statement with “that” and turn the infinitive into a finite verb.
The infinitive in the indirect statement should be translated in a way that retains the time and aspect of the original direct statement. Compare the following direct and indirect statements:
| ταῦτα ἔπραξε | he did these things |
| ἐνόμισα αὐτὸν ταῦτα πράξαι | I thought that he did these things |
Here, the aorist infinitive πράξαι is translated like the past aorist indicative ἔπραξε.
| ταῦτα πράξει | he will do these things |
| ἐνόμισα αὐτὸν ταῦτα πράξειν | I thought that he would do these things* |
* In this instance, “would” is not a potential. It is simply how in English we say “will” in secondary or historical sequence. Compare “I think that he will do these things” versus “I thought that he would do these things.”
When the verb of the original direct statement was a potential, the ἄν that accompanied it now accompanies the main verb:
| ταῦτα ἔπραττε ἄν | he would do these things |
| νομίζω ἂν αὐτὸν ταῦτα πράττειν | I think that he would do these things |
For more on the potential in indirect statement, see here <link>.
reading morphologically 