Accusative and infinitive
Encyclopedia
In grammar
, accusative and infinitive is the name for a syntactic construction of Latin and Greek
, also found in various forms in other languages such as English
and Spanish
. In this construction, the subject of a subordinate clause is put in the accusative case
and the verb appears in the infinitive
form. Information given in this form is considered to be in indirect speech, also called indirect discourse.
The construction is often referred to by the Latin term Accusativus cum infinitivo, frequently abbreviated ACI.
the indirect statement might say
Latin tends not to use the word "that" to introduce indirect statements. Rather, an accusative
subject is used with an infinitive
to develop the appropriate meaning. For example, translating the aforementioned example into Latin:
here is an accusative reflexive pronoun referring back to the subject of the main verb i.e. ; is the infinitive "to be."
Note that the tense of the infinitive, translated into English, is relative to the tense of the main verb. Present infinitives, also called contemporaneous infinitives, occur at the time of the main verb. Perfect infinitives (prior infinitives) occur at a time before the main verb. Future infinitives (subsequent infinitives) occur at a time after the main verb. For example, the contemporaneous infinitive in this sentence,
would still be translated "They said he was helping her," even though iuvāre is classified in Latin as a present active infinitive of the first conjugation.
Passive periphrastic infinitives, i.e. the gerundive + , indicate obligatory action in indirect statements, e.g. , "Gaius says that the letter ought to be written by you."
In late classical and Mediaeval Latin, the ACI gradually gave way to a construction with . This was probably the more usual usage in spoken Latin, and is the form used consistently in Jerome
's Vulgate, which reflects a colloquial style. It is also the equivalent of the Greek
indirect statement introduced by . This is the origin of the construction in the modern Romance languages:
clauses (e.g. She made me eat the vegetables; The teacher let him stand outside the classroom). In Spanish it is used in causatives as well (Me obligó a mirarlo "He forced me to look at him") and in perception verbs (Los vi caminar por aquí "I saw them walk around here"), but it is not permitted in other cases. For example, in English one may say I told him to do it, but in Spanish one must say Le dije que lo hiciera "I said to him that he do it" (using the subjunctive mood), not *Le dije hacerlo.
In the framework of transformational grammar
, this construction is known as exceptional case-marking.
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
, accusative and infinitive is the name for a syntactic construction of Latin and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, also found in various forms in other languages such as English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. In this construction, the subject of a subordinate clause is put in the accusative case
Accusative case
The accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. The same case is used in many languages for the objects of prepositions...
and the verb appears in the infinitive
Infinitive
In grammar, infinitive is the name for certain verb forms that exist in many languages. In the usual description of English, the infinitive of a verb is its basic form with or without the particle to: therefore, do and to do, be and to be, and so on are infinitives...
form. Information given in this form is considered to be in indirect speech, also called indirect discourse.
The construction is often referred to by the Latin term Accusativus cum infinitivo, frequently abbreviated ACI.
In Latin
The accusative and infinitive, more frequently known as the indirect statement in classical Latin, is the usual grammatical construction by means of which one can write in indirect discourse. Indirect statements, as the name implies, report indirectly what someone has said, thought, felt, etc. Whereas a direct statement would say- "I am a good student," says Julia.
the indirect statement might say
- Julia says that she is a good student.
Latin tends not to use the word "that" to introduce indirect statements. Rather, an accusative
Accusative case
The accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. The same case is used in many languages for the objects of prepositions...
subject is used with an infinitive
Infinitive
In grammar, infinitive is the name for certain verb forms that exist in many languages. In the usual description of English, the infinitive of a verb is its basic form with or without the particle to: therefore, do and to do, be and to be, and so on are infinitives...
to develop the appropriate meaning. For example, translating the aforementioned example into Latin:
- literally: 'Julia says herself to be a good student.'
here is an accusative reflexive pronoun referring back to the subject of the main verb i.e. ; is the infinitive "to be."
Note that the tense of the infinitive, translated into English, is relative to the tense of the main verb. Present infinitives, also called contemporaneous infinitives, occur at the time of the main verb. Perfect infinitives (prior infinitives) occur at a time before the main verb. Future infinitives (subsequent infinitives) occur at a time after the main verb. For example, the contemporaneous infinitive in this sentence,
would still be translated "They said he was helping her," even though iuvāre is classified in Latin as a present active infinitive of the first conjugation.
Passive periphrastic infinitives, i.e. the gerundive + , indicate obligatory action in indirect statements, e.g. , "Gaius says that the letter ought to be written by you."
In late classical and Mediaeval Latin, the ACI gradually gave way to a construction with . This was probably the more usual usage in spoken Latin, and is the form used consistently in Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
's Vulgate, which reflects a colloquial style. It is also the equivalent of the Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
indirect statement introduced by . This is the origin of the construction in the modern Romance languages:
In English and Spanish
In English, this construction occurs with verbs of wishing, saying and perception (e.g. I would like the President to be successful; I saw her go) as well as in causativeCausative
In linguistics, a causative is a form that indicates that a subject causes someone or something else to do or be something, or causes a change in state of a non-volitional event....
clauses (e.g. She made me eat the vegetables; The teacher let him stand outside the classroom). In Spanish it is used in causatives as well (Me obligó a mirarlo "He forced me to look at him") and in perception verbs (Los vi caminar por aquí "I saw them walk around here"), but it is not permitted in other cases. For example, in English one may say I told him to do it, but in Spanish one must say Le dije que lo hiciera "I said to him that he do it" (using the subjunctive mood), not *Le dije hacerlo.
In the framework of transformational grammar
Transformational grammar
In linguistics, a transformational grammar or transformational-generative grammar is a generative grammar, especially of a natural language, that has been developed in the Chomskyan tradition of phrase structure grammars...
, this construction is known as exceptional case-marking.