The infinitive is a noun derived from a verb and treated as a noun indicating the action or state expressed by the verb-stem: it can also replace narrative verb forms which have a grammatical subject or a direct grammatical object of their own. Due to the double role of the infinitive, it is followed by a scribe as a verb. If derived from a transitive verb it is followed by an object.
When the performer is mentioned in an Egyptian caption, this is usually introduced by
in ‘by’:
sn tA n xnty-imntw m prt aAt….
Kissing the ground 10 Khentyimentu in the great procession
in imAx(w) m- r Sna imn-m-HAt
The overseer of the provisioning areas Amenemhet.
The owner of a stela often expressed a wish to participate in certain important festivals beyond death, particularly the Osiris Mysteries. He either wished to participate in them directly—through seeing (
mAA), adoring (
dwA), kissing the ground (
sn tA) or giving praise (
dit iAw) to the god—or through having offerings made to him at such times. For example:
The vertical columns of stela BM EA 580 comprise a hymn to Osiris which begins:
dit iAw Asir sn tA n wp- wAwt
Givingpraise to Osiris, kissing the ground to Wepwawet