The Infinitive Telling the Story

Level 6

The infinitive acts as the verb, and its subject stays in the nominative.

How It Works

LatinPlain past formMeaning
illi ridereilli riseruntthey laughed
hic flerehic flebathe cried
Caesar hortariCaesar hortatus estCaesar urged them on

Historians like Sallust and Tacitus use the historic infinitive in a row, to show many things happening at once.

It shows up in scenes of hurry, noise or crowds. It rarely stands alone: the line usually has several historic infinitives, or one of them next to a perfect.

Do not confuse it with the infinitive after a verb such as volo. The historic infinitive has its own subject and no helping verb.

Examples (3)

  1. Illi ridere, hic flere.

    They laughed, he cried.

    Ridere and flere are present infinitives that tell a past event. Illi and hic are nominative.

  2. Tum subito Marcus clamare, pueri currere.

    Then suddenly Marcus shouted and the boys ran.

    Clamare and currere each have a nominative subject, Marcus and pueri.

  3. Caesar interea hortari, milites pugnare.

    Meanwhile Caesar urged them on, and the soldiers fought.

    Hortari is a deponent infinitive. Both infinitives tell what happened.

Common Mistakes

  • Giving the historic infinitive an accusative subject.

    Illos ridere, hunc flere.
    Illi ridere, hic flere.

    Illos ridere would be an accusative and infinitive, which needs a verb of saying. Here the infinitive is the main verb, so its subject is nominative.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

The Infinitive Telling the StoryLevel 6

Learn This First

The historic infinitive tells a past story with an infinitive, so the infinitives and the historic present come first.