Further uses of the infinitive
In addition to serving as the verb of an indirect statement, the infinitive has several other uses in Greek. We will consider two common constructions: the complementary infinitive and the articular infinitive.
Complementary infinitive
The complementary infinitive completes the meaning of verbs expressing wishing, wanting, commanding, requesting, expecting, choosing, and being capable.
Verbs you have already seen that can employ a complementary infinitive include δύναμαι, ἔχω (which means “to have the capacity” or “be able” when it is used with a complementary infinitive), and κελεύω.
Examples:
- ἐδύνατο λέγειν ‘he was able to speak’
- εἶχον ταῦτα πράττειν ‘they were able to do these things’
- ἡ θεράπαινα ἐκελεύσθη ἔρχεσθαι εἰς ἀγοράν ‘the enslaved woman was ordered to go (to keep going) to the marketplace’
When the complementary infinitive is negated, the negative adverb is μή. Compare these two examples:
- οὐκ ἐδύνατο λέγειν. ‘He was not able to speak.’
- ἐδύνατο μὴ λέγειν. ‘He was able not to speak.’
In the first sentence, οὐ negates the finite verb ἐδύνατο. In the second sentence, μή negates the infinitive λέγειν. Can you explain the difference in meaning between those two English sentences?
Other verbs taking a complementary infinitive
The verbs βούλομαι, “to want, wish, desire” and ἐθέλω, “to be willing” regular take a complementary infinitive. Learn their principal parts:
- βούλομαι, βουλήσομαι, —, —, βεβούλημαι, ἐβουλήθην
- ἐθέλω, ἐθελήσω, ἠθέλησα, ἠθέληκα, —, —
Think about these principal parts. Why does βούλομαι lack a third and fourth part? What does it mean that ἐθέλω lacks fifth and sixth principal parts?
While both of these verbs could overlap in sense with the English verb “want,” their ideas are quite distinct in Greek. βούλομαι refers to an active desire: something you want. ἐθέλω refers to something you tolerate.
Examples:
- ἐβούλοντο ταῦτα πράττειν ‘they wanted to be doing these things, they used to want to do these things’
- ἤθελον ταῦτα πράττειν ‘they were willing to do these things, they wished to be doing these things’
Articular Infinitive
When the infinitive is used as a noun, a neuter singular article may be used with it to emphasize its substantive nature and to show its case. The article must be used if the infinitive is being used in the genitive or dative case in order to make that case clear, or if the infinitive is used as the object of a preposition. In clauses where the infinitive is nominative or accusative, the article may be used or omitted.
The use of the infinitive as a noun can correspond to the English infinitive form (“to do”) or gerund, a verbal noun ending in -ing (“doing”; don’t confuse this with an English participle!) The tense of the articular infinitive shows aspect only. It is negated with μή.
Examples:
τὸ ταῦτα πράττειν κακὸν ἦν.
“Doing these things was bad”, or “To do these things was bad.”
Notice that although the infinitive is used as a noun (functioning here as the subject of the clause), it can still take an object, like any other verbal form. When an articular infinitive has an object, it appears in attributive position (between the article and infinitive).
τὸ ταῦτα μὴ πράττειν κάκιον ἦν.
“Not doing these things was worse” or “Not to do these things was worse.”
πρὸς τῷ ταῦτα πράττειν, ἄλλα ἔπραττεν.
“In addition to doing these things, he was doing other things.”