IMPERSONAL VERBS WITH THE INFINITIVE In English, we commonly express an impersonal idea with the expletive "it." For example, "It is necessary to have food," or "It is possible to learn Greek." In Greek, however, such ideas are expressed with a few very common verbs which appear in the third person singular, and have an infinitive for their subject. Look at the following examples:
dei~ me le/gein. It is necessary for me to speak. xrh~ me le/gein. It is necessary for me to speak. oi[o/n t' e)sti/ moi le/gein. It is possible for me to speak. e!cesti/ moi le/gein. It is possible for me to speak. pre/pei moi le/gein. It is fitting for me to speak. prosh/kei moi le/gein. It is fitting for me to speak. dokei~ moi legei~n. It seems right for me to speak. In these examples, the infinitive le/gein is actually the subject of the verb with the pronoun me or moi to indicate who will do the speaking. In English we might also express such ideas by saying "I must speak" or "I can speak," or even "For me to speak is possible (necessary, etc.)".
EXERCISE Review the reading of Chapter IX of Thrasymachus and identify all of the impersonal verbs in the text. Make sure that you understand the meaning of each impersonal verb with its accompanying infinitive.
Answer Key
INFORMATION ON A CHARACTER IN CHAPTER IX
o( Ai0h/thj
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