Imperatives and infinitives

The imperative is the verb form used to give commands or orders.
In Latin, the singular imperative ends in ‘-e’ for 2nd conjugation verbs, while it doesn’t have a specific ending for 1st, 3rd, and 4th conjugation verbs.
The plural imperative ends in ‘-te’ for most verbs, except 3rd conjugation, which ends in ‘-ite’.
The command given can be positive, such as “Speak!” (Loquere!), or negative, such as “Do not speak!” (Noli loqui).
To express a negative command, the word noli (singular) or nolite (plural) is used, followed by the infinitive.

The infinitive is the ‘to’ form of the verb, such as ‘to go’.
Infinitives in Latin are divided into four conjugations:
- First conjugation infinitives end in ‘-are’ (e.g., amare ‘to love’)
- Second conjugation infinitives end in ‘-ēre’ (e.g., monēre ‘to warn’)
- Third conjugation infinitives have two types: ‘-ere’ (e.g., dūcere ‘to lead’) and ‘-i’ (e.g., capīre ‘to take’)
- Fourth conjugation infinitives end in ‘-ire’ (e.g., audīre ‘to hear’)
Infinitives are used after certain verbs (like it’s necessary, it’s possible, etc), to express purpose, or to form compound tenses.
Remember, the infinitive often expresses a more general, abstract sense of the verb’s meaning.