Infinitívus

Infinitívus, or infinitive, is the non-finite form of a verb that typically expresses action without stating a subject, person, or specific time. It functions as a noun-like unit in many languages, often used as the subject or object of a sentence, or as a complement to other verbs, adjectives, or nouns. Infinitives can also express purpose or intention and frequently appear in subordinate clauses.

In Latin grammar, infinitívus denotes a set of non-finite verb forms with distinct aspects or voices. The language historically has several infinitives, including the present active (amare), present passive (amari), perfect active (amavisse), and perfect passive (amatum esse). There are also periphrastic future infinitives formed with participles plus esse (amaturus esse) or with esse and related constructions (amaturum iri). These forms allow nuanced expressions of time, attitude, and voice within complex sentences.

Across languages, infinitives are widespread but vary in form and use. In Romance languages such as Spanish, French, and Italian, the infinitive is a single form (hablar, parler, parlare) used after certain verbs or as a noun-like clause. In English, the infinitive appears as the to-infinitive (to read) or, in some constructions, a bare infinitive after modal verbs (can read). Other languages may have multiple infinitives or distinct infinitive-like moods.

Etymology and terminology: the term infinitívus comes from Latin, meaning not finite, reflecting its non-finite, non-conjugated status. The concept is central to understanding non-finite verb forms and their syntactic roles in various languages.