32.1 The INFINITIVE is a common mood in Greek, and appears in almost any paragraph of Greek that you will read. Before we discuss a few of the common uses of the infinitive, let us review some concepts.
- FINITE VERBS are verbs that are limited or defined by their personal endings. In other words, if a given verb form has an ending that indicates person and number, it is FINITE (S 357, G 242).
- INFINITIVES, on the other hand, are not limited by person and number. While they share some attributes with finite verbs – for example, they can be transitive or intransitive, and take direct and indirect objects – infinitives regularly function not as verbs, per se, but as SUBSTANTIVES.
- A SUBSTANTIVE is any word or phrase that serves as a noun in a sentence. In English, for example, the words good, bad, and ugly are all adjectives. However, these adjectives can also be used SUBSTANTIVELY in phrases such as The good, the bad, and the ugly. Since infinitives most often serve as substantives, they are sometimes referred to as VERBAL NOUNS (S 357, G 242, 562).
Most of the infinitives that we have encountered in our readings so far have been COMPLEMENTARY INFINITIVES. These infinitives are often described as completing the meaning of verbs of ability, desire, intention, will, and the like. This is a fine and sensible definition. But note also that some complementary infinitives are in reality substantives, serving essentially as the DIRECT OBJECT of finite verbs.
For example:
- οἱ ἄρχοντες εἰρήνην ποιεῖν βούλονται.
- The rulers want to make peace.
- τοὺς ἵππους μου λύειν ἐθέλει.
- She wants to free my horses.
In other instances, the complementary infinitive is not a direct object of the verb, but functions along the lines of an ACCUSATIVE OF RESPECT (S 1600, G 537). The infinitive, in other words, expresses the respect in which a particular verb (e.g., δυνάμαι, be able, can) is true.
- ὑμᾶς βλέπειν δυνάμεθα.
- We are able to see you all.