Infinitives and Indirect Statement in Latin

• Volō tē vidēre. — I want to see you.

Indirect statement

In English we say "He says that the girl is coming". In Latin, the subject of the reported statement goes into the accusative, and the verb becomes an infinitive:

• Dīcit puellam venīre. — He says that the girl is coming.
• Sciō tē bonum esse. — I know that you are good.
• Putō Rōmam magnam esse. — I think that Rome is great.

There is no word for "that". The accusative subject and the infinitive do the work.

Tense of the infinitive

The tense of the infinitive is relative to the main verb:

Infinitive	Meaning	Example
present	at the same time	Dīcit puellam venīre. — He says the girl is coming.
perfect	earlier	Dīcit puellam vēnisse. — He says the girl came.
future	later	Dīcit puellam ventūram esse. — He says the girl will come.

The perfect infinitive is formed from the perfect stem plus -isse: amāvisse, vēnisse.

Verbs that introduce indirect statements

• dīcō — I say
• putō — I think
• sciō — I know
• audiō — I hear

Reading tip

When you see a verb of saying or thinking followed by an accusative noun and an infinitive, translate as "that ... is/does":

Puellam vēnisse audiō. — I hear that the girl has come.

Tips

1. Look for an accusative plus infinitive.
2. Add "that" in English.
3. Use the dictionary to check infinitive forms.

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