Ancient Greek for Everyone: A New Digital Resource for Beginning Greek

as taught at Louisiana State University Spring 2013 Albert Watanabe

Unit 15: Middle Voice (secondary tenses)

Elementary Greek This class

(someday, Month ##, 2013)

• • • •

AGE Unit 15: The Middle Voice (Secondary Tenses)

Unit 9 introduced the

middle voice

. Unit 11 introduced the

imperfect tense

(a

secondary tense

). Unit 13 added another

secondary tense

, the

aorist

. This unit presents the indicative and infinitive endings of the

middle voice

for

secondary tenses

.

Elementary Greek

•

Building a Greek verb

The Master List of Endings – – Posted in Moodle is a “Master List of Greek Verb Endings” where you can see the overall scheme of verb endings. Here you can see the three sets each of primary endings and secondary endings. On the second sheet (= back side) are the other moods, of which you have already learned the infinitive.

Elementary Greek

• A Greek verb by itself usually communicates FIVE pieces of information: – Person: 1 st , 2 nd , 3 rd – – – – Number: singular , plural

Tense

: present, future,

imperfect

,

aorist

Mood: indicative, infinitive

Voice

: active,

middle

Elementary Greek

• • •

Conjugating a Greek verb

Recall that Greek has two conjugations : – μι verbs – ω verbs In the active voice , these conjugations use somewhat different endings to designate person and number (and the infinitive mood). In the middle voice , both conjugations use exactly the same endings to designate person and number (and the infinitive mood).

Elementary Greek

•

Building a Greek verb

The endings of the Middle Voice are as follows: • • • -

μην

= I (1 st sg) -

σο

= you (2 nd sg) -

το

= (s)he, it (3 rd sg) -

μεθα

= we (1 st pl) -

σθε

= y’all (2 nd pl) -

ντο

= they (3 rd pl) –

σθαι

signals that a verb is in the infinitive .

Notice that the infinitive ending is the same for both primary and secondary tenses.

Elementary Greek

•

Building a Greek verb

Remember that ω verbs have a thematic vowel, so the endings of the Middle Voice appear as follows: • • • -

ομην

*-

εσο

= I (1  -

ου

st -

ετο

sg) (2 nd = (s)he, it (3 rd sg) sg) -

ομεθα εσθε

= we (1 st = y’all (2 nd pl) pl) -

οντο

= they (3 rd pl) –

εσθαι

signals that a verb is in the infinitive . Notice that the infinitive ending is the same for both primary and secondary tenses . *The second person singular regularly appears in contracted form.

Elementary Greek

•

Building a Greek verb

Remember that ω verbs have a thematic vowel, so the endings of the Middle Voice appear as follows: • • • -

ομην

= I (1 st sg) *-

εσο

 -

ου

(2 nd sg) -

ετο

= (s)he, it (3 rd sg) -

ομεθα

= we (1 st pl) -

εσθε

= y’all (2 nd pl) -

οντο

= they (3 rd pl) –

εσθαι

signals that a verb is in the infinitive . *The second person singular regularly appears in contracted form.

Elementary Greek

• •

Building a Greek verb

Remember that, to begin building a Greek verb, start with the “stem.” The stem tells what action the verb describes: δεικ = “ show ” λυ = “ loosen , destroy ” λαβ = “ take ”

Elementary Greek

• •

Building a Greek verb

Recall that some verbs add a marker (often a ν ) to the stem that says the verb is in the present tense . A verb always uses the same marker in the middle voice that is uses in the active: – – – δεικ νυ = “show” (in the present) λυ = “loosen” (no marker used in the present) λαμβαν = “take” (in the present)

Elementary Greek

• •

Building a Greek verb

In secondary tenses, however, a Greek verb adds an augment to the beginning of the stem. This augment used to be a separate word ( ἐ ), which meant that the verb was in the past, and gradually it became a prefix to the verb stem: – – – ἐδεικ νυ = “show” (in the imperfect) ἐλυ = “loosen” (in the imperfect) ἐλαμβαν = “take” (in the imperfect)

Elementary Greek

• • • ἐ δεικνύ μην ἐ δείκνυ σο ἐ δείκνυ το • • • ἐ δεικνύ μεθα ἐ δείκνυ σθε ἐ δείκνυ ντο

Building a Greek Verb

The Imperfect Indicative Middle of δείκνυμι (GPH p. 157)

Elementary Greek

• • • ἔ λυ όμην ( ἐ -λύε σο  ) ἐ λύ ου ἐ λύ ετο • • • ἐ λυ όμεθα ἐ λύ εσθε ἐ λύ οντο

Building a Greek Verb

The Imperfect Indicative Middle of λύω (GPH p. 70)

Elementary Greek

• • • ἐ λαμβαν όμην ( ἐ -λαμβάνε σο  ) ἐ λαμβάν ου ἐ λαμβάν ετο • • • ἐ λαμβαν όμεθα ἐ λαμβάν εσθε ἐ λαμβάν οντο

Building a Greek Verb

The Imperfect Indicative Middle of λαμβάνω

Elementary Greek

• • • • From Unit 2: μι Verbs δίδωμι give τίθημι put, make ἵστημι stand ἵημι throw

• • • ἐ διδό μην ἐ δίδο σο ἐ δίδο το

Elementary Greek

• • • ἐ διδό μεθα ἐ δίδο σθε ἐ δίδο ντο

Building a Greek Verb

The Imperfect Indicative Middle of δίδωμι (GPH p. 124)

• • • ἐ τιθέ μην ἐ τίθε σο ἐ τίθε το

Elementary Greek

• • • ἐ τιθέ μεθα ἐ τίθε σθε ἐ τίθε ντο

Building a Greek Verb

The Imperfect Indicative Middle of τίθημι (GPH p. 146)

• • • ἱστά μην ἵστα σο ἵστα το

Elementary Greek

• • • ἱστά μεθα ἵστα σθε ἵστα ντο This verb has a long vowel augment , but it does not affect the way it the ι vowel is written (since long and short are written the same).

Building a Greek Verb

The Imperfect Indicative Middle of ἵστημι (GPH p. 135)

• • • ἱέ μην ἵε σο ἵε το

Elementary Greek

• • • ἱέ μεθα ἵε σθε ἵε ντο This verb has a long vowel augment , but it does not affect the way it the ι vowel is written (since long and short are written the same).

Building a Greek Verb

The Imperfect Indicative Middle of ἵημι

Elementary Greek

• • •

From Unit 7: Contract Verbs

The rules of vowel contraction operate in verbs when the stem ends in one of the vowels

α

,

ε

or

ο

. In these cases, this final vowel of the stem contracts with the thematic vowel of “ ω verbs.” The following slides give examples of contract verbs in the imperfect indicative middle . These follow the regular rules of vowel contraction.

Elementary Greek

• • • ( ἐ -αἱρέ ομην  ) ᾑρ ούμην ( ἐ -αἱρέ εσο  ) ᾑρ οῦ ( ἐ -αἱρέ ετο  ) ᾑρ εῖτο • • • ( ἐ -αἱρε όμεθα  ) ᾑρ ούμεθα ( ἐ -αἱρέ εσθε  ) ᾑρ εῖσθε ( ἐ -αἱρέ οντο  ) ᾕρ οῦντο This verb has a long vowel augment .

Building a Greek Verb

The Imperfect Indicative Middle of αἱρέω

Elementary Greek

• • • ( ἐ -ερωτα όμην  ) ἠρωτ ώμην ( ἐ -ερωτά εσο  ) ἠρωτ ῶ ( ἐ -ερωτά το  ) ἠρωτ ᾶτο • • • ( ἐ -ερωτα όμεθα  ) ἠρωτ ώμεθα ( ἐ -ερωτά εσθε  ) ἠρωτ ᾶσθε ( ἐ -ερωτά οντο  ) ἠρωτ ῶντο This verb has a long vowel augment .

Building a Greek Verb

The Imperfect Indicative Middle of ἐρωτάω

Elementary Greek

• • • ( ἐ δηλο όμην  ) ἐ δηλ ούμην ( ἐ δηλό εσο  ) ἐ δηλ οῦ ( ἐ δηλό ετο  ) ἐ δηλ οῦτο • • • ( ἐ δηλο όμεθα  ) ἐ δηλ ούμεθα ( ἐ δηλό εσθε  ) ἐ δηλ οῦσθε ( ἐ δηλό οντο  ) ἐ δηλ οῦντο

Building a Greek Verb

The Imperfect Indicative Middle of δηλόω GPH p. 119)

Elementary Greek

• The aorist tense of Greek verbs: – In form, both the aorist and imperfect are secondary tenses , so • an augment (

ἐ

-) precedes the stem in the indicative mood, and • they use secondary endings . – The stem , however, is almost always different for the two tenses. Therefore, it is essential to identify the stem correctly in order to know the tense of the verb and what action the verb conveys.

Elementary Greek

Building a Greek verb

– The verb stems of the aorist and imperfect tenses are almost always different. – Verbs in the imperfect tense always have exactly the same stem as they do in the present tense . – The stem of a verb in the aorist tense will be different in one of two ways: • The verb adds the aorist marker σα - to the stem (known as the “1 st aorist” or “weak aorist”) • or The verb uses just the stem of the verb itself with no specific marker (known as the “2 nd aorist” or “strong aorist”).

Elementary Greek

• •

Building a Greek verb

The “1 st aorist” or “weak aorist” adds the aorist marker • -

σα

- to the stem of the verb: Recall the secondary endings in the middle voice : -

μην

= I (1 st sg) -

σο

= you (2 nd sg) -

το

= (s)he, it (3 rd sg) -

μεθα

= we (1 st -

σθε

= y’all (2 nd pl) pl) -

ντο

= they (3 rd pl) The aorist marker σα - precedes the above endings.

Elementary Greek

• •

Building a Greek verb

Remember that, to begin building a Greek verb, start with the “stem.” The stem tells what action the verb describes: δεικ = “ show ” λυ = “ loosen , destroy ”

Elementary Greek

• •

Building a Greek verb

In secondary tenses, a Greek verb adds an augment to the beginning of the stem. This augment used to be a separate word ( ἐ ), which meant that the verb was in the past, and gradually it became a prefix to the verb stem: – – ἐλυ = “ loosen ” (secondary indicative) ἐδεικ = “ show ” (secondary indicative)

Elementary Greek

• • • ἔ λυσά μην ( ἐ λύσα σο  ) ἐ λύ σω ἔ λυσα το • • • ἐ λυσά μεθα ἐ λύσα σθε ἐ λύσα ντο

Building a Greek Verb

The Aorist Indicative Middle of λύω (GPH p. 78)

Elementary Greek

• • • ἔ δειξά μην ( ἐ δείκ-σα σο  ) ἔ δείξ ω ἐ δείξα το • • • ἐ δειξά μεθα ἐ δείξα σθε ἐ δείξα ντο

Building a Greek Verb

The Aorist Indicative Middle of δείκνυμι ( κ + σ = ξ )

Elementary Greek

• • •

Conjugating a Greek verb

In Unit 7, you learned that Greek has two conjugations : – μι verbs – ω verbs Both types of verbs form the 1 st ( weak ) aorist in the same way (augment + stem + σα -, etc.). Notice that ω verbs drop their thematic vowel in this process. When verbs form the 2 nd ( strong ) aorist , ω verbs retain their thematic vowel μι verbs add endings directly to their stem .

Elementary Greek

• • • •

Building a Greek verb

The “ 2 nd aorist ” or “ strong aorist ” uses just the stem of the verb itself with no specific marker. Remember that, to begin building a Greek verb, start with the “ stem .” The stem tells what action the verb describes: λαβ = “ take ” In secondary tenses, however, a Greek verb adds an augment to the beginning of the stem. ἐλαβ = “ take ” (secondary indicative)

Elementary Greek

• • • ἐ λαβό μην ( ἐ λάβε σο  ) ἐ λάβ ου ἐ λάβε το • • • ἐ λαβό μεθα ἐ λάβε σθε ἐ λάβο ντο

Building a Greek Verb

The Aorist Indicative Middle of λαμβάνω

Elementary Greek

• • •

Unit 2

-

μι verbs:

δω  ἥ  δίδωμι ἵημι , , ἥσω , δώσω ἧκα , ἔδωκα throw give θη  τίθημι , θήσω , ἔθηκα put, make

Elementary Greek

• • • ἐ δό μην ( ἔ δο σο  ) ἔ δ ου ἔ δο το • • • ἔ δό μεθα ἔ δο σθε ἔ δο ντο

Building a Greek Verb

The Aorist Indicative Middle of δίδωμι (GPH p. 129)

Elementary Greek

• • • ἐ θέ μην ( ἔ θε σο  ) ἔ θ ου ἔ θε το • • • ἐ θέ μεθα ἔ θε σθε ἔ θε ντο

Building a Greek Verb

The Aorist Indicative Middle of τίθημι (GPH p. 151)

• • • εἵ μην εἷ σο εἷ το

Elementary Greek

• • • εἵ μεθα εἷ σθε εἷ ντο

Building a Greek Verb

The Aorist Indicative Middle of ἵημι

Elementary Greek

• • • •

The aorist tense of Greek verbs:

Recall that, like the present tense, the aorist occurs in the infinitive mood. The augment to secondary tenses always means that the action actually took place in the past. Consequently, only the indicative mood uses the augment , since it is the only mood that specifies actual historical action. Therefore the aorist infinitive never has the augment . –

σθαι

– signals that a verb is in the infinitive .

The infinitive ending is the same for both primary and secondary tenses .

Elementary Greek

• A Greek verb by itself usually communicates FIVE pieces of information: – Person: 1 st , 2 nd , 3 rd – – – – Number: singular , plural

Tense

: present , future , imperfect ,

aorist Mood

: indicative ,

infinitive

Voice: active,

middle

Elementary Greek

The aorist tense of Greek verbs:

– λύσα σθαι – – δείξα σθαι ( κ + σ = ξ ) λαβέ σθαι • The accent is fixed and unchanging on this form.

– – δό σθαι θέ σθαι – ἕ σθαι Recall that, like the infinitive mood does not exist in the imperfect tense.

Elementary Greek

• • • • • •

Classical Vocabulary

(deponent) αἰσθάνομαι , αἰσθήσομαι , ᾐσθόμην perceive ἀφικνέομαι , ἀφίξομαι , ἀφικόμην come to, arrive at γίγνομαι , γενήσομαι , ἐγενόμην happen, become, be born δέχομαι , δέξομαι , ἐδεξάμην welcome ἐργάζομαι , ἐργάσομαι , ἠργασάμην work ἐρωτάω , ἐρήσομαι , ἠρόμην ask

Elementary Greek

• • • • • •

Classical Vocabulary

(deponent) ἡγέομαι , ἡγήσομαι , ἡγησάμην lead, consider κτάομαι , κτήσομαι , ἐκτησάμην get, acquire μάχομαι , μαχοῦμαι , ἡμαχεσάμην fight πυνθάνομαι , πεύσομαι , ἐπυθόμην learn, hear, inquire σκέπτομαι / σκοπέω , σκέψομαι ἐσκεψάμην look at, examine χράομαι , χρήσομαι , ἐχρησάμην use

Elementary Greek

• • • • • •

New Testament Vocabulary

(deponent) ἀποκρίνομαι , κρινοῦμαι , εκρινάμην answer, reply ἀρνέομαι , ἀρνήσομαι , ἀρνησάμην deny γίνομαι γενήσομαι ἐγενόμην happen, become, be born – παραγίνομαι come to, appear δέχομαι , δέξομαι , ἐδεξάμην welcome καυχάομαι , καυχήσομαι , ἐκαυχησάμην boast προσεύχομαι , προσεύξομαι , προσηυξάμην pray

Elementary Greek

•

Next class

(someday, Month ##, 2013)

– Classical reading – Biblical reading