Verb: Luo/Aorist active infinitive

GrammarVerb – Luo/Aorist active infinitive

In 15.1.3, we said that the traditional labels for the verb forms were problematic because they were not an accurate reflection of the semantics of the forms. This is true of the traditional labels of the infinitive forms as well. Because the stem associated with the Luo form is called the present, the infinitive with that stem has traditionally been called the present infinitive. Semantically, these two categories are mutually exclusive. The infinitive is, by definition, a tenseless form, so it cannot be “present.” However, tense is not the same as aspect, and Greek infinitives are distinguished based on their aspectual value, as we will see in this lesson with the infinitives of the Luo and Elusa and Efagon forms. We will, thus, refer to the Luo infinitive, which refers to the same form as “present infinitive” used by most grammars.

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MorphologyVerb – Luo/Aorist active infinitive

• Remember: Efagon uses a different verb stem from Luo (see 11.1.3.1), while Elusa uses the Luo stem with different endings (see 13.1.4.1).
• The Luo and Efagon inf ending is -ειν
• The Luo inf accent is regressive (λαμβάνειν), but in Efagon it is a circumflex on the ultima (λαβεῖν)
• For Elusa-pattern Aorist verbs, the inf ending -σαι is attached to the Luo stem, with a circumflex on the penultima (ἀκοῦσαι)

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SyntaxVerb – Luo/Aorist active infinitive

Infinitives often appear after certain verbs, such as βούλομαι, κελεύω, and ἐπιτρέπω. There are two basic options for the subject of these infinitives. Either the subject is identical to the subject of the main verb, or the subject is given by the accusative argument of the verb. To say βούλομαι φαγεῖν ἄρτον means ‘I desire to eat bread’ where ‘I’ is both the subject of the main verb (βούλομαι) and the infinitive verb (φαγεῖν). In contrast, κελεύω σε φαγεῖν ἄρτον means ‘I order you to eat bread’ where ‘I’ is the subject of the main verb (κελεύω), and ‘you’ is the subject of the infinitive verb (φαγεῖν). In general, the subject of infinitive verbs in Greek will be marked with accusative case if they are given explicitly.

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SemanticsVerb – Infinitive (1 – Hypothetical eventuality; 2 – Habitual)

As we said previously, infinitives refer to eventualities that are hypothetical or unreal in some way:

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