The perfect passive infinitive combines a perfect passive participle with esse: captum esse “to have been captured.” It presents an event as already completed before the time of its governing verb, while its subject is the participant affected by that event. Unlike a one-word active infinitive, this construction displays gender and number in its participle.
All unlabelled patterns below belong to normal Classical prose. Teaching forms use macrons; the source quotation retains its conventional unmacronized spelling.
Formation: Participle Plus Esse
Use the fourth principal part to obtain the perfect passive participle, put that participle in the case required by the construction, and add the present infinitive esse. In accusative-and-infinitive, the participle is accusative because it agrees with the infinitive’s accusative subject.
| Accusative subject | Participle + esse | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| eum | laudātum esse | that he was / has been praised |
| eam | laudātam esse | that she was / has been praised |
| id | laudātum esse | that it was / has been praised |
| eōs | laudātōs esse | that they (masculine) were praised |
| eās | laudātās esse | that they (feminine) were praised |
| ea | laudāta esse | that they (neuter) were praised |
Sciō Iūliam ad cēnam vocātam esse.
I know that Julia was invited to dinner.
Putāmus dona iam missa esse.
We think that the gifts have already been sent.
The fourth principal part is not always predictable: scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptum gives scrīptum esse; frangō ... frāctum gives frāctum esse. A verb without a usable perfect passive participle cannot simply be given a made-up regular form.
Anterior Time, Not One Fixed English Tense
Like the perfect active infinitive, the perfect passive infinitive marks time relative to its governing verb. The passive event precedes the knowing, saying, believing, or reporting.
Lūcia dīcit epistulam scrīptam esse.
Lucia says that the letter has been written.
Lūcia dīxit epistulam scrīptam esse.
Lucia said that the letter had been written.
Latin leaves scrīptam esse unchanged. English selects “has been,” “was,” or “had been” according to the reporting time and discourse. Translating the words mechanically as “to have been” can help identify the form, but it is not always idiomatic in the completed sentence.
Compare simultaneous passive time:
Nūntiat portās claudi.
He reports that the gates are being closed.
Nūntiat portās clausās esse.
He reports that the gates have been closed.
The present passive infinitive claudī views the closing as simultaneous; clausās esse places the completed closing earlier. The participle agrees with plural feminine portās.
Agreement Reveals the Subject
In indirect statement, an expressed subject is accusative, and the participle agrees with it in gender, number, and case. This agreement often clarifies which noun belongs to the embedded clause. See Accusative Subject of the Infinitive for the wider case system.
Senātor audīvit urbem ā sociīs dēfēnsam esse.
The senator heard that the city had been defended by the allies.
Here urbem is feminine singular accusative, so dēfēnsam must match it. Ā sociīs names the agent. Latin can omit the agent when it is unknown, obvious, or unimportant, just as English can.
When the subject refers back to the subject of the reporting verb, use reflexive sē; the participle still indicates that referent’s gender and number.
Lūcia dīcit sē laudātam esse.
Lucia says that she was praised.
Mārcus dīcit sē laudātum esse.
Marcus says that he was praised.
English herself or himself would be wrong in these translations unless emphasis were intended. Latin sē marks reference back to the reporting subject; English ordinarily uses a personal pronoun in the resulting “that” clause.
Omission of Esse
Classical authors frequently omit esse when a perfect passive infinitive is unmistakable, especially in sustained indirect discourse (literary). The participle remains accusative and still carries agreement.
Caesar recalls that the army of Lucius Cassius had been defeated and sent under the yoke (Bellum Gallicum 1.7). The source wording omits the auxiliary:
Caesar, quod memoria tenebat L. Cassium consulem occisum exercitumque eius ab Helvetiis pulsum et sub iugum missum, concedendum non putabat.
Because Caesar remembered that the consul Lucius Cassius had been killed and that his army had been defeated by the Helvetii and sent under the yoke, he did not think permission should be granted.
Understood esse belongs with occisum, pulsum, and missum. This omission is economical Latin, not a different tense. Learners should normally include esse in their own early prose so the construction is explicit.
Deponents and Impersonal Passives
Deponent verbs use passive-looking perfect participles with active meaning: profectum esse “to have set out,” locūtam esse “to have spoken,” secūtōs esse “to have followed.” The form behaves like the paradigm on this page, including agreement, but its lexical voice is active.
Certō sciō eōs prīmā lūce profectōs esse.
I know for certain that they set out at dawn.
This is a lexical exception, not permission to translate ordinary captōs esse actively. Consult a verb’s dictionary entry: a deponent is conventionally listed with passive principal parts and an active gloss.
An impersonal perfect passive has neuter singular participial form: pugnātum esse “that fighting took place,” literally “that it was fought.” It has no personal patient with which to agree.
Nūntiātum est ācriter pugnātum esse.
It was reported that fierce fighting had taken place.
This impersonal pattern is normal in military and historical prose (formal/literary). English generally replaces it with an active noun phrase rather than preserving the passive wording.
Common Mistakes
Leaving the participle in the nominative
❌ Sciō puellam vocāta esse.
Incorrect — vocāta is nominative; it must agree with accusative puellam.
✅ Sciō puellam vocātam esse.
I know that the girl was invited.
Treating the participle as invariant
❌ Dīcit portās clausum esse.
Incorrect — plural feminine portās requires clausās.
✅ Dīcit portās clausās esse.
He says that the gates have been closed.
Confusing anterior and simultaneous passive time
❌ Putāvit urbem oppugnārī, meaning ‘He thought the city had been attacked.’
Incorrect for completed anterior action — oppugnārī is present passive.
✅ Putāvit urbem oppugnātam esse.
He thought that the city had been attacked.
Translating a deponent as an ordinary passive
❌ Dīxit sē profectum esse. ‘He said that he had been departed.’
Incorrect — proficīscor is deponent and has active meaning.
✅ Dīxit sē profectum esse.
He said that he had departed.
Key Takeaways
- Form the perfect passive infinitive with a perfect passive participle plus esse.
- In indirect statement, the participle is accusative and agrees with the accusative subject.
- The construction is anterior relative to its governing verb, not tied to one English tense.
- Deponents retain active lexical meaning, and impersonal passives use neuter singular form.
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Start learning Latin →Related Topics
- Perfect Active InfinitiveA2 — How the Latin perfect active infinitive marks an active event anterior to its governing verb, especially in indirect statement.
- Future Active InfinitiveA2 — How Latin combines a future active participle with esse to mark an active event later than its governing verb.
- Present Passive InfinitiveA2 — How Latin forms and uses the present passive infinitive for simultaneous events whose subject undergoes the action.
- Accusative Subject of the InfinitiveA2 — Recognize the accusative noun or pronoun that serves as the subject inside a Latin infinitival clause.