The Latin infinitive — Classical languages, 11–13 years
Learn how a form such as amare means “to love” and can fit inside a larger Latin sentence.
An action without a named doer
An infinitive names an action without saying who performs it: amare means “to love”, currere means “to run”, and videre means “to see”. It often acts like an idea or thing in a sentence. Latin usually marks the infinitive with a recognisable ending, but its exact form can change with time and voice.
Why is this form useful?
The problem is that people need to talk about actions before choosing a person or a time: “to learn is useful” or “I want to leave”. An infinitive provides that flexible action-name. Latin also uses it after verbs of thinking, saying and wanting, so one compact form can connect one thought to another.
Following “I want”
Read Marcus currere vult. First, Marcus is the person. Next, currere ends in -re and means “to run”. Finally, vult means “wants”. Put the parts together in natural English: “Marcus wants to run.” The infinitive does not mean “he runs”; it names the action Marcus wants to do.
The infinitive is not a finite verb
A common mistake is translating currere as “he runs” because it looks like a verb. That is reasonable: it does describe an action, and English often hides the difference in short phrases. But the Latin infinitive does not identify its own doer or person. Look for another verb or noun to find who is connected to it.
Actions as ideas
Infinitives appear whenever a language treats an action as an idea: “to listen carefully helps”, “we decided to wait”, or “she hopes to win”. You meet the same pattern in instructions and plans. It is useful because the action can be discussed, wanted or judged without repeating a full sentence every time.
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