Infinitives

The infinitive is the "to ..." form of a verb: "to love", "to see", "to be". It names the action without pinning it to a person or time, so it has no personal ending. In Latin the present infinitive is easy to spot: it almost always ends in -re.

Conjugation	Infinitive	Meaning
1st	amare	to love
2nd	monere	to warn
3rd	regere	to rule
4th	audire	to hear

The verb "to be" is irregular: esse = "to be". The infinitive most often follows another verb of wishing, being able, or ought:

• Ambulare volō. = I want to walk.
• Legere non possum. = I am not able to read.
• Puer discere debet. = The boy ought to learn.

For English speakers: English marks the infinitive with a separate little word, "to". Latin has no such word: the "to" is inside the -re ending. So do not scan for a preposition, and do not confuse this with the many Latin uses of the actual word ad ("to a place"). Two more cautions. First, a form like amare is not a command; the command (imperative) singular is ama! ("love!"). Second, the passive infinitive drops the -re for -ri (amari = "to be loved"), so keep an eye on that final letter. When you meet -re with no person attached, read "to ...".