Lesson 10 | Infinitives
Grammar Point 4: Prepositions and Infinitives
There is one final grammar point to learn about Greek infinitives. Authors often paired Greek infinitives with a preposition or a connector to add information to the main verb. Let’s look at Mark 14:28 as an example.
ἀλλὰ μετὰ τὸ ἐγερθῆναί με προάξω ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν. but after I am raised, I will go before you into Galilee.
Can you parse ἐγερθῆναί? We see the θηναι tense former and the aorist stem. So, it is an aorist, passive, infinitive from ἐγείρω.
Do you see how the infinitive is functioning as the object of the preposition μετά. This construction (μετὰ τό + infinitive) describes an action that takes place before the main verb. Also, notice how the infinitive has its own subject in the accusative case (με). The diagram makes this a bit clearer.
Here’s another example from Philippians 1:7.
Καθώς ἐστιν δίκαιον ἐμοὶ τοῦτο φρονεῖν ὑπὲρ πάντων ὑμῶν διὰ τὸ ἔχειν με ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ ὑμᾶς, Just as it is right for me to feel this for all of you because I have you in my heart.
There are two infinitives in this sentence, but let’s focus on the second one. Can you parse ἔχειν? We see the ειν tense former and the present stem. So, it is a present, active, infinitive from ἔχω.
Do you see how this infinitive is functioning as the object of διά? An author used this construction (διὰ τό + infinitive) to explain the main verb’s cause. Also, notice that here again the infinitive takes its subject in the accusative case. Remember, when an infinitive takes a distinct subject, that subject will be in the accusative case.
These two examples help us see how Greek authors could use prepositions paired with an infinitive to describe something more about the main verb. This chart* contains the most common preposition + infinitive constructions.
After you look over the chart, use this quizlet to help you assess how well you remember each construction.