New Latin Grammar, page 229 by Charles E. Bennett

<< Return to Title Details & Download

 < previous  next > 

230

Tenses of the Infinitive.

317. These are used in accordance with the regular principles for the use of the Infinitive as given in § 270.

a. The Perfect Infinitive may represent any past tense of the Indicative of Direct Discourse. Thus:--

sciŠtē haec ēgisse may mean--

I know you were doing this.(Direct: haec agÄ“bÄs.)

I know you did this. (Direct: haec ēgistī.)

I know you had done this. (Direct: haec Ä“gerÄs.)

B. Tenses of the Subjunctive.

318. These follow the regular principle for the Sequence of Tenses, being Principal if the verb of saying is Principal; Historical if it is Historical. Yet for the sake of vividness, we often find the Present Subjunctive used after an historical tense (_RepraesentÄtiÅ_); as,--

Caesar respondit, sÄ« obsidÄ“s dentur, sÄ“sÄ“ pÄcem esse factÅ«rum, _Caesar replied that, if hostages be given, he would make peace_.

a. For the sequence after the Perfect Infinitive, see § 268, 2.

CONDITIONAL SENTENCES IN INDIRECT DISCOURSE.

Conditional Sentences of the First Type.

319. A. THE APODOSIS. Any tense of the Indicative is changed to the corresponding tense of the Infinitive (§§ 270; 317, a).

B. THE PROTASIS. The protasis takes those tenses of the Subjunctive which are required by the Sequence of Tenses.

Examples:--

DIRECT. INDIRECT. sÄ« hÅc crÄ“dis, errÄs, dÄ«cÅ, sÄ« hÅc crÄ“dÄs, tÄ“ errÄre; dÄ«xÄ«, sÄ« hÅc crÄ“derÄ“s, tÄ“ errÄre. sÄ« hÅc crÄ“dÄ“s, errÄbis, dÄ«cÅ, sÄ« hÅc crÄ“dÄs

 < previous  next >