In Latin there are also three infinitive forms in the passive
voice.
(1) Present passive
To form the present passive infinitive of a verb of the first, second or fourth conjugation, remove the ‘-e’ ending from the present infinitive and add ‘-i’.
For example:
| voco, vocare, vocavi, vocatum (1) | to call |
| vocari | to be called |
To form the present passive infinitive of a verb of the third conjugation, remove the ‘-ere’ ending from the present infinitive and add ‘-i’.
For example:
| dico, dicere, dixi, dictum (3) | to say |
| dici | to be said |
Thus:
| Verb | Present passive infinitive | |
|---|---|---|
| Latin | Latin | English |
| clamo, clamare, clamavi, clamatum (1) | clamari | to be claimed |
| habeo, habere, habui, habitum (2) | haberi | to be had |
| mitto, mittere, misi, missum (3) | mitti | to be sent |
| servio, servire, servivi, servitum (4) | serviri | to be served |
(2) Perfect passive
To form the perfect passive infinitive of a verb, remove the ‘-m’ of the supine, add ‘-s’ to get the past participle and then add ‘esse’.
For example:
| Verb | Perfect passive infinitive | |
|---|---|---|
| Latin | Latin | English |
| clamo, clamare, clamavi, clamatum (1) | clamatus esse | to have been claimed |
| habeo, habere, habui, habitum (2) | habitus esse | to have been had |
| mitto, mittere, misi, missum (3) | missus esse | to have been sent |
| servio, servire, servivi, servitum (4) | servitus esse | to have been served |
(3) Future passive
To form the future passive infinitive of a verb, remove the ‘-m’ of the supine and add ‘-s’ to get the past participle and then add ‘fore’.
If you have studied Classical Latin before, you will notice that instead of the supine + ‘iri’, Medieval Latin uses the past participle + ‘fore’ to form the future passive infinitive.
For example:
| Verb | Future passive infinitive | |
|---|---|---|
| Latin | Latin | English |
| clamo, clamare, clamavi, clamatum (1) | clamatus fore | to be about to be claimed |
| habeo, habere, habui, habitum (2) | habitus fore | to be about to be had |
| mitto, mittere, misi, missum (3) | missus fore | to be about to be sent |
| servio, servire, servivi, servitum (4) | servitus fore | to be about to be served |
The past participle acts like an adjective, agreeing with the subject of the verb, and declines like ‘bonus, -a, -um’
.
The infinitives of deponent verbs follow the rules for passive infinitives, as demonstrated above.
Are you confident with:
