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If the infinitive is present it will be translated at the same time as the head verb
-
If the infinitive is perfect it will be translated before the head verb
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If the infinitive is future it will be translated after the head verb
I have put these rules in a lovely chart that will act as a guide to translating the infinitive because...
things aren't always what they seem, young ones.
|
Head Verb Tense |
Infinitive Tense |
Infinitive Translation |
|
Perfect or Imperfect |
Perfect (before) |
had _________ed |
|
Present (same) |
was _________ing (-ed) |
|
|
Future (after |
would __________ |
|
|
Present |
Perfect (before) |
was __________ ing (-ed) |
|
Present (same) |
is __________ ing |
|
|
Future (after |
will ___________ |
***Some English verbs are goofy and therefore will not fit perfectly into the translation options I gave you here, use your English skills to polish up the translation and make it something we would actually say if it comes out weird!
Your best bet for translating these properly is to identify the tense of both the head verb and infinitive without attempting the full sentence firse. Once you have the two tenses figured out you can use the chart to determine the best translation for the infinitive. Remember that the head verb is translated exactly as the tense it is but the infinitive may be translated in a different tense than the Latin indicates! Good Luck. Email me with any questions and I will try to get back to you as soon as I possibly can!
This webpage will hopefully act as a resource for Latin students and parents. I will update it as often as I possibly can but I can't make any promises about how often I will update it. Please check to see when I updated the page last. If you aren't sure about something on here please do not hesitate to email me!! You may email me at strasnyder@gmail.com if it is after school hours and you need an answer before the next day. That email goes straight to my phone and I will at least check it before I go to bed. I hope your Latin experience is a pleasant one and don't forget that it is in fact an IMMORTAL language...not a dead one!
