Verban Noun

Verbal noun infinitives express their action as a noun.  Thus, facio is "to do", but facere (when used as a verbal noun) expresses "the action of doing" or simply "doing".

Verbal noun infinitives are usually used as subjects of impersonal verbs.  Rather than a regular noun, the infinitive is given.  Often, multiple translations are possible (due to the ambiguity of English):

bullethoc facere me oportet, "doing this is good for me", "I ought to do this".  The hoc facere is a noun expressing the general action of doing this.  It is the subject of oportet.  The adverbial accusative "me" tells on whose part the action of "being good" is in reference to.
bulletei placuit domum redire, "it was pleasing to him to return home", "to return home was pleasing to him", "he decided to return home"
bulletnobis licuit ludos spectare, "to watch the games was allowed to us", "it was allowed to us to watch the games", "we were allowed to watch the games".

Because the infinitive in this case is a combination of verb and noun, the verbal noun infinitive can function as a noun equivalent as well as take a direct object (if the verb is transitive).  The infinitive, however, will not have a subject.

Other Infinitive Uses

Complementary
Verban Noun

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Main Index

General Principles
Sentence Structure
Morphology
Skeleton Types
Verbs
Case Usage
Adverbs
Infinitives
Gerunds
Gerundives
Dependent Clauses
Connection
The Book

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Related Topics

Infinitive Syntax

Impersonal Verbs

Impersonal Passive Skeletons

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Last Updated March 18, 2003

Questions, comments and corrections should be sent to Brian K. Harvey, Kent State University