A Supplement

to
Reading Greek
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics
Washington University
St. Louis, MO 63130

A Supplement to Reading Greek

Contents
Preface................................................................................................................................... iv
Grammar RG 1......................................................................................................................... 1
Grammar RG 2......................................................................................................................... 7
Grammar RG 3....................................................................................................................... 11
Grammar RG 4....................................................................................................................... 15
Grammar RG 5....................................................................................................................... 19
Grammar RG 6....................................................................................................................... 27
Grammar RG 7....................................................................................................................... 33
Grammar RG 8....................................................................................................................... 35
Grammar RG 9....................................................................................................................... 39
Grammar RG 10 ..................................................................................................................... 43
Grammar RG 11 ..................................................................................................................... 45
Grammar RG 12 ..................................................................................................................... 49
Grammar RG 13 ..................................................................................................................... 53
Grammar RG 15 ..................................................................................................................... 55
Grammar RG 16 ..................................................................................................................... 59
A Compendium of Ancient Greek Phonology: Overview ................................................................ 63
1. The Importance of the Study of Greek Phonology ................................................................ 64
2. Vowels: Indo-European and Ancient Greek ....................................................................... 64
3. Vowels: Attic-Ionic shift of a to h ................................................................................... 65
4. Vowels: The diphthong ei ............................................................................................. 65
5. Vowels: The diphthong ou ............................................................................................ 65
6. Vowels: Diphthongs with Iota Subscripts: & ................................................................ 66
7. Vowels: Attic Vowel contractions .................................................................................... 66
8. Vowels: Quantitative Metathesis...................................................................................... 66
9. Vowels: Compensatory Lengthening ................................................................................ 67
10. Vowel Gradation (Ablaut) and Types .............................................................................. 67
11. Vowel Gradation: The type e/o/-- ................................................................................... 68
12. Vowel Gradation: The type long-vowel/short-vowel .......................................................... 68
13. Vowel Gradation in Disyllabic Roots ............................................................................... 69
14. Consonants: Indo-European and Ancient Greek................................................................. 69
15. Consonants: Attic Combinations .................................................................................... 70
16. Consonants: Aspirates (f, x, y) ..................................................................................... 71
17. Consonants: Voiceless stops (p, k, t) ............................................................................. 71
18. Consonants: Voiced stops (b, g, d) ................................................................................ 71
19. Consonants: Fate of the Indo-European Labio-velars (k w, gw, gh w)..................................... 71
20. Consonants: Unstable s................................................................................................ 72
21. Consonants: Unstable W ................................................................................................ 73
22. Consonants: Unstable consonantal Yod (i or y) ................................................................ 73
23. Consonants: Unstable Liquids (l, r), and Nasals (m, n ) ..................................................... 74
24. Consonants at Word-ends .............................................................................................. 75
Endings of the Ancient Greek Verb ............................................................................................ 77
The Six Tense Systems of the Ancient Greek Verb: Formation and Synopsis...................................... 85
Selections Illustrating Greek Linguistic History ............................................................................ 93
Some Major Greek Verb Roots and Principal Parts of Verbs...........................................................113

iv

Preface
The materials included in this collection are all supplementary handouts which I have distributed piecemeal in
\roughly twenty years of teaching Beginning Greek at Washington University in St. Louis with the JACT Cambridge
Greek Course entitled Reading Greek. One may well ask why such supplementary materials are necessary
I do not think there is any real self-teaching textbook for Beginning Greek. A person earning ancient Greek
really needs help from someone who has both read and taught a good deal of Greek; only through much reading of
Greek does one become aware of the broad range of idiomatic expressions in the language, and only through
teaching does one come to understand the particular problems facing new learners of the language. Ever since I first
taught Reading Greek I have felt that the grammatical explanations accompanying each successive section were
inadequate both in clarity for American students and in detail and historical linguistic perspective; I have therefore
prepared my own expansive grammatical explanations of new grammar introduced in each section, and these
Grammar sections do constitute the bulk of the Supplement. Sections 14, 17, and 18 of Reading Greek do not
introduce new items of Attic grammar but offer significant samples of literary verse and proseEuripides, Plato,
Herodotus, and Homer, whereas the major thrust of Reading Greek is laying a solid foundation for reading Attic
Greek of the fifth and fourth centuries. For that reason no supplementary grammatical materials have been
developed for these sections.
The second item in this Supplement is the "Compendium of Ancient Greek Phonology." The fuller rationale
for this linguistic survey is set forth in detail on page 64. Here let me note simply that if students are to understand
the morphology of Greek verbs and nouns, they will sooner or later need to confront such phonetic processes as
"compensatory lengthening," "vowel metathesis," and "vowel gradation." Certainly there is no avoiding the process
of vowel contraction in -ev, -av, -ov verbs since many of these verbs are among the most ordinary and important
verbs in the language. I prepared this compendium primarily as a quick reference to be consulted when classroom
explanations are offered for apparent anomalies in the Greek verb and noun paradigms that every student must
learn; almost all such anomalies can be shown to result from phonetic changes occasioned by loss of unstable
consonants or distinctive Attic behavior of vowels in certain circumstances. While many students and teachers may
sincerely believe that rote memorization is the only way to master the paradigms, I am convinced that understanding
these phonetic processes that affect almost every category of paradigms to be learned makes it easier to learn the
paradigms.
I have added three charts intended to be used together to show the relationship of verbal roots, stems and
endings; one chart shows all the verb endings, personal endings as well as endings for infinitives and the formative
elements for participles and moods in their various combinations with each other; the other chart distinguishes tense
systems where a tense system has two or more types (e.g. Present Systems that are thematic (-v) or athematic (-mi),
Aorist Systems that are Sigmatic, Thematic, and Athematic, etc. Finally there is a chart of principal parts of the
major irregular verbs of Attic Greek constructed with a view to formative roots of each.
These materials are rounded out with a collection of texts illustrating the history of the Greek language.
There are examples inscriptional and dialectal Greek from several geographical areas and from several successive
historical eras up to the 20th century, including a poem of the modern Alexandrian poet C.P. Cavafy. Several of
these are drawn from the appendix of a work long out of print originally produced by the British scholar George
Thomson (The Greek Language) for his own students decades ago , but I have added copious notes of my own with
a view both to making the texts more intelligible and to illustrating some of the changes that have taken place in the
history of the language over the centuries.
Carl W. Conrad
Washington University at Saint Louis
Friday, August 20, 1999

Grammar RG 1

1. Present indicative active of -v, v and -v verbs:

(a) Omega (or Thematic) verbs: There are two basic types of verbs in Greek: thematic and athematic (or
non-thematic); thematic verbs display a variable vowel (o or e) functioning as a link between the verbs
stem and the personal endings attached to it. For instance, in the first-person plural the verb lv has the
form l-o-men while the verb tyhmi has the form tiye-men. While the personal ending -men is the
same in each verb form, it is linked to the stem by the thematic vowel -o- in l-o-men, but attached
directly to the stem in tye-men. Most of the athematic (or non-thematic) verbs( more commonly
referred to as Mi ( -mi) verbs, will not be presented until much later in the coursealthough we will be
using some of themlike efim, the verb "to be"right away.
Conjugation of the -v verbs is straightforward. We begin with the Present Idicative Active forms:
b a n- v
I stride (go)
ban-eiw
you (sg) stride (go)
ban-ei
he, she, it strides (goes)
ban-omen
we stride (go)
ban-ete
you (pl) stride (go)
ban-ousi(n) they stride (go)
Note that the 3rd-plural form may have a NU (-n) attached to it, especially if it is followed by a word
beginning with a vowel or if it is followed by a pausea sentence-end, comma, colon, or the like.
In the forms above the original thematic vowel (normally Omicron -o- before a nasal consonant (Mu - m or Nu -n-, and Epsilon -e- before any other consonant) is fused with the original personal endingso that,
in effect, you are learning a set of Indicative Thematic Active endings here.
(b) Contract verbs: Most thematic or Omega verbs do conjugate like banv above, attaching appropriate
personal endings to the verb-stem. There are, however, three special types of Omega verbs whose stem
ends in a vowelalpha (-a-), epsilon (-e-) or omicron (-o-). Originally there was a consonant (roughly
equivalent to our consonantal Y) following the vowel, but in the course of Greek linguistic history, this
consonant ceased to be pronounced, and then the remaining vowel of the verb stem contracted with the
vowel or diphthong in the personal ending.
The conjugational pattern of "Alpha Contract" (-av) verbs is shown below, with the uncontracted forms
(which in fact are not used in Attic Greek) in the left-hand column, and the contracted forms (those which
you will regularly see in Attic Greek) in the central column:
Uncontracted
r-v
r-eiw
r - ei
r-omen
r-ete
r-ousi(n)

Contracted
r
rw
r
rm en
rte
rsi(n)

English meaning
I see
you (sg) see
he, she, it sees
we see
you (pl) see
they see

The conjugational pattern of "Epsilon Contract" (-ev) verbs is shown below, with the uncontracted forms
(which in fact are not used in Attic Greek) in the left-hand column, and the contracted forms (those which
you will regularly see in Attic Greek) in the central column:
Uncontracted
poi - v
poi-eiw
poi-ei
poi-omen
poi-ete
poi-ousi(n)

Contracted
poi
poi e w
poie
poiomen
poiete
poiosi(n)

English meaning
I do, make
you (sg) do, make
he, she, it does, makes
we do, make
you (pl) do, make
they do, make

Grammar RG 1

(c) Present imperative active of -v, -v and -v verbs: The imperative second-person singular ending for
-v verbs is simply the thematic vowel: -e. The second-person plural ending is -ete, identical with the
indicative second-person plural. Thus, the imperatives of lgv, "I tell," are:
lge (sg.):

"Tell!/Start telling!"

lgete (pl.):

"Tell!/Start telling!"

For -v verbs, these endings (-e, -ete) are fused with the alpha stem and contract into -a and -ate.
Thus: ra < ra-e "See!" nka < nkae "Win!" and the plural forms: rte < r-ete,
nikte < nik-ete (identical with the indicative second-person plural forms)
For -ev verbs, the same endings (-e, -ete) are fused with the epsilon stem and contract into -ei and eite. Thus: poei < po-e Do! and plural poiete < poi-ete Do!
2.

Noun, Pronoun & Adjective: A Preliminary discussion of Gender and Case:

(a) Gender is a property of a noun determining which forms of adjectives and pronouns (Note that articles and
demonstratives are pronouns) may properly be used with it. There are three genders in Greek: masculine,
feminine, and neuter. Although nouns referring to men and women or to male and female animals are
quite naturally masculine or feminine as you might expect, the gender of some nouns is not predictable by
any universal logic. We find in Greek regular correct patterns in which masculine, fem inine or neuter
phrases consisting of article (a pronoun), adjective, and noun must be formed:
kakw nyrvpow "the wicked man" masculine article ; masculine adjective ending in -ow;
masculine noun ending in a characteristic second -declension masculine ending -ow.
kak ylatta "the evil sea"feminine article ; feminine adjective ending in -h; feminine noun
ending in the characteristic first-declension feminine ending -a (more commonly -h, like the adjective
ending.
t kaln ploon "the beautiful ship"neuter article t; neuter adjective ending in -on; neuter noun
ending in the characteristic second-declension neuter ending -on.
(b) Case refers to the particular grammatical or syntactic function which a noun or noun-phrase serves in a
sentence construction. Greek belongs to the Indo-European language family and reflects its ancestral case
usage. There were originally eight Indo-European cases: Vocative, Nominative, Genitive, Dative,
Instrumental-Sociative, Accusative, Ablative, Locative. Only four (five if we count the Vocative) of
these survive in Greek in distinct case-forms, but all of the functions have survived; often two or more
original Indo-European case-functions have come to be associated with a single set of case-endings.
Here is a very brief summary of the ancient Greek cases and the older case-functions which have been
absorbed into the case-endings of the surviving case name:
1.
2.
3.

Vocative is used for direct address. Although not usually referred to as a distinct case, it often has a
distinct endingor else an endingless form in the singular in Greek, while the nominative plural
usually serves for direct address of more than one.
Nominative indicates the subject of a statement or any attribute of that subject directly associated with
it or linked to it by a linking verb (e.g., is, are, is called).
Genitive indicates a person, place or thing to which another noun belongs (This is usually called
Possessive in English; Pertinentive is a more appropriate name. It can readily be associated with
the English preposition "of."
Two other distinct functions have come to be associated with the Greek Genitive Case:
(a) Partitive indicates an indefinite quantity "some of," "any of" the referent of the noun, perhaps
as a subject, perhaps as an object.
(b) Ablative indicates the source or direction of origin. It can readily be associated with the English
preposition "from" or "apart from" or "away from."

Grammar RG 1

4. Dative normally indicates a person whom an action or a statement concerns. It can readily be associated
with the English preposition "to" or "for." Two other distinct functions have come to be associated
with the Greek Dative Case:
(a) Locative indicates position in space or time "at," "in," or "on."
(b) Instrumental- Sociative indicates the person or instrument associated with a statement or action.
It can readily be associated with the English preposition "with"as in, "he came with his father"
or "he shot the deer with a bow."
5. Accusative indicates the person, thing, or place toward which a statement or action or motion is
directed. One of the most common functions of the Accusative case is referred to by the term "direct
object" or "object of a preposition." This can be misleading, however; what in English is the direct
object of a verb may be in the Dative case in Greek in some instances, and also there are several Greek
prepositions that are regularly used with the Genitive or Dative case but never with the
Accusative. The Accusative is the case indicating the limit or terminal point of action or motion or
reference.
3.

Definite article: t, nom. & acc.: The Greek definite article is a weak demonstrative pronoun; while it is
roughly equivalent to English "the," it is also used in several ways that are distinct from any English usage of
the definite article (for example, to highlight a proper name). We begin with the nominative formsthose
used to highlight a noun that is a subject or in some way a modifier of the subject:
Nominative masculine singular:
Nominative feminine singular:
Nominative neuter singular:
Nominative masculine plural:
Nominative feminine plural:
Nominative neuter plural:

t
o fl
a fl
t

nyrvpow, Dikaipoliw)
ylatta: "the sea")
t ploon: "the ship")
ofl nyrvpoi)
afl yllattai)
t ploa)

The accusative singular endings to the masculine and feminine forms of the definite article regularly have a
final Nu: tn, tn, as do also the corresponding forms of the second- and first-declension adjectives and
nouns which we shall soon be confronting. The accusative singular of the neuter form of the definite article is
identical with the nominative signular form; in fact, it is a hard-and-fast rule that the nominative and
accusative singular forms of any Greek noun are identical.
Accusative masculine singular:
Accusative feminine singular:
Accusative neuter singular:

tn
tn
t

tn nyrvpon)
tn ylattan)
t ploon)

Finally the accusative plural endings to the masculine and feminine forms of the definite article regularly have
a final Sigma: tow, tw, while the accusative plural ending of the neuter form of the definite article is
identical with its nominative plural form (this too is a rule which applies to all neuter plural adjectives, nouns
and pronouns: the nominative and accusative forms are identical.
Accusative masculine plural:
Accusative feminine plural:
Accusative neuter plural:

tow
tw
t

tow nyrpouw)
tw yalttaw)
t ploa)

Grammar RG 1

4. Adjective: kalw, -, -n (mterow, -a, on), nom. & acc.: The endings of the most common type of
adjectives (those which have the masculine and neuter endings of second-declension stems in the vowel
Omicron, and the feminine endings of first-declension stems in the vowels Eta or Alpha) are fundamentally
the same as those found in the article. In fact, the regular noun endings of the second and first declension are
also identical with the adjectival endings and the endings of the definite article. Observe:
Nominative masculine singular:
Nominative feminine singular:
Nominative neuter singular:
Nominative masculine plural:
Nominative feminine plural:
Nominative neuter plural:
Accusative masculine singular:
Accusative feminine singular:
Accusative neuter singular:
Accusative masculine plural:
Accusative feminine plural:
Accusative neuter plural:

kalw nyrvpow
kal ylatta
t kaln ploon
ofl kalo nyrvpoi
afl kala ylattai
t kal ploa
tn kaln nyrvpon
tn kaln ylattan
t kaln ploon
tow kalow nyrpouw
tw kalw yalttaw
t kal ploa

An exception should be noted with respect to the Nominative feminine singular and the Accusative feminine
singular: -h and -hn actually are the Attic-dialect's phonetically-altered forms of an earlier -a and -an.
However, in adjectives (and nouns) whose stems ended in -e-, -i-, or -r-, the original alpha vowel was
retained. That is why, if we substitute forms of the adjective mterow into the feminine noun phrases above, the
resulting forms will be:
Nominative feminine singular:
Accusative feminine singular:
5.

Noun: nyrvpow, rgon, nom. & acc.: The essential facts have already been illustrated in the preceding set
of examples. The matters of emphasis here are the nominative and accusative endings of o-stem nouns of the
second declension. There are nouns with nominative in -ow; most of these are masculine, but there are a few
feminine nouns in -ow, and these must be modified by feminine forms of the definite article and/or adjective.
There are also nouns in -on; these are neuter without exception. When we set out the endings of these seconddeclension nouns in -ow and -on, it looks like this:
Nominative
Accusative

6.

metra yllatta
tn metran ylattan

Masculine
Neuter
Masculine
Neuter

Singular
nyrvp- ow
plo- on
nyrvp- on
plo- on

Plural
nyrvp- oi
plo- a
nyrp- ouw
plo- a

Some prepositions: All prepositions appear to have originated as adverbs which serve to specify a directional
meaning which is already implicit in the sense of a grammatical case. We have seen, for instance, that the
preposition n is regularly used with a dative case form of a noun; the particular dative-case usage is called
Locativeanswering questions "where" or "when" in situations where motion is not involved:
n t plo:
n t Buzant:

"on the ship"

"at Byzantium"

or
or

"in the ship"

"in Byzantium"

Some other prepositions we have seen are efiw ("into," "onto") and prw ("towards," "facing"). These
prepositions properly highlight the function of the accusative case, which so often indicates where motion or
action ends or where it is directed.
efiw t ploon:
prw tw Aynaw:

"into the ship," "onto the ship"

"towards Athens"

Grammar RG 1

Two other prepositions which we have seen are k (j before a vowel: "out, out from") and p ("away,
away from"); these prepositions highlight the function of the original Greek ablative case, which indicates the
source from which something issues or derives. And since the older ablative case came to be associated with
the genitive case endings in Greek, the prepositions indicating separation or direction away from a source are
regularly used in Greek with the genitive case.
p to ploou:
k to ploou:
7.

"away from the ship"

"out of/outward from the ship"

mn ... d. These little words, two of a considerable category of "particles" in Greek, play a special role in
emphasizing the relationship between two (usually) or more (sometimes) persons, things, actions, or aspects.
The relationship is usually one of contrast, but it may be simply a parallelism:
bo m n Dikaipoliw, sivp d kubernthw.
Dikaiopolis shouts, but the captain is silent.
kal m n stin krpoliw, kaln d ka t ploon.
The acropolis is beautiful, and the ship is beautiful too.
Note that these two particles, mn and d, are postpositivei.e., they are never the first word in a clause but
regularly follow the article, noun, adjective, verb, or adverb which they serve to highlight.
When these words are found in a sentence, the easiest way to translate them is with the adverbial phrases, "on
the one hand " and "on the other " You ought to try, however, to be more original: there are times when a
simple conjunction "but" serves to highlight the contrast indicated by mn and d; elsewhere the adverbial
conjunction "while" may convey the force of a parallelism between two clauses.

8.

Present tense of efim, oda. Two very important verbs in Greek are irregular their conjugations must be
memorized, although certain features that they have in common with -v verbs are discernible. Notice, for
instance the first-person plural ending -men, the second-peson plural ending -te, and the third-plural endings in
-si or -sin.
(a) The verb efim is irregular in almost every language. Technically it is a -mi verb, since its first-person
singular ends in -mi. MEMORIZE ITS FORMS!
e fi m i
e
sti (n )
smen
ste
efisi(n)

"I am"
"you are"
"he/she/it is"
"we are"
"you are"
"they are"

(b) The verb oda is referred to in your text as a present tense; although it is translated by the English present
tense, however, it is really a perfect tense of the verb "to see" and means in fact something like "have a
mental vision." Notice that this verb shifts from the verb strong diphthong -oi- in its singular forms to a
weaker vowel -i- in its plural forms. MEMORIZE ITS FORMS!
oda
osya
ode(n)
smen
ste
sasi(n)

"I know"
"you know"
"he/she/it knows"
"we know"
"you know"
"they know"

Grammar RG 1

9.

Neuter plural of adjectives: Adjectives used in the neuter plural often function as substantives, i.e., they serve
the function of nouns. For instance, poll without an associated plural noun will mean "many things" or can
even be translated as "much," "a lot." kal can mean "beautiful things." When a neuter plural adjective is used
with an article, it tends to refer to a whole category of things referred to by the adjective's meaning. E.g., t
nautik = "naval matters" = "navigation" or "seamanship." Or again, t kal = "beautiful things" = "the
whole realm of Beauty."

10. te ... ka (sometimes te ... te): are frequently used to indicate two or more very-closely linked things,
qualities, or actions. They can usually be translated "both and," but that often suggests something more than
the Greek really implies. It may be more simply "x and also y." This makes it hard to translate. Examples:
te kubernthw ka Dikaipoliw: "both the captain and Dikaiopolis"
kalw te ka gayw: "graceful/noble and also excellent"this is the common Greek phrase used to
describe an esteemed person, an aristocrat.

Grammar RG 2

1. Pres. indic. Active of -v verbs: We have seen two types of contract verbs already whose thematic-vowel
endings contract with a preceding vocalic stem in epsilon (-ev verbs) and alpha (-av verbs). There remain
the -ov verbs, where, as you might guess, the thematic-vowel endings contract with a preceding vocalic stem in
omicron.
The key to conjugating these verbs is not so much memorizing the conjugation patterns of -ev, -ov, and -av
verbs; rather it is memorizing the contractions themselves. For -ov verbs these are:
o + o --> ou o + ou --> ou o + v --> v
o + e --> ou
o + ei --> oi
(Note that the O-vowel prevails in every instance over the E-vowel in contracting.)
Observe the uncontracted and then the contracted forms of the verb dhlv (Note, by the way, that forms such
as poiv, timv, dhlv are not normally found in Attic dialect; these are dictionary forms, spelled thus so
that you can recognize the kind of contract-verb that each one is):
dh l - v
dhl-eiw
dhl-ei

--> dhl
--> dhlow
--> dhlo

dhl-omen
dhl-ete
dhl-ousi(n)

--> dhlomen
--> dhlote
--> dhlosi(n)

2. Pres. Indicative.& Imperative Middle of -omai, -omai, -omai verbs:

(a) Forms of the middle voice: So far we have been using only verbs in the active voicei.e. verbs whose
subject is the agent performing the verbal action. There is, however, another voice which is of
overwhelming significance in the Indo-European languages. In Greek this is traditionally called the middle
voice, but it is well-represented in the Romance and Germanic languages as reflexive verbsverbs whose
subject is also their object (Fr. se laver , Ger. sich anzuwenden ). Verbs of this sort in Greek often have
corresponding English verbs that are active, and for this reason they have traditionally been called
"deponent"as if the Greek verbs were somehow abnormal in being different from the English
equivalents.
Actually, we cannot always explain why a particular greek verb is in the middle rather than in the active
voice, but more often than not, the verb in the middle voice can be seen to involve a notion of selfprojection: Quite a few verbs of motion are in the middle voice, as for instance two of the verbs met in
Section 2: rxomai (I come) and poreomai (I go, I make my way). Later on we shall be dealing with
verbs that have both an active and a middle conjugation, and we shall then pay more attention to the
difference of meaning between the active and the middle voices. For now, the important thing is to learn
the conjugation of the present tense indicative middle and of the present tense imperative middle:
The endings are simpler than those of the active voice. It is worth noting that the diphthong -ai- appears in
four of the six original endings, and that characteristic elements associated with each each person and
number are recognizable in most cases:
1 person sg.:
2 person sg.:
3 person sg.:

-mai (thematic: -omai)

-sai (thematic: -esai > )
-tai (thematic: -etai)

1 person pl.: -meya (thematic: -meya)

2 person pl.: -sye (thematic: -esye)
3 person pl.: -ntai (thematic: -ontai)

(In the second-person singular the sigma has evanesced between the -e- and the -ai, and the contraction
of the vowel and diphthong has issued in the -.)
Conjugation of poreomai, "I walk/make my way":
pore-omai
pore-
pore-etai

poreu-meya
pore-esye
pore-ontai

Grammar RG 2

(b) Present Imperative: the singular is always going to be a contracted form because the original ending was
-so, but the sigma between the thematic vowel and the final omicron in -eso evanesced, leaving - e o
which contracted to -ou. Consequently, the second-person imperative forms of poreomai are:
2 singular:

pore-ou 2 plural:

pore-esye (identical w/ indicative))

(c) Middle of -omai, -omai, -omai verbs

Contract Middle verbs: yeomai, fobomai: At play here are the same contractions that you have
already seen in active verbs:
Alpha contractions:
Epsilon contractions:

a + o -> v
e + o -> ou

a + v -> v
o + v -> v

a + ou -> v
e + ou -> ou

a + ei/ -> &

e + ei/ -> ei/

Conjugation of yeomai, "I watch" :

ye-omai
ye-
ye-etai

-> yem a i
-> y e
-> ye ta i

yea-meya
ye-esye
ye-ontai

Imperatives: 2 singular: ye - eo

->

-> yemeya
-> ye sye
-> yentai

ye

2 plural:

yeesye

-> ye sye

Conjugation of fobomai, "I fear":

fob-omai
fob -
fob-etai

-> fobomai
-> f o b
-> fobetai

Imperatives: 2 singular: fob-eo

fob-meya
fob-esye
fob-ontai
->

fobo

-> fobomeya
-> fobesye
-> fobontai
2 plural:

fob-esye

-> fobesye

3. First -declension nouns: bo, pora, tlma, nathw (nom. & acc.):
Attic phonetic history: All first-declension nouns have stems in alpha (a), either short or long. In the
course of time long alpha in Attic dialect came to be pronounced and then spelled as etawith the
exception, that if the original long alpha was preceded by epsilon, iota, or rho, the original long alpha
remained intact (e.g. ye (goddess), lhyea (truth), xra (space). The bearing of this
phonetic-historical fact upon the forms of the first declension that we are now encountering is minimal: it
means that we are dealing with nominatives in -a and -h with corresponding accusative singulars in -an
and -hn; all without exception have nominative plurals in -ai and accusative plurals in -aw.
The five types are:
(a) regular long-alpha converted to eta: bo (shout, outcry)
Nominative:
Accusative:

Singular
bo-
bo-n

Plural
bo-a
bo-w

(b) regular long-alpha UN-converted to eta: pora (helplessness, incapacity)

Nominative:
Accusative:

Singular
por-a
por-an

Plural
por-ai
por-aw

Grammar RG 2

(c) regular short-alpha un-converted to eta: tlma (venturous spirit, daring)

Nominative:
Accusative:

Singular
tl m - a
tlm-an

Plural
tlm-ai
tlm-aw

(d) regular MASCULINE long-alpha converted to eta: nautw (sailor)

Nominative:
Accusative:

Singular
nat-hw
nat-hn

Plural
nat-ai
nat-aw

Finally, I include here, for the sake of completeness and logic, the first-declension masculine noun-type whose
originally long alpha has survived because it follows upon epsilon, iota, or rho:
(e) regular MASCULINE long-alphaUN-converted to eta: neanaw (young man)
Nominative:
Accusative:

Singular
nean-aw
nean-an

Plural
nean-ai
nean-aw

(Note that the masculine nouns, though first-declension, must be qualified by masculine forms of the
article and adjective: gayw nathw, tn kaln neanan)
4. Genitive plurals meaning of:
(a) The genitive plural of all Greek nouns, adjectives, and pronouns ends in -vn. Sometimes this -vn may be
accented with a circumflex (-n), either because the noun in question is regularly accented on the final
syllable, or because the ending is a contraction (as is always the case in the first-declension, where the
original ending was (-vn).
(b) As was already noted in the grammar review to Section 1, the most common function of the genitive case
form is to indicate a person, place or thing to which another noun belongs. (This is usually called
Possessive in English, but Pertinentive is a better descriptive term). It can readily be associated with the
English preposition "of."
Remember, however, that there are two other meanings/functions associated with the genitive ending:
1. partitive: to indicate some or any of a person, place, or thing, either as a subject or (more commonly)
as an object of a verb or preposition: e.g. geomai to onou: "I taste some of the wine.";
2. ablative: to indicate separation from or removal from a person, place, or thing: e.g. k tn
Ayhnn ("out of Athens"), p tn plovn ("away from the ships").
5. Definite article: Attributive and Predicative Function/Position: The definite article is a versatile tool in Greek:
(a) it can turn a phrase into a substantive or noun-substitute:
ofl nn: "the ones now" = people today
afl n t ns: "the ones (feminine) on the island" = the women on the island
t nautik: "the things concerned-with-ships" = naval matters
(b) it can highlight the subject of a sentence to distinguish it from the predicate when there is no verb in the
clause:
kakn t paidon or t paidon kakn: "the child is bad"
(Note that it makes no difference whether the noun highlighted by the adjective comes first in the clause or
not; it is the presence of the article in its position immediately before paidon that shows this is the key

Grammar RG 2

10

wordthe subject, in this instance. Imagine the reverse, paidon t kakn. This would have to mean:
"a child is the trouble" = "the trouble is a child."
What we really must distinguish here is the function and/or position of the definite article in relation to a
noun or substantive and to other elements that may be included in or clearly related to the noun or
substantive in question.
We speak of an adjective (or adverb) in the attributive position whenever the definite article immediately
precedes and so highlights it:
gayw nathw "the good sailor"
ofl tte nyrvpoi "men at that time"
Sometimes the article may be repeated following upon an article-noun phrase that precedes it:
nathw gayw "the sailor, the good one"
ofl nyrvpoi ofl tte"(the people, the ones then"
Note that a genitive phrase may functionjust like an adjectiveas an attribute:
t tn Ayhnavn ploa: "the ships of the Athenians," "the Athenians' ships"
t ploa t tn Ayhnavn : "the ships, the ones of the Athenians," "the Athenians' ships"
There is no real difference in meaning between these two forms of the expression. Both are
attributivebut there is a difference in the rhetorical force: the second phrase is as if we were saying:
"the shipsI mean those of the Athenians" (when you want to make clear precisely which ships you
mean).
Now notice, however, what happens when we let these adjectives or modifying phrases slip out of the area
designated attributive by the article:
gayw nathw "A good one (is) the sailor."
nyrvpoi ofl tte "Human (were) the people at that time"
tn Ayhnavn t ploa "Belonging to the Athenians (are, were) the ships."
In these instances the modifier elements are in the PREDICATIVE POSITION; they are outside of the
attributive realm designated by the definite article and are therefore statements made about the persons,
places, or things designated by the articlei.e. they are predicates to the subject.
6. Prepositions: The Accusative is the case indicating the limit or terminal point of action or motion or
reference. The prepositions par, p, di are actually originally adverbs; they have essential meanings
that are not distinctly associated with the functions of the accusative; par means "before, facing "; p
means "upon, right onto"; di means "across, by-way-of, traversing." However, when these prepositions are
used with the accusative case, the accusative makes the noun or substantive which it marks indicate the
terminal point of action, motion or reference of the preposition. Hence, the distinctive meanings of these
prepositions with the accusative are:
(a) par w/ accusative may mean "before, in front of, alongside of, right on in front of (= going past), to the
presence of"it is the context which must determine the best way to translate it in a given sentence.
Examples: par tn nson: "alongside the island," "in front of the island," "past the island."
(b) p w/ accusative may mean "upon, down upon, onto, down against (often with hostile intent). Here too
context is the governing factor. Example: p tow polemouw: "right upon the enemy."
(c) di w/ accusative will almost always mean "because of, on account of"; presumably this sense derives
from the notion that the noun or substantive indicated by the preposition is the necessary instrument "by
way of" which an action or motion must proceed. Example: di tn plemon poynskousi
pollo: "Because of the war many people are dying."

Grammar RG 3

1.

11

3 decl. nouns: limn, naw, Zew:

Most third-declension nouns have stems ending in consonants, although we shall come to see a common thirddeclension I-stem type (pliw, for instance, and many nouns based on verb-stems that end in -siw), a common
U-stem type (presbw, for instance) and a very few O-stems (peiy, "persuasion"). Examples of consonant
stems are: limen- ("harbor"), nukt- ("night"), paid- ("child").
One general fact about third-declension nouns is that the nominative singular usually does not readily reveal
the noun's stem. The nominative singulars of the three nouns cited above are: limn ("harbor"), nj
("night"), and paw ("child"). In fact, these three nouns exemplify the two most common types of nominative
markers in the third declension:
(1) the stem-vowel of the final syllable is lengthened: -men --> mhn;
(2) -w is added to the stem (but often with significant phonetic consequences): nukt + w --> nuj (t + s -->
s, then ks is spelled j); paid + w --> paiw (d + s --> ss --> s).
You must learn the nominative singular of a third-declension noun when you first acquire it as a new
vocabulary item; you must at the same time learn its stem and gender. In a dictionary or lexicon these will be
indicated by the form of a noun's listing: first will come the nominative singular, then the genitive singular
(removal of the very regular genitive ending -ow will leave the noun stem), then the appropriate form of the
definite article to indicate the gender: e.g. limn, limnow, ; nj, nuktw, ; paw, paidw, .
The declension of a regular third-declension noun is straightforward. The endings are:
Nominative
Accusative

Singular
----a, -n

Plural
-ew
-aw

Notes: As already indicated, the nominative singular usually shows some modification of the stem. The
accusative singular was originally a vocalic M; after a consonant in Greek this became an Alpha, while after a
vowel it became a Nu (as in the first- and second-declension accusative-singular endings, -hn, -an, -on). The
nominative plural in -ew is regular, although sometimes the Epsilon must be contracted with a preceding vowel;
the accusative plural is a short-alpha + sigma (unlike the first-declension -aw, where the alpha is long).
The grammar of Section 3 includes two quite irregular third-declension nouns:
One is the proper name of the chief god of the Olympian pantheon, Zeus: in this instance the nominative,
Zew, is built upon a different form of the stem which is used for the accusative: Di- in Da.
The second is the major Greek word for "ship," naw. What makes this noun peculiar is that there are
two forms of the stem:
(a) the form of the stem used before a consonant is the diphthongal nau-;
(b) the form of the stem used before a vowel is the archaic form ending in the obsolete consonant
called Digamma: naW-. Here the long alpha went through the regular Attic change to Eta, so that the
noun-stem became nhW-. Ultimately the Digamma became quiescent and evanesced, leaving the noun
stem which we see in our pattern, nh-.
Nominative
Accusative

Singular
naw
nan

Plural
new
naw (sometimes naw)

Grammar RG 3

2.

12

Demonstrative pronouns: otow, kenow:

(a) Predicate position and usage: The demonstratives otow and kenow are always at least partially
predicative: This means:
(1) neither is ever positioned within the attributive domain indicated by the definite article: you may
write otow nyrvpow ("this person") or kenh pliw ("yonder city-state"), but you may not
write otow nyrvpow or ath pliw ;
(2) these words can and sometimes do function by themselves predicatively: otow, t poiew; ("Hey
you, what are you doing?"where otow refers to "the one right here in front of me."); similarly kenow
nyrvpow does not really mean "yonder person" so much as it does "There's the person!"
(b) Declension: Because these are pronouns and not adjectives, you should note that the neuter singular
(both nominative.& accusative, of course) ends in -o, not -on. The original neuter singular nominative
and accusative ending was -od (cf. Latin illud) but since a Greek word cannot end in a consonant other
than nu, rho, sigma, or a sigma compound (j, c), the final delta was dropped, leaving the bare omicron
at the end of these words. Generally these pronouns show, as do adjectives of the most common type, the
masculine and neuter endings of the second declension and feminine endings of the first declension.
We begin with kenow ("that one, yonder one"), which is actually derived from the adverb ke:
("yonder, over there").

Nom.
Acc.

Masc.
kenow
kenon

Singular
Fem.
ke nh
kenhn

Neut.
ke no
ke no

Masc.
kenoi
kenouw

Plural
Fem.
kenai
kenaw

Neut.
ke na
ke na

otow is somewhat irregular, but it is like the definite article in that it retains the roughbreathing/initial vowel of the definite article in the nominative singular masculine and feminine of both
singular and plural, and in that the O-vowel tends to generate ou in the masculine singular and plural
and neuter singular stems, while the A-vowel tends to generate au in the feminine singular and plural
and neuter plural stems:

Nom.
Acc.
3.

Masc.
otow
to ton

Singular
Fem.
ath
ta th n

Neut.
toto
toto

Masc.
otoi
totouw

Plural
Fem.
atai
ta ta w

Neut.
tata
tata

Personal pronouns: g, s, mew, mew: In effect we are dealing here with four pronouns, since the
first-person plural and second-person plural pronouns are distinct from their singular counterparts in every
respect.

Nom.
Acc.

Singular
1st person
2nd person
g ("I")
s ("you")
m ("me")
s ("you")
me
se

1st person
m e w ("we")
m w ("us")

Plural
2 person
mew (you as subj.)
mw (you as obj.)

Note that the secondary forms of the accusative singular (me, se) are enclitic; they have no accent of their own
but will affect the accent of the preceding word. On the other hand, the primary forms of the accusative
singular are emphatic and are very likely to be placed in front of the verb governing them. E.g. ra m
lgeiw; "Do you mean me?"

Grammar RG 3

4.

13

Irregular adjectives: polw, mgaw (nom. & acc.):

The forms of these two quantitative adjectives are somewhat irregular in that they show third-declension
endings in the masculine and neuter singular, nominative and accusative, but endings of the first- and
second-declensions elsewhere. Moreover the stem on which the endings of the first- and second-declensions
are based is an extension of the third-declension stem.
(a) polw "much, many a , many"

Nom.
Acc.

Masc.
polw
poln

Singular
Fem.
poll
pol l n

Neut.
pol
pol

Masc.
pol l o
pollow

Neut.
mga
mga

Masc.
megloi
meglouw

Plural
Fem.
pol l a
pol l w

Neut.
poll
poll

(b) mgaw "large, tall, great"

Nom.
Acc.
5.

Masc.
mgaw
mgan

Singular
Fem.
m eg l h
meglhn

Plural
Fem.
meglai
meglaw

Neut.
m eg l a
m eg l a

Negatives: double-negatives:
Greek negative usage appears to run contrary to standard English usage in that double negation in its most
common form is not a rhetorical positive assertion but rather a standard formula: ok xv odn g,
"I don't have anything." It would be wrong to translate this as "I do not have nothing" because that is simply not
what the Greek means.
On the other hand, if the simple negative adverb follows the negative word, the construction has the same sense
as it would have in Englishin fact, it would be more emphatic. odn ok xv, "Nothing do I not have" =
"I have everything (that I need or want)." In fact, the impact of the initial odn here makes it effectually
predicative: "There is nothing (that) I do not have." It should be noted, however, that this constructioni is
rhetorical and not very common.

Grammar RG 4

1.

15

Participles in Classical Attic Greek:

(a) Morphology:
(1) Formation: The participles in the present tense (and in most other tenses also) are easily recognized or
formed from the simple infix added to present stem + thematic vowel (o/e which is always o before a
nasal). The active participial infix is -nt-; the middle-passive participial infix is -men-. The active
infix uses 3rd (for m. & n.) & 1st-declension (for f.) endings; the middle-passive infix uses 2nd & 1stdeclension endings. Thus the active nom. sg. m/f/n participle will end in -vn(t), -ousa, -on(t)in
which instances the original -t at the end of the word is lost. Correspondingly the middle-passive nom.
sg. m/f/n participle will end in -menow, -omnh, -menon.
(2) Declension: Each of these participles is declined using endings that you already know. An example are
the present participial forms of the verb pav in the case-forms we have thus far dealt with:
Case/#/Gender
nom sg. m/f/n
acc. sg. m./f/n
nom. pl.m/f/n
acc. pl. m/f/n

Active
pavn, paousa, paon
paonta, paousan, paon
paontew, paousai, paonta
paontaw, pauosaw,paonta

Middle/Passive
paumenow, pauomnh,paumenon
paumenon, pauomnhn, paumenon
paumenoi, paumenai, paumena
pauomnouw, pauomnaw, paumena

(b) Usage:
(1) Adjectival:
as adjective or relative clause: trxvn nr the running man or the man who is
running
as substantive: trxvn the running (one) = the runner
(2) Adverbial (circumstantial): modifying the predicate of a clause as an adverb explaining how,
why, for what purpose, when, etc.; for example:
nik Feidippdhw trxvn. Pheidippides wins by running.
trxvn Feidippdhw fiknetai prtow efiw tw Aynaw. Because he runs Pheidippides
arrives in Athens first.
w niksvn (fut. ptc.) trxei Feidippdhw. Pheidippides runs in order to win (lit. as
going to win)
trxvn mn nik Feidippdhw, banvn d niktai. When Pheidippides runs, he wins, but
when he walks, he is defeated.
(3) Supplementary: completing the meaning of a verb which serves as an auxiliary with it; for
example:
lanynei mw fegvn efiw t flern trxvn. The fugitive escapes your notice running into
the sanctuary = You fail to notice the fugitive running into the sanctuary.
ugxnei jnow Lakedaimniow n. The foreigner happens to be a Spartan.
dlw stin jnow flketevn. The foreigner is manifest being a suppliant = It is clear that
the foreigner is a suppliant
fanetai jnow flketw n. The foreigner shows as being a suppliant. = The foreigner
manifestly is a suppliant.
(4) Indirect Discourse with a Verb of Perception or Knowing:
r' rw kenon tn jnon efiw t flern trxonta; Do you see [that] yonder foreigner [is]
running into the sanctuary]?
o gr gignskv tn jnon Lakedaimnion nta. I dont recognize [that] the stranger [is]
a Spartan].
Note: examples with lanynei and dlw stin above are actually at the same time examples of
indirect discourse.

Grammar RG 4

2.

16

3 decl. nouns: prgma, plyow, pliw, prsbuw, stu

(a) Nouns of the type prgma: This is a very common type of Greek noun with a suffix (-mat-) akin to the
Latin -mentum , English -ment , that is used with verb-stems to form nouns of the action performed by the
verb in question. prgma is built upon the stem of prttv, "to enact," and means "action performed."
Similarly pohma is built upon the stem poiv, "to create," and means "work created," such as a poem.
The stem is -mat-. Since these nouns are neuter (without exception), the nominative/accusative singular
will be the simple noun-stem, except for the fact that Tau cannot stand alone at the end of a Greek word (the
only consonants allowable at the end of a Greek word are Sigmaincluding Xi and Psi, Nu, and Rho),
and it therefore is dropped. The nominative/accusative plural is formed by adding the normal neuter plural
N/A ending, a short alpha. The forms, therefore, are:
Nom/Acc

Singular
t prgma

Plural
t prgmata

(b) Nouns of the type plyow: This is another very common type of third-declension neuter nouns. The stem
is -es-, a combination which, ironically, is not found at all in the extant forms of the noun because
either the Epsilon changes or the Sigma evancesces and permits the Epsilon to contract with
whatever vowel-ending may follow. The nominative/accusative singular form shows the theme-vowel
shift from Epsilon to Omicron: -es- --> ow; the nominative/accusative plural shows loss of the intervocalic sigma and contraction of Epsilon and Alphaat first to long alphabut the long alpha underwent
the regular Attic change to Eta (where it is not inhibited by a preceding Iota, Epsilon, or Rho). Accordingly
the forms of plyow are:
Nom/Acc

Singular
t plyow

Plural
t plyh (< plhye(s)a)

(c) Nouns of the type p l i w : While this noun is itself very important, its type (third-declension I-stem) is
prolific: the suffix with the older form -tiw or more common later form -siw is regularly used with verbstems to form nouns of the performance of a verbal action (e.g. rsiw, "seeing, vision", prjiw,
"action"). The stem alternates between two forms originally: -i- before a consonant, -ey- before a vowel.
The i-stem is therefore seen in the nominative and accusative singular before Sigma and Nu respectively,
while the nominative plural shows an original -ey- before the ending -ew. The Greek y , or consonantal
iota, is an unstable consonant between vowels, as we have already seen Sigma to be, and as we shall also
soon see Digamma, the Greek w (symbolized by the character W) to be; when the y evanesces then, the
adjacent Epsilons contract: -eye- --> -ee- --> -ei-. One final peculiarity of the I-stem nouns (and Ustem nouns also) is that the nominative plural form -eiw is used also for the accusative plural (although we
might expect, and do in fact find in Ionic dialect, a form such as -iaw).
Nom
Acc

Singular
pliw
tn plin

Plural
afl pleiw (< ple(y) ew)
tw pleiw (< ple(y)ew)

Grammar RG 4

17

(d) Nouns of the type prsbuw: The stem alternates between two forms originally: -u- before a consonant, eW- before a vowel. The U-stem is therefore seen in the nominative and accusative singular before Sigma
and Nu respectively, while the nominative plural shows an original -eW- before the ending -ew. The Greek
W , or consonantal upsilon, is an unstable consonant between vowels just like Sigma and y, or consonantal
iota; when the W evanesces then, the adjacent Epsilons contract: -eWe- --> -ee- --> -ei-. The
peculiarity already noted in the I-stem nounsthat the nominative plural form -eiw is used also for the
accusative plural, is found again here.
Nom
Acc

Singular
prsbuw
tn prsbun

Plural
ofl prsbeiw (< prsbe(W)ew)
tow prsbeiw (< prsbe(W)ew)

(e) Nouns of the type stu: This is simply a neuter U-stem, with the same alternation between an -u- and an
-eW- stem. The nominative/accusative neuter singular is simply the stem, stu, while the original
nominative/accusative plural form steWa first lost its Digamma, then the adjacent vowels contracted to
form a long Alpha which shifted to Eta (cf. the plural of t plyow in 2.b. above, where loss of Sigma
leads to the same Eta.
Nom/Acc
3.

Plural
t sth (< ste(W)a)

Adjective: efrvn: This type of third-declension adjective has a stem in -on-; the only alteration that this
stem undergoes in the nominative and accusative is lengthening of the omicron stem-vowel in the nominative
singular. This adjective also illustrates the principle that compounded adjectives (here e + fron ) have one
common set of endings for masculine and feminine and then a separate set for neuter.

Nom
Acc
4.

Singular
t stu

Singular
M/F
N
e frvn
e fron
efrona e fron

Plural
M/F
N
efronew
efrona
efronaw
efrona

Pronouns: tw, odew:

(a) Interrogative and Indefinite Pronouns: tw, tiw: The older stem of this pronoun is an I-stem alternating
between -i- and -ey- (this is still evident in other dialects and in some Attic forms you will come to know
later), but in effect the common Attic stem alternates between ti- before vowels and tin- before
consonants. A single set of endings serves for both the masculine and feminine, while another set
serves for the neuter. The interrogative differs from the indefinite in that the interrogative is
regularly accented on the first syllable while the indefinite is encliticdependent upon the preceding
word for its accent; if ever it does have its own accent, it will be on the second syllable.
tw: the interrogativ e pronoun
Singular
M/F
Nom
Acc

tw
tna

Plural
N

t
t

M/F
tnew
tnaw

N
tna
tna

tiw: the interrogativ e pronoun

Singular
M/F
Nom
Acc

tiw
tina

Plural
N

ti
ti

M/F
tinew
tinaw

N
tina
tina

Grammar RG 4

18

(b) "No one," odew, "Nothing," odn: This is a compound of od ("not even") and the cardinal
numeral pronoun "one" ew, ma, n. The epsilon of od elides before the initial diphthong of the
masculine and neuter forms ew, n while it is whole before the feminine pronoun. The stem in the
masculine and neuter is actually -n-; in the nominative this undergoes phonetic change from an original
nw to loss of the intermediate Nu and compensatory lengthening of the Epsilon to ei so that the syllable
will retain its original metrically long value.

Nom
Acc

M
o de w
o dna

Singular
F
odema
odema
n

N
odn
odn

5. Verbs taking participles: tugxnv, lanynv, fynv, paomai, dlw efimi, kaper:
Several of these verbs were already noted earlier in 1.b.3 and 4.
kaper ("although") is used especially with the circumstantial participle to indicate a clause of concession:
on Soln, kaper grvn n, pedmhsen pollkiw n tow barbroiw. "So Solon, although he
was an old man, travelled often among the non-Greeks."
6.

Noun: basilew (nom., acc.): This noun is in some ways akin to the U-stems like prsbuw. In fact,
however, its stem alternates primarily between the diphthong -eu- (used before consonants) and the long-vowel
+ consonant -hW- (used before vowels). The other factor bearing on the declension of this noun is a
phenomenon termed vowel-metathesis, a process affecting sequential long-and-short vowels: the
secondshortvowel is lengthened, while the initiallongvowel is shortened. In the accusative singular of
basilew the sequence eta-short-alpha becomes epsilon-long-alpha (baslha --> baslea); the same
thing takes place also in the accusative plural.
Nom
Acc

Singular
basilew
tn basila (<basil(W)a)

Plural
ofl basilw (< basil(W)ew)
tow basilaw (< basil(W)aw)

7.

Adjectives translated as adverbs: Sometimes an adjective in a predicative position is understood in connection

with the verb:
suxow kayedei: "He sleeps (as a) peaceful (one) = "He sleeps peacefully."
soi plomen efiw tn limna: "(As) safe (ones) we sail into the harbor" = "We sail safely into the
harbor."

8.

Elision and crasis: Not uncommonly the final vowel of one wordparticularly a monosyllabic or disyllabic
wordis elidedomittedwhen the next word begins with a vowel:
mn nathw dikei, d' [d] llow fegei: "The sailor gives chase, but the other flees."
When the consonant preceding the elided vowel is pronounced with an initial aspirated vowel in the succeeding
word, that consonant becomes aspirated: tw stin otow nr; "Who is this fellow?" may be tw sy'
otow nr;
A different but similar phenomenon is the fusion of the final vowel of one word with the initial vowel or
diphthong of the next. This is called crasis from the Greek root for "mix" (kera-). It is indicated by a crasismark which is identical in form with a smooth breathing but is always placed over the vowel or the second
vowel of the diphthong in which the fusion is completed.
t at --> tat
ka p --> kp
t noma --> tonoma (Note that o + o --> ou)

Grammar RG 5

1.

19

Major Types of Greek Verbs, illustrated by principal parts and tense stems:
(a) Review of Present Tense/Stem: Hitherto we have dealt only with the Present Tense in its Active (e.g.
lv) and Middle-Passive (lomai ) forms. The Present tense is formed on a stem which is distinct: this
form is used in both the Present and Imperfect Tenses, but the stem has different additives following
andin the case of the imperfectpreceding the stem (see B. below). There are, in fact, two fundamental
types of Present stems: Thematic or v (Omega) verbs, and Athematic or mi (Mi) verbs. The types and
their characteristic stems may best be indicated as follows:
Present 1 sg.
banv
deknumi

Thematic (v) verbs

Athematic (mi) verbs

Present Stem
b a i n -o / e
deiknu-

Note that the stem of the thematic verb is denoted with a superscript o/e; this indicates that the variable
vowel omicron/epsilon is the linking element between the stable part of the stem and the personal
endings. On the other hand, the stem of the athematic verb is denoted with a dash or hyphen, indicating
that the personal endings are attached directly to the stem.
(b) Principal Parts: We shall now note that there are several tense stems for Greek verbs, six of them, in
fact, for most verbs (some verbs are defectivelacking in certain tenses). For the present only three of the
six tense stems will concern us; in fact, these three stems will account for most of the Greek verb-forms
you will ever meet. In order to cope with these varying tense forms, you will need to learn:
(1) regular modes of formation for verbs that follow standard patterns
(2) principal parts for all irregular verbs. Your text, Reading Greek, generally indicates that a verb is
irregular by listing in the vocabulary the Aorist stem in parentheses. You ought, however, to start
learning now the three first principal parts for the irregular verbs, e.g. rv, comai, edon
are the principal parts of the very important verb for see. You observe that three altogether different
stems are employed to form these three tenses:
Pres. 1 sg.
rv

Pres. stem
r ao / e

Fut 1 sg.
com a i

Fut stem
co / e

Aorist 1 sg.
edon

Aorist stem
fi do / e

(c) Major Types of Greek Verbs: In the table below illustrative verbs are listed in six categories. These verbs
are alike in many ways, but each category displays one or more distinct feature in one or more of its
tenses. We begin with the perfectly regular type of verb whose principal parts are predictable and for which
you therefore do not need to learn the principal parts, then move to other categories displaying the peculiar
features in one or more tenses.
(1) Regular thematic verbs:
Pres. 1 sg.
lv

Pres. stem
l uo / e

Fut 1 sg.
lsv

Fut stem
l u so / e

Aorist 1 sg.
lusa

Aorist stem
l u sa

(2) Contract thematic verbs: (lengthen stem vowel before sigma of future & aorist):
Pres. 1 sg.
timv
poiv
dhlv

Pres. stem
t i m ao / e
p o i eo / e
d h l oo / e

Fut 1 sg.
ti m sv
poi sv
dh l sv

Fut stem
ti m h s-o / e
poi h s-o / e
dh l vs-o / e

Aorist 1 sg.
tmhsa
pohsa
dlvsa

Aorist stem
t i m h sa
p o i h sa
d h l v sa

(3) Athematic or -mi verbs: (often irregular only in the present, sometimes in aorist):
Pres. 1 sg.
t yh m i
deknumi

Pres. stem
tiyhdeiknu-

Fut 1 sg.
ysv
dejv

Fut stem
y h so / e
d e i jo / e

Aorist 1 sg.
y h ka
d e i ja

Aorist stem
yh-/yed e i ja

Grammar RG 5

20

(4) Liquid thematic verbs: (epsilon-contract in future and sigma-less in aorist):

Pres. 1 sg.
ggllv
gamv

Pres. stem
g g el lo / e
g a m eo / e

Fut 1 sg.
g g el
gam

Fut stem
g g el eo / e
g a m eo / e

Aorist 1 sg.
ggeila
ghma

Aorist stem
g g ei l a
g h ma

(5) Thematic second aorist: (aorist stem is gradation of present stem):

Pres. 1 sg.
lepv
ggnomai

Pres. stem
l e i po / e
g i g no / e

Fut 1 sg.
lecv
gensomai

Fut stem
l e i c -o / e
g enh s-o / e

Aorist 1 sg.
l i pon
genmhn

Aorist stem
l i p -o / e
g e n -o / e

Fut stem
s t h so / e
b h so / e

Aorist 1 sg.
sth
bhn

Aorist stem
sthbh-

(6) Athematic aorist (Third Aorist):

Pres. 1 sg.
sth m i
banv
2.

Pres. stem
fl s t h -

Fut 1 sg.
stsv
bsomai

b a i no / e

Formation of the Imperfect Tense:

(a) Augment: The Imperfect Tense is formed by attaching an augment to the front, and secondary endings
following the present stem of a verb. For -v verbs this means that the elements combined are: (1) present
stem, (2) thematic vowel (o/e), and (3) secondary endings. The augment may be of two fundamental
types:
(1) Syllabic augment: the vowel e attached to the front of a consonantal verb stem, as
lulamban(2) Temporal augment: the initial vowel of a verb stem beginning with a vowel is lengthened (in the
case of an alpha (a), the long a becomes eta (h) in Attic dialect:
kou->
koulofur->
lofur(3) exceptions: There are some apparent exceptions that are explained by the loss of weak consonants at
the beginning of a verb-stem (usually s-, W-, or y-):
( s) ex- ->
(s)ex- ->
e fi x ( W ) i d- ->
(W)id- ->
e fi d (b) Present Stems: The present stem is evident from the first principal partthe lexicon form (1 person sg.
present indicativeActive or Middle/Passive if deponent) minus the 1st person sg. ending:
l/v
lu- (Since this is an -v verb, always conjugated with the thematic vowel in present
system, the present stem may be listed as lu o / e.
fh/mi
fh- (This is an a-thematic verb, the endings of which are added directly to the tensestem. To be more precise, since most athematic or -mi verbs alternate between a long-vowel stem in
the sg. and a short-vowel stem in the pl., this stem should be denoted fh-/fa-).
(c) The secondary endings are as follows:
active
Singular
Plural
-n
-men
-w
-te
-(t)
-n(t)

1
2
3

middle-passive
Singular
Plural
-mhn
-meya
-(s)o
-sye
-to
-nto

Grammar RG 5

21

(d) Omega (-v) verbs form their imperfect, then, by using:

(1) augment,
(2) present stem,
(3) appropriate form of the thematic vowel (-o- before m o r n, -e- everywhere else), and
(4) the appropriate form of the secondary personal ending for the person, number and voice required.
The following examples are 2 sg. active:
-lamban-e-w
kou-e-w
ex-e-w<- -(s)ex-e-w

(lambnv)
(kov)
(xv)

The following examples are 3 pl. middle/passive:

poreu-o-nto
lofur-o-nto
(e) Athematic verbs form their imperfect by using
(1) augment,
(2) present stem, and
(3) the appropriate form of the secondary personal ending
The following examples are 2 sg. active:
-deiknu-w
-kerannu-w

(deknumi)
(kernnumi)

The following examples are 3 pl. middle/passive:

-tiye-nto
rnu-nto
3.

(tyhmi {present stem: tiyh/tiye})

(rnumi)

Formation of the Future Tense:

(a) Formation: The Future Tense is formed by adding thematic endings (i.e. o/e endings) to the future stem
of a verb. Most verbs will have future tenses that look like present-tense forms with the addition of a sigma
(s) between a recognizable form of the verb root and the thematic (o/e) endings.
(1) The Future Stem is not necessarily predictable, although most verbs form their future stems in a
perfectly regular manner by adding sigma (s) to the Present Stem. In the case of a verb whose present
stem ends in a vowel, this is a very simple matter:
lufh-

+
+

-s-s-

=
=

lusfhs-

However, when the sigma (-s-) is added to a consonant, different results may ensue as a consequence
of Greek phonological rules:
a.
tekgx-

Guttural stems always become -ks- when combined with the sigma (i.e. x loses its aspiration
and g loses its vocalization; both become simple k in the presence of the s):
+
+
+

-s-s-s-

=
=
=

tejjj-

Grammar RG 5

b.

22
Labial stems always become -ps- when combined with the sigma (i.e. f loses its aspiration and
b loses its vocalization; both become simple p in the presence of the s):

pblab l ei fc.

timapoiedhlo-

pesspei ssss-

=
=
=

=
=
=

pespeiss-

(s-)

(s-)

Liquid (l, r) and Nasal (m, n) stems are semivocalic; they do not simply combine with the
future marker -s- but actually add a vocalic element between the liquid or nasal stem and the -swhich results in the combinations -les-, -res-, -mes-and -nes-. The -s- as a consequence
will always be between two vowelsand intervocalic -s- in Greek normally evanesces, leaving
two adjacent vowels whichin Attic dialectregularly contract . The resultant forms:
-s-s-s-s-

+
+
+
+

b a l esfyeresg a m esya nes-

=
=
=
=

b a l e -o / e
fyere-o / e
g a m e -o / e
ya neo-o / e

=
=
=
=

Verbs in -zv (stem -id) take the future sign -se-. They first assimilate the d to the future-sign
se-, then simplify the -ss- to -s-; finally the -s- is intervocalic, just as was the case in (d)
above. Thus, they too have the appearance of present-tense e-contract-verb forms:

nom i df.

-s-s-s-

+
+
+

balfyergamyane.

cblac l ei c-

=
=
=

Dental stems always become -s- when combined with the sigma (i.e. y loses its aspiration and d
loses its vocalization; both become simple s in the presence of the following s; then the resultant
double s (ss) simplifies to a single s (-s-):

petpeiydd.

-s-s-s-

+
+
+

-se-

nomisse-

nomise-

n o m i eo / e

contract verbs form their future stems in a predictable way: they lengthen the stem vowel (a, e,
or o) before adding the future-sign -s-:
+
+
+

-s-s-s-

=
=
=

ti m h spoi h sdh l vs-

Grammar RG 5

23

(b) Examples will show the types of future-tense forms shown above:
Verb Root
lufa- (fh-)
tek/tok/tk
gsex/sox/sx
sep/sop/sp
blab
leif
pet/pot/pt
peiy/poiy/piy
sWad -> dbel/bol/bal
fyer/fyor/fyar
gamyen/yon/yan
nom i dtimapoiedhlo-

Present 1 sg.
lv
fhm
tktv
gv
xv
pom a i
b l ptv
l e fv
pptv
peyv
nd nv
bllv
fye rv
gamv
ynhskv
nom zv
timv ()
poiv ()
dhlv ()

Present stem
l uo / e
fh-/fat i k to / e
go / e
xo / e
po / e
b l a p to / e
l e i fo / e
p i p to / e
p e i yo / e
n d a no / e
b a l lo / e
f y e i ro / e
g a m eo / e
ynh i sko / e
n o m i zo / e
t i m ao / e
p o i eo / e
d h l oo / e

Future 1 sg.
lsv
fsv
tjomai
jv
jv
com a i
blcv
lecomai
pesomai
pesv
sv
bal
fyer
gam
yanomai
nomi
ti m sv
poi sv
dh l sv

Future stem
l u so / e
f h so / e
t e jo / e
jo / e
jo / e
co / e
b l a co / e
l e i co / e
p e so / e
p e i so / e
so / e
b a l eo / e
f y e r eo / e
g a m eo / e
y a n eo / e
n o m i eo / e
t i m h so / e
p o i h so / e
d h l v so / e

4. Formation of the Aorist Tense

(N.B. This overview of the Aorist deals only with fundamentals of the formation of the Active and Middle
forms of the Aorist Tense; i.e. the Passive, which has distinct forms in the Aorist Tense, is not dealt with here.
This account also omits details of Irregular verb formations.)
(a) Constituent elements: The Aorist Tense is formed by combination of two fundamental elements: (1) an
aorist stem, and (2) endings (personal, infinitive, or (in the case of participles) adjectival. In addition
mood-signs may intervene between aorist stem and endings to indicate indicative, subjunctive,
optative, or participle.
(b) Aorist stems fall into three distinct categories in terms of the mode in which endings are attached to them;
the three categories have been traditionally termed by widely variant names:
1.

Sigmatic, Alpha, Weak, or First Aorist: in this category endings are attached to a stem
showing a characteristic modifier-element the basic form of which is -sa- but which may in fact be
lacking in the -s- owing to phonetic factors (characteristic ancient Greek evanescence of intervocalic s-) or the gradual coming to dominance of alpha endings in the course of Greek linguistic history,
even with stems originally not used with them. It is convenient to show the type of this aorist category
by a superscript alpha, thus: kousa , pausa .

2.

Thematic, Strong, or Second Aorist: in this category endings are attached to a form of the
stem modified by an intervening thematic vowel which takes the form of -o- before nasal consonants
(-m, -n) and of -e- everywhere else. It is convenient to show the type of this aorist category by a
superscript o/e, thus: efipo / e, lipo / e.

Grammar RG 5

3.

24

Athematic (non-thematic), or Third Aorist (this also is referred to as Strong aorist, although
it differs significantly from the Thematic or Second Aorist): in this category endings are attached
directly to a form of the stem ending in a vowel. It is most convenient to show the type of this aorist
category by the dash after the vowel at the stem-end, thus: bh-, sth-, gnv-.

N.B.: Although indicative forms of the Aorist Tense are regularly augmented in Attic dialect, the stem
is properly indicated without an augment because infinitives, participles, subjective, optative, and
imperative forms of the Aorist are never augmented.
(c) The personal endings of the Aorist in the Indicative mood are fundamentally those shown for the
Imperfect Tense above (Imperfect, 1.c.)Secondary endings. In fact, the Thematic or Second
Aorist is formed exactly like the Imperfectwith the major exception that it is formed on a different
root (Imperfect is formed on the Present stem, Aorist on the Aorist stem). Compare the following
forms:
lepv
-leip-o-n
-leip-e-w
-leip-e

(imperfect)
-lep-o-men
-lep-e-te
-leip-o-n

lepv (Thematic aorist)

-lip-o-n
-lip-o-men
-lip-e-w
-lp-e-te
-lip-e
-lip-o-n

(d) The Sigmatic, Alpha, or Weak Aorist will show a characteristic alpha (a) in the endings:
lv (Aorist active)
- l u sa
-lsa-men
-lusa-w -lsa-te
-lus-e
-lusa-n

lv (Aorist middle)st)
-lus-mhn
-lus-meya
lsv [a(s)o]
-lsa-sye
-lsa-to
-lsa-nto

(e) Liquid and Nasal Aorist: When the verb root ends in l, r, m, or n, the sigma of the sa- Aorist sign
evanesces between the liquid/nasal (which is partly vocalic) and the preceding vowel lengthens in order to
keep the syllable long (e becomes ei, o becomes ou, a -> long a -> h):
ggllv (Aorist
ggeila
ggeila-w
ggeil(a)-e

active)
ggeila-men
ggeila-te
ggeila-n

gamomai (Aorist middle)

-ghm-mhn
-ghm-meya
-ghmv [a(s)o]
-gma-sye
-lsa-to
-gma-nto

(f) The Athematic (non-thematic) or Third Aorist will have endings attached directly to them vocalic
stem:
gign`vskv
-gnv-n
-gnv-w
-gnv

(Aorist active)
-gnv- men
-gnv-te
-gnv-san

tyhmi (Aorist middle)

-y-mhn
-y-meya
-you [ye(s)o]
-ye-sye
-ye-to
-ye-nto

Note: this -san is actually derived from the sigmatic aorist 3d plural and has standardized itself even in these
endings of athematic verbs in the aorist tense.

Grammar RG 5

25

5. Position of adjective: Attributive and Predicative Function/Position (Note: this is identical with the account
given in RG Section 2, pages 9-10 above): The definite article is a versatile tool in Greek:
(a) it can turn a phrase into a substantive or noun-substitute:
ofl nn: "the ones now" = people today
afl n t ns: "the ones (feminine) on the island" = the women on the island
t nautik: "the things concerned-with-ships" = naval matters
(b) it can highlight the subject of a sentence to distinguish it from the predicate when there is no verb in the
clause:
kakn t paidon or t paidon kakn: "the child is bad"
(Note that it makes no difference whether the noun highlighted by the adjective comes first in the clause or
not; it is the presence of the article in its position immediately before paidon that shows this is the key
wordthe subject, in this instance. Imagine the reverse, paidon t kakn. This would have to mean:
"a child is the trouble" = "the trouble is a child."
What we really must distinguish here is the function and/or position of the definite article in relation to a
noun or substantive and to other elements that may be included in or clearly related to the noun or
substantive in question.
We speak of an adjective (or adverb) in the attributive position whenever the definite article immediately
precedes and so highlights it:
gayw nathw "the good sailor"
ofl tte nyrvpoi "men at that time"
Sometimes the article may be repeated following upon an article-noun phrase that precedes it:
nathw gayw "the sailor, the good one"
ofl nyrvpoi ofl tte"(the people, the ones then"
Note that a genitive phrase may functionjust like an adjectiveas an attribute:
t tn Ayhnavn ploa: "the ships of the Athenians," "the Athenians' ships"
t ploa t tn Ayhnavn : "the ships, the ones of the Athenians," "the Athenians' ships"
There is no real difference in meaning between these two forms of the expression. Both are
attributivebut there is a difference in the rhetorical force: the second phrase is as if we were saying:
"the shipsI mean those of the Athenians" (when you want to make clear precisely which ships you
mean).
Now notice, however, what happens when we let these adjectives or modifying phrases slip out of the area
designated attributive by the article:
gayw nathw "A good one (is) the sailor."
nyrvpoi ofl tte "Human (were) the people at that time"
tn Ayhnavn t ploa "Belonging to the Athenians (are, were) the ships."
In these instances the modifier elements are in the PREDICATIVE POSITION; they are outside of the
attributive realm designated by the definite article and are therefore statements made about the persons,
places, or things designated by the articlei.e. they are predicates to the subject.

Grammar RG 5

26

6. Indef. Pronouns: pou, poi, poyen, pvw, pote: There are several closely related interrogative, Indefinite,
and Relative Pronouns and Adverbs that need to be kept in mind in their proper relation to each other. In
general, the direct interrogative words are strongly-accented; the indirect interrogative and relative words have
an initial - or - element, while the indefinite words are unaccented and are enclitic (i.e. they depend on the
preceding word for their accent). Below is a listing of the words introducted in RG Section 6 followed by a
group of sentences illustrating their usage.
Direct Interrogative
tw who?
po where at?
po whither?
pyen whence?
pw how?
pte when?

Indirect Interrogative/Relative
stiw the one who
pou the place where
poi the place whither
pyen the place whence
pvw the way in which
pte the time when

Indefinite
tiw someone
pou somewhere
poi to somewhere
poyen from somewhere
pvw somehow
pote sometime

Examples:
Direct Interrogative:
pyen lyen kenow stratithw; Where did that soldier come
from?
Indirect Interrogative:
ok oda pyen lyen kenow stratithw. I dont know where
that soldier came from.
Relative Term
pliw pyen lyen kenow stratithw kaletai Buzntion.
"The city where that soldier came from is called Byzantium.
Indefinite Term:
lyn poyen kenow stratithw. That soldier came from
somewhere.
7. Nouns in -es- (Svkrthw, trirhw):
a. Neuter nouns: We have already been introduced to a very common type of third-declension neuter
noun whose root ends in -es (cf. RG 4.2 b); we noted that in the singular the nominative and accusative
shift into the O-grade of the root, while in the plural nominative and accusative the sigma (s)
between epsilon and final alpha drops out and the adjacent vowels contractinitially to a long alpha,
which then underwent the typical Attic vowel-shift of long a to h:
Nom/Acc Sg. t gnow

Nom/AccPl. t gnh (<gne(s)a)

b. Masculine and Feminine stems in -es: We find that several of these forms also involve contractions of
vowels left adjacent to each other after the evanescence of the intervocalic sigma (acc. sg. is
contraction of same elements as the neuter nominative plural: nominative/accusative plural is contraction of
two epsilons after evanescence of intervocalic sigma). As for the nominative singular, it is formed by
lengthening the stem-vowel.
Nom Sg.
Acc Sg.
8.

Nom Pl.
Acc Pl.

afl trireiw (< trire(s)ew)

tw trireiw (< trire(s)ew)

Noun: frw: Inasmuch as this type of noun is a vowel-stem, its declension is very simple: it will take a
sigma-ending in the nominative sg. and a nu-ending in the accusative sg.; the plurals will be formed by adding
the nominative -ew and the accusative -aw:
Nom Sg.
Acc Sg.

9.

trirhw
tn trirh (< trire(s)a)

frw
tn frn

Nom Pl.
Acc Pl.

afl frew
tw fraw

Use of t in accusative case in sense why: Normally why is expressed using the interrogative pronoun t
with the preoposition di: di t (for the sake of what? because of what?). However, t may introduce a
question as to reason for action by itself, in which instance it is to be understood as an adverbial accusative:
regarding what? to what end?

Grammar RG 6

1.

27

Present Infinitive A & M: The present infinitive is formed by adding the appropriate infinitive ending to the
present stem of the verb.
(a) Thematic verbs: The thematic active infinitive ending is -ein (actually a contraction of the thematic
vowel -e- + -en); the thematic middle infinitive ending is -esyai (e + -syai). For regular thematic
verbs and contract thematic verbs, then, the forms are:
Verb
nom zv
timv
poiv
dhlv

Present Stem
nom i ztimapoiedhlo-

Active Infinitive
nomzein
timn (< tim-e-en)
poien (< poi-e-en)
dhlon (< dhl-e-en)

Middle-Passive Infinitive
nomzesyai
timsyai
(< tim-e-syai)
poiesyai (< poi-e-syai)
dhlosyai
(dhl-e-syai)

It should be noted that the infinitive forms of the contract verbs are not contractions directly of (present
stem + -ein/-esyai) but of (present stem + thematic vowel + -ein/-esyai).
(b) Non-thematic verbs: The non-thematic active infinitive ending is -nai; the non-thematic middle
infinitive ending is -syai. For practical purposes, however, inasmuch as these verbs are irregular
(generally speaking, -mi verbs are regular, but some of the most important verbs in Greek, as in many other
languages also, are irregular in many respects), you will need to memorize their infinitives as part of
their conjugation. Certainly the verbs "to be" and "to go" are irregular in many languages. The Greek verb
"to know" (oda), although said in Reading Greek to be present tense, is in fact perfect tense, but certainly
its meaning refers to present time. These infinitives then are:
Verb
e fi m
emi
oda
2.

Present/Perfect Stem
sefi - / fi e fi d e -

Active Infinitive
enai
fi n a i
efidnai

Infinitive Uses: bolomai, ylv, dokv, fanomai, de, ngkh:

(a) Complementary infinitive with personal verbs: The infinitive is commonly used to complete the
meaning of a verb which is essentially an auxiliary verb. This is often referred to as a complementary
infinitive. Verbs of volition are of this kind:
bolomai prw tn Agupton pleein. "I want to sail to Egypt."
ylv okade finai. "I want to go home."
(b) Complementary infinitive with verbs of appearance:
(1) fanomai: The verb fanomai is commonly used with the infinitive in the sense of "seem" or
"appear." Since this verb can also be used with a supplementary participle, it is important to be clear
about the difference in usage. When the verb is used with the infinitive, the emphasis is upon the
subjective, apparent nature of the action referred to by the infinitive; when it is used with the
participle, however, the emphasis is upon the objective, unquestionable nature of the action
referred to be the participle. Observe the distinction:
otow nr fanetai mn poll efidnai, ode d lga odn.
"This man appearsto know a lot, but he knows little or nothing."
otow nr fanetai lga odn efidw.
"This man is shown knowing little or nothing" = "This man obviously knows little or nothing."

Grammar RG 6

28

(2) dokv: This verb is quite tricky: it can refer either to external appearancehow a person, thing
or action looks to another or othersor to a subject's inner perception of him/herselfhow a
person, thing or action looks to oneself. Observe the distinction:
otow nr doke lga odn efidnai.
"This man appears/seems to know little or nothing." (In this instance we really don't know whether the
appearance is credible.)
otow nr doke poll efidnai.
"This man thinks/supposes he knows a lot." (The sentence, if understood to refer to the subject's inner
sense about his knowledge, does not indicate directly, but does suggest that the subject may be
under a delusion.)
(c) with impersonal verbs: The infinitive may be used in a phrase which functions as a noun clause which is
a subject of an impersonal verb. In this instance the infinitive is being used as the predicate of a subject in
the accusative case. There are several such impersonal verbs, but some of the most common are:
de "It is obligatory "
de se okade finai "It is obligatory that you go home." = "You ought to go home (i.e. a moral
obligation governs your behavior)."
ngkh (st) "It is necessary, inescapable "
ngkh tn yen lhyeein "It is compulsory for the god to be truthful" = "The god must be
truthful (i.e. he is not free to be dishonestthe compulsion here is not moral but given in the
nature of the god)."
xr "It is needful, there is need that "
xr tn polthn tn gayn strateesyai. "The good citizen should serve in the army (i.e.
there is a need for a good citizen to be a soldier)."
3. Comparative and Superlative Adjectives:
(a) Regular Comparison: the comparative infix for regular Greek adjectives is -ter-; the corresponding
superlative infix is -tat-. When these elements are combined with the -o- stem of first/second-declension
adjectives, the resulting nominative singular forms are:
Positive
sofw, -, -n
mrow, -a, -on

Comparative
softerow, -a, -on
mvrterow, -a, -on

Superlative
softatow, -h, -on
mvrtatow, -h, -on

Two points need emphasis here: (1) Note that the feminine singular comparative nominative singular ends
in -a because of the preceding rho (r); (2) Note that when the vowel or diphthong preceding the stem
vowel is short, then the -o-vowel is lengthened to -v-, whereas it otherwise remains -o-.
(b) Irregular Comparison: a second group of infixes used in comparison for several adjectives is -ion- for
the comparative (using third-declension patterns, -ist- for the superlative (using first/second-declension
endings). The comparative m/f forms decline like efrvn (i.e. the -on- lengthens to -vn in the
nominative). Below are the adjectives of this kind encountered in Section 6:
Positive
gayw, -, -n
kakw, -, -n
kalw, -, -n
polw, poll, pol
mgaw, meglh, mga

Comparative
menvn, -on
kakvn, -on
kallvn, -on
plevn, -on
mezvn, -on

Superlative
sristow, -h, -on
kkistow, -h, -on
kllistow, -h, -on
plestow, -h, -on
mgistow, -h, -on

Grammar RG 6

29

(c) Grammar of Comparison: Comparison with a comparative adjective may be indicated in either of two
ways:
(1) Most commonly, the comparative adjective is followed by the conjunction ("or") and a noun or
substantive in the same grammatical case as the first noun:
otoi ofl ndrew mezonw efisin kenoi. = "These men are taller than those."
(2) Alternatively, an ablatival genitive-case form of the second noun or substantive may be used:
otoi ofl ndrew mezonw efisin kenvn. = "These men are taller than those."
4. a, Imperfect of emi ("go"): Notice that the diphthongal stem of emi (ei-) is augmented as - in the
imperfect forms, which are irregular enough that you must memorize them:
Singular
a (sometimes ein)
ei sya
ei
5.

Number
1
2
3

Plural
men
te
san

First Aorist Participle A & M: The Active and Middle participles of the First (Sigmatic or Alpha) Aorist are
formed by adding the infixes -nt- and -men- respectively to the First Aorist stem. N.B.: Remember that the
aorist participial stem has no augment; in fact, only the forms of the indicative mood have the augment.
(a) Active: The First Aorist stem ends in -sa- or, in the case of Liquid and Nasal verbs, in -a-. When -nt- is
added to this, the resultant form is the Aorist Active Participial stem:
porhsa- + -nt- --> porhsant-, ggeila- -nt- --> ggeilant-. The resultant masculine
and neuter forms are declined according to the patterns of the third declension (the masculine
nominative being given the -w nominative ending:

Nom.
Acc.

Masculine
Singular
Plural
porsaw
porsantew
(<porsantw)
porsanta
porsantaw

Neuter
Singular
porsan (<porsant)

Plural
porsanta

porsan (<porsant)

porsanta

The feminine added the element -ya- to the -nt- participial infix, yielding for the stem porhsa- the
result prhsantya. As a result of phonetic change the last two syllables -antya became -asa. The
resultant feminine stem porhssa is declined according to first-declension patterns:

Nom.
Acc.

Feminine
Singular
Plural
porhssa
porhssai
porhssan
porhssaw

(b) Middle: When the middle participial infix -men- followed by the regular first/second-declension -ow, -h,
-on endings are added to the First Aorist Stem, the resultant middle participial forms are perfectly regular:

Nom.
Acc.

Masculine
Singular
Plural
porhsmenow
porhsmenoi
porhsmenon porhsamnouw

Nom.
Acc.

Feminine
Singular
Plural
porhsamnh
porhsamnai
porhsamnhn
porhsamnaw

Neuter
Singular
Plural
porhsmenon porhsmena
porhsmenon porhsmena

Grammar RG 6

6.

30

Aspect: Although the aorist tense is most commonly used as a simple past tense, its most fundamental sense
does not refer to past or present or future but to "undefined" or "unlimited" (that is what oristn means) time.
In fact, the real distinction between the three basic tense SYSTEMS in GreekPresent, Aorist, and Perfectis
not one of time so much as of aspect. The fundamental sense embodied in the Present System is duration,
repetition, continuation; the fundamental sense embodied in the Aorist System is simple, whole, or
resultative action; the fundamental sense of the Perfect System is completion. Observe the following:
poynskei gevrgw.
"The farmer is in the process of dying." (Present)
pyanen gevrgw.
"The farmer died." (Aorist)
potynhken gevrgw.
"The farmer is dead." (Perfect)
Another way to express the difference between the Present/Imperfect and the Aorist aspects is to say that the
Present/Imperfect offers a "cinematographic" view of an action while the Aorist offers a "snapshot" view.

7. dh, fhm, fhn:

(a) dh is the past tense of the verb oda. To be precise, oda is in the Perfect tense and dh is a
Pluperfect. Nevertheless, in meaning, these two tenses are akin to Present and Imperfect. You will have to
memorize these all-too irregular forms, but you still may notice a rationale operating within them: the
singular forms are based on an augmented perfect stem de- (<efide-), while the plural forms show a
generalization of an assimilation of the augmented stem d- to -s-.
Singular
dh (sometimes dein)
deisya
dei

#
1
2
3

Plural
smen
ate
san (sometimes desan)

(b) fhm is a very important Mi- verb meaning "say." In it one may note something characteristic of Miverbs: they generally have two stem-forms, one in a long vowel or diphthong that appears in the singular
forms, and a second one in a short vowel that appears in the plural forms. Here are the Present and
Imperfect tenses:
Singular
fhm
fw or fw
fhs

Present
#
Plural
1 famn
2 fat
3 fas(n)

(Note that these forms are enclitic: if at all possible, they will hang upon the accent of a preceding word)
Singular
fhn
fh sya
fh
8.

Imperfect
#
Plural
1 fa m en
2 fate
3 fa sa n

Second Aorist Participle Active & Middle: The Second (Thematic) Aorist participle is identical with the
Present participle so far as endings are concerned; it is the stem that differentiates the two. Observe, for
instance, the Present and Aorist participles of lepv:
Present:
Aorist:

lepvn, lepousa, lepon

lipn, liposa, lipn

leipmenow, leipomnh, leipmenon

lipmenow, lipomnh, lipmenon

There is one other difference to note in the active forms of the participle: while the accent in the present active
participle is always recessive (goes back as far as possible), the accent in the thematic aorist active participle is
always on the thematic vowel itself.

Grammar RG 6

9.

31

atw, atw, atn: The forms of this pronoun are themselves regular; since it is a pronoun and not an
adjective, the neuter singular nominative and accusative forms do not have final Nu, but are at.

Nominative
Accusative

Masc
atw
atn

Singular
Fem
at
atn

Neut
at
at

Masc
ato
a to w

Plural
Fem
ata
atw

Neut
at
at

The important thing about this pronoun is the distinction between its three different functions.
(a) Intensive (= Latin ipse, ipsa, ipsud ): When atw is in the predicative position in relation to the definite
article (i.e. when it is outside the domain marked by the article), it intensifies the noun or substantive to
which it refers; in this sense it can usually be translated "himself," "herself," or "itself." For example:
atw Epikorow tata fh. "Epicurus himself said these things."
e legen Platn per at t gayn. "Plato always talked about the good itself."
(b) "The same" (= Latin idem, eadem, idem ):
t at dkhma dkhsen atw nr xyw. "The same man committed the same crime
yesterday."
(c) Object pronoun (= Latin is, ea, id ):
pedh plyen bokolow gnvstw, ok opote plin edomen atn. "Once the
unknown cowboy had gone away, we never saw him again."
10. dnamai ("be able") is a regular non-thematic (Mi) verb the forms of which are all in the middle/passive
voice. It has numerous English derivatives using the root form "dynami-". It regular takes a complementary
infinitive.
1
2
3

Singular
dnamai
dnasai
dnatai

Plural
dunmeya
dnasye
dnantai

Grammar RG 7

33

1. Genitive (all types), and usages:

(a) Formation: We have already noted that all genitive plurals end in -vn. The genitive singular varies from
one declension to another:
(1) First Declension: Masculine nouns of the first declension borrow the -ou ending of the Second
declension, without exception. Feminine stems in Eta (-h) have genitive in -hw`, as do also Feminine
stems in short alpha (the reason being that the alpha stem lengthens in the genitive and the long alpha
then becomes Eta in Attic dialect). Feminine stems in long Alpha following upon Epsilon, Iota, or Rho
have genitive in -aw (the alpha is long).
(2) Second Declension: All nouns and adjectives, masculine and feminine, form their genitive singulars in
-ou.
(3) Third Declension: Most third-declension nouns and adjectives form their genitive singular in -ow.
This is true of stems in most consonants and in long Upsilon (frw, frow). However, stems that
end in the weak consonants -es-, -ey-, and -eW- form genitives in -ouw (e and o contracting into
ou), while stems that end in -hW- (baslhWow) and -hy- (plh y ow) first lose their weak
consonant and then undergo vowel metathesis (ho --> ev).
(b) Usage: As has been noted before, the Greek Genitive case-endings are employed to indicate functions
originally belonging to three different Indo-European functions: (1) Pertinentive (generally those instances
where the function of the case is what is called in English possessive or can be translated with the
English preposition of; (2) Ablative (instances of separation, origin from, or those that can be transl;ated
with the English preposition from (this includes usage with prepositions such as p, k); (3) Partitive
(instances of partial quantity of something used as subject ormore oftenobject of a verb or appropriate
preposition). Text lists the following specifically:
possession: to Dikaioplevw ofika the house of Dikaiopolis (pertinentive)
description: t tn politn plyow the multitude of citizens (pertinentive)
source or origin: tn Endeka noma the lawlessness of the Eleven (ablatival)
partitive: lgoi tn nyrpvn few of the men
with jiow worthy of (partitive) e.g. yantou jiow "deserving of death"
with atiow responsible for (pertinentive) atiow totou to rgou "to blame for this
deed"
with plvw full of (partitive) pla pliw nekrn "The city is full of corpses."
with met in company of (partitive) met tn flvn "along with friends"
with di through , from one end to the other of (partitive)
with neka for the sake of (ablative?)
with per concerning, about (partitive)
with verbs of perception (kov, afisynomai) (partitive)
with lambnomai take hold of (partitive)
with katadikzv condemn and other verbs with kata- (ablatival?)
2. Irregular comparatives and contracted comparatives:
(a) -ios- comparative infix: Earlier we noted the comparative element -ion- used to form several irregular
comparatives with m/f in -vn and neuter in -ion. We now note that an alternative infix, -ios- is often
used to form some of the cases of these comparative forms. For instance:
mezosa --> mezo-a --> mezv (acc. sg. m/f)
mezosew --> mezo-ew --> mezouw (nom. pl. m/f)
mezosaw --> mezouw (acc. pl. m/f; this form is derived from analogy with the nom. pl.)
(b) Comparatives in -esterow, -estatow: Adjectives that end in -on avoid the anomalous comparative
form -onion-, instead forming their comparative by adding -esterow, -estera, -esteron a n d
superlatives by adding -statow, -estth, -staton). Thus:
edaimonsterow, -a, -on; edaimonstatow, -h, -on.

Grammar RG 7

34

3. Present Optative A & M:

(a) Regular -v verbs form their optation by adding -i- to the thematic vowel (but -ie- in the 3rd pl. active):
l-oi-mi
l-oi-w
l-oi

Active
l-oi-men
l-oi-te
l-oie-n

Middle-Passive
lu-o-mhn lu-o-meya
l-oi-o
l-oi-sye
l-oi-to
l-oi-nto

(b) -v, -v, -v verbs contract the preceding vocalic stem with the -oih- (but only in the sg.) as follows:
a + oih --> h

e + oih --> oih

o + oih --> oih

The sensible thing to do is not to attempt memorizing these paradigms, but to recognize the -oi- or oih- when you see it as the indicator of an Optative mood form.
4.

n + Optative: The particle n is used with optative forms to create a conditional sense:
kese rxomeya n Thither would we come = Thats where we would like to go!
In the second person sg. or pl. this may be a polite imperative comparable to our Would you like to ?:
n rxoio met' mo; Would you come with me? = Please come with me.

5.

nstamai is a -mi verb regularly used in the middle voice, meaning literally, stand up but commonly
used in the sense, leave ones settled position, leave ones country, emigrate. It is compounded of the prefix
n(a) and the present stem flstaPresent Indicative Middle
nstamai
nistmeya
nstasai
nstasye
nstatai
nstantai
Present Infinitive Middle:
Present Participle Middle:

Present Imperfect Middle

nistmhn
nistmeya
nstaso
nstasye
nstato
nstanto
nstasyai
nistmenow, -h, -on

6 . t + participle: The accusative interrogative pronoun is idiomatically used with several participial expressions:
t dianon; with what in mind ? = What do/did you have in mind when you ?
t boulmenow; wanting what ? = Why are/were you ?
t psxvn; suffering/experiencing what ? = What makes/made you ?
7. Infinitive and participle of the verb emi, go:
Present active infinitive: finai
8.

Present active participle: fin, fiosa, fin

Proper nouns of the type Periklw: the stem of nouns is -klw was originally -kleWes-. The declension
therefore involves a double contraction :
Nom.
Gen.
Acc.

Periklw
Periklouw
Perikla

(<klWhw)
(<klWesow)
(<klWesa) (Note that the alpha is long)

Grammar RG 8

35

1. Dative (all types), and usages:

(a) Forms:
1st declension: sg. - or -& (after e- i- r-); pl. - a i w
2nd declension: sg. -; pl. -oiw
3rd declension: sg. -i; pl. -si (assimilates: tsi -> si; ksi -> ji; psi -> c i)
(b) Functions:
"True" Dative: usually a person to or for whom something is done, or who is affected:
-- Indirect object: Svkrthw t fl lgei. Socrates speaks to his friend.
Instrumental-Sociative: indicates the means or instrument by which something is accomplished ("with
", "by means of ") or the accompanying person(s) or circumstances associated with an action
("with ", "together with "):
Means: tow bibloiw manynousin ofl mayhta. The students are learning with books.
--Accompaniment: lyen Svkrthw sn t fl. Socrates came with his friend.
--Adverbial: poll spoud tata pohsen. He did this with great haste.
atow tow ploiw elen tow stratitaw. He captured the soldiers with their very
weapons ("weapons and all").
(c) Locative: indicates stationary position in space or time ("in", "at"):
--Place where: poynskousin ofl kako nyrvpoi n t yaltt. The evil men die in
the sea.
--Time when: n tat t mr& pyanen Svkrthw. Socrates died on this day.
Note that there are certain verbs that are regularly completed with a noun in the Dative case:
1. xromai + dative = take advantage of, get use of (instrumental)
e.g. efiw tn Agupton pleusen plo xrmenow. He sailed to Egypt using a ship.
2. peyomai + dative = trust, put faith in ("true" dative)
e.g. otow mrow t =tori peyetai. This fool puts trust in a politician.
3. mpptv + dative = fall upon, attack (locative, probably)
e.g. tow polemoiw nepsomen. We attacked the enemy.
2. rvtv, lanynv (principal parts): Both these verbs are irregular:
(a) rvtv (present); rvtsv (future); rmhn (thematic or second aorist from a
different form of the root ERW-).
(b) lanynv (present); lsv (future); layon (thematic or second aorist)
3. Aor. inf. active and middle:
(a) "Weak," "sigmatic," or "Alpha" Aorist: take the aorist stem (without augment), add
-ai for the active infinitive or -asyai for the middle infinitive:
leja (1 sg. indic aor.) lej- (aor. stem) ljai (act. inf.) ljasyai (mid. inf.)
koca (1 sg. indic aor.) koc- (aor. stem) kcai (act. inf.) kcasyai (mid. inf.)
(b) "Strong," "Thematic," or "Second" Aorist: take the aorist stem (without augment), add thematic inf.
endings: -ein for the active infinitive, -esyai for the middle infinitive:
mayon (1 sg. indic. aor.) may- (aor. stem) mayen (act. inf.) maysyai (mid. inf.)
lipon (1 sg. indic. aor.) lip- (aor. stem) lipen (act. inf.) lipsyai (mid. inf.)
You might note one constant feature of the Thematic Aorist infinitives: the accent is
always placed on the thematic vowel. )
4. Aorist. imperative. active and middle (incl. efim, emi, oda)
(a) First ("sigmatic," "alpha," or" weak") Aorist: -sa- of the stem is evident in all forms except the
second sg. active.
Active: 2 sg.: kous-on "Listen!"; 2 pl.: kosa-te
Middle: 2 sg.: pasa-i "Cease!"; 2 pl.: pasa-sye
(b) Second ("strong" or "thematic") Aorist: As you might expect, the same endings are used here as in the
present tense of thematic/omega verbs:
Active: 2 sg.: lab- "Take!"; 2 pl.: lb-ete
Middle: 2 sg.: piy-o "Obey!"; 2 pl.: py-esye

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36

(c) Note the imperatives of the irregular verbs efim, emi, and oda:
efim: sg. s-yi "Be!" pl.: s - t e
emi: sg. -yi "Go!" pl.: -te
oda: sg. s-yi "Know!" pl.: s-te
(N.B.: Only the context will distinguish whether syi is a form of efim or of oda.)
5. frv, jesti, deinw, pw
(a) frv, osv, negkon (negka) is irregular in several ways. Although its present tense is a perfectly
regular thematic verb, its future is based upon a different stem, ofis-, (and is a regular thematic formation),
while its aorist is based upon still another stem, negk-, which, oddly enough, may be conjugated with
either alpha or thematic endings:
Alpha forms: negka, negkaw, negke, ngkamen, nnkate, negkan
Thematic forms: negkon, negkew, negke, ngkomen, ngkete, negkon
(b) jesti is an impersonal verb meaning "it is permissible" or "it is possible" used regularly with an
infinitive and often with a dative of the person permitted or able to perform the action of the verb:
jest moi tata fiden "it is allowable for me to see these things"
jn mn tw fvnw koein "it was possible for us to hear the voices"
(c) deinw, -, -n ("awesome," "frightening," "terrible") is often used idiomatically with an infinitive in the
sense "exceptionally good," "marvelous":
deinw lgein n Periklw. "Pericles was very good at speaking"
deinw n Kvn fagen tn tron. "Dog was a terror at devouring cheese!"
(d) pw, psa, pn is an adjective that is formed exactly like a First Aorist participle with stem -ant-; it
means "each" in the singular, "all" in the plural; note that it is regularly usedlike a demonstrativein the
predicative position: pntew ofl ndrew = "all men," pw ksmow: "all the world."
6.

3rd person imperative present/aorist active and middle: Greek has third-person imperatives with a regular
set of endings characteristic of the Active and Middle voices respectively. Observe:
3d sg. imper. ending Active:
3d pl. imper. ending Active:
3d sg. imper. ending Middle:
3d pl. imper. ending Middle:

-tv
-ntvn
-syv
-syvn

Present
kou--tv
kou--ntvn
paus--syv
paus-syvn

"let him hear

"let them hear"
"let him cease"
"let them cease"

Aorist
kous-tv
kous-ntvn
paus-syv
paus-syvn

7. Future inf. and usages:

(a) Formation: The future infintive adds the active thematic ending -ein or the middle thematic ending esyai to the future stem in -s-; of course a verb that has a contract form in the future (e.g. liquid or nasal
verbs) will have -en and -esyai.
paidesein "to be going to educate" pokrinesyai "to be about to answer"
(b) Usage: One of the more common functions of the future participle is to complete the sense of auxiliar
verbs, among which some common ones are lpzv ("hope, " "expect"), mllv ("am going to ," "am
about to ") and pisxnomai ("promise"). Examples:
tata on melle kosesyai Ofidipow, kaper o boulmenow. "These things
Oedipus was on the verge of hearing, although he did not wish to."
t moi pisxnesye dsein tata mn poisanti; "What will you promise to give me, once
I have done these things for you?"

Grammar RG 8

37

8. kov, aflrv, tyhmi, pstamai, banv, psxv (principal parts)

(a) kov, kosomai, kousa (note that this verb is middle voice in the future tense only)
(b) aflrv, aflrsv, elon (note that the aorist stem of this verb is derived from a different
root, and that the unaugmented aorist stem is l-)
(c) tyhmi, ysv, yhka (present stem alternates between tiyh- and tiyeAt this point learn the aorist Infinitives and Imperatives:
Infinitive active: yenai
Infinitive middle: ysyai
Imperative active: yw
Imperative middle: yo
(d) pstamai, pistsomai (present stem pista-; although this verb is a compound originally of p
and stamai, the compounding is old enough that the compounded elements are understood as a root and
therefore the initial epsilon is augmented in the indicative of the imperfect and aorist: pistmhn,
pisthsmhn). For the present, we simply note the idiomatic usage of the verb with infinitives in the
sense of "know how to" (which indicates that the Socratic conception that "virtue is knowledge" is rooted,
at least in part, upon the idiomatic use of Greek verbs of knowledge to express ability and tendency to act).
In Section 8, we meet the particular idiom, pstamai kiyarzein, "I know how to play the
lyre"which conveys the sense, "I am an educated person."
(e) banv, bsomai, bhn : This verb is partially irregular; its present tense follows the normal thematic
(o/e) pattern of conjugation as does the future tense (but note that the future is in the middle voice). The
aorist, however, is non-thematic: the stem is ba- with a long alpha, which means that in Attic dialect the
aorist stem is bh-. Augment and non-thematic secondary endings are added to this stem to produce the
aorist active forms:
- b h - n
- b h - w
-bh (-t)

-bh-men
-bh-te
-bh-san

(f) psxv, pesomai, payon: the root of this verb meaning "suffer" or "experience" is PENY, PONY,
PAY.
The present stem is derived from the weak grade of the root pay- + -sk-; the theta assimilates to the
sigma, but the aspiration transfers from the theta to the kappa, transforming it into chi;
The future stem is derived from the E-grade of the root peny- + -s-; the theta assimilates to the sigma,
but the nu between vowel and sigma drops out, after which the epsilon is lengthened to compensate for
the loss and preserve a long syllable in this position: peny-s- --> pens- --> peis-. Note that the
future tense of psxv is middle voice;
The aorist stem is the weak grade of the root pay- used directly with the thematic endings: -pay-on, pay-ew, pay-e, -py-omen, -pay-ete, -pay-on.
[N.B. Be careful to distinguish this verb from peyv and peyomai, the root forms of which are PEIY,
POIY, PIY. Its principal parts are:
peyv, pesv, peisa (I persuade)
peyomai, pesomai, piymhn (I obey, I put my trust in (with dative case)]

Grammar of RG 9

1.

39

Aorist optative active and middle

(a) As there are two distinct patterns for the formation of the Aorist, so there are ways of forming the optative
appropriate to each (note that there is no augument):
First (alpha, sigmatic) Aorist: stems in -sa or -a (sigma lost in liquid- & nasal- stem verbs): the
characteristic iota-sign of the optative follows the alpha and precedes the personal endings. In the
third-plural active this optative sign is -ie-. Observe the following forms for the Active and Middle
Voices of the First Aorist Optative:
1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 pl.
2 pl.
3 pl.

lsa-i-mi
lsa-i-w* * *
lsa-i *
lsa-i-men
lsa-i-te
lsa-ie-n *

Active
ggela-i-mi
ggela-i-w *
ggela-i *
ggela-i-men
ggela-i-te
ggela-ie-n *

lusa--mhn
lsa-i-o
lsai-i-to
lusa--meya
lsa-i-sye
lsa-i-nto

Middle
ggeila--mhn
ggela-i-o
ggela-i-to
ggeila--meya
ggela-i-sye
ggela-i-nto

*For those forms by which an asterisk appears in the illustration above (2 sg, 3 sg. and 3 pl.) there are
alternative aorist optatives in the Active voice; in Attic dialect these forms are actually more common
than those shown above:
2sg
3sg.
3pl.

lse-ia-w
lse-i-e(n)
lse-i-an

ggele-ia-w
ggele-i-e(n)
ggele-i-an

Second (thematic) Aorist: stems conjugated with the thematic vowel (-o/e): It should come as no
surprise that these forms look much like those of the Present Optative, differing only in the distinctive
Aorist stem of the verbs respectively; the thematic omicron is combined with the optative-sign iota, to
which the personal endings are added:
1 sg
2sg.
3sg.
1pl.
2pl.
3pl.
2.

Active
lp-o-i-mi
lp-o-i-w
lp-o-i
lp-o-i-men
lp-o-i-te
lp-o-ie-n

Middle
lip-o--mhn
lp-o-i-o
lp-o-i-to
lip-o--meya
lp-o-i-sye
lp-o-i-nto

ddvmi, gignskv, melw, glukw

(a) ddvmi: the forms of this very important -mi verb must be memorized; they are set forth in detail on pages
133-135 of Reading Greek: Grammar, Vocabulary, and Exercises. Here are a few facts about this verb
which might make the memorization easier and the forms more intelligible.
The root of the verb has two alternative forms: dv and do. In the present and aorist indicative active, the
dv- form is regular in the singular while the do- form is regular in the plural. Elsewhere throughout
the conjugation of this verb the do- form is regular.
Present Tense:
Indicative: non-thematic endings are added to the stem;
Infinitive: Active -nai & Middle -syai endings are added to stem d i d o Participle: Active -nt- & Middle -men-ow/h/on endings are added to stem dido(dido-nt-w: tau assimilates to sigma, medial nu is lost between vowel and sigma, omicron is
lengthened to -ou- (compensatory lengthening);
Optative: Notice the -ih- forms in the singular active (as in contract verbs);

Grammar of RG 9

40

Imperfect Tense: Note that in the singular active there is an adaptation to thematic conjugation: the forms
are explained as contractions of -ddo-on, -ddo-ew, -ddo-e
Future Tense: altogether regular conjugation on stem dvs-o/e
Aorist Tense:
Indicative: singular Active has -ka- extension to -dv- form of the root: dvka, dvkaw,
dvke; plural Active and the Middle forms are regular, adding personal endings
directly to do- stem.
Infinitive: Active: contracted from do-nai; Middle regular: d-syai;
Participle : Exactly like the present, with the exception that the Aorist stem lacks the characteristic
reduplication of the Present stem (Present: dido-; Aorist: do-);
Optative: Constructed like the Present Optative, but on Aorist do- stem.
(b) gignskv, gnsomai, gnvn: this verb is a regular -v verb in the present and future (but note that the
future tense is Middle voice); however, the Aorist of this verb has a very distinctive non-thematic form
employed in a mere handful of verbsa pattern which may justifiably be called a "Third Aorist": Observe
how the root has a long-vowel form gnv- which predominates in the Indicative and Infinitive, and a shortvowel form gno- which predominates in the Participle and Optative:
Indicative: -gnv-n, -gnv-w, etc.
Infinitive: gn-nai
Participle : gn-nt-w --> gnow; Fem. gn-ntya -> gnosa; N.: gn-nt --> gnn
Optative: gno-h-n, gno-h-w, etc.
(c) melw, -w and similar adjectives have stems in -es-; they characteristically lose the sigma when a
vowel ending follows; then the epsilon and the following vowel regularly contract: Nom. sg. m/f (notice
that this is a compound adjective and therefore has no distinctive feminine form) has lengthened -ew to hw; Gen. sg. -sow --> -ow --> -ow; Dat. sg. -si --> e; Acc. sg. -sa --> -a --> - --> -, etc.
(d) glukw, -ea, - and similar adjectives have stems with stem in -u- before a consonant, -eW- before a
vowel; they characteristically lose -W- when a vowel ending follows; then the epsilon and the following
vowel regularly contract: Nom. sg. m.: -w; Acc. sg. m.: -n; Nom. & Acc. neut. pl.: -; Gen. sg. m./n.
-Wow --> -ow --> -ow; Dat. sg. -Wi --> e; Nom.& Acc. pl. m. -Wew --> -ew --> -ew; Fem. sg. eWya --> -eia, which then follows first-declension patterns.
3. Relative pronouns: w, stiw, sper etc.
(a) w, , : the relative pronoun has a pattern of declension somewhat like that of the definite article, with
which you must be careful not to confuse it; two aspects of it will help you to keep the distinction clear:
(1) the relative pronoun is always accented (the article has no accent in the M. or F. nom. sg. & pl.);
(2) the relative pronoun always starts with an aspirated vowel (the article, apart from the M. & f. nom. sg.
& pl., regularly begins with a tau).
(b) Usage: the relative pronoun has a double agreement in Greek as in English: it agrees in number and gender
with its antecedent noun (explicit or implicit), but its case is determined by its grammatical function within
its own clause.
Examples:
kalw stin nr, w efiw tw Aynaw lyen xyw. The man who came to Athens
yesterday is noble. (The relative pronoun w is masculine and singular because if refers to nr
in the preceding clause; it is nominative because it serves as the subject of the verb lyen in its
own clause);
kalw stin nr, n edew xyw. The man whom you saw yesterday is noble. (The
relative pronoun n is masculine and singular because if refers to nr in the preceding clause;
it is accusative because it serves as the object of the verb edew in its own clause).

Grammar of RG 9

41

(c) stiw, sper, etc.: stiw is pretty obviously a compound of w and tiw, meaning "whoever" or
"anyone who"; it is regularly written as one word although the forms of both elements take their own
patterns of declension: stiw = w + tiw; otinow = o + tinow, etc. The form sper is an intensive
form of the relative pronoun; it might be used in the sample sentences preceding as follows:
nr, sper xyw lyen, kalw stin. The manthe very onewho came yesterday, is
noble.
nr, nper xyw edew, kalw stin. The manthe very onewhom you saw yesterday,
is noble.
(Note: Variant forms of stiw are found wherein the first element remains - while the second element
follows an old variant declensional pattern of tiw: (gen. teo --> tou; dat. te --> t; dat. pl. teoiw -->
toiw; nom. pl. tya --> -tta). Thus:
gen. sg. tou for otinow
gen. pl. tvn for ntinvn
dat. sg.: t for tini
dat. pl. toiw for ostisi
nom/acc. pl.: tta for tina

Grammar RG 10

43

1. Present and imperfect passive

(a) Middle and Passive Voices: In most tenses of Greek there is no distinction between the middle and passive
forms of the verb (the exceptions are the Aorist and the Future: we shall learn these distinctive passive
forms later). In fact, the only way to recognize a distinct passive usage of a verb is the presence of an agent
construction: a noun in the genitive case with the preposition po. Observe the following sentences:
mthr loei t paidon "The mother washes the child." The verb loei is active: it indicates that
a subject is performing the verbal action upon an object.
loetai t paidon "The child bathes" or "The child washes him/herself." The verb loetai is
middle: it indicates that the subject is performing the the verbal action upon him/herself or in his/her
own interest.
loetai t paidon p tw metrw. "The child is washed by his/her mother." Although the form of
the verb is identical with that in the preceding sentence, the phrase p tw mhtrw, literally "under
the instrumentality of his/her mother" indicates that the verbal action is being performed upon the
subject by the person indicated in the agent construction.
(b) Forms of the Passive in the Present and Imperfect Tenses: Review the forms of the Present and
Imperfect middle voice: these are also used for the Passive sense: for the verb paidev, "I teach," they
are:
1sg.
2sg.
3sg.
1pl.
2pl.
3pl.

Present
paide-o-mai
paide- (< e-sai)
paide-e-tai
paideu--meya
paide-e-sye
paide-o-ntai

Imperfect
-paideu--mhn
-paide-ou (e-so)
-paide-e-to
-paideu--meya
-paide-e-sye
-paide-o-nto

2. Genitive absolute: A sentence must include a subject and a predicate; the subject will be a noun or pronoun (or
an adjective used as a substantive), while the predicate will most likely be a verb, but may very well be an
adjective or another noun being used as a predicate wordi.e. equated with or attributed to the subject. For
example:
trxei nr: "The man runs." nr is the subject; the verb trxei is the predicate.
gayw nr: "The man is good." Here too nr is the subject, but here gayw (with the implict
stin) is the predicate.
Any subordinate clause in Greek may be expressed in a sort of shorthand expression called the "Genitive
Absolute"; both the subject and the predicate are put into the genitive case; if the predicate is a verb, the verb
will be in the participial form of the appropriate tense, number, voice, and gender. For example, the sentences
used above as illustrations would take the following form in a genitive absolute construction:
trxontow to ndrw: "when/since/if/while the man runs "
gayo (ntow) to ndrw: "when/since/if/while the man is good "
3. Comparative adverb and 2-termination adjectives (-compounds; brbarow)
(a) Comparative and Superlative Adverbs: The adverbial form of the comparative and superlative expression
is a neuter accusative (because the accusative is an adverbial case). For the comparative this is usually the
neuter accusative singular, while for the superlative it is normally the neuter accusative plural (although
occasionally the neuter accusative singular is used here too):
xalepw: "harshly"
kalw: "beautifully"

xalepteron: "more harshly"

kllion: "more beautiful"

xaleptata: " most harshly"

kllista: "most beautifully"

Grammar RG 10

44

(b) Compound adjectiveswith two terminations: Adjectives regularly have distinct sets of endings for the
three genders, masculine, feminine, and neuter:
kal-w (masculine), kal- (feminine), kal-n (neuter)
d-w (masculine), de-a (feminine), d- (neuter)
However, adjectives that are compounded regularly have one shared set of endings for the masculine and
feminine and a second set for the neuter:
e-por-ow (m./f.)
e-por-on (n.)
-krib-w (m./f.)
-krib-w (n.)
-ynat-ow (m./f.)
-ynat-on (n.)
4. Optative of fhm: the stem of the verb fhm is originally fa- (with long alpha in one alternative formwhich
becomes fh-; short alpha in the other). The optative of this verb is formed like that of the contract verbs: with
the -ih- form of the optative sign in the singular, and with the simple -i- form of the optative sign in the plural
(except for the 3d plural, where it is -ie- before the ending -n). Compare the forms of the optative of poiv
and fhm:
1sg.
2sg.
3sg.
1pl.
2pl.
3pl.

poiv
poio-h-n (< poie-o-h-n)
poio-h-w (< poie-o-h-w)
poio-h- (< poie-o-h)
poio--men (< poi-o-i-men)
poio--te (< poi-o-i-te)
poio-e-n (< poi-o-ie-n)

fhm
fa-h-n
fa-h-w
fa-h
fa--men
fa--te
fa-e-n

Grammar of Reading Greek, Section 11

45

1. Aorist Passive: The aorist passive derives from the non-thematic third aorist type seen in such forms as bhn,
bhw, etc. If one considers particularly the aorists of fanv, this may be illustrated:
First Aorist: fhna < fan(s)a: I showed, I illuminated
Third Aorist: fnhn: I appeared, I was manifest, I was made manifest
fnh toto p to dikontow: This was revealed by the prosecutor.
A few older verbs have Aorist Passives in simple eta stems, e.g. blbhn: I was harmed, damaged; Aorist
Passives of this sort are traditionally called Second Passives (as the older forms of the Aorist Active are called
Second Aorist). Far more commonregularare Aorist Passive forms having the element -yh-, and these,
of course, are called First Passives.
Note that, whether the Aorist Passive form has the -yh- or just an -h-, its conjugation is similar: secondary
active non-thematic endings are attached directly to the -yh- or -h- (the endings are Active because the tense
form from which this construction derived was originally an intransitive Aorist with active endings.

1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 pl.
2 pl.
3 pl.

nomzv: Aor Pass 1sg.

nomsyhn
Aor. Pass. stem: nomisyhnomsyh-n
nomsyh-w
nomsyhnomsyh-men
nomsyh-te
nomsyh-san

grfv: Aor Pass 1sg. grfhn

Aor. Pass. stem: grafhgrfh-n
grfh-w
grfhgrfh-men
grfh-te
grfh-san

Infinitive: Aor. Pass. stem + -nai: nomisy-nai, graf-nai

Participle : Aor. Pass. stem (weaker form in -ye- or -e-) + -ntm.
f.
n.

nomisy-nt-w --> nomisyew

nomisy-nt-ya --> nomisyesa
nomisy-nt --> nomisyn

graf-nt-w --> grafew

graf-nt-ya --> grafesa
graf-nt --> grafn

2. Future Passive: The future passive employs the Aorist Passive Stem as its base, then adds the characteristic
s o / e sign of the future, and attaches Middle endings:

1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 pl.
2 pl.
3 pl.

nomzv: Aor. Pass 1sg. nomsyhn

Fut. Pass. stem: nomisyhso / e
nomisy-somai
nomisy-s
nomisy-setai
nomisyh-smeya
nomisy-sesye
nomisy-sontai

grfv: Aor Pass 1sg. grfhn

Fut. Pass. stem: grafhso / e
graf-somai
graf-s
graf-setai
grafh-smeya
graf-sesye
graf-sontai

Infinitive: Fut. Pass. stem + -syai: nomisyse-syai, grafse-syai

Participle : Fut. Pass. stem + -men-ow/h/on
m.
f.
n.

nomisyhs-men-ow
nomisyhso-mn-h
nomisyhs-men-on

grafhs-men-ow
grafhso-mn-h
grafhs-men-on

Grammar of Reading Greek, Section 11

46

3. Accusative (nom.) + infinitive: We have noted in the past that indirect discourse is readily expressed with a
substantive clause introduced by ti following upon a verb of assertion, as
Platn lgei ti ynatw stin cux. "Plato says that the soul is immortal."
This is certainly quite common. However, there is another even more common form of indirect discourse: Verbs
of supposition and assertion such as oomai, fhm, nomzv, gomai, and fskv can take a subordinate
substantive clause. Thus the same clause above could be expressed as follows:
Platn fhsn ynaton enai tn cuxn. "Plato says the soul to be immortal"
Note that in this instance the subject of the subordinate clause, tn cuxn, is in the accusative caseas is also
the predicate word, ynaton. This is the regular construction with such verbs as those indicated: the subject
of the verb, if different from the subject of the main clause, is in the accusative case, while the verb is in the
infinitive of the appropriate tense and voice.
When, however, the subject in the subordinate clause is identical with the subject of the verb of supposition or
assertion, the subject will be in the nominative case if it is expressed at all, and so will any modifiers of the
subject. For example:
gomai atw toto dh kosai. "I think that I heard this already."
fhm strathgw gensyai n t polm ken. "I insist that I was a general in that war."
(Here the predicate word, strathgw, is in the nominative case.)
4. Accusative (nom.) + participle: Similar to the preceding construction is Indirect Discourse with a participle
functioning as the verb in the subordinate clause. When the introductory verb is a verb of apprehension or
perception such as oda, punynomai, manynv, or gignskv, r, kov, afisynomai, etc., the
participle will express the predicate of the subordinate clause. Here too the accusative will be used for the
subject of the subordiante clause unless that subject is identical with the subject of the main clause. Examples:
ok puymhn kenon tata poisanta. "I hadn't found out that he had done these things.
gignskv atn tufln nta. "I recognize that he is blind."
oda tuflw n. "I know that I am blind."
5. Optative of efim, emi, oda:
(a) The stem of efim (be) is s-; to this is added the optative sign -ih/i- and the secondary personal endings.
The medial -s- evanesces:
1sg.
2sg.
3sg
1pl.
2pl.
3pl.

ehn (shn)
ehw (shw)
eh (sh)
emen (simen)
ete (site)
een (sien)

(b) The stem of emi (go) is fi-; this is used with a thematic vowel and the same endings as a thematic verb:
1sg.
2sg.
3sg.
1pl.
2pl.
3pl.

oimi
oiw
oi
oi m en
oite
oien

Grammar of Reading Greek, Section 11

47

(c) oda is actually a perfect tense form; its stem is efide-; this is used with -ih/i- and the personal endings:
1sg.
2sg.
3sg.
1pl.
2pl.
3pl.

efidehn
efidehw
efi de h
efidemen
efidete
efideen

6. sthmi, kaysthmi: The verb sthmi means "cause to stand"; in the middle voice, stamai, it means "rise
to a standing position." This is a non-thematic or MI verb and it shows the characteristic alternation of the
stem-vowel from long-vowel form in the singular (sta --> sth) to short vowel form in the plural (sta). The
preent stem shows "present-tense reduplication": si-sth- with the initial sigma lost and replaced by a rough
breathing: flsth-.
The present tense and the imperfect show the blending of stem and primary (for the present) or secondary (for
the imperfect) endings (in the imperfect the iota is longaugmented):

1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.

sth-mi
sth - w
sth-si(n)

1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.

sth - n
sth - w
sth

Present Active
1 pl. sta-men
2 pl. sta-te
3 pl. flst-asi(n) -> flstsi(n)
Imperfect Active
1 pl. sta-men
2 pl. sta-te
3 pl. flst-san

1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.

Present Middle-Passive
sta-mai 1 pl.
flst-meya
sta-sai 2 pl.
sta-sye
sta-tai 3 pl.
sta-ntai
Imperfect Middle-Passive
flst-mhn 1 pl.
flst-meya
sta-so
2 pl.
sta-sye
sta-to
3 pl.
sta-nto

The present infinitive: Active: flst-nai Middle-Passive: sta-syai

The present participle: Active: flst-nt-w --> flstw, flstsa, flstn
The present participle: Middle-Passive: flst-men-ow/h/on
Future Tense: regular thematic formation based on stem sthso / e - : stsv, stseiw ("I shall make stand)
Future Infinitive: sts-ein Future participle: sts-vn/ousa/on
The Aorist has an active form in the Sigmatic or Weak Aorist: sthsa etc.: "I caused to stand", and an
intransitive form in the "third" or non-thematic Aorist: sthn etc.: "I stood"
A careful observation of the forms on pages 156158 will show how these forms of the variant root sth/sta
are displayed in the Imperative and Optative forms as well of the Present and Aorist tenses.
7. tyhmi: The verb tyhmi means put, place, put in place, establish, lay down. This is another nonthematic or MI verb and it also shows the characteristic alternation of the stem-vowel from long-vowel form in
the singular (yh-) to short-vowel form in the plural (ye-). The present stem shows present-tense reduplication:
tiyh-. The present tense and the imperfect show the blending of stem and primary (for the present) or
secondary) for the imperfect) endings, and the stem is, of course, augmented in the imperfect. One feature to be
noted in the imperfect is the assimilation, in 2sg. and 3sg. to the conjugation of -v verbs: the stem t i y e contracts with the thematic endings -ew, -e to form tyeiw, tyei.

Grammar of Reading Greek, Section 11

1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.

Present Active
tyh-mi
1 pl.
tye-men
t yh - w
2 pl.
tye-te
tyh-si(n) 3 pl.
tiy-asi(n)
Imperfect Active
tyh-n
1 pl.
tye-men
tyei-w
2 pl.
tye-te
t yei
3 pl.
tye-san

48

1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.

Present Middle-Passive
tye-mai
1 pl.
tiy-meya
tye-sai
2 pl.
tyesye
tye-tai
3 pl.
tye-ntai
Imperfect Middle-Passive
tiy-mhn
1 pl.
tiy-meya
tye-so
2 pl.
tye-sye
tye-to
3 pl.
tye-nto

The present infinitive: Active: tiy-nai Middle-Passive: tye-syai

The present participle: Active: tiy-nt-w --> tiyew, tiyesa, tiyn
The present participle: Middle-Passive: tiy-men-ow/h/on
Future Tense: regular thematic formation based on stem yhso/e-: ysv, yseiw , etc.
Future Infinitive: ys-ein Future participle: ys-vn/ousa,on
The Aorist is irregular.
Active: In the singular Active the long-vowel stem, augmented, is used with very old -k- endings that are also
seen in the perfect tense: yhka, yhkaw, yhke(n). In the plural Active the short-vowel stem,
augmented, merges directly with the characteristic secondary endings: yemen, yete, yesan.
Infinitive: yenai Participle.: yew, yesa, yn.
Middle: This is regular: the short-vowel stem ye-, augmented, is merged with regular secondary middle
endings: ymhn, yeso, yeto, ymeya, yesye, yento. Infinitive: ysyai Participle:
ymenow, -h, -on
Aorist Passive: the phonological principle of dissimilation enters into play here where theta would appear at
both the beginning and end of a syllable; consequently the first theta is de-aspirated to a tau: yyhn -->
tyhn, etc.: tyhn, tyhw, tyh, tyhmen, tyhte, tyhsan. Infinitive: teynai
Participle: teyew, teyesa, teyn.
A careful observation of the forms on pages 162164 will show how these forms of the variant root yh/ye are
displayed in the Imperative and Optative forms as well of the Present and Aorist tenses.
8. Future remote, Present unfulfilled conditions:
(a) The Future remote condition is also called a Future Less Vivid condition; it is in fact identical with the
Potential optative that we first encountered some time back; it envisions an unlikely but still possible
future event.
Example: efi tn strathgn rhn, safw gignskoimi n atn. "If I ever do see the general,
I would recognize him clearly." Seeing the general is not something likely to happen, but it is not
impossible.
Contrast this with:
(b) The Present unfulfilled or "Present contrary-to-fact" condition: here the event is absolutely impossible
and the response in view is purely hypothetical: Notice that the result clause has n and both clauses are in
the present optative.
Example: efi tn Svkrth rvn, ok n ggnvskon atn. "If I were seeing Socrates, I would
not recognize him. Notice that the result clause has n and that both clauses are in the imperfect
indicative.
9. Wishes for the future: This is in fact no more or less than the "If" clause of a "future remote" or "potential"
condition: it is introduced by some for of "If" or "if only" (efi, eye, efi gr ) : efi tn strathgn
rhn, "If only I could see the general "
10. pvw + future indicative: Here the pvw actually means "how" or "in what way" and with its introductory
element - introduces an implicitly subordinate clause that is used with an implict but usually unstated present
imperative: "see to it ", "be careful " as in ra pvw toto poiseiw "See to it that you do this" (lit.
"See how you will do this). Generally the imperative is not openly expressed, so that the construction is simply
pvw toto poiseiw.

RG Section 12 Grammar

49

1. Aorist infinitive Passive: This is invariably formed by adding the ending -nai to the Aorist Passive stem
(whether that is "First Passive" with stem in -yh- or "Second Passive" with stem in -h-). Remember that the
Aorist stem is derived from the Sixth Principal Part (Aorist Passive 1sg. Indicactive) by subtracting from that
form the augment and the 1sg. personal ending):
6th pr. pt: lefyhn
Aor.Pass. stem: leifyhAor.Pass.Infinitive: leifynai
6th pr. pt: grfhn
Aor.Pass. stem: grafhAor.Pass.Infinitive: grafnai
2. Future Participle: distinct participles for each of the three voices:
(a) Future Active Participle: Future Stem (always thematic) + -nt-, gender, number, and case forms
articulated exactly as in the Present Active Participle:
Future stem: lus/o / e lusont- M. lsvn, F. lsontya --> lsousa, N. l s o n
(b) Future Middle Participle: Future Stem + -men-ow/h/on:
Future stem: lus/ o / e - lusomen- M. lusmenow, F. lusomnh, N. lusmenon
(c) Future Passive Participle: Future Passive Stem (= Aorist Passive Stem + -s/o / e -) + -men-ow/h/on:
Future Passive Stem: luyhs/ o/eluyhsomen- M. luyhsmenow, F. luyhsomnh, N.
luyhsmenon
3. w + future participle: One way to indicate purpose or intent is to make a participle preceded by w qualify a
noun, pronoun, or substantive. For example:
lyon ofl Rvmaoi efiw tn Asan w pnta t ynh niksontew. "The Romans came into Asia in
order to conquer/with the intention of conquering/as going-to-conquer all the peoples."
spsato eyumw Ofidpouw tn poimna tn dein ggelonta. "Oedipus greeted cheerfully
the herdsman who was to announce dread tidings."
4. prn + infinitive: When used with an infinitive, prn means "before"; depending on the context, a prn +
infinitive construction can be translated as an adverbial clause or as a preposition with a gerund. For example:
tn mn Ioksthn ghmen Ofidpouw prn efidnai atn tn auto mhtra osan.
As adverbial clause: "Oedipus married Jocasta before he knew that she was his own mother."
As preposition with gerun: "Oedipus married Jocasta before knowing that she was his own mother."
5. Past unfulfilled conditions (also termed "Past Contrary-to-fact" conditions): As we have seen previously,
the Present unfulfilled or contrary-to-fact condition uses the Imperfect indicative in both clauses and has n in
the Result clause. The Past condition in this category normally uses the Aorist indicative in both clauses and
also has n in the Result clause. The rule is as follows:
Present
:
Past:

Protasis ("If" clause)

Apodosis ("Then" or Result Clause)
Imperfect (Negative m) Imperfect + n (Negative o)
Aorist (Negative m)

Aorist + n (Negative o)

Examples:
efi Svkrthw parn, dvw n dielogomhn prw atn. "If Socrates were here, I would
glady converse with him.
efi m pkteinan tn Svkrth ofl Ayhnaoi, ok n eklew gneto kenow. "If the
Athenians had not put Socrates to death, that man would not have become renowned."
6. t + infinitive (Articular infinitive): We have noted previously that an article can be used with an adjective to
form a substantive; the neuter article in particular can form an abstract substantive (e.g. t gayn, t
nautik). We note now that the neuter singular article may be used with any infinitive to make a verbal
substantive. When this infinitive is not accompanied by complex modifiers, it is most easily translated as a
gerund in English: t trxein = "running"; t kalw lgein dnasyai = "being able to speak well."
Such a substantive may also be used, however, as an object of a preposition or in constructions better translated
as adverbial clauses:
a. efiw tn krpolin nbhmen to yesyai neka. "We went upon the acropolis for the purpose
of sightseeing." (here neka is a preposition regularly appearing after its object and construed with
a substantive in the genitive case.

RG Section 12 Grammar

50

b. ghmen tn Ioksthn Ofidpouw di t m efidnai tiw n. "Oedipus married Jocasta

because he didn't know who she was (literally, because of not knowing who she was")."was (literally,
because of not knowing who she was")."
7. Perfect indicative active:
A. First (-ka) Perfect and Second (-a) Perfect Active forms: The kappa or first Perfect forms are the
more recent and regular type, while the alpha forms are older.
B. Forming the Perfect Stem:
(1) Reduplication: the initial consonant or initial syllable is doubled in the stem
Consonantal: the initial consonant was doubled, as in the examples of kktona, ttona,
kklofa above
Aspirated stems: here the first of the aspirates lost its aspiration in the reduplicated form: yn skv
--tynhka; fanv--pfhna
Lost-consonant stems: the same principle was originally applied but the original consonant was
lost, sometimes leaving a rough-breathing as a remnant: ssthka -- sthka; WeWraka -ra ka
Augment: many verbs beginning with two consonants or with a short vowel use an augment instead
of reduplication; unlike the augment in the aorist, however, this augment is a permanent part of the
perfect stem in all moods and infinitive and participle as well.
Examples: gignskv--gnvka; ggllv -- gglka; strathgv -- stratghka
Attic Reduplication: In a few verbs beginning with a short vowel and a consonant, the entire
initial syllable is doubled, the short vowel being lengthened in the second syllable: kov -kkoa (kkoa); leuy- -- llouya; rttv (rug-) --rruxa
(2) Vowel gradation: Some second perfect stems also often show also an additional alteration of the stem
(e.g. many stems that have an -e- gradation of the root in the Present tense stem show an -o- gradation
of the root in the Perfect tense stem: ktenv (kten) --kktona (kton); tenv (ten) -- ttona
(ton); klptv (klep) -- kklofa (klop).
(3) Stems that are not predictable from the present tense form are irregular and must be memorized by
learning the principle parts.
C. Conjugation of the Perfect Active:
(1) Indicative: the endings are:
Present Perf.
1sg. -a
1pl. -amen
2sg. -aw
2pl. -ate
3sg. -e
3pl. -si
kklofa
kklofaw
kklofe(n)

keklfamen
keklfate
keklofsi(n
)

8. Aorist optative passive: This is formed by adding the Optative sign and secondary personal endings to the
short-vowel Aorist Passive stem (e.g. First Passive such as luye-, Second Passive such as grafe-); in the
singular this sign is -ih-, in 1pl. and 2pl. -i- and -ie- in 3pl. For comparisons sake the optative forms of e fi m
and oda are set in parallel columns:
1sg.
2sg.
3sg.
1pl.
2pl.
3pl.

luye-h-n
luye-h-w
luye-h
luye--men
luye--te
luye-e-n

grafe-h-n
grafe-h-w
grafe-h
grafe--men
grafe--te
grafe-e-n

e- h - n
e- h - w
e-h
e--men
e- - te
e- e- n

efide-h-n
efide-h-w
efide-h
efide--men
efide--te
efide-e-n

RG Section 12 Grammar

51

9. Future optative:
(a) Active: just like the Present Active Optative: thematic stem in o- + -i- optative sign (-ie- in 3pl.) and
Active secondary personal endings:
1sg. ls-o-i-mi
2sg. ls-o-i-w
3sg. ls-o-i
1pl.
ls-o-i-men
2pl.
ls-o-i-te
3pl.
ls-o-ie-n
(b) Middle: just like the Present Middle Optative: thematic stem in o- + -i- optative sign and Middle secondary
personal endings:
1sg. lus-o--mhn
2sg. ls-o-i-o (< ls-o-i-so)
3sg. ls-o-i-to
1pl.
lus-o--meya
2pl.
ls-o-i-sye
3pl.
ls-o-i-nto
(b) Passive: like the Future Middle Optative except that the thematic stem here is preceded by -yh- or -h-:
thematic stem in o- + -i- optative sign and Middle secondary personal endings:
1sg.
2sg.
3sg.
1pl.
2pl.
3pl.

luyhs-o--mhn
luys-o-i-o (< luys-o-iso)
luys-o-i-to
luyhs-o--meya
luys-o-i-sye
luys-o-i-nto

10. Optative in indirect speech: Practically the only circumstance in which you will see the Future Optative being
used is in Indirect Discourse (or Indirect Questions) following upon a ti. Actually there is a great deal of
flexibility in Indirect Discourse constructions. For instance, we could formulate the English sentence, It was
said that Perikles died because of the plague, in either of three different ways:
lxyh tn Perikla di tn nson poyanen. (Indirect discourse with subject acc. +
infinitive)
lxyh ti Periklhw di tn nson pyane. (Indirect discourse with ti + Indicative)
lxyh ti Periklhw di tn nson poynoi. (Indirect discourse with ti + Optative)
Actually, when ti is used to introduce a subordinate clause of Indirect discourse, the Optative construction is
far more common than the construction with the Indicative, though both are correct. Notice how the same
construction can be used with Future optatives:
Periklhw epe tow Ayhnaoiw ti tow polemouw =&dvw niksoien n t yaltt.
Pericles said to the Athenians that they would easily defeat their enemies on the sea.
ofl neanai safw efidesan ti legxysointo ofl =torew p to Svkrtouw. The young
men knew for sure that the politicians would be refuted by Socrates.
11. Perfect indicative M/P: Middle-Passive endings are added directly to the Perfect MP stem, which is derived
from the Fifth principal part of the verb. In most instances it is predictable from the root: it shows reduplication,
just like the Perfect Active stem. The Personal endings will attach readily to vowel stems:
1sg.
2sg.
3sg.
1pl.
2pl.
3pl.

llu-mai
llu-sai
llu-tai
lel-meya
llu-sye
llu-ntai

RG Section 12 Grammar

52

Consonant-stems, however, undergo significant phonetic changes to make them assimilate to the initial
consonant of the endings: For example, from the Perfect stem tetag- from tttv, put in order:
1sg.
2sg.
3sg.
1pl.
2pl.
3pl.

ttag-mai
ttak-sai > ttajai
ttak-tai
tetg-meya
ttax-ye < ttax-sye
tetagmnoi efis(n)

(p, b, f -> m before m; k, g, x -> g before m; t, d, y -> s before m)

(p, b, f + s -> c; k, g, x + s -> j; t, d, y -> ss -> s )
(p, b, f -> p before t; k, g, x -> k before t; t, d, y -> s before t)
(s squeezed out; p, b, f -> f; k, g, x -> x; t, d, y -> s)
(periphrastic: ptc. used with 3pl. of efim)

12. Perfect infinitive, participle:

(a) Active:
Infinitive: Perfect active stem + -nai: erhk-nai, lhluy-nai, leluk-nai
Participles: Perfect active stem + -t-, -ua, -t- (M. & N. follow 3d Decl. patterns, while F. follows
1st Decl. patterns)
lelukw, leluktow, lelukti, lelukta
lelukua, lelukuaw, leluku&, lelukuan
lelukw, leluktow, lelukti, lelukw

Masc.sg.:
Fem. sg.:
Neut. sg.:

(b) Middle-Passive:
Infinitive: Perfect middle-passive stem + -syai
lel-syai, tetx-yai (note that the same pattern
of assimilation comes into play here as in the 2pl., where a consonant-stem assimilates to -sye with
loss of the sigma and assimilation of the consonant to the aspirate).
Participle: Perfect middle-passive stem + -men- ow/h/on (assimilation is operative here too, as in the
Indicative forms noted earlier)
lelu-mnow, tetag-mnow
lelu-mnh, tetag-mnh
lelu-mnon, tetag-mnon

Masc.sg.:
Fem. sg.:
Neut. sg.:

13. Irregular perfects: It should be noted that in verbs with vowel stems (including -av, -ev, and -ov verbs, the
forms of the Perfect Active and Perfect Middle-Passive are predictable (contract verbs will lengthen the stem
vowel before -ka or -mai):
lv
timv
poiv
dhlv

Perfect
Perfect
Perfect
Perfect

Active:
Active:
Active:
Active:

lluka
tetmhka
pepohka
dedlvka

Perfect
Perfect
Perfect
Perfect

Middle-Passive: llumai
Middle-Passive: tetmhmai
Middle-Passive: pepohmai
Middle-Passive: dedlvmai

There are some patterns that are common with consonant stems, but those that are most important will be
included in the list of irregular verbs, the principal parts of which must be learned. Those noted on page 189 are:
rxomai
lambnv
lgv
frv
psxv
stamai

Perfect
Perfect
Perfect
Perfect
Perfect
Perfect

Active:
Active:
Active:
Active:
Active:
Active:

lluya
elhfa
erhka
nnoxa
pponya
sthka

Grammar of RG Section 13

53

1. Subjunctive:
(a) Subjunctive sign: The mark of a subjunctive form is the presence of the thematic vowel (o/e/) in its
lengthened form (v/h). One happy consequence of this fact is that all subjunctive verb forms are thematiceven
those of irregular verbs and MI verbs in all tenses and voices that have the subjunctive mood (Present, Aorist,
Perfect). The only factor that must be kept in mind is that, since it is a vowel, the omega or eta will often be
contracting with a preceding vowel. For the -mi verbs, the short-vowel forms of the roots are the ones contracted
with v/h: tiye- ye - dido- do- flsta- sta-. Another factor to note is that the Subjunctive always uses
primary endings (just as the Optative always uses secondary endings).
(b) Present Active:
1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 pl.
2 pl.
3 pl.

Regular
l-v
l-w
l-
l-v-men
l-h-te
l-v-si(n)

-av Verb
tim- < -v
tim--w < -w
tim- < -
tim-men
tim-te
tim-si(n)

-ev Verb
poi- < -v
poi-w < -w
poi- < -
poi-men
poi-te
poi-si(n)

-ov Verb
dhl- < -v
dhl-ow < - w
dhl-o < -
dhl-men
dhl-te
dhl-si(n)

(c) Present Middle-Passive:

1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 pl.
2 pl.
3 pl.

Regular
l-v mai
lu-
l-h-tai
l-v-meya
l-h-sye
l-v-ntai

-av Verb
tim- -mai
tim-
tim--tai
tim--meya
tim--sye
tim--ntai

-ev Verb
poi- -mai
poi-
poi--tai
poi - meya
poi--sye
poi--ntai

-ov Verb
dhl- -mai
dh l - o
dhl--tai
dhl--meya
dhl--sye
dhl--ntai

(d) Aorist Active:

1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 pl.
2 pl.
3 pl.

First (sigmatic)
Aorist
ls-v
l s- w
ls-
ls-v-men
ls-h-te
ls-v--si

Second (thematic)
Aorist
lp-v
l p- w
lp-
lp-v-men
lp-h-te
lp-v-si

Third (nonthematic Aorist)

y ( y-v)
yw ( y-w)
y ( y-)
ymen (y-vmen)
yte (y-hte)
ysi (y-vsi)

Second (thematic)
Aorist
lp-v -mai
lp-
lp-h-tai
lp-v-meya
lp-h-sye
lp-v-ntai

Third (nonthematic Aorist)

y -mai
y
y - ta i
y--meya
y - sye
ynta i

(e) Aorist Middle:

1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 pl.
2 pl.
3 pl.

First (sigmatic)
Aorist
ls-v -mai
ls-
ls-h-tai
ls-v-meya
ls-h-sye
ls-v-ntai

e fi m

men
te
si ( n)

Grammar of RG Section 13

54

(f) Aorist Passive:

1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 pl.
2 pl.
3 pl.
(g) Perfect Active:

First (Theta) Aorist Passive

luy- (luy-v)
luy-w (luy-w)
luy- (luy-)
luy-men (luy-vmen)
luy-te (luy-hte)
luy-si (luy-vsi)

Second (Eta) Aorist Passive

blab- (blab-v)
blab-w (blab-w)
blab- (blab-)
blabmen (blab-vmen)
blab-te (blab-hte)
blab-si (blab-vsi)

lelk-v , etc. or lelukw , etc.

(f) Perfect Middle-Passive: lelmenow , etc.

2. Indefinite with n: When the adverbial conjunction n is used with the subjunctive it makes the proposition
hypothetical or general rather than actual and particular. In this sense, n might well be translated "ever." This can
be used in a simple conditional sense:
n tw neflaw tw melanaw rmen, smen ti plesei.
"If ever we see black clouds, we know that it will rain."
(Note that n is a combination of efi and n)
Or the n may be combined with an indefinite pronoun (w n , stiw n, and the other numbers and genders
and cases of these) or a temporal conjunction (pe n , peidn = peid n , potn = pote n) to
create more complex kinds of generalizing conditions:
kenon tn ndra e kolzomen, stiw n tata poi.
"We always punish that man, whosoever does these things."
peidn rxhtai max, bosin ofl stratitai.
"The soldiers shout whenever the battle begins."

Grammar of RG Section 15

55

1. Pluperfect:
(a) Pluperfect Active: The Perfect Active stem ends in -e, whether this epsilon is preceded by a kappa (as in the
First Perfect, e.g. leluke-) or not (as in the Second Perfect, e.g. leloipe-); to this stem an augment is prefixed
and then are added the endings 1sg. -a (originally, but later -en, so that the analogous endings of the singular
became -ein, -eiw, -ei; of course e + a --> long a --> h), 2sg. -ew, 3sg. -e, 1pl. -men, 2pl. -te, 3pl. -san. As a
result, one could say that the endings as attached to a Perfect Active stem in kappa (if First Perfect) or other
consonant (if Second Perfect) are those in the first column below. In the following columns are paradigms of First
and Second Perfect:

1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 pl.
2 pl.
3 pl.

Compounded Pluperfect Active

Endings
-h (e + a) or -ein (e + e n )
-eiw (e + ew)
-ei (e + e)
-emen
-ete
-esan

First Perfect (k- stems)

-lelk-h (-ein)
-lelk-eiw
-lelk-ei
-lelk-emen
-lelk-ete
-lelk-esan

Second Perfect
-lelop-h (-ein)
-lelop-eiw
-lelop-ei
-lelop-emen
-lelop-ete
-lelop-esan

(b) Pluperfect Middle-Passive: The Perfect Middle-Passive Stem (fifth principal part without the -mai) is used;
an augment is prefixed to this and to the stem are attached directly the secondary middle-passive endings (-mhn, so, -to, -meya, -sye, -nto). Note that the same principles of assimilation of consonants apply here as in the
Perfect Middle-Passive, as noted in Section 12.
1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 pl.
2 pl.
3 pl.

-lel-mhn
-ll-so
-llu-to
-lel-meya
-llu-sye
-ll-nto

-pepes-mhn
-ppeiso
-ppeis-to
-pepes-meya
-ppeisye
pepeismnoi san

-gegrm-mhn
-ggraco
-ggrap-to
-gegrm-meya
-ggrafye
gegrammnoi san

-kekhrg-mhn
-kekrujo
-kekrukto
-kekhrg-meya
-kekruxye
kekhrugmnoi san

2. m + aorist subj.: The 2sg. or 2pl. Aorist Subjunctive when used with m as an introductory negative has the
force of a powerful prohibition: toto m poisw, You must not ever do this! (or the archaic, Thou shalt not
do this!; tow yeow m sebshte, Ye must not treat the gods impiously!
3. fobomai m:
(a) Clauses of Fear: Clauses expressing what it is feared may or may not occur are expressed in the Subjunctive
after a verb of fearing such as fobomai. What one fears may happen is introduced by m, while what one fears
may not happen is introduced by m o. This may seem to be paradoxical, but in fact the clause is actually in
origin an expression of an earnest wish that the feared event may not happen:
fobomai m katadiksvsin ofl dikstai to Svkrtouw. We translate this sentence, I am afraid that
the jurors may (will) condemn Socrates, but what it most literally says is, I am afraid; I wish the jurors not to
condemn Socrates. Conversely, what one fears may not happen is introduced by the double-negative expression, o
m: fobomeya m ok fkhtai basilew. We are fearful that the king may not arrive! Most
literally this sentence means, We are afraid; we dont want the king to fail to arrive!
(b) Sequence of Tense and Mood: When the introductory verb of fearing is in a primary (Present, Future, or
Perfect) tense, the subordinate clause is subjunctive; when, however, the introductory verb is in a Past Indicative
tense (Imperfect, Aorist), then the subordinate clause will be in the optative. Thus the above sentences in secondary
sequence would be: fobomhn m katadikseian ofl dikstai to Svkrtouw, We were afraid that
the jurors would condemn Socrates, and fobhyhmen m ok fkoito basilew, We were afraid that
the king would not arrive.

Grammar of RG Section 15

56

4. -tow verb forms: The adjectival ending -tow, ta, ton attached to a verbal root is essentially passive in
voice and expresses a notion of obligation to perform the action of the verb. While such a form may occasionally be
used somewhat like an English adjective of obligation (e.g. payablein the sense of needing to be paid), it is
usually used in a periphrastic fashion with a form of the verb to be either implictly or explicitly present. The verb
may take an object in the accusative and usually will have a dative (sometimes anaccusative) indicating the person
upon whom the obligation to carry out the action rests: tata poihton (stn) mn. These things we must
do (more lit. It must be donethese thingsby us.)
5. Accusative absolute: We have already become familiar with the Genitive absolute constructions wherein the
subject of a clause is put into the Genitive case and the predicate into a participle in the Genitive case. It is not
possible to use this construction where the verb is impersonal (i.e. has no subject), as jesti, de, An equivalent
of the Genitive Absolute construction for impersonal verbs is the Accusative Absolute: the verb is put into a neuter
singular accusative participle; its meaning will be comleted by an infinitive as usual:
de mn tow now prostrpein tow maymasin. If this sentence is put into a subordinate clause
relating the circumstances of a main clause, the verb de will go into the neuter accusative participle:
don mn tow now tow maymasin prostrpein, tn mran n t gor dietrbomen.
When we should have paid attention to our lessons, we spent the day in the market-place.
6. w +superlative: w whenused with a neuter superlative adjective (usually n. pl. acc.) means as ______ as
possible: w plesta as many as possible, w ggtata tw plevw as near as possible to the city.
7. na + subj./opt.: na is originally a relative adverb akin to pou, poi, pote,etc.; it means something like
French afin que , toward the objective that When used with a subjunctive (after a main verb in a Primary
tense: Present, Future, Perfect) or with an optative (after a main verb in a Secondary tense: Imperfect, Aorist,
Pluperfect), it introduces a purpose clause. Note the variety of possible ways of translating such a clause:
rxmeya efiw t stu na tn monon pvlmeya. We come into the city so that we may sell (in
order that we may sell, in order to sell, to sell) the mule.
lyen jnow efiw tw Aynaw na tn Paryena rh. The foreigner came to Athens to see (in
order to see, so that he might see) the Parthenon.
8. Indefinite clauses in secondary sequence: We have noted that clauses introduced by verbs in secondary tenses
(Imperfect, Aorist, Pluperfect) often have their verbs in the optative. This is true of the indefinite clauses which we
have previously learned also:
stiw n m tn non t maymati prostrp o dnatai manynein. Anyone who does not
pay attention to the lesson cannot learn.
tn atn lgon dirxeto psi otinew kooien. He would tell the same story to everybody
whatsoever that would listen.
9. Perfect optative: The perfect optative tense may be formed by adding the thematic optative endings to the
Perfect Active stem, but it is quite commonly formed in both the Active and the Middle-Passive Perfect Tense by
using the present optative of the verb efim with appropriate forms of the Perfect Active or Perfect Middle-Passive
participle:
1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 pl.
2 pl.
3 pl.

lelk-oi-mi
lelk-oiw
lelk-oi
lelk-oi-men
lelk-oi-te
lelk-oi-en

Perfect Active
lelukw ehn
lelukw ehw
lelukw eh
leluktew emen
leluktew ete
leluktew een

Perfect Middle-Passive
lelumnow ehn
lelumnow ehw
lelumnow eh
lelumnoi emen
lelumnoi ete
lelumnoi een

Grammar of RG Section 15

57

10. lskomai: This verb functions as the Passive of aflrv , overtake, apprehend and aflromai, choose.
In particular it will express the forensic or judicial senses of aflrv , convict in the passive voice. Its principle
parts are lskomai, lsomai, lvn. Note that in the present and future tenses the Middle voice forms
have a passive meaning and that in the aorist the active forms have the passive meaning. The epsilon of the third
principle part, lvn, is the augment, which is not used outside of the indicative forms.
The present tense is regular, as is the future:
1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 pl.
2 pl.
3 pl.
Infinitive
Participle

Present
lskomai
l sk
lsketai
liskmeya
lskesye
lskontai
lskesyai
liskmenow, -h, -on

Future
lsomai
ls
lsetai
lvsmeya
lsesye
lsontai
lsesyai
lvsmenow, -h, -on

The Aorist is a third or non-thematic aorist with long- vowel and short-vowel forms of the stem: lv- and
lo-.
1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 pl.
2 pl.
3 pl.
Infinitive
Participle

Aorist
lvn
lvw
lv
lvmen
l vte
lvsan
lnai (from the long-vowel stem lv-)
low, losa, lon (participial stem lont-,
derived from short-vowel stem lo-)

11. 1st person orders: In the first persons singular and plural the subjunctive has a hortatory force: rxmeya
efiw t stu, Lets go into town! m menmen, Lets not wait!
12. vw n: vw with n and the subjunctive in a subordinate clause means until , up to the time when :
diatelmen poreumenoi vw n n liow. Lets go on journeying until the sun goes down (until that
point at which the sun may go down).

Grammar of RG Section 16

59

1. vw + opt.: When an until construction is introduced by a verb in a secondary tense (Imperfect, Aorist,
Pluperfect), the verb will be in the Optative. Compare the following examples:
diatelmen poreumenoi vw n n liow. Let us keep walking until the sun goes down.
dietelomen poreumenoi vw noi liow. We kept walking until the sun should go down.
2. (f)hmi: hmi is the last of the major MI-verbs to learn. Presumably its original root was yh/ye. In the present
stem this root is reduplicated as yiyh/yiye; then with loss of the Iota-consonant this became flh/fle. This verb is
found more often in compounded verbs than in the simple form of hmi. Inasmuch as a simple vowel is often the
only sign of this verb in some compounded past tense, when one spies a form which, after removal of prefix,
augment, personal endings, and mood indicators, shows an h or e (or ih or ie). In the Active of the Present and
Aorist the long-vowel h appears in the singular, the short-vowel e (often contracted with another vowelaugment
or ending) in the plural. The principal parts are hmi, sv, ka, eka, emai, eyhn.
(a) Present Tense:

1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 pl.
2 pl.
3 pl.

Indic.
hmi
hw
hsi(n)
fl m e n
ete
flsi(n)

Active
Subj.
Opt.
fl
fl e h n
fl w
fl e h w

fl e h
vmen
fl e m en
hte
fl e t e
vsi(n) fl e e n

Imptv.
ei
fl t v
ete
fl ntvn

Indic.
emai
esai
etai
fl m eya
esye
enta i

Middle-Passive
Subj.
Opt.
fl m a i
fl e m h n
fl
fl e o
htai
fl e t o
fl m eya flemeya
fl s y e
fl e sye
fl nta i fl e nto

Imptv.
eso
fl s y v
esye
fl syvn

(b) Imperfect Tense (2sg. and 3sg. of the Active have assimilated to thematic forms)
1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 pl.
2 pl.
3 pl.

Active
hn
eiw
ei
emen
ete
esan

Middle-Passive
mhn
eso
eto
fl m eya
esye
ento

(c) Present Infinitive: Active: nai

Middle-Passive: esyai
(d) Present Participle: Active: flew, flesa, fln (flnt-)
Middle-Passive: flmenow, -h, -on
(e) Aorist Tense

1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 pl.
2 pl.
3 pl.

Indic.
ka
kaw
ke(n)
emen
ete
esan

Active
Subj.
Opt.

ehn
w
ehw

eh
men
emen
te
ete
si(n))
een

Imptv.
w
tv
te
ntvn

Indic.
emhn
eo
eto
e m eya
esye
ento

Middle-Passive
Subj.
Opt.
mai
emhn

eo
tai
eto
m e y a e m eya
sye
esye
ntai
ento

(f) Aorist Infinitive: Active: enai

Middle: syai
(g) Aorist Participle: Active: ew, esa, n (nt-)
Middle: menow, -h, -on

Imptv.
o
syv
sye
syvn

Grammar of RG Section 16

60

(h) Aorist Passive:

1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.
1 pl.
2 pl.
3 pl.

Indic.
yhn
yhw
yh
yh m en
yhte
yh sa n

Subj.
y
yw
y
ym en
yte
ysi(n)

Opt.
ye h n
ye h w
yeh
ye m e
n
ye te
ye en

Imptv.
yhti
ytv
yhte
yntvn

(i) Aorist Passive Infinitive: ynai

(j) Aorist Passive Participle: yew, yesa, yn (yent-)
3. vw + indic.:
(a) When vw is used with the subjunctive or optative, the verbal action in the subordinate clause is anticipated
future event (from the standpoint of the agent) which is set as a limiting point in time: dvmen vw n nj
gnhtai Let us sing until it gets to be night; dietloun kstote dialegmenoi vw katadnoi
liow They would go on talking with each other every time until the sun would set.
(b) When vw is used with the indicative, however, the verbal action in the subordinate clause is
contemporaneous with that of a main clause that is present or future (i.e. vw = while, so long as; when the
verbs of both clauses are in a secondary (imperfect, aorist) tense, vw means until.
vw napnv, e lpzv. So long as I breathe, I am always hopeful.
ok pausen m tptvn vw mologhsmhn. He didnt stop hitting me until I confessed.
4. prn n + subj.: With the subjunctive and n, prn means until, with reference to some point in the future
from the vantage of the agent. With the indicative it also means until, but with reference to some point in the past.
It thus overlaps with the usage of vw, with the exception that it will never mean while. We could substitute
prn n for vw n in the sentences above:
dvmen prn n nj gnhtai . Let us sing until it gets to be night.
ok pausen m tptvn prn mologhsmhn. He didnt stop hitting me until I confessed.
5. prn + opt.: Here as with previous constructions, the optative without n is used instead of the subjunctive with
prn in secondary sequence: when the introductory verb is in a past tense. Again we may use it in the same
sentence with which we illustrated the usage of vw with the optative:
dietloun kstote dialegmenoi vw katadnoi liow They would go on talking with each
other every time until the sun would set.
6. diatyhmi, dikeimai: kemai, essentially a verb indicating stationary prone position (I lie, I am in place)
regularly functions as the passive for tyhmi (I place, I put into place). Since diatyhmi means I place X
into Y condition, I treatnormally with some adverb or adverbial phrase indicating the condition into which the
object of the verb is placed or the manner in which the object is treated, dikeimai means I am placed into Y
condition, I am treated in Y manner.
kemai is a perfectly regular MI-verb that appears only in the middle voice (like dnamai), the middle endings
attached directly to the stem kei-.
dietyei me afisxrw He kept treating me shamefully.
diekemhn afisxrw I would be treated shamefully.
7. ste + indic./infin.: The adverbial conjunction ste introduces an expression of result or consequence.
When used with the indicative it introduces the actual result: otvw tucen brsthw tn jnon ste
pyanen. The ruffian battered the stranger so that he died.
When used with an infinitive ste introduces a natural or probable result: otvw tucen brsthw tn
jnon. The ruffian battered the stranger in such a way that he would die.

Grammar of RG Section 16

61

8. Numerals: The student must memorize the cardinal and ordinal numerals 1-12, 20, 100, and the patterns for 3090, 200-900, 1,000 and 10,000, as well as the adverbs paj, dw, and trw. One must also learn the patterns of
declension for the declinable numerals 1-4:
(a) ew, ma, n (original sm-w, sma, sm): the M/N stem is n-, the F stem is mi-. The M & N forms
follow 3rd declension patterns, while the F follows 1st declension patterns.
(b) do (sometimes dv): This numeral is actually in the dual number rather than plural and therefore follows
dual patterns; the -o ending of M/F/N Nom. & Acc. was originally dv (the dual nom./acc. ending is -v), which
later shifted to do; the gen./dat. forms duon follow regular dual pattern.
(c) trew, tra follows 3d declension patterns of the plural. The stem alternates between -i- and -ey-. As with
nouns with stems of this sort (pleiw), the accusative follows the pattern of the nominative. Hence: Nom. trew
(<tryew) Gen. trin Dat. tris(n) Acc. trew (= nom.)
(d) tttarew, tttara (originally kWtWarew, kWtWara) follows regular 3d declension patterns.
9. Aorist passive imperative: the endings of the imperative for the Aorist passive are the active endings (as are all
other endings in the aorist passive): 2sg. -yi 3sg. -tv 2pl. -te 3pl. -ntvn. The 2nd singular, however, is affected
by the phonological priciple of dissimilation of aspirates when the Aorist Passive stem is in -yh-, i.e. in "first"
Passives: blyhti <-- blyhyi (if a syllable is bounded by two aspirates, the second one will become deaspirated). "Second" passive aorist passive stems, however, show the -yi: blbhyi (but you're not likely to ever
see the command, "Be injured!").
10. Passive-deponents: This term is applied to those verbs which have middle-voice forms in the present tense but
regularly use the passive forms in the aorist rather than the middle forms. For example, mxomai, aorist
maxesmhn is normal, but fobomai, aorist fobyhn is a "passive-deponent." One must know these verbs in
order not to translate their aorist passive forms as aorist in meaning. Learn the list in Grammar 16:
bolomai
dnamai
dom a i
pstamai
domai
mimnskomai
dialgomai
o om a i
fobomai
xarv
rgzomai

boulyhn
dunyhn
deyhn
pistyhn
syhn
mnsyhn
dielxyhn
yhn
fobyhn
x rh n
rgsyhn

(wish)
(be able)
(beg, need)
(know)
(take pleasure)
(remember)
(converse)
(suppose)
(fear)
(rejoice)
(get angry)

11. Deliberatives: A question in the subjunctive is a kind of appeal: t prttvmen; "What are we to do?" One
might hypothesize that this construction originates as a subordinate clause used with an implicit verb of advising:
e.g. t sumboule mn ti prttvmen "What do you advise us that we (should) do?
12. xromai: This verb is irregular and important in its varied idiomatic applications.
(a) It is irregular in that it is a contract verb with an Eta stemnot an -v- verb as it is listed in your textbut
an -v verb the forms of which are to be explained by contraction of the h stem with thematic endings:
xrmai <-xr-omai, xr <- xr-e(s)ai, xrtai <- xr-etai, etc.
(b) Idiomatic uses: Observe the following:
lyoiw xrtai despthw gklevn tn patra n t ofik&. The master uses rocks when
locking his father in the house. Here lyoiw is an instrumental dative used with xrtai.
t xrmai maut; "What am I to do with myself?"
t Svkrtei xrmai fl. "I am on friendly terms with Socrates." ("I avail myself of Socrates as
friend.")

Grammar of RG Section 16

62

13. Correlatives: Note the usage of the correlative pronouns in the following sentences:
otvw fliw stin kenow mo nn w tte n. "He as friendly to me now as he was then." More
literally: "So friendly is he to me now as he was then."
toiotw stin kenow mo nn oow tte n. "He is such to me now as he was then." More literally:
"Of such a type is he to me now as he was then."
tosotouw lyouw frei kenow souw dnatai (frein). "He is carrying as many stones as he
can." More literally: "So many stones does he carry as (many as) he can (carry)."

A COMPENDIUM OF ANCIENT GREEK PHONOLOGY

OVERVIEW
1. The Importance of the Study of Greek Phonology ................................................................ 64
2. Vowels: Indo-European and Ancient Greek ....................................................................... 64
3. Vowels: Attic-Ionic shift of a to h ................................................................................... 65
4. Vowels: The diphthong e i ............................................................................................. 65
5. Vowels: The diphthong ou ............................................................................................ 65
6. Vowels: Diphthongs with Iota Subscripts: & ................................................................ 66
7. Vowels: Attic Vowel contractions .................................................................................... 66
8. Vowels: Quantitative Metathesis...................................................................................... 66
9. Vowels: Compensatory Lengthening ................................................................................ 67
10. Vowel Gradation (Ablaut) and Types .............................................................................. 67
11. Vowel Gradation: The type e/o/-- ................................................................................... 68
12. Vowel Gradation: The type long-vowel/short-vowel .......................................................... 68
13. Vowel Gradation in Disyllabic Roots ............................................................................... 69
14. Consonants: Indo-European and Ancient Greek................................................................. 69
15. Consonants: Attic Combinations .................................................................................... 70
16. Consonants: Aspirates (f, x, y) ..................................................................................... 71
17. Consonants: Voiceless stops (p, k, t) ............................................................................. 71
18. Consonants: Voiced stops (b, g, d) ................................................................................ 71
19. Consonants: Fate of the Indo-European Labio-velars (k w, gw, gh w)..................................... 71
20. Consonants: Unstable s................................................................................................ 72
21. Consonants: Unstable W ................................................................................................ 73
22. Consonants: Unstable consonantal Yod (i or y) ................................................................ 73
23. Consonants: Unstable Liquids (l, r), and Nasals (m, n ) ..................................................... 74
24. Consonants at Word-ends .............................................................................................. 75

63

A COMPENDIUM OF ANCIENT GREEK PHONOLOGY

1.

64

The Importance of the Study of Greek Phonology

(a) An understanding of phonology provides a key to understanding the ethnic affinities of peoples and the
hsitory of the transmission of cultural achievements. Greek cognates of words in other Indo-European
languages, however, are often not immediately recognizable owing to distinct phonetic processes in the
development of the Greek language. Observe the relationships between the words in the following table:
English
father
kin
ewe
wit
six
bear
ten
sweet
cow
yoke
snow
door

Latin
pater
genus
ovis
video
sex
fero
decem
suavis
bos
iugum
nivem
foris

Greek
patr
gnow
iw
don (Widon)
j
frv
dka
dw
bow
zugn
nfa
yra

Indo-European
*pater
*genos
*owis
*wid*seks
*bher*dekn
*swadgwows
*yug
*snigwh
*dhur-

(b) An understanding of phonology provides a key to understanding dialectal variations within a language.
Thus armed, the student of Attic Greek can relate the Doric nti and the Attic efis to proto-Greek
*senti; or one can relate the Lesbian Aeolic forms pasa and slanna and the corresponding Attic
forms, psa and selnh, to proto-Greek *pantya and *selasna. Thus, although one's study has
been concentrated on the dialect of 5th and 4th century Athens, it will be possible to undertake the reading
of Homeric or Lesbian Aeolic poetry (Sappho, Alcaeus) or of Ionic prose (Herodotus) with a minimum of
difficulty.
(c) An understanding of phonology provides a key to recognition of cognates derived from the same root, such
as the aorist-tense form payon (epnthon) and the future-tense form pesomai (penthsomai) or the
present-tense form xv (sekho) and the aorist infinitive sxen (skhein). Such undrstanding lightens
the burden of learning principal parts of verbs of apparently anomalous forms such as:
from

psxv
pnth-sko

pesomai
penth-s-o-mai

pa yon
e-pnth-o-n

pponya
peponth-a

(d) Of most immediate importance to the beginning student of Ancient Greek, phonology reveals the
underlying logic of conjugational and declensional paradigms of verbs and nouns, adjectives and pronouns,
even where the forms observed in such paradigms seem superficially inconsistent.
2.

Vowels: Indo-European and Ancient Greek

Indo-European vowels
Simple
Dipthongs
a
e
o
i
u
shwa

ai
ei
oi

au
eu
ou

Ancient Greek Vowels

Simple
Diphthongs
Short
Long
a
a
ai
au
&
e
h
ei
eu

o
v
oi

i
i
ou
u

ui

hu

A COMPENDIUM OF ANCIENT GREEK PHONOLOGY

3.

65

Vowels: Attic-Ionic shift of a to h

Indo-European long *a survived in most Greek dialects, but in Attic-Ionic it evolved into a long flat e (English
drag), which subsequently became assimilated to long open e (French tte), spelled h. In Ionic dialect this
change of quality was carried through uniformly, while in the Attic dialect it was inhibited when the original
*a was preceded by e, i, or r. Note the following dialectal equivalents:
Doric: mra

4.

Attic: mra

Ionic: mrh

Vowels: The diphthong ei

Ancient Greek ei had originally two values: (1) long closed e as in flei < fle-e and (2) the true
diphthong ei as in gnei < gne-i. In late Attic both were assimilated to . This explains the variant spellings
of the second-person singular present middle ending in omega-verbs: lei is the earlier spelling, l the later
spelling of what, before the loss of medial sigma in the ending, was lesai.
The long closed e which is spelled ei may result from contraction of e + e. Thus:
poiete
<-poi-ete
pl ei w
<-ple-ew
or it may result from compensatory l;engthening of e after the loss of a following consonant. Thus:
yew
ew

5.

y-nt-w
(s)n-w

<-<--

Vowels: The diphthong ou

Ancient Greek ou was originally a long closed o (English blow), but in Attic dialect it became u (English
boot), while Attic u (originally short and long u as in Latin) acquired the value of the French u, the German
. This change in the quality of the Greek upsilon explains why the Romans used their own u to transliterate
Greek ou but carried over the Greek letter U to represent a sound not expressed in the existing Roman alphabet.
The long closed o which is spelled by Greek ou may result from contraction of o + o (thus:
dhlomen

<--

dhl-omen

or from contraction of o + e (thus

dhlote
torgon

<-<--

dhl-ete
t rgon

or from contraction of e + o (thus:

poiomen
so

<-<--

poi-omen
s-o

or it may result from compensatory lengthening of o after loss of a following consonant (thus:
dow
Mosa

<-<--

d-nt-w
Mnsa

A COMPENDIUM OF ANCIENT GREEK PHONOLOGY

6.

66

Vowels: Diphthongs with Iota Subscripts: &

The ancient Greek long-vowel diphthongs ai, hi, vi tended to lose their appended iotas and to degenerate
into the simple long vowels *a h v. They lasted longer in final open position, where we commonly see them
in dative-singular forms of first- and second-declension nouns: ti pghi; ti lgvi. On the other hand,
they probably lost diphthongal pronunciation in medial position as the variant spellings in Hellenistic Greek
papyri would seem to indicate: =&dvw = =advw;
poynhskv = poynskv; dh = dh.
The orthographic convention of indicating the lost appended iota of the dipthong by means of an iota subscript
is Byzantine. Hellenistic manuscripts and papyri show simple long vowels, as the dative singular form t
pgh.

7.

Vowels: Attic Vowel contractions: In the following table, the first vowel is given in the left-hand column, the
second in the top row, and the result contractions in the box where the columns intersect.)
a
e
o

a
a
h
v

e
a
ei
ou

ei
&
ei
oi

i
ai
ei
oi

h
a
h
v

&

o
v
ou
ou

ou
v
ou
ou

oi

oi
oi

v
v
v
v

Comments on the vowel contractions:

1.

It will be noted from the table that, generally speaking, a -vowels prevail over e -vowels; o-vowels prevail
over both a -vowels and e -vowels.

2.

Strictly speaking, e + a = long a rather than h; however, as long a changes to h in the Attic dialect, the
resultant contraction normally appears as h. Thus: t stea = t sth; tn Svkrtea = t n
Svkrth. Yet this change may be inhibited when the long a is preceded by e, i, or r. Thus: rgur&
= rgur; tn Periklea = tn Perikla.

3. Vowel contraction may also occur between words, especially when the definite article t or the
conjunction ka is followed by a word begininning with a-, e-, or o- (crasis): nr = nr; mw
= omw; t noma = tonoma; t lla = tlla.
8.

Vowels: Quantitative Metathesis: In the Attic dialect, the combinations ho and ha tended to shift the vowel
quantity from the first to the second vowel: ev, e*a. This substantially affects the declension of several
categories of nouns and adjectives:
(a) Third-declension stems that alternate between vocalic or diphthongal forms before a consonantal ending
and vowel-sonant forms before a vocalic ending (i/hy, eu/hW, au/aW -->hW) show metathesis after the loss
of the sonant:
pliw (i/hy)
basilew (eu/hW)
naw (au/aW)

plhyow --> plhow --> plevw

basilWow --> basilow --> basilvw
basilWa --> basila --> baasila
naWw --> nhWw --> new (gen. sg. "ship")

(b) "Attic declension" of nouns and adjectives originally formed with sonants which were lost:
naWw --> nhWw --> new (nom. sg. "temple"
plyow, plya, plyon --> plow, pla, plon --> plvw, pla, plvn
plyoi, plyai, plya --> ploi, plai, pla --> pl, plai, pla
(c) A related phenomenon is the shortening of the first of two contiguous long vowels:
basilWvn --> basilvn --> basilvn
teynhw --> teynew

A COMPENDIUM OF ANCIENT GREEK PHONOLOGY

9.

67

Vowels: Compensatory Lengthening

The loss of one of a pair of consonants following a short vowel is compensated for by the lengthening of the
preceding short vowel. When this occurs:
short a --> long a

e --> ei

short i --> long i

short u --> long u

(a) This process is particularly noticeable in active participles, where the participial sign -nt- enters into
conjunction with a sigma:

(b) This process is also significant in liquid aorists where the sigma of the First Aorist is lost after m, n, l, or
r, and the preceding vowel, if short, is compensatorily lengthened:

10. Vowel Gradation (Ablaut) and Types

(a) "The only stable constituent portion of an Indo-European morphological element (root, suffix, or ending) is
the consonantal portion. The vocalic portion is always subject to alternation." --Meillet
In English, for instance,one can readily recognize the r/ /d complex as the stable consonantal portion
characterized alternately by the vowels *i, *o, *i in the principal parts of the verb ride, rode , ridden .
Alternation of vowels affects not only the principal word-roots of nouns and verbs, however,but also the
suffixes constituting, e.g., agent nouns in Greek: ter in patra but tor in ptora, tr in patrw, thr
in patr, and t v r in ptvr, or the mood-signs of verbs as optative ih/i in Greek: didohn, ddoite.
In the most common type of Greek verb, the "thematic" verb, an alternating short vowel e/o provides the link
between the stem and the ending: l-o-men, l-e-te. Lengthened forms of the same vowel (h/v) serve as
the subjunctive mood sign: l-v-men, l-h-te.
(b) In its full range, Indo-European vowel gradation comprises five grades: two short-vowel grades: e, o ; two
long-vowel grades: *e, *o; and a zero-grade wherein the consonantal portionis linked without a vowel (or
with the second element of a diphthong constituted by the long- or short-vowel grades). Although all five
grades are rarely represented for any single root in Greek, all are to be seen in the agent-noun suffix forms
cited above:
ter

tor

tr

thr

tvr

(c) Three types of vowel gradation are important in Greek:

1. An alternation of e, o, and zero-grades;
2. An alternation of long- and short-vowel grades;
3. An alternation affecting both syllables of disyllabic roots.

A COMPENDIUM OF ANCIENT GREEK PHONOLOGY

68

11. Vowel Gradation: The type e/o/-(a) The most common type of vocalic alternation in Greek is that of the grades e, o, and zero as seen in the
forms of the verb root PET/POT/PT:
PET-

pt-omai

POT-

pot-anw

PT-

-pt-mhn

This type is most frequently seen, however, in a variety in which the e or the o forms a diphthong in
combination with a semivowel (i/y or u/W), with a liquid (l or r), or with a nasal (m or n). In such
roots we find the e and o grades as diphthongs:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

ei
eu
el
er
em
en

peyv
leyerow
stlyv
fyryv
sem = n
tnyv

oi
ou
ol
or
om
on

ppoiya
llouya
stl ow
fyor
smalow = m a l ow
tnow

(b) The zero-grade in such instances appears as the vocalic form of the semi-vowel (i or u), or as the
common vocalic form of the liquid (a or ar) or nasal (am, an, or a; these are the forms taken by both
vocalic m and vocalic n before a vowel or a consonant respectively). Thus the series above is completed
with corresponding zero-grade forms:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

ei
eu
el
er
em
en

peyv
leyerow
stlyv
fyryv
sem = n
tnyv

oi
ou
ol
or
om
on

ppoiya
llouya
stl ow
fyor
smalow = m a l ow
tnow

i
u
al
ar
am
an

pi yon
l u yon
stlhn
fyrhn
ma
tnutai

a
a

-plouw
tatw

12. Vowel Gradation: The type long-vowel/short-vowel: A somewhat less common but no less important second
type of vocalic alternation is that wherein a long vowel (*a, h, or v) alternates with its corresponding short
vowel (a, e, or o):
1.
2.
3.

sstami = sthmi
t yh m i
d dvm i

sstamen = stamen
tyemen
ddomen

A COMPENDIUM OF ANCIENT GREEK PHONOLOGY

69

13. Vowel Gradation in Disyllabic Roots: Certain Greek roots, especially those with a liquid or a nasal as the
second consonant, seem to undergo such changes as to indicate vocalic alternation both before and after the
second consonant. The alternation of the vowel in the first syllable is of the type e/o/-; that of the vowel in the
second syllable is of the type long-vowel/short-vowel. This pattern of alternation is further complicated,
however, by two facts: (1) a regularly appears in the zero-grade of a syllable ending in a liquid or a nasal; (2)
the short-vowel grade of the second syllable appears to represent an original Indo-European shewa ( ). In
Greek this shewa disappears before a vowel or otherwise is represented by the short vowel (a, e, or o)
corresponding to the long-vowel grade (*a, h, or v).
GEN/GON/GN + h/e/*
e-grade in the 1st syllable, short-vowel grade in the 2nd
gn*o w
=
gnow
gen*t h w =
genthw
o-grade in the 1st syllable, short-vowel grade in the 2nd
gn*o w
=
gnow
ggon*-a =
g g ona
zero-grade in the 1st syllable, short-vowel grade in the 2nd
gn-siow
zero-grade in the 1st syllable, short-vowel grade in the 2nd
gi-gn*- om a i
= ggnomai
BEL/BOL/BAL + h/e/*
e-grade in the 1st syllable, short-vowel grade in the 2nd
bl*-ow
=
blow
o-grade in the 1st syllable, short-vowel grade in the 2nd
bl*-ow
=
blow
zero-grade in the 1st syllable, short-vowel grade in the 2nd
bal-sv =
b a l - v
=
bal
-bal*-o n =
b a l on
zero-grade in the 1st syllable, long-vowel grade in the 2nd
- b l b-blh-mai
yhn
KEL/KOL/KAL + h/e/*
zero-grade in the 1st syllable, short-vowel grade in the 2nd
-kal* -s a
=
-kle-sa
zero-grade in the 1st syllable, long-vowel grade in the 2nd
klh-tw
-kl-yhn
14. Consonants: Indo-European and Ancient Greek
Stops
Voiced
Plain
Asp.

Unvoiced
Plain
Asp.

1.
2.
3.

Labial
Dental
Palatal

b
d
g

b
d
g

bh dh gh -

p p
t t
k k

4.

Labiovelar
Sibilant

gw -

gwh -

kw -

5.

ph f
th y
kh x

Spirant
Voiced
Unv.

Nasal
Voiced

Liquids
Latera
l

w y

wh -

m m
n n
ng gg
gk

Sonant

Palatal
r

m nlr

Comments on the consonants:

1. f, y, and x represent the Indo-European bh, th, and kh; but these voiced aspirates of Indo-European
are unvoiced in Greek (e.g. Sanskrit bharami = Greek frv). Originally they were pronounced as in
English uphold, hothouse, and inkhorn; but they evolved into the sounds of f, th (as in English

A COMPENDIUM OF ANCIENT GREEK PHONOLOGY

70

thin) and ch (as in German ich) and were thus pronounced in the Koin.
The Indo-European spirants w and y do not survive in the Attic-Ionic dialect; but they are represented in
the reconstruction of the history of word-forms by W or and y respectively. W actually does appear in some
early inscriptions.
The sonant m appears in Greek either as n after a vowel or as a after a consonant. The sonant n vocalizes
as a. The sonants l and r vocalize in Greek as al or la and ar or ra respectively:
I-E *dekm = Latin decem = Greek dka
I-E *n- = Latin in- = English un- = Greek The ancient Greek z was a double consonant originally zd (cf. Aynaze < Aynas-de), in Attic dz.
Ancient Greek gg, gk, and gx were pronounced as English linger, sink, and inkhorn.

2.
3.

4.
5.

15. Consonants: Attic Combinations (read the following table like that in 8 above:
p
b
f
k
g
x
t
d
y
n
r

t
pt
pt
pt
kt
kt
kt
st
st
nt
rt

d
bd
bd
gd
gd
gd

nd
rd

y
fy
fy
fy
xy
xy
xy
ty
sy

m
mm
mm
mm
gm
gm
gm

ny
ry

mm
rm

s
p
c
c
j
j
j
j
s
s
s
n, s m p
rr rp

kk

mb
rb

mf
rf

gk
rk

kx

gg
rg

gx
rx

sy
fy
fy
fy
xy
xy
xy

ry

r
pr
br
fr
kr
gr
xr
tr
dr
yr
ndr
rr

(a) The general principle of assimilation of stops is that the preceding stop is assimilated to the order of the
second stop. Thus:
p-domow --> bdomow (p becomes b before d)
k-doow --> gdoow
(k becomes g before d)
nib-tw --> niptw
(b becomes p before t)
stig-tw --> stiktw (g becomes k before t)
(b) The combinations of stops with s indicated on the table above are seen most commonly in the formation of
future and first-aorist stems (lgv, ljv, leja), in the formation of third-declension nominative
singular and dative plural (e.g. kruk-w, --> kruj, kruk-si --> kruji, flb-w --> flc,
fleb-s --> flec), and in the formation of the perfect middle-passive second singular (e.g. lleipsai --> lleicai). Note that s makes voiced stops (g b) lose their vocalization (they becomes k p) and
makes aspirates (x f) lose their aspiration (they also become k p). Thus yrf-sv becomes yrp-sv =
yrcv and trb-sv becomes trp-sv = trcv; lg-sv becomes lk-sv = ljv and exsomai becomes ek-somai = ejomai. All dental stops (t d y) assimilate to s and are absorbed into
it. Thus: pey-sv becomes pesv, red-sv becomes resv, and dat-somai becomes dsomai.
(c) The combinations of stops with m, t, and sy are particularly significant in forms of the middle/passive
indicative, infinitive, and participle. Thus:
leleipbeblabkekhrukpepeiy-

+ mai
lleimmai
bblammai
kekrugmai
ppeismai

+ tai
lleiptai
bblaptai
kekruktai
ppeistai

+ syai
lleifyai
bblafyai
kekruxyai
ppeisyai

(d) The combinations of stops with y are particularly significant in forms of the aorist passive. Thus:
-khrk-yhn
-lep-yhn

becomes
becomes

khrxyhn
lefyhn

A COMPENDIUM OF ANCIENT GREEK PHONOLOGY

71

16. Consonants: Aspirates (f, x, y)

(a) Greek f y x represent Indo-European bh dh gh; but these voiced Indo-European aspirates are unvoiced
in Greek. In course of time they degenerated into the sounds of f and th (as in English thin) ch (as in
German ich). They were pronounced thus already in the Koin.
(b) Final unvoiced stops (p t k) will assimilate to an aspirated vowel at the beginning of the following word.
p' mran
ot' ppow
ok mew

becomes
becomes
becomes

f' mran
oy' ppow
ox mew

(c) Dissimilation of aspirates: a syllable bounded by two aspirates loses aspiration of one of the stops,
usually the first. Thus:
1. sxv --> xv --> xv (but note that in the future tense, x is de-aspirated when combining with s;
hence, aspiration re-appears at the beginning of the syllable: sx-sv --> x-sv --> k-sv =
jv).
2. yyhmi --> tyhmi
3. yaxw --> taxw (but note that in the comparative degree, aspiration is lost when yaxyvn becomes
yttvn; hence aspiration reappears at the beginning of the syllable).
4. The noun root yrix- appears as trix- except in the nominative singular yrj and the dative plural
yrij, where x is de-aspirated in combination with s.
17. Consonants: Voiceless stops (p, k, t)
(a) Articulation of k tended to vocalization. Note, for instance, that Latin has transliterated the verb kubern
as guberno.
(b) t assibilates before i or e. Thus:
1. 3 sg. primary ending: -ti --> -si;
2. 2 sg. acc. personal pronoun: te --> se (whence the s spread to other forms);
3. Compare the noun plotow with the adjective plosiow (< plotiow);
4. Abstract nouns ending in -tiw --> -siw (e.g. dtiw --> dsiw).
18. Consonants: Voiced stops (b, g, d)
(a) The voiced stops tended to become fricatives in articulation: b --> v; d --> th (as in English the); g -> y. These are their sounds in Modern Greek, and probably were already so in the Koin.
(b) The voiced stops tended to nasalize before vowels (sb-now --> smnow). Note that the combination gn- further evolved from -ggn- to loss of -g- altogether. Hence the Koin forms gnomai and ginskv
of the older Attic verbs ggnomai and gignskv.
19. Consonants: Fate of the Indo-European Labio-velars (kw, gw, gh w)
(a) Neighboring vowels interact with the Indo-European labio-velars so as to cause them to shift to respective
stops of all three orders and series.
(b) Gutturalization: Indo-European kw, gw, and gh w lose the velar appendage before or after u and before i
(y). Thus:
1. Indo-European kw --> Greek k
l k W ow --> lkow
b o - kW olow --> bokolow
o kW i --> ok
2. Indo-European gw --> Greek g
gwona --> gwuna --> gun (Attic gun)

A COMPENDIUM OF ANCIENT GREEK PHONOLOGY

3.

Indo-European ghw --> Greek x

lnghwus --> laxw
Then, after loss of the velar appendage (w), the resultant gutturals (k g x) follow the pattern of
transformations of guttural + y. Thus:
Indo-European kwy --> Greek ky --> Attic tt or Ionic s s
Indo-European ghwy --> Greek xy --> Attic tt or Ionic ss
while
Indo-European gwy --> Greek gy
--> z (sd)
okwye
lnghwy*on
gwy*en

-> kye
-> lxyvn
-> gy n

-> s s e
-> lttvn
-> z n

(c) Dentalization: before e, ei, h or i:

1. Indo-European kw --> Greek t;
2. Indo-European gw --> Greek d;
3. Indo-European ghw --> Greek y
Thus:
kwis (Latin quis)
kwetwor (Latin quattuor)

-> t w

ghwerm (Eng. warm)

ghwen

-> yerm w

-> ttWorew --> tttarew

ynyv --> yenv

(d) Labialization: before a, o or a consonant:

1. Indo-European kw --> Greek p;
2. Indo-European gw --> Greek b;
3. Indo-European ghw --> Greek f
Thus:
leikw*o (Latin linquo)
sekwo (Latin sequor)

-> l e p v

gwamghwen
ghwonsnighwad-

->
->
->
->

-> pom a i
yerm w
bnyv --> banv
fnow
n fa d-

20. Consonants: Unstable s

(a) Initial s before a vowel weakens to an aspirate (s --> h). Thus Indo-European cognates with initial s
before a vowel appear in Greek with a rough breathing:
1. Indo-European septm (Latin septem) --> Greek pta;
2. Indo-European semi- (Latin semi-) --> Greek mi-.
(b) Initial s before a liquid (l r ) or a nasal (m n) is normally lost:
1. IE sn --> Greek n
IE snighw (Eng. snow) --> Greek nif-;
2. IE sm --> Greek m
IE smikro--> Greek mikrw;
IE smia
--> Greek ma;
3. IE sr --> Greek =
IE srewo
--> Greek =v;
4. IE sl --> Greek l
IE sleg (Eng. slack) --> Greek lgv.

72

A COMPENDIUM OF ANCIENT GREEK PHONOLOGY

73

(c) Intervocalic s , like initial s, weakened to an aspirate, then evanesced, leaving a hiatus between the
vowels, which Attic dialect then closed by contraction of vowels:
1. gnesow
-->
gneho w
-->
g neow -->
gnouw;
2. mensv-->
menhv -->
menv
-->
men.
(d) s before an unvoiced stop remains intact. Thus, while the e-grade of the root sek w shows loss of s and
aspiration in pomai, the zero-grade of the same root skw shows the s intact in the aorist infinitive
spsyai. Similarly the root segh/sgh shows present indicative first singular xv (from xv, but with
dissimilation of aspirates, cf. 17c above), aorist infinitive sxen.
(e) s before a voiced stop: s is vocalized to z:
1. IE osdo-->
Greek zow (articulated ozdos)
2. Aynas-de
-->
Aynaze (articulated Athenazde)
(f) s between a liquid or nasal and a vowel evanesces, and the preceding vowel is then lengthened
compensatorily (cf. 10 above):
1. ggelsa
-->
ggeila
2. g a m se -->
g* a me -->
ghme
3. fyersa
-->
fyeira
4. ktensa
-->
kteina
(g) Double s tends to simplify. Thus tles-sa becomes tlesa. In the second person singular of
enai, ssi first simplified to si; when this intervocalic s was lost, the resultant contraction, e,
became the historical Attic equivalent of the Homeric ssi.
(h) s following stops: see 16b above.
21. Consonants: Unstable W
(a) Medial intervocalic W was lost early: IE newo- (Latin novus) = Greek now.
(b) Initial W was lost, sometimes leaving aspiration as evidence:
1. Wrgon
-->
rgon
2. Wsperow
-->
sperow
w
3. W k o w -->
W p o w -->
pow
(c) Initial W is lost before = (just as before vowels):
1. W rdow -->
=dow
(d) Dental stop before W:
1. W was lost after d or y (dWeinw = deinw);
2. W was lost after t but caused doubling of t:
kWtWarew
-->
ttWarew
-->
tttarew.
(e) s before W : both are lost, but the preceding vowel is lengthened compensatorily in order to retain the
originally long syllable produced by the vowel followed by two consonants:
1. n sW ow
-->
n* a ow -->
now --> nvw.
22. Consonants: Unstable consonantal Yod (i or y)
(a) Initial yod, when unvoiced became an aspirate, like initial s and (in some instances) initial W (e.g., IE
y*ekwar --> Greek par); when voiced, it became a z (e.g., IE yugom --> Greek zugn.
(b) Medial invervocalic yod was lost: deyow --> dow.
(c) Yod between voiceless dental stops and vowel:
1. in the earlier period ty and yy both became s:
IE kwotyos -->
ptyow -->
psow
myyo w
-->
msow
2. in the later period ty and yy became first ts, then tt:
mlitya
-->
mlitta
(d) Yod between voiceless guttural stops and vowel:
1. initial k y or xy followed by a vowel became t in Attic dialect, s in Ionic:
kyo + meron
-->
Attic tmeron; Ionic smeron
2. medial k y or xy followed by a vowel became tt in Attic dialect, ss in Ionic:
prkyv
-->
Attic prttv; Ionic pr ssv

A COMPENDIUM OF ANCIENT GREEK PHONOLOGY

74

(e) Yod between voiced dental or guttural stop and vowel: dy or gy --> z
rpgyv
-->
rp zv
komdyv
-->
kom zv
(f) Yod after a labial stop becomes t to which the preceding consonant is assimilated:
xalpyv
-->
xalptv
yfyv -->
yptv
blbyv
-->
b l ptv
(g) Yod between liquid or nasal and a vowel:
1. l doubles: b l y v -->
bllv
gglyv
-->
ggllv
2. r and n effect a metathesis of the consonantal yod to the second element of a diphthong with the
preceding vowel:
xryv -->
xarv
bnyv -->
banv
fyryv
-->
fye rv
(h) Yod between W and a vowel: W is lost, an i-diphthong results:
klWyv
-->
klav
erWya
-->
e re a
(i) Yod between s and a vowel: ultimately both are lost:
tsyo
-->
too
-->
t-o
-->
to
telsyv
-->
telev
-->
t e l v -->
tel
23. Consonants: Unstable Liquids (l, r), and Nasals (m, n)
"Liquids and nasals are sounds of such sonority that, while they usually have the function of consonants and so
are normally ranked as such, they may also have the function of the ordinary vowels, that is, they may be
pronounced so as to form a distinct syllable without the aid of other vowels. This is the case in many
languages, and so in English the unaccented syllables of words like able, hidden, bottom, in which the
vowels which appear in th spelling are no longer pronounced, but only the l, n, m. Such sounds are assumed
for the parent speech, and are best termed 'syllabic liquids and nasals and distinguished from the corresponding
consonants by the symbols r` l` n` m`. "
--C. D. Buck, Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin
(a) Greek developed the vocalic element of liquids and nasals of Indo-European into a readily appearing before
or after them, or (under some circumstances, in the case of nasals) even replacing them. That is:
l` --> al, la
r` --> ar, =a
m` --> am, ma, a
n` --> an, na, a
1. Final m in Greek becomes n after a vowel, a after a consonant. This is particularly significant in the
Greek variant forms of IE m as the case-indicator of the accusative singular of nouns and as the firstperson singular active secondary ending of verbs:
IE septm (Latin septem)
-->
pta
IE agrom (Latin agrum)
-->
gron
plim
-->
plin
ndrm
-->
ndra
luom
-->
luon
lusm
-->
lusa
2. An added a readily accrues to a liquid or a nasal when the liquid or nasal is followed by a vowel:
pro
-->
p r o w -->
parow
sm-a
-->
ma
Likewise, variant forms of words occur with a either preceding or following the consonant:
y rsow
=
yr sow
k rtow
=
kr tow
3. Initial m (IE privative prefix, Latin in-, English un-) appears as - before a consonant (e.g. ynatow), as n - before a vowel (e.g. n-sow).

A COMPENDIUM OF ANCIENT GREEK PHONOLOGY

So also m or n within a word becomes a before a consonant , a n before a vowel:
tntw
-->
tatw
IE g wm-yo -->
bnyv
-->
banv
(b) Liquids and nasals followed by yod and a vowel: see 23g above.
(c) Liquids and nasals followed by s and a vowel: see 21f above.
(d) When a vowel is followed by ns, the n evanesces and the preceding vowel is lengthened compensatorily
(see 10a above).
4.

24. Consonants at Word-ends

(a) No stops survive at word-end in Greek. Hence:
1. The final stop of noun-stem is lost in the nominative and vocative singular:
stem l ontnominative: lvn(t)
vocative: lon(t)
stem nomat- nominative-accusative singular: noma(t)
stem na ktvocative: na(kt)
2. Final t of the third-singular and third-plural secondary active endings (-t, -nt) is lost:
feret -->
fere
feront
-->
feron
(b) s, r, and n are the only consonants retained at the end of Greek words.
1. s (including its compounded forms j and c) is, of course, the regular nominative-singular caseending and the second-singular secondary active verb-ending: neanaw, grow, pliw.
2. r is retained: patr, nr, =tvr.
3. n is retained; final m becomes n:
IE in
-->
Greek n
IE sem -->
Greek n
IE agrom
-->
Greek gron

75

ENDINGS OF THE ANCIENT GREEK VERB 77

Greek Finite Verb Endings

1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.

Person and Number distinguishing features

-m1 pl.
-me-s2 pl.
-te, -sye
-t3 pl.
-ntPRIMARY ACTIVE ENDINGS

I-A-pr Prehistoric1
1 sg.
-mi
2 sg.
-si
3 sg.
-ti
1 pl.
-men
2 pl.
-te
3 pl.
-nti

I-A-ath Athematic 2
1 sg.
-mi
2 sg.
-w
3 sg.
-si
1 pl.
-men
2 pl.
-te
3 pl.
-asi
Tenses: Pres. Indic. Act.
of -mi verbs

I-A-them Them3
1 sg.
-v
2 sg.
-eiw
3 sg.
-ei
1 pl.
-omen
2 pl.
-ete
3 pl.
-ousi
Tenses: Pres. Indic. Act.
of -v verbs; Future of
all verbs.

I-A-Subj Subj4
1 sg.
-v
2 sg.
-w
3 sg.
-
1 pl.
-vmen
2 pl.
-hte
3 pl.
-vsi
Tenses: Pres., Aor., Pf.
Subj. Act. of all verbs;
also Aor. Subj. Passive

I-A-pr Prehistoric: These endings correspond to those found in other ancient Indo-European languages and
are the starting-points for explaining the historical forms. Note the characteristic i-marker of the primary
active added the the person/number signs in all forms except the 1st and 2nd persons plural.
I-A-ath Athematic: These endings are attached directly to present stems ending in vowels.
3 sg.: Prehistoric -ti has become -si (Indo-European -t- followed by -e- or -i- becomes -s-).
2 sg.: The secondary active ending -s has replaced -si to distinguish this from the 3 sg. ending.
3 pl.: Here too -t- before -i- has become -s-, yielding -nsi; then the -n- which falls between the vowel of
the verb-stem and -si changes to its vocalic equivalent -a- , yielding -asi.
I-A-them Thematic: These endings result from combination of the thematic vowel -o/e- with the prehistoric
endings, -o- appearing before -m- and -n- , -e- appearing elsewhere.
1 sg.: Here instead of -o-mi we find the thematic vowel -o- lengthens to -v.
3 sg.: The -t- of the older -e-ti becomes -s-, yielding -e-si; then the invervocalic -s- evanesces, leaving -ei as
the ending.
2 sg.: Here too the -s- of -e-si evanesced, yielding -e-i; in order to distinguish this from the 3 sg. ending, the
secondary active ending -w was added (compare athematic 2 sg. above), yielding -eiw.
3 pl.: As in the 3 sg., so here the -t- of -o-nti changed to -s-, yielding -o-nsi; then -n- between -o- and -sevanesced and the -o- was compensatorily lengthened to -ou-, yielding -ousi .
I-A-Subj Subjunctive: Here the thematic vowel -o/e- appears in lengthened form as v/h .
3 sg.: -hsi loses intervocalic -s-; then h and i contract, yielding .
2 sg.: As in the indicative thematic endings, the secondary -s active ending is added to the form resulting form
loss of intervocalic -s- and contraction of h and i, yielding -w.
3 pl.: -vnti became -vnsi, then lost -n- between -v- and -s-, yielding -vsi.

ENDINGS OF THE ANCIENT GREEK VERB 78

Greek Finite Verb Endings

1 sg.
2 sg.
3 sg.

Person and Number distinguishing features

-m1 pl.
-me-s2 pl.
-te, -sye
-t3 pl.
-nt-

PRIMARY MIDDLE-PASSIVE ENDINGS

I-MP-Athematic1
1 sg.
-mai
2 sg.
-sai
3 sg.
-tai
1 pl.
-meya
2 pl.
-sye
3 pl.
-ntai
Tenses: Present and Perf.
M-P Indic. of -mi verbs;
(Perf. of all verbs)
1

3
4

I-MP-Them-Indic.2
1 sg.
-omai
2 sg.
-, -ei
3 sg.
-etai
1 pl.
-meya
2 pl.
-esye
3 pl.
-ontai
Tenses: Pres. Indic. M-P
of -v verbs, Fut. M-P
Indicative of all verbs

I-MP-Them-Fut.P3
1 sg.
-ysomai
2 sg.
-ys (ysei)
3 sg.
-ysetai
1 pl.
-yhsmeya
2 pl.
-ysesye
3 pl.
-ysontai
Tenses: Future
Indicative Passive of all
verbs

I-MP-Them-Subj4
1 sg.
-vmai
2 sg.
-
3 sg.
-htai
1 pl.
-meya
2 pl.
-hsye
3 pl.
-vntai
Tenses: Present M-P
Subj. of all verbs, Aor.
Middle Subj. of all verbs

I-MP-Athematic: These are the prehistoric endings, preserved intact in conjugation of the -mi verbs in the
Present Middle-Passive and Perfect Middle-Passive Indicative. Endings are attached directly to vowel-stems,
but in the Perfect Middle-Passive, a consonant stem will assimilate to its ending.
2I-MP-Them-Indicative: These endings result from combination of the thematic vowel -o/e- with the original
endings ( -o- appearing before -m- or -n- ; -e- appearing in all other instances.
2 sg.: Intervocalic -s- evanesces from -esai , then -e- and -ai contract into a diphthong normally spelled ,
although the earlier spelling -ei is not infrequently seen.
I-MP-Them Future Passive: These endings are simply forms combining the -yh- or -h- passive marker with
the I-MP-Them-Indicative endings.
I-MP-Them Subjunctive: Here the thematic vowel -o/e- appears in the lengthened form as -v/h-.
2 sg.: Intervocalic -s- evanesces from -hsai ; then the vowels are contracted, yielding -.

ENDINGS OF THE ANCIENT GREEK VERB 79

II-A-Athematic1
1 sg.
-n
2 sg.
-w, -sya
3 sg.
-1 pl.
-men
2 pl.
-te
3 pl.
-san (-n)
Tenses: Imperfect Indic.
Act. of -mi verbs, Aorist
Indic. Active of Athem.
Verbs, Aorist Indic. Pass.
of all verbs
1

SECONDARY ACTIVE ENDINGS

II-A-Alpha Aorist2
II-A-Pluperfect3
1 sg.
-a
1 sg.
-h (-ein)
2 sg.
-aw
2 sg.
-hw (-eiw)
3 sg.
-e
3 sg.
-ei
1 pl.
-amen
1 pl.
-emen
2 pl.
-ate
2 pl.
-ete
3 pl.
-an (-asi)
3 pl.
-esan
Tenses: I Aorist Indic. Tense: Pluperfect Indic.
Active, Aorist Indic.
Active of all verbs
Active of -ka aorist
verbs

II-A-Thematic4
1 sg.
-on
2 sg.
-ew
3 sg.
-e
1 pl.
-omen
2 pl.
-ete
3 pl.
-on
Tenses: Imperfect
Indic. Active of -v
verbs, Aorist Indic.
Active of II Aorist
thematic stems

II-A-Athematic: These endings are attached directly to stems ending in a vowel.

1 sg.: Indo-European final -m always becomes Greek -n following a vowel.
2 sg.: The more ancient ending -sya is seen in the imperfect and pluperfect of some irregular verbs, as in
sya, fhsya.
3 sg.: Indo-European final -t is always lost, leaving the vowel stem only as the 3 sg. verb form.
3 pl.: Indo-European final -t is lost here also in the ending found in some Homeric and older forms. In the
historical period, the -san taken from the I Aorist Active 3 pl. ending has become standard.
II-A-Alpha Aorist: These endings have evolved from combinations of stems ending in a consonant and the 1
sg. ending -m and 3 pl. ending -nt, the -m- and -n- vocalizing into an -a- which then became standard in all
forms except the 3 sg., where the -e is apparently carried over from the thematic 3 sg. ending.
1 sg.: The primitive final -m has vocalized to -a following the consonant stem.
3 pl.: The primitive final -nt has vocalized into -ant following the consonant stem; then the final -t was lost as
elsewhere. The form in -asi is actually a primary ending, as the perfect is, properly speaking, a primary tense:
here the -a- combines with the 3 pl. primary ending -nti to yield -anti > -asi.
II-A-Pluperfect: These forms derive from combinations of a perfect stem in -e- with alpha-endings in the
singular, athematic endings in the plural. Hellenistic variants in the 1 sg. and 2 sg. developed from the 3 sg.
ending to bring a superficial regularity to the entire set of endings; sometimes the -ei- element is found in the
plural forms also in Hellenistic texts.
1 sg.: The -h is a contraction of the perfect stem in e- and the 1 sg. alpha ending. The Hellenistic form -ein is
formed by analogy with the 3 sg. form, viewed as a stem to which the athematic 1 sg. -n is added.
2 sg.: Here too the -hw is a contraction of e- and the 2 sg. alpha ending. The Hellenistic form -eiw is
constructed in the same way as the 1 sg.: athematic 2 sg. -w is added to the ei- stem.
3 sg.: The -ei is a contraction of perfect stem in e- and the 3 sg. alpha ending.
1, 2, 3 pl.: These endings are simple combinations of perfect stem in e- with athematic endings.
II-A-Thematic: These endings result from combination of the thematic vowel -o/e- with the primitive endings.
1 sg.: The primitive -m following -o- became -n as in the athematic ending.
3 sg.: The primitive -t fell away as a final consonant, leaving the thematic vowel -e- as the ending.
3 pl.: Here too the final -t of the primitive -nt ending fell away, leaving -on as the historical 3 pl. thematic
ending.

ENDINGS OF THE ANCIENT GREEK VERB 80

SECONDARY ACTIVE ENDINGS (CONTINUED)

II-A-Athem. Opt.1
1 sg.
-hn
2 sg.
-hw
3 sg.
-h
1 pl.
-imen
2 pl.
-ite
3 pl.
-ien (-hsan)
Tenses: Present Optative
Active of -mi verbs, Aor.
Optative Active of
Athem. Aorist stems
1

3
4

IIAAlphaAor.Opt.2
1 sg.
-aimi
2 sg.
-aiw (-eiaw)
3 sg.
-ai (-eie)
1 pl.
-aimen
2 pl.
-aite
3 pl.
-aien (-eian)
Tense: I Aor. Optative
Active

II-AAor.Pass.Opt.3
1 sg.
-yehn
2 sg.
-yehw
3 sg.
-yeh
1 pl.
-yemen
2 pl.
-yete
3 pl.
-yeen
Tense: Aorist Optative
Passive of all verbs

II-A-Them.Opt.4
1 sg.
-oimi (-ohn)
2 sg.
-oiw (-ohw)
3 sg.
-oi (-oh)
1 pl.
-oimen
2 pl.
-oite
3 pl.
-oien(ohsan)
Tenses: Present
Optative Active of -v
verbs, Aor. Opt. Act. of
them. aorist stems; Perf.
Opt. Act. of all verbs

II-A-Athematic Opt.: These forms are combinations of the optative marker -ih- with the athematic endings. In
the 3 pl. the optative sign is weakened from -ih- to -ie- before the original -nt ending, from which the final -t
was lost. A variant 3 pl. form is sometimes seen which combines -ih- with the 3 pl. athematic ending -san to
yield -hsan .
II-A-Alpha Aorist Optative: These endings derive from combination of the alpha stem, the shorter optative
marker -i- and the secondary active endings. In the 2 sg., 3 sg. and 3 pl. a second type is more commonly
found; it consists of an optative sign -ei- to which alpha aorist personal endings have been added.
II-A-Aor. Pass. Optative: These forms are clearly simple combinations of the passive -yh/ye- marker and the
athematic optative endings.
II-A-Thematic Optative: These forms are combinations of the thematic vowel -o- , the shorter optative sign -iand the same secondary active endings seen in the alpha aorist optative. The alternate forms in the 1 sg., 2 sg..,
3 sg., and 3 pl. are commonly used with thematic contract verbs with stems in -e-, -a- and -o- , yielding -ohn, ohw, and -oh by contraction with -e- and -o- stems, and -hn, -hw, and -h by contraction with -a- stems.

ENDINGS OF THE ANCIENT GREEK VERB 81

SECONDARY MIDDLE-PASSIVE ENDINGS

II-MP-Athematic1
II-MP-Alpha Aor.2
1 sg.
-mhn
1 sg.
-mhn
2 sg.
-so
2 sg.
-v
3 sg.
-to
3 sg.
-ato
1 pl.
-meya
1 pl.
-ameya
2 pl.
-sye
2 pl.
-asye
3 pl.
-nto
3 pl.
-anto
Tenses: Imperf. Indic.
Tenses: I Aorist
MP of -mi verbs, Aorist
Indicative Middle
Indic. M of Athem. Aor.
stems; Pluperf. Indic. MP
of all verbs
1
2

II-MP-Athematic: These endings are attached directly to stems ending in a vowel.

II-MP-Alpha Aorist: These endings are all constructed on the alpha stem which had already become
standardized throughout the secondary active forms. The alpha stem is combined with the original athematic
endings.
2 sg.: Intervocalic s in the earlier form -aso has evanesced, after which the adjacent vowels -a-ocontracted into -v.
II-MP-Thematic: These endings result from combination of the thematic vowel -o/e- with the original
athematic endings.
2 sg.: As in the secondary alpha aorist forms, so here too intervocalic -s- in the earlier form -eso has evanesced,
after which the adjacent vowels contracted into -ou .
II-MP-Ath. Opt.4
II-MP-Alpha Opt.5
1 sg.
-mhn
1 sg.
-amhn
2 sg.
-io
2 sg.
-aio
3 sg.
-ito
3 sg.
-aito
1 pl.
-meya
1 pl.
-ameya
2 pl.
-isye
2 pl.
-aisye
3 pl.
-into
3 pl.
-ainto
Tenses: Imperf. Opt. MP Tenses: I Aor. Indic. M
of -mi verbs, Aor. Opt. M
of Athem. Aor. stems

5
6

II-MP-Thematic 3
1 sg.
-mhn
2 sg.
-ou
3 sg.
-eto
1 pl.
-meya
2 pl.
-esye
3 pl.
-onto
Tenses:
Imperf.Indic.MP of -v
verbs; Aor. Indic. M of
2 Aor.them. stems

II-MP-Them. Opt.6
1 sg.
-omhn
2 sg.
-oio
3 sg.
-oito
1 pl.
-omeya
2 pl.
-oisye
3 pl.
-ointo
Tenses: Pres. Opt. MP
of -v verbs; Fut. Opt. M
of 2 Aor. them. stems

II-MP-Athematic Opt.: These forms are combinations of the shorter optative marker -i- with the athematic
secondary MP endings.
2 sg.: Here again intervocalic -s- has evanesced.
II-MP-Alpha Optative: These forms are combinations of the standardized alpha stem and the athematic
optative endings. Here too intervocalic -s- has evanesced from an earlier form -aiso.
II-MP-Them. Opt.: These forms are combinations of the thematic vowel -o- and the athematic optative
endings. Here too intervocalic -s- has evanesced from an earlier form -oiso.

ENDINGS OF THE ANCIENT GREEK VERB 82

Greek Imperative Endings

ACTIVE ENDINGS
(A-ath-imp) Athematic1
A-alph-imp) Alpha Aorist 2
2 sg.
^, -w, -yi, (-ti)
2 sg.
-on
3 sg.
-tv
3 sg.
-tv
2 pl.
-te
2 pl.
-ate
3 pl.
-ntvn (-tvsan)
3 pl.
-ntvn (tvsan)
Tenses: Present Imptv Act. of -mi Tenses: I Aor. Imptv Act. of -v
verbs; Aor. Imptv Act. of athem.
verbs; Aor. Imptv act. of them.
aor. stems; Aor. Imptv Pass. of all aor. stems; Perf. Imptv Act of
verbs; Perf. Imptv Act. of a few
most verbs.
verbs.
1

(A-them-imp) Thematic3
2 sg.
-e
3 sg.
-tv
2 pl.
-ete
3 pl.
-ntvn, (-tvsan)
Tenses: Present Imperative Act.
of -v verbs.

(A-ath-imp) Athematic:
These endings are attached directly to athematic vowel stems.
2 sg.: Stems in -a- have no ending at all, as kra and skda. Stems in -e- and -o- add an -w ending to form the
2 sg. Aorist Imperative Active, as yw and dw. Stems in -i- and in consonants add -yi, as yi and syi. Aorist
passive stems add -yi , but by the phonological principle of dissimilation of aspirates, the
-y- of -yi is
muted to -t-, yielding -ti as the actual ending.
3 pl.: The variant ending is clearly a combination of the 3 sg. ending and the secondary active 3 pl. ending.
(A-alph-imp) Alpha Aorist: These endings are combinations of the alpha stem and the athematic imperative
endings.
2 sg.: The ending -on is of obscure origin.
(A-them-imp) Thematic: These endings are combinations of the thematic vowel -o/e- and the athematic
imperative endings.
MIDDLE-PASSIVE ENDINGS

(MP-ath-imp) Athem.4
(M-alph-imp) Alpha Aor,5
(MP-them-imp)Them6
2 sg.
-so
2 sg.
-ai
2 sg.
-ou
3 sg.
-syv
3 sg.
-syv
3 sg.
-syv
2 pl.
-sye
2 pl.
-asye
2 pl.
-esye
3 pl.
-syvn(-syvsan)
3 pl.
-syvn (syvsan)
3 pl.
-syvn, (-syvsan)
Tenses: Pres. Imptv MP of -mi
Tenses: I Aor. Imptv M stems.
Tenses: Pres. Imptv MP of -v
verbs; Aor. Imptv M of athem.
verbs; Aor. Imptv M of them.
aor. stems; Perf. Imptv MP of all
aor. stems.
verbs.
4
5

(MP-ath-imp) Athematic: These endings are attached directly to athematic vowel stems.
(M-alph-imp) Alpha Aorist: These endings are combinations of the standardized alpha stem and athematic
MP endings.
2 sg.: The ending -ai is of obscure origin.
(MP-them-imp) Thematic: These endings are combinations of the thematic vowel -o/e- and the athematic MP
endings.
2 sg.: Intervocalic -s- in the earlier form -eso evanesced; then the adjacent vowels contracted: e-o to ou.

ENDINGS OF THE ANCIENT GREEK VERB 83

Greek Infinitive Endings

ACTIVE ENDINGS
(A-ath-inf) Ath. Act.
(A-pf-Inf) Perf. Act.
(A-alph-inf)Alph.Aor.
-ai
-nai
-ai
Tenses: Pres. Infin. Act. of Tenses: Perf. Infin. Act. of Tense: 1 Aor. Infin.
-mi verbs; Aor. Infin. Pass. all verbs; Aor. Infin. Act.
Active
of all verbs.
of athemataic aor. stems

(A-them-inf) Them.
-ein
Tense: Pres. Infin. Act. of
-v verbs; Fut. Infin. Act.
of all verbs; Aor. Infin.
Act. of them. aor. stems.

MIDDLE-PASSIVE ENDINGS
(MP-ath-inf) Athem.
(M-alph-inf) Alph. Aor.
-syai
-asyai
Tenses: Pres. Infin. MP of Tense: 1 Aorist Infinitive Middle.
-mi verbs; Aor. Infin. M
athem. aor. stems; Perf.
Infin. MP of all verbs.

(MP-them-inf) Them.
-esyai
Tenses: Pres. Infin. MP of
-v verbs; Fut. Infin. M of
all verbs; Fut. infin. P of
all verbs; Aor. Infin. M of
them. aorist stems.

Greek Participial Endings

ACTIVE ENDINGS
(A-ath-ptc) Athem.
-ntDeclension
nom. sg. m.
-ew, -ow
nom. sg. f.
-esa
-osa
nom. sg. n.
-n, -n
g. sg.m.n.
-ntow,
-ntow
dat. pl.m.n
-esi, -osi
Tenses: Pres. Ptc. Act. of
-mi verbs; Aor. Ptc. Act. of
athem. aor. stems; Aor.
Ptc. Pass. of all verbs

(A-alph-ptc)AlphaAor
-antDeclension
nom. sg. m.
-aw
nom. sg. f.
-asa
nom. sg. n.
g. sg.m.n.

-an
-antow

dat. pl.m.n
-asi
Tenses: Pres. Ptc. Act. of
athematic stems in -a-;
Aor. Ptc. of alpha stems.

(A-pf-ptc) Perf. Act

-t-, -ua
Declension
nom. sg. m.
-w
nom. sg. f.
-ua
nom. sg. n.
g. sg.m.n.

-w
-tow

dat. pl.m.n
-si
Tense: Perf. Ptc. Act. of
all verbs

(A-them-ptc) Them.
-ontDeclension
nom. sg. m.
-vn
nom. sg. f.
-osa
nom. sg. n.
g. sg.m.n.

-on
-ontow

dat. pl.m.n
-asi
Tenses: Pres. Ptc. Act. of v verbs; Fut. Ptc. Act. of
all verbs; Aor. Ptc. Act. of
them. aor. stems.

MIDDLE-PASSIVE ENDINGS
(MP-ath-ptc) Athematic
-mnow, -mnh, -menon
Tenses: Pres. Ptc. MP of -mi verbs;
Aor. Ptc. M of athem. aor. stems;
Perf. Ptc. MP of all verbs.

(M-alph-ptc) Alpha Aorist

-menow, -amnh, -menon
Tense: 1 Aor. Ptc. M of alpha aorist
stems.

(MP-them-ptc)Thematic
-menow, -omnh, -menon
Tenses: Pres. Ptc. MP of -v verbs;
Fut. Ptc. M of all verbs; Aor. Ptc. M
of athem. aor. stgems.

THE SIX TENSE SYSTEMS OF THE GREEK VERB: FORMATION & SYNOPSIS

85

The Six Tense Systems of the Greek Verb: Formation and Synopsis
Major Types of Greek Verbs, illustrated with principle parts:
(in what follows, the principal parts of those verbs showing the peculiarities characteristic of their type are printed in
bold characters)
(a) Regular Thematic Verbs
lv

lsv

lusa

llumai,

lluka

lyhn

tmhsa
pohsa
dlvsa

tetmhka
pepohka
dedlvka

tetmhmai,
pepohmai
dedlvmai,

timyhn
poiyhn
dhlyhn

yhka
deija

tyhka
ddeixa

tyeimai,
ddeigmai

tyhn
dexyhn

ggeila

ggelka

ggelmai

gglyhn

(b) Contract Thematic Verbs

timv
poiv
dhlv,

timsv
poisv,
dhlsv

(c) Athematic or -mi Verbs

t yh m i
deknumi

ysv,
dejv

(d) Liquid Thematic Verbs

ggllv

g g el

(e) Thematic Second Aorist, Second Perfect (i.e. w/o characteristic -ka ending)
lepv

lecv

lipon,

lloipa

lleimmai,

lefyhn

sthn

sthka

stamai,

styhn

blaca

bblafa

bblammai,

blbhn

(f) Athematic Second Aorist (or "Third Aorist")

sthmi,

stsv

(g) Second Future, Second Passive

blptv,

blcv

THE SIX TENSE SYSTEMS OF THE GREEK VERB: FORMATION & SYNOPSIS

86

I. PRESENT SYSTEM (PRESENT AND IMPERFECT TENSES, ACTIVE AND MIDDLE-PASSIVE)

2 types:

Regular Thematic including Contract Verbs

Athematic or -mi Verbs
A. Regular Thematic including Contract Verbs1
PRESENT STEM: from first principal part:
lutimapoiedhlo-

from
from
from
from

l-v
ti m - v
poi - v
dh l - v

RULES FOR FORMATION AND SYNOPSIS (3rd singular)

Present
Indicative
Present
Subjunctive
Present
Optative
Present
Imperative
Present
Infinitive
Present
Participle
Imperfect
Indicative
1NOTE:

follows:

ACTIVE VOICE
Stem + I-A-Them endings
lei, tim, poie, dhlo
Stem + I-A-Sub endings
l, tim, poi, dhlo
Stem + II-A-Thematic Optative endings
loi, timh, poioh, dhloh
Stem + A-them-imp endings
lutv, timtv, poietv, dhlotv
Stem + A-them-inf ending
lein, timn, poien, dhlon
Stem + A-them-ptc endings
lvn, timn, poin, dhln
Augment + Stem + II-A-Them endings
lue, tma, poei, dlou

MIDDLE-PASSIVE VOICE
Stem + I-MP-Them-Indicative endings
letai, timtai, poietai, dhlotai
Stem + I-MP-Them-Subjunctive endings
lhtai, timtai, poitai, dhltai
Stem + II-MP-Them. Opt. endings
loito, timto, poioto, dhloto
Stem + MP-them-imp endings
lusyv, timsyv, poiesyv, dhlosyv
Stem + MP them-inf ending
lesyai, timsyai, poiesyai, dhlosyai
Stem + MP-them-ptc endings
lumenow, timmenow, poiomenow, dhlomenow
Augment + Stem + II-MP-Thematic endings
leto, timto, poieto, dhloto

Contract verbs are thematic, but -a-, -e-, -o- of stems contracts with vowels of the mood infix (o/e, v/h) as

+
=

e
a

o
w

h
h

a
v
v

ei
&

&

oi

+
=

e o
ei o
u

h
h

e
v
v

ei
ei

oi
oi

+
=

e o
o o
u u

h
v

o
v
v

ei oi
oi oi oi

THE SIX TENSE SYSTEMS OF THE GREEK VERB: FORMATION & SYNOPSIS

87

B. Athematic (-mi) Verbs

PRESENT STEM: from first principal part:
tiyh/tiye

from

tyhmi

NOTE: Athematic stems have long-vowel and short-vowel forms. The long-vowel stem appears
in the singular of the indicative active tenses, the short-vowel stem in most other places. Note
also that in the imperfect singular, some athematic verbs have partly assimilated to the thematic
forms of inflection: tyeiw, tyei.
RULES FOR FORMATION AND SYNOPSIS (3rd plural)

Present
Indicative
Present
Subjunctive
Present
Optative
Present
Imperative
Present
Infinitive
Present
Participle
Imperfect
Indicative

ACTIVE VOICE
Stem + I-A-Athematic endings
tiyasi
Stem + I-A-Subjunctive endings
tiysi (tiy-vsi)
Stem + II-A-Athematic Optative endings
tyeien
Stem + A-ath-imp endings
tiyntvn, tiytvsan (Hellenistic)
Stem + A-ath-inf ending
tiynai
Stem + A-ath-ptc endings
tiyiw (tiy-nt-w)
Augm + Stem + II-A-Athematic endings
tyesan

MIDDLE-PASSIVE VOICE
Stem + I-MP-Athematic endings
tyentai
Stem + I-MP-Them-Subjunctive endings
tiyntai (tiy-vntai)
Stem + II-MP-Athematic Opt. endings
tyeinto
Stem + MP-ath-imp endings
tiysyvn, tiysyvsan (Hellenistic)
Stem + MP ath-inf ending
tiysyai
Stem + MP-ath-ptc endings
tiymenow,-h,-on
Augment + Stem + II-MP-Athematic endings
tyento

II. FUTURE SYSTEM (FUTURE TENSE, ACTIVE AND MIDDLE)

FUTURE STEM: from second principal part:
lusggele-1
la-2

from
from
from

ls-v
ggel (ggel-v uncontracted)
l (l-v uncontracted)

RULES FOR FORMATION AND SYNOPSIS (1st plural)

Future
Indicative
Future
Optative
Future
Infinitive
Future
Participle
1Note

ACTIVE VOICE
Stem + I-A-Thematic endings
lsomen, ggelomen, lmen
Stem + II-A-Thematic Optative endings
lsoimen, ggelomen, lmen
Stem + A-them-inf ending
lsein, ggelen, ln
Stem + A-them-ptc endings
lusn, ggeln, ln

MIDDLE-PASSIVE VOICE
Stem + I-MP-Them-Indicative endings
lusmeya, ggelomeya, lmeya
Stem + II-MP-Them. Opt. endings
l;usomeya, ggelomeya, lmeya
Stem + MP-them-inf ending
lsesyai, ggelesyai, lsyai
Stem + MP-them-ptc endings
lusmenow, ggelomenow, lmenow

that liquid verbs follow the pattern of typical e-stem contractions observed in the conjugation of -ev verbs in
the present tense. So also do -zv verbs (e.g. nomisv)
2Note that some verbs with a-stems have a future following the pattern of -av verbs in the present tense, as for
example: l, sked from lanv, skednnumi.

THE SIX TENSE SYSTEMS OF THE GREEK VERB: FORMATION & SYNOPSIS

88

III. AORIST SYSTEM (AORIST TENSE, ACTIVE AND MIDDLE)

3 types: First or Sigmatic Aorist
Second or Thematic Aorist
Third or Athematic "Second" Aorist
A. First or Sigmatic Aorist
FIRST AORIST STEM:

from third principal part:

lus
ggeil 1

from
from

lusa
ggeila

RULES FOR FORMATION AND SYNOPSIS (1st plural)

Aorist
Indicative
Aorist
Subjunctive
Aorist
Optative
Aorist
Imperative
Aorist
Infinitive
Aorist
Participle

ACTIVE VOICE
Augm+ Stem + II-A-Alpha Aor. endings
lsamen, ggelamen
Stem + I-A-Subjunctive endings
lsvmen, ggelvmen
Stem + II-A-Alpha Aorist Opt endings
lsaimen, ggelaimen
Stem + A-alph-imp endings
(3 sg.) lustv, ggeiltv
Stem + A-alph-inf ending
lsai
Stem + A-alph-ptc (a-nt) endings
lsaw, ggelaw

MIDDLE-PASSIVE VOICE
Augment + Stem + II-MP-Alpha Aor. endings
lusmeya, ggeilmeya
Stem + I-MP-Them-Subjunctive endings
lusmeya, ggeilmeya
Stem + II-MP-Alpha Optative endings
lusameya, ggeilameya
Stem + MP-alph-imp endings
(3 sg.) lussyv, ggeilsyv
Stem + MP-alph-inf ending
lsasyai
Stem + MP-alph-ptc endings
lusmenow, ggeilmenow

B. Second Aorist, Thematic Type

SECOND AORIST STEM:
lip

Aorist
Indicative
Aorist
Subjunctive
Aorist
Optative
Aorist
Imperative
Aorist
Infinitive
Aorist
Participle
1Note:

from third principal part:

from

lipon

RULES FOR FORMATION AND SYNOPSIS (2nd sg.)

ACTIVE VOICE
MIDDLE-PASSIVE VOICE
Augm + Stem + II-A-Thematic endings
Augment + Stem + II-MP-Thematic endings
lipew
lpou (lp-e-so)
Stem + I-A-Subjunctive endings
Stem + I-MP-Them-Subjunctive endings
lpw
lp (lph-s-ai)
Stem + II-A-Thematic Optative endings
Stem + II-MP-Them. Opt. endings
lpoiw
lpoio (lp-oi-so)
Stem + A-them-imp endings
Stem + MP-them-imp endings
lip
lpou (lp-e-so)
tem + A-them-inf ending
Stem + MP-them-inf ending
lipen
lipsyai
Stem + A-them-ptc (o-nt) endings
Stem + MP-them-ptc endings
lipn
lipmenow

liquid verbs have lost medial sigma between liquid and alpha; loss of the sigma is usually indicated by
compensatory lengthening of the vowel preceding the liquid-sigma complex. So, e.g., the stem ggeil- is to be
understood as deriving from ggels(a); with loss of the s, the e lengthened into ei.

THE SIX TENSE SYSTEMS OF THE GREEK VERB: FORMATION & SYNOPSIS

89

C. Third or Athematic "Second" Aorist

THIRD AORIST STEM:
sth (sta 1)
yh (ye)
gnv (gno)

Aorist
Indicative
Aorist
Subjunctive
Aorist
Optative
Aorist
Imperative
Aorist
Infinitive
Aorist
Participle

from third principal part

sthn
yhka
gnvn

from
from
from

RULES FOR FORMATION AND SYNOPSIS (3 sg.)

ACTIVE VOICE
MIDDLE-PASSIVE VOICE
Augm + Stem + II-A-Athematic endings
Augment + Stem + II-MP-Athematic endings
sth, gnv (yhka)
yeto
Stem + I-A-Subjunctive endings (contr.)
Stem + I-MP-Them-Subjunctive endings (contr.)
st (st), gn (gn), y (y)
ytai (yhtai)
Stem + II-A-Athematic Optative
Stem + II-MP-Athem. Opt. endings
endings
stah, gnoh, yeh
yeto
Stem + A-ath-imp endings
Stem + MP-athem-imp endings
sttv, gntv, ytv
ysyv
Stem + A-ath-inf ending (contr.)
Stem + MP-athem-inf ending
stnai (st-enai), gnnai, yenai
ysyai
Stem + A-ath-ptc (a-nt) endings
Stem + MP-ath-ptc endings
stw, gnow, yew
ymenow

IV. PERFECT ACTIVE SYSTEM (PERFECT AND PLUPERFECT TENSES, ACTIVE)

PERFECT ACTIVE STEM: from fourth principal part
(First Perfect):
(Second Perfect):

lelukleloip-

from
from

lluka
lloipa

RULES FOR FORMATION AND SYNOPSIS (3 pl.)

MOOD
Indicative
Subjunctive
Optative
Imperataive
Infinitive
Participle
Pluperfect Indicative
1Note:

RULES FOR FORMATION

Stem + II-A-Alpha Aorist endings2
Stem + I-A-Subjunctive endings
Stem + II-A-Thematic Opt endings
Stem + A-them-imp endings
Stem + A-pf-Inf ending
Stem + A-pf-ptc endings
Augm + Stem + II-A-Plupf endings

FIRST PERFECT
lelkasi
lelkvsi
lelkoien
lelopoien
leluknai
leluktew (pl.)
lelkesan

SECOND PERFECT
lelopasi
lelopvsi
lelopoien
eloipntvn
leloipnai
leloiptew (pl.)
leloipesan

these athematic stems have long-vowel forms that tend to appear in the indicative and short-vowel forms
that tend to appear elsewhere, contracted in the subjunctive and also in the active infinitive.
2Note that since this is a primary tense, the third plural ending is -asi (not -an).

THE SIX TENSE SYSTEMS OF THE GREEK VERB: FORMATION & SYNOPSIS

90

V. PERFECT MIDDLE SYSTEM (PERFECT, PLUPERFECT, FUTURE PERFECT TENSES, MIDDLE)

PERFECT MIDDLE STEM:from fifth principal part:
leluleleipdedeik-

from
from
from

llumai
lleimmai1
ddeigmai

FUTURE PERFECT MIDDLE STEM:

lelusleleicdedeij-

(lelu + s)
(leleip + s assimilated)
(dedeik + s assimilated)

RULES FOR FORMATION AND SYNOPSIS (2 sg.)

MOOD
Perfect
Indicative
Perfect
Subjunctive
Perfect
Optative
Perfect
Imperative
Perfect
Infinitive
Perfect
Participle
Pluperfect
Indicative
1Note
2Note

PERFECT MIDDLE
Stem + I-MP-Athematic endings
llusai, lleicai, ddeijai
(but 3 pl.: plural participle + efis)
Perfect MP Participle + Subj. of efim
lelumnow w (etc.)
Perfect MP Participle + Opt. of efim
lelumnow ehw (etc.)
Stem + MP-ath-imp endings
lluso, lleico, ddeijo
Stem + MP-ath-inf ending
llusyai, lleifyai, ddeixyai2
Stem + MP-ath-ptc endings
lelumnow, leleimmnow, dedeigmnow 3
Augm. + Stem + II-MP-Ath endings
lluso, lleico, ddeijo

FUTURE PERFECT MIDDLE

Stem + I-MP-Them-Indicative endings
lels, lelec, dedeoj
None
Stem + II-MP-Them-Opt. endings
lelsoio, lelecoio, dedejoio
None
Stem + MP-them-inf ending
lelsesyai, lelecesyai, dedejesyai
Stem + MP-them-ptc endings
lelusmenow, leleicmenow, dedeijmenow

that in the perfect middle a consonant-stem assimilates to the consonant of the ending.
that in the perfect MP infinitive a consonant-stem assimilates to the y of the -syai infinitive ending while
the s is squeezed out phonetically.
3Note that in the perfect MP participle the accent is always on the -men- syllable.

THE SIX TENSE SYSTEMS OF THE GREEK VERB: FORMATION & SYNOPSIS

91

VI. PASSIVE SYSTEM (AORIST AND FUTURE TENSES, PASSIVE)

AORIST PASSIVE S TEM:
(First Passive):
(Second Passive):

from sixth principle part:

luyh/luye 1
blabh/blabe

lyhn
blbhn

from
from

FUTURE P ASSIVE S TEM:

AORIST PASSIVE S TEM + s

(First Future Passive):

(Second Future Passive):

luyhsblabhs-

luyh + s
blabh + s

RULES FOR FORMATION AND SYNOPSIS (3 sg.)

MOOD
Indicative
Subjunctive
Optative
Imperative
Infinitive
Participle

1Note

AORIST PASSIVE
Augm + Stem + II-A-Athem endings
lyh, blbh
Stem + I-A-Subj endings
luy (luy-), blab (blab-)
Stem + II-Aor. Pass. Optative endings
luyeh, blabeh
Stem + A-ath-imp endings2
luytv, blabtv
Stem + A-ath-inf ending
luynai., blabnai
Stem + A-ath-ptc endings
luyew (luy-nt-w), blabew

FUTURE PASSIVE
FP Stem + I-MP-Them-Indicative endings
luysetai, blabsetai
None
FP Stem + II-MP-Them-Optative endings
None
luysoito, blabsoito
FP Stem + MP-them-inf ending
luysesyai, blabsesyai
FP Stem + MP-them-ptc endings
luyhsmenow, blabhsmenow

that the passive stem has a long-vowel form which appears in the indicative, imperative, and infinitive -- and
a short-vowel form which appears in the subjunctive, optative, and participle.
2Note that in the second singular imperative -yi becomes -ti after the -yh- passive marker (i.e. -yhyi > -yhti.

Selections illustrating Greek Linguistic History 93

I. INSCRIPTIONS
1. The Nicandra inscription: Central Ionic (Naxos), 6th c. B.C.
Nikandrh m' neyeken1 hekhboloi2 fioxeairhi3,
qorh4 Deinodikho5 to6 Najsio7, jsoxow8 lhon9,
Deinomeneow10 de kasigneth11, Fhrajso 12 d' loxow 13 nun.
Epic dialect version:
Nikndrh m' nyeken khbl fioxear,
korh Deinodkev to Najou joxow lln,
Deinomenvw d kasignth, Frjou d' loxow nun.

1
2

English version:
Nikandre presented me to the far-shooting arrowshowerer, Deinodokes the Naxians daughter,
surpassing other women, Deineomenes sister, and now
Phraxos wife.

neyeken: nyhken (natyhmi: present as an offering)

hekhboloi= khbl: far-darting (epithet of Apollo). Note that in this alphabet: (1) H still represents the
rough breathing; (2) h represents only the original Greek long a; (2) o = v, oi = , o also may represent ou,
and (3) e may represent both and ei.
3 fioxeairhi: fioxear&: showerer (shooter) of arrows
4 qor: kor: daughter
5 Deinodikho = Attic Deinodkou (gen. sg.)
6 to = Attic to
7 Najsio = Attic Najou
8 jsoxow = Attic joxow
9 lhon = Attic lln (< llvn )
10 Deinomeneow = Attic Deinomenow
11 kasigneth = Attic kasignth: sister
12 Fhrajso = Frjou
13 loxow : wife

Selections illustrating Greek Linguistic History 94

2. Arcado-Cyprian (Cyprus), 5th c. B.C.

Ote1 tan ptolin 2 kateWorgon 3 Madoi4 kaw 5 KetieWew fin6 toi 7 Filokupron8 Wetei9 to10 Onasagorau11,
basileuw Sthsikuprow kaw ptoliw EdalieWew nogon Onasilon ton Onasikupron ton fiyateran12 kaw tow
kasignetow13 fiyasyai tow14 nyrpow tow fin tai maxai fikmamenow15 neu misyon16.
Attic translation:
Ote tn plin Idlion katergon Mdoi ka
Khtiew n t Filokprou tei to Onhsagrou,
basilew Sthskuprow ka pliw tn Idalivn
kleusan Onhslon tn Onhsikprou tn fiatrn
ka tow kasigntouw fisyai tow nyrpouw tow n
t mx tetrvmnouw17 neu misyo.

English Translation:
When the Medes and the Katians were besieging
the city (of) Idalium in the year of Philokupros son of
Onesagoros, King Stesikupros and the city of the
Idalians commanded Onesilos the son of Onesikupros
the physician and his brothers to treat without pay the
men who were wounded in the battle.

1 te = Attic te. Characteristic of this dialect is psilosis : de-aspiration of aspirate sounds.

2 ptliw (as in the Epic dialect) = Attic pliw
3 kat--Worgon < kata-Wrgv: press hard
4 Madoi = the Medes (what the Greeks called the Persians)
5 kaw = ka
6 fin = n
7 toi = t
8 -on = Cyprian genitive sg. 2 decl. ending
9 Wtow, t (gen. Wteow): year
10to = to (<t-o < too). This is probably just a difference in spelling from Attic, not in pronunciation.
11 -au is a 1st decl. masc. gen. sg. ending, contraction of -ao, the archaic 2 decl. m. sg. gen. ending.
12 = Attic fiatrw < fiomai: heal, treat medically
13 brothers (acc. pl.). Note that here too as in to = to, o spells the same contraction as Attic ou.
14 acc. pl. (Attic tow)
15 The Attic form would be kmamnouw (pf. m/p ptc.) from kmnv: suffer, be ill, etc.; but Arcado-Cyprian

verb in a sense that is alien to Attic: wound.

16 gen. sg.
17 trav: wound, pierce

uses the

Selections illustrating Greek Linguistic History 95

3. East Aeolic (Mytilene), 4th c. B.C.

Diallaktaiw1 d'lesyai2 ton damon ndraw efikosi, deka men k tvn katelyontvn3, deka de k tvn n tai
poli4 prosye ontvn5. otoi6 de prvton men fullasonton7 kai pimelesyon8 w mhden ssetai9 diaforon10
toiw katelyontessi kai toiw n tai poli prosye ontessi11. prajoisi12 de kai peri tvn mfisbathmenvn 13
kthmatvn w ofi te katelyontew kai prow toiw n tai poli ontaw kai prow llaloiw malista men
dialuyhsontai 14, afi de mh15, ssontai w dikaiotatoi, kai n taiw dialusiessi16, taiw17 basileuw
pekrinne 18, kai n tai sunallagai19 mmenoisi20 pantew kai oikhsoisi 21 tam22 polin kai tag xvran
monentew23 prow llaloiw.
Attic translation:

English translation:

Diallktaw d' lsyai tn dmon ndraw ekosi,

dka mn k tn katelyntvn, dka d k tn n t
plei prsyen ntvn. otoi d prton mn
fullattntvn ka pimelsyvn w mhdn stai
diforon tow katelyosi ka tow n t plei
prsyen osin. prjousi d ka per tn
mfisbhtoumnvn kthmtvn, w o te katelyntew
ka prw tow n t plei ntaw ka prw lllouw
mlista mn dialuysontai, efi d m, sontai w
dikaitatoi, ka n taw dialsesin, w basilew
pkrine, ka n t sunallag mmenosi pntew ka
ofiksousi tn plin ka tn xran monoontew
prw lllouw.

The populace to choose twenty men (as) arbiters,

ten from the returned exiles, and ten from those
formerly being in the city. And these must first watch
and take care that there will be no distinction between
the returned exiles and those formerly being in the city.
And they shall negotiate also concerning the disputed
properties, that the returned exiles shall resolve their
differences both with those in the city and with each
other as much as possible, or if not, they shall be as fair
as possible, and all shall abide both by the settlements
which the king decided, and by the reconciliation and
they shall inhabit the city and the land in harmony with
each other.

1 diallkthw: arbiter (between citizen factions engaged in civil strife)

2 = lsyai, pick out, select, choose.
3 from kat-rxomai: return home from exile (used particularly of political exiles).
4 n tai poli: n t plei.
5 = Attic ntvn.
6 = otoi
7 3 pl. pres. act. imprtv (fulassntvn).
8 3 pl. pres. mid. imprtv (pimelesyvn) of pimelomai: take care
9 = sta.
10 diforon: distinction, difference
11 dat. pl. ptc. (Attic osi).
12 fut. 3 pl. act. of prttv.
13 mfisbatv: dispute about
14 dialomai: resolve ones quarrel
15 afi d m: and if not , i.e. else
16 Aeolic dat. pl. of dilusiw: settlement
17 Aeolic acc. pl.: in Aeolic -anw -> aiw (in Attic -aw).
18 pikrnv: decide in favor of one side. The form is Aorist 3rd sg.: Aeolic doubles

the n instead of lengthening

the i, as does Attic dialect in this liquid/nasal verb.
19 sunallag: truce, agreement
20 mmnv: abide by. The verb is 3 pl. liquid/nasal future. Note -oisi = -ousi (from original -onti -> -onsi).
21 3 pl. fut. of ofikv: dwell in, inhabit
22 tam polin, tag xvran: assimilation of the nasal ending of the article to the consonant following.
23 = Attic monoontew. Note that in Aeolic dialect contract verbs tend to form their participles by adding -nt
directly to the verb-stem.

Selections illustrating Greek Linguistic History 96

4. Doric (Crete), 5th c. B.C.: Laws of Gortyna

Tam1 patroiokon2 puieyai 3 delpioi4 to5 patrow ton fionton 6 toi preigistoi 7. afi8 de ka9 pliew10
patroiokoi flonti11 kdelpioi to patrow, toi pipreigistoi12 puieyai. afi de ka me fionti delpioi to patrow,
ufieed13 de k delpion, puieyai fioi14 toi ew to preigisto15. afi de ka pliew fionti patroiokoi kufieew kw
delpion, lloi16 puieyai toi pi w to preigisto. mian d' ken17 patroiokon ton piballonta18, pliad19 de
me.
Attic translation:

English translation:

Tn pklhron gamesyai delfn to patrw

tn ntvn t presbutt. n d pleonew
pklhroi si ka delfo to patrw, t met
toton presbutt gamesyai. n d m sin
delfo to patrw, ew d j delfn, gamesyai
ken t k to presbuttou. n d pleonew sin
pklhroi ka ew j delfn, ll gamesyai t
met tn k to presbuttou. man d' xein
pklhron tn pibllonta, pleonaw d m.

The female heir to be married to the oldest of the

existing brothers of her father. And if there be more
than one female heir and brothers of her father, (the
second) to be married to the oldest after that. And if
there be no brothers of her father, but sons of brothers,
(she is) to be married to the one from the oldest. And if
there be more female heirs and sons from brothers, (she
is) to be married to the other son after the one from the
oldest. But the claimant is to have one female heir and
not more (than one).

1 assimilation of tan to patroiokon = Attic tn.

2 patroiokow: daughter and heiress of the family
3 = Attic gamesyai: be married (m. voice of the bride)
4 -oi = -.
5 -o- = ou or v
6 ton fiontvn = tn ntvn
7 toi preigistoi = t presbutt
8 afi = efi.
9 Doric ka, Ionic-Aeolic ke = Attic n.
10 = pleonew
11 = si
12 i.e. the next eldest
13 = Attic uflo. Note (1) the 3rd decl. form of this noun; (2) assimilation of -w to the following d.
14 fioi = ken.
15 i.e., should marry the one belonging to the eldest son.
16 lloi toi = ll t
17 = xein
18 tn pibllonta: the one who lays claim
19 pliad: assimilated acc. pl. f. A man may not get more than one family's inheritance this way!

Selections illustrating Greek Linguistic History 97

II. PAPYRUS LETTERS

5. Papyrus Letter, 2nd c. A.D.
Antniw1 Lngow Neiloti t mhtr plsta 2
xarein. Ka di pntvn exoma sai3 geianein. 4
T prosknhm sou poi kat' aflksthn maran5
par tv kurv Serapedei.6 Geinskein 7 sai ylv,
ti ox lpizon, ti nabniw8 efiw tn mhtrpolin.
Xrein toto9 od' go efislya efiw tn plin.
Afidusopomhn10 d lyen efiw Karandan, ti
saprw 11 pairipat.12 Agrac13 soi, ti gumnw
emai.14 Parakal sai, mthr, dialght15 moi.
Loipn, oda tpot' afimautv16 parsxhmai.17
paipadeumai,18 kay' n d 19 trpon. Oda ti
mrthka. Hkousa par to Postomou tn
ernta sai n tv Arsainoeth, ka karvw pnta
soi dightai. Ok odew, 20 ti ylv phrw21
genstai22 efi23 gnonai, 24 pvw nyrpv ti felv
boln; s at, ly, . . . parakal sai. Neiloti
mhtre p' Antvnv Lngou ueflo.25
1
2

Antonius Longus to Nilotis his mother sends

warmest greetings. And for all reasons I pray you be
healthy. I do my devotion to you every day before the
Lord Serapis. I want you to know that I wasnt
expecting that you would come to the metropolis. For
this reason I didnt come to town. I had a hard time (?)
getting to Karanidas because I walk poorly. I wrote to
you that Im naked (resourceless?). I beg you, Mother,
make peace with me! Besides, I know just what Ive
done to myself. I have been taught (chastised?) in the
proper way. I know that I have sinned. I heard
(learned?) from Postumus the one who encountered
(found) you in the Arsenoite nome, and expounded
everything to you at the wrong time. Dont you know
that I want to become awareor to know how (it can
be that?} I owe the fellow an obol? You come yourself,
I beg you. To Nilotis (his) mother from (her) son
Antonius Longus.

Antniw = Antniow
plsta = plesta (sound: plee-sta. By this period a process called itacism has taken place: ei, i, h, u, oi all
have the same sound, that of the classical long iota; this is why the Romans had to add a new letter, y, to stand
for the Greek upsilon: the letter no longer had the sound of the Latin u. Consequently, poor spellers
couldand didwrite any one of these vowels or diphthongs to spell the sound of any other of them.)
3 sai = se (by this period e and ai both have the same sound, that of the French or the English long a;
consequently, poor spellers could spell this sound with either ai or e)
4 geianein = gianein (sound: hee-ghee-ay-neen)
5 aflksthn maran = ksthn mran (sound: hay-kas-teen hee-may-ran)
6 Serapedei = Serapdi. Serapis was a Hellenistic form of Osiris.
7 geinskein = gi(g)nskein
8 nabniw = nabaneiw
9 xrein toto = xrin totou (for this reason)
10 afidusopomhn = duspoiomhn = dus-e-poiomhn: I found it difficult; I had a hard time ... (speculative)
11 saprw = lit. rottenly
12 pairipat = peripat (walk)
13 agraca = graca (sound: ay-grap-sa)
14 emai = efim
15 dialghti = diallghyi < diallttomai (be reconciled with + dat.)
16 afimautv = maut (sound probably: ay-maff-to, as in modern Greek)
17 parsxhmai = pf. md. of parxv: Moreover, I know just what I've done to myself.
18 paipadeumai = pepadeumai < paidev (here in sense, punish)
19 d = de (sound: dee)
20 odew = osya
21 phrw = mpeirow
22 genstai = gensyai
23 efi = (both sound exactly alike at this time)
24 gnonai = gnnai
25 ueflo = uflo

Selections illustrating Greek Linguistic History 98

6. Papyrus Letter (II c. A.D.).

Apvn Epimxv ti patr ka kurv
plesta xarein. 1 Pr mn pntvn exomai se
gianein ka di pantw rvmnon2 etuxen met
tw delfw mou ka tw yugatrw atw ka to
delfo mou. Exarist t kurv Serpidi,3 ti
mou kindunesantow efiw ylassan svse eyvw.
Ote efislyon efiw Mhsnouw,4 laba bitikon5
par Kasarow xrusow trew,6 ka kalw mo stin.
Ervt se on, kri mou patr, grcon moi
pistlion, prton mn per tw svthraw7 sou,
deteron per tw 8 tn delfn mou, trton9 na
sou proskunsv tn xran,10 ti me padeusaw
kalw, ka k totou lpzv tax proksai11 tn
yen yelntvn. Aspasai Kaptvna12 poll ka
tow delfow mou ka Serhnllan 13 ka tow
flouw mou. Epemc soi efiknin14 mou di
Ektmonow. Esti d moi noma Antniw
Mjimow.15 Errsya se exomai.16
Kentura17 Ayhnonkh. Efiw Filadelpan
Epimxv p Apovnow uflo. Apdow18 efiw xrthn
prman19 Apamhnn Iouliano liblarv20 p
Apvnow ste Epimxv patr.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Apion to Epimachos his father and lord (sends)

warmest greetings. Above all I pray that you are healthy
and, continually robust, fare well with my sister and her
daughter and my brother. I give thanks to the Lord
Serapis, that when I was in peril on the sea, he brought
me safely through at once. When I arrived at Misenum I
got my travel-expense money from Caesar, three aurei,
and it goes well with me. I ask you, my lord father,
write me a letter, first about your own well-being,
second about that of my brother and sister, third that I
may kiss your hand because you taught me well, and
therefore I hope to progress quickly, if the gods are
willing. Give Capito many hugs and my brother and
sister and Serenilla and my friends. I sent you a portrait
of myself by way of Euktemon. My (Roman military)
name is Antonius Maximus. I bid you farewell.
Century of Athenians. To Philadelphia. To
Epimachos from Apion (his) son. Deliver to the 1st
Cohort of the Apameans for the bookseller from Apion
so as to (give) to (his) father Epimachos.

plesta xarein (keleei) = salutem plurimam dicit = salvere plurimum iubet

rvmnon = rrvmnon = valentem, in vigorous good health
cf. the Thanksgiving section in Paul's letters, e.g. Rom 1:8 prton mn exarist t ye mou . . .
Mhsnouw = Misenum, the Roman naval base on the bay of Naples.
bitikon = viaticum (Latin: Roman soldier's travel money)
xrusow trew = tres aureos (3 gold pieces)
svthraw = state of health (salutis )
scil. svthraw
This clause seems to depend not upon write me a letter but rather upon the introductory So I pray you, Father ...

10 xran = xera, xra (What we see here is an instance of what has become normal in modern Greek: from the
accusative of a 3rd declension noun a new form is created, nu becomes the all-purpose accusative ending of all
nouns): I pray you, let me kiss your hand ... 
11 proksai = prokcai < prokptv (make progress, "get ahead)
12 Kaptvna = Capitonem (a Latin name)
13 Serhnllan = Serenillam (another Latin name; evidently Roman Egypt (Philadelphia) now has a healthy ethnic
mix of Greeks, Romansor else Egyptian Greeks are adopting Roman names.
14 efiknin = efiknion (a miniature portrait)
15 His given name is Apion, but in the Roman army he is Antonius Maximus!
16 rrsya se exomai = valere te iubeo (I bid you fare well)
17 kentura = centuria (the Latin word, of course). This paragraph is the address.
18 Deliver ...
19 xrthn prman = Latin: cohortem primam: Roman military organization.
20 liblar = Latin, librario

Selections illustrating Greek Linguistic History 99

7. Papyrus Letter (II -III c. A.D.).

Yvn Yvni t patr xarein.
Kalw pohsew: ok pnhxw1 me met' so2
efiw plin. H3 o yliw4 penekken5 met' so efiw
Alejandran, o m grcv se pistoln ote lal
se ote ignv6 se eta. An d lyhw efiw
Alejandran, o m lbv xeran par so ote
pli xarv7 se lupn8. Am9 m ylhw penkai10
me, tata genete.11 Ka mthr mou epe Arxelv,
ti nastato 12 me: rron13 atn. Kalw d
pohsew: dra moi pemcew megla, rkia.
Peplnhkan14 mw ke t mera ib'15, ti
pleusew. Lupn, pmcon ew me,16 parakal se.
Am m pmchw, o m fgv, o m penv.17 Tata.
Ersy 18 se exomai. Tbi ih'.19

1
2
3
4
5
6

Theon to his father Theon (sends) greetings.

You did well! you didnt take me with you to town.
If you dont want to take me with you to Alexandria, I
wont write you a letter nor speak to you nor wish you
health any more. And if you go to Alexandria, I wont
take your hand from you nor greet you hereafter. If you
dont want to take me, thats what will happen. And my
mother said to Archelaos that he should take me away:
Pick him up! But you did well: you sent me big
presentsarakia (?). They confused us on the day of
the 12th, (the day) that you sailed. Hereafter, send for
me, I beg you. If you dont send (for me), I wont eat, I
wont drink. There! I bid you fare well. Tybi the 16th.

pnhxw < pennoxaw + pnegkew

so = so (assimilated to mo)
= efi (they sound the same)
yliw = yleiw
penekken = penegken (bring)
ignv (sound: hee-ee-ghay-no), evidently a spelling error for gianv, which must mean wish good health (to
someone)cf. note 4 in Selection no. 5.
7 xarv = lgv xarein, greet
8 lupn = loipn (both pronounced lee-pon); it has here the same sense as ti: any more.
9 m, of course, = n. Note assimilation of n to the following m.
10 penkai = pengkai, which, of course, has exactly the same sense as penegken (note 5 above); Theon uses
both first aorist and second aorist infinitive endings with this stemindiscriminately.
11 genete = gi(g)netai
12 nastato = probably, that he should move me elsewhere (a jest? Theon is mad at his father for not taking
him along on his trip to Alexandria. His mother tells Archelaus to take him away with the command, Take
him off!)
13 rron = ron < arv: take
14 peplnhkan < peplankasi + plnhsan: They fooled us ...
15 on the 12th ...
16 Send for me, please!
17 I won't eat; I won't drink! There!
18 rsye = rrsyai. Cf. above, Selection 6, note 22. After showing his father how mad he is, little Theon goes
right on to the conventional closing phrase: I pray you be in good health.
19 on the l6th of Tybi

Selections illustrating Greek Linguistic History 100

8. Atticism: Phrynicus, Eclogae, 2nd c. A.D.

Introductory letter (translated)
Phrynicus wishes success to Cornelian. Not only do I marvel at your learning, wherein you have surpassed
everyone whom I have encountered, but I am especially impressed with your discriminating use of good and
dignified diction. At your request for preparation of a collection of disreputable phrases, while I have not now been
able to include all of them, I have noted those that arecommon and that are particularly abusive of the ancient
language and bring disgrace upon it. You are not unaware, such is your taste and lerning, that some who have
departed from the ancient language and take refuge in ignorace present certain authors to attest use of these
expressions by the ancients; but of course it is not the deviations of the ancients that we pay attention to, but rather
their dignified usage. For they they too were given a choice whether they would rather speakin the correct ancient
fashion or in the slovenly modern way, they would vote with us surely and choose the better way no one is so
wretched as to prefer what is base to what is noble. Fare you well.
Comments on particular phrases:
11. Exaristen1 odew tn dokmvn epen,
ll xrin efidnai.
95. Grhgor, grhgore o de ll
grgora lgein ka grgoren2.
100. Akm n nt to t i: Jenofnta
lgousin paj at kexrsyai: s d fulttou3,
lge d t i.
333. Bou nw : ynea fvn tw Attikw
n d t Surakous& poisei kayvmlhtai4, ll' o
prosetai5 Ayhnaow tn llodapn6 ljin.
342. Eklecaw dkimon, ll t klipn 7.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

11. No reputable persons says exarist, but

rather, xrin oda.
95. One must not say, grhgor, grhgore, but
rather grgora, and grgoren.
100. Akmn, instead of ti: They say that
Xenophon once used it; but you be on your guard, and
say ti.
333. Bounw: the word is alien to Attic it has
been used colloquially in Syracusan poetry, but the
Athenian does not approve of alien diction.
342. Eklecaw is not respectable, but rather
klipn.

exaristv: thank (still the word for thank in modern Greek; xrin efidnai is the normal Attic idiom.
Here the ancient Attic pf. tense form preferred by Phrynicus has become a pres. tense form by the 2d c. A.D.
Be careful, or beware.
it has been used conversationally.
prosemai: approve, accept
alien
Here it is a matter of a new 1 aor. form that has taken the place of the old 2nd aor. form; Phrynicus doesn't
approve.

Selections illustrating Greek Linguistic History 101

9. Papyrus Letter, 6th c. A.D.1
Omoow2 mma3 Ea, moow Mara, ka z4
Yew, dspot mou, ote dkie5 ote martvl6
otpote7 payan8 t9 payew: mow 10 dn 11
marte12 mn efisn. All dojzvmen13 tn Yen
ti atw dvsen14 ka atw laben: ll eje15
na16 Kriow napasi17 atow ka katajisi18
mw dn n atow tn pardison, ti krnonte19
cux20 tn21 nyrvpvn: ato gr pryan22 efiw
kfron23 to Abram ka to Isak ka to
Iakb. All parakal24 se, kri mou, m25
blhw lphn efiw t cux 26sou ka polseiw27 t
prgmat sou, ll eje28 na29 Kriow
postlh30 p sa31 tn 32 elvgan 33 ato.

Like mother Eve, like Mary, and (as God) lives, my

lady, neither righteous women nor sinners have ever
suffered what you have suffered. Still, your sins are not
at all. But let us glorify God, for he has given and he
has taken away. But pray that the Lord may grant them
rest and deem you worthy to see paradise in them, for
the souls of people are judged. For they have gone off
to the bosom of Abraham and of Isaac. But I beg you,
my lady, do not put grief in your soul and forget your
tasks, but pray that the Lord may send upon you his
blessing.

1 This would appear to be a consolation to a mother who has suffered the death of her children.
2 = movw: just like
3 Mother Eve; the form is dative.
4 3rd sg.
5 = dikaai: righteous women
6 = martvla: sinners
7 = odpote
8 = payon
9 This would be Attic .
10 = mvw.
11 = o (shortened form of odn). This is the negative particle in modern Greek.
12 = afl martai.
13 dojzv: glorify, give glory to
14 = dvken. An echo of Job: The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.
15 an equivalent spelling of ejai, imperative 2 sg. of exomai, pray.
16 = na.
17 = napas: give rest (a 3rd person form of the prayer, dona eis requiem sempiternam
18 = katajis: deem worthy
19 = krnontai: are judged
20 = afl cuxa.
21 = tn.
22 = plyon
23 = klpon: the bosom of Abraham
24 beseech, pray.
25 = m.
26 = cuxon: diminutive of cux: your poor litle soul
27 = polsw: let go of (Don't let your affairs suffer neglect).
28 see note 15 above.
29 see note 16 above.
30 = postel: bestow, send
31 = s.
32 tn = tn.
33 blessing.

Selections illustrating Greek Linguistic History 102

10. Greco-Latin Conversation Manual, 11th c.

- Kalmeron: lyew;
-Hlyon.
- Elabew: dvkaw at;
- Edvka.
- Aphllghw 1.
- M tinow xrean xeiw;
- S gianein.
- En ylw, ly mey' mn.
- Po;
- Prw flon mteron Lokion: piskecmeya2
atn.
- T gr xei3;
- Arrvste4
- Ap pte;
- Pr lgvn mern npesen5.
- Po mnei 6;
- O makrn7.
- Efi yleiw, periptei 8.
- Ath st, nomzv, ofika ato, ath stn.
- Ido yurvrw9.
- Erthson atn, efi dunmeya efiselyen ka
fiden tn krion ato. Ka kenow epen: Tna
zhtete;
- Tn despthn sou: per tw gieaw ato
lhlyamen.
- Anabte.
- Psaw klmakaw10;
- Do: 'w t djia krosate11, efi mntoige
lyen12: proelluye gr.
- Krosvmen 13.
- Blpe, tw stn;
- Xarete pntew.
- Tn krin sou ylomen piskcasyai: efi
grhgore, mnusn me14. Kkenow epen: Ok
stin de 15.
- T lalew16; ll po stn;
1 presumably: you got rid of it or you
2 Let us pay a visit to him.
3 How is he?
4 He's sick.
5 He fell sick a few days ago.
6 Where does he reside?
7 Not far away.
8 Please walk.
9 There's the doorkeeper.
10 How many storeys (up)?
11 Knock.
12 If he's come back, at any rate
13 Let's knock.
14 If he's awake, announce me.
15 He's not here.
16 What's that you say?

Bona die; venisti?

Veni.
Accepisti? dedisti illi?
Dedi.
Caruisti.
Numquid aliud opus habes?
Te valere.
Si vis, veni mecum.
Ubi?
Ad amicum nostrum Lucium; visitemus eum.
Quid enim habet?
Aegrotat.
A quando?
Intra paucos dies incurrit.
Ubi manet?
Non longe.
Sis ambula.
Haec est, puto, domus ejus, haec est.
Ecce ostiarius.
Interroga illum, si possumus intrare et videre
dominum ejus. Et ille dixit: Quem quaeritis?
Dominum tuum; de salute ejus venimus.
Ascendite.
Quot scalas?
Duas. Ad dexteram pulsate, si tamen venit;
processerat enim.
Pulsemus.
Vide, quis est?
Avete omnes.
Dominum tuum volumus visitare; si vigilat,
nuntia me. Et ille dixit: Non est hic.
Quid narras? Sed ubi est?

went without.

Selections illustrating Greek Linguistic History 103

- Eke katbh 'w tn dafnna diakinsai1.
- Sugxairmeya at:2 tan ly, epoiw at
mw prw atn xairomnouw lhluynai per
tw svthraw ato ti pnta ryw xei3.
- Otv poi.

1
2
3

Illuc descendit ad laurentum deambulare.

Gratularmur illi; cum venerit, dicas illi nos ad
ipsum grantulantes venisse ad salutem ejus, quia
omnia recte habent.
Sic faciam.

He went down to the orchard to get some exercise.

We're glad for him.
Would you tell him when he returns that we came here about his health, glad that everything is going well.

Selections illustrating Greek Linguistic History 104

11. Anonymous. Note written shortly after the fall of Constantinople, in Crete, 1453.
Etei ,aung'1, Iounou ky2 mra kth3, lyon
p tn Kvnstantinopolin karbia4 tra Krhtik,
to Sgorou, to Ualhn, ka to Filomtou:
lgontew ti efiw tn ky to Maou mhnw, tw gaw
Yeodosaw5 mra trth, ra g6 tw mraw,
sbhsan ofl Agarhno ew tn Kvnstantinopolin,
t fvston7 to Torkou Tzalaph Meemt, ka
epon ti pkteinan tn basila tn kur8
Kvnstantnon Drgasin ka Palaiolgon. Ka
gneto on meglh ylciw9 ka pollw 10 klauymw11
efiw tn Krthn di t ylhbern12 mnuma13 per
lye, xeron totou o ggonen ote gennsetai. Ka
Kriow Yew lesai14 mw, ka lutrsetai15
mw tw foberw ato peilw.16

In the year 1453, the 29th of June, the sixth day,

three Cretan ships came from Constantinople, that of
Sgouros, that of Hyalinas, and that of Philomatos,
saying that on the 29th day of the month of May, the
third day of Saint Theodosia, at the third hour of the
day, the Saracens entered Constantinople, the army of
the Turk Jalapis Mehemet, and they said that they had
killed the King, the lord Constantinos Dragasis and
Palaiologos. And so there came great affliction and
much lamentation to Crete because of the grievous
news that came, worse than this there has not been nor
(ever) will be. And may the Lord God have mercy upon
us and save us from his terrible warning.

1 ,a = 1000; u = 400; n = 50; g = 3.

2 k = 20; y = 9.
3 Notice that the iota-subscript is not being written any more.
4 karbi(on) = ship; the proper names in the genitive case which
5 Santa Theodosia.
6 The third hour of the day (from sunrise): 9 o'clock.
7 fvston = army.
8 kur = krion.
9 affliction.
10 pollw = polw.
11 lamentation.
12 ylhbern: adjective from ylciw.
13 information, news.
14 lev: have mercy (on), pity
15 lutromai: ransom, redeem, save
16 threat, warning.

follow are names of captains of the ships.

Selections illustrating Greek Linguistic History 105

12. Assisae. Laws of Cyprus under the House of Lusignan, 14th c.

Eleuyeran mproe1 n dsei2 fnthw3
kur 4 to sklbou5 tou6 efiw pollw logw7. En
fnthw kur pe8 mprw9 trew mrturew
mprw do, " Eg ddv sou10 leuyeran di tn
Yen ka suntssomai11 sou prti12 n esai13
pobgalmnow14," t dkaion keleei ti met toto
enai15 krathmnow16 n17 tn18 leuyersei. Ka
n fnthw kur posoun19 xartn 20 tw
leuyeraw, kenon jizei21: ka ni krathmnow
n tn leuyersei, kmh 22 n ni ti n ton jv
tw xraw, tan poken 23 kenon t xartn tw
leuyeraw. Ka leuyeran mpore kanew24 n
pohsei p yantou tou efiw tn diaykhn25 tou
neu diaykhw, ka ntexetai26 n ni27
sterevmnh28, mno n xei29 do mrturaw trew.

The master or mistress of the slave can grant

freedom for several reasons. If the master or the
mistress says in front of three witnesses or in front of
two, I grant you freedom by God and ordain for you
henceforth that you are emancipated, justice requires
that after this he is bound to set him free. And if the
master or the mistress makes out a certificate of
freedom, he/she certifies him (to be free): and he is
bound to free him, even if it should be the case that they
were outside of the country when he made out the
certificate of freedom. And anyone can emancipate
from (the time of his) death either in his will or without
a will, and it is permissible that it be confirmed,
(provided) only that he has two or three witnesses.

1 = dnatai (from anc. eporv).

2 = to give (from na d).
3 = master of the household.
4 = kura (mistress, lady of the household).
5 = slave
6 = ato (an enclitic).
7 pollw logw: acc. pl. for many reasons.
8 pe = ep.
9 mprw = mprosyen (in front of).
10 = soi. The ancient genitive has now taken over dative functions.
11 order, ordain
12 henceforth
13 = na w (to be, that you are).
14 from ancient po-ekbeblhmnow: set free, liberated.
15 enai = stn (see table of the verb to be in modern Greek).
16 krathmnow: obliged.
17 n = na.
18 tn = atn.
19 = poisvsi.
20 xartn = xarton: paper, certificate.
21 authorizes, is his authorization.
22 kmh n ni n ton = n ka na n (even if it should be (the
23 poken conflated from pohsen and pepohken.
24 kanew = anyone, everyone (from ancient ka n ew).
25 will, last will and testament
26 it is possible, allowable (ancient ndxetai)
27 n ni = n enai (ancient na ).
28 validated
29 provided only that he has

case) that he was ).

Selections illustrating Greek Linguistic History 106

The Modern Greek Verb

Active
Indicative

Present

Imperfect

Aorist

Future

Perfect

Participle

Passive
Subjunctive

Indicative

Subjunctive

lnv

lnoume

lnv

lnoume

lnomai

lummaste

lnomai

lunmaste

lneiw

lnete

lneiw

lnete

lnesai

lneste

lnesai

lneste

lnei

lnoun

lnei

lnoun

lnetai

lnontai

lnetai

lnontai

luna

lname

lunmou
n

lunmaste

lunew

lnate

lunsou
n

lunsate

lune

lunan

luntan

lunntan

lusa

lsame

lsv

lsoume

lyhka

luhkame

luy

luyome

lusew

lsate

lseiw

lsete

lyhkew

luykate

luyew

luyte

luse

lusan

lsei

lsoun

lyhke

lyhkan

luye

luyon

y lnv

y lsv

y lnomai

xv lsei

xv luy

xeiw lsei

xeiw luy

xei lsei

xei luy
(indeclinable

lnontaw

y luy

lumnow, (-h, -o)

Some Important Modern Greek Verbs

Imperfect
Aorist Indicative
Aorist Subjunctive
Indicative

Present
Indicative-Subjunctive

Ancient Verb
derived from

jrv

jera

jera

jrv

jhron

blpv

blepa

eda

blpv, edon

lgv

lega

epa

lgv, epon

dnv

dina

dosa

dsv

ddvmi

phganv

pgaina

phga

pv

pgv

peyanv

pyaina

pyana

peynv

pyanon

mpanv

mpaina

mpa

mp

mbanv

trgv

trvga

faga

fv

trgv, fagon

The Modern Greek Verb To Be

Present Tense
Imperfect Tense
emai

emaste

moun

maste

esai

este

soun

saste

enai

enai

to, tan(e)

san, tan(e)

Selections illustrating Greek Linguistic History 107

Modern Greek Nouns, Definite and Indefinite Article, and Personal Pronoun
Singular
Plural
Nominative
Genitive
Accusative
Nominative
Genitive
Accusative
fvn

tw fvnw

t fvnn

ofl fvnw

tn fvnn

tw fvnw

ra

tw raw

tn ran

ofl rew

tn rn

tw rew

nathw

to nath

tn nath

ofl natew

tn nautn

tow natew

lgow

to lgou

tn lgon

ofl lgoi

tn lgvn

tow lgouw

t ploo

to ploou

t ploo

t ploa

tn plovn

t ploa

t paid

to paidio

t paid

t paidi

tn paidin

t paidi

flakaw

to flaka

tn flaka(n)

ofl flakew

tn fulkvn

tow flakaw

t sma

to smatow

t sma

t smata

tn svmtvn

t smata

t gnow

to gnouw

t gnow

t gnh

tn genn

t gnh

naw

nw

na(n)

ma

miw

mi

na

nw

na

mou

me

mew

mw

mw

sou

se

sew

sw

sw

atw

to

tn

ato

tow

tow

at

tw

t(n)

atw

tw

tw

at

to

at

(tvn)

Selections illustrating Greek Linguistic History 109

13. Alexandrian Kings (C.P. Cavafy)1
Mazuyhkan2 ofl Alejandrino,
n don3 tw Kleoptraw t paidi,
tn Kaisarvna ka t mikr tou4 drfia5,
Alejandro ka Ptolemao, po6 prth
for 7 t8 bgzan9 jv st10 Gumnsio
ke n t khrjoun11 basilew
mw st12 lampr partajh13 tn strativtn.
O Aljandrow tn14 epan basila
tw Armenaw, tw Mhdaw, ka tn Pryvn.
O Ptolemaow tn epan basila
tw Kilikaw, tw Suraw ka tw Foinkhw.
O Kaisarvn stkontan15 pi 16 mprost17
ntumnow18 s19 metji triantafull 20
st styow21 tou nyodsmh1 p2 aknyouw 3
znh4 tou dipl seir5 sapfervn ki'6
meystvn7,
8
demna t podmata9 tou m'10 sprew
kordlew11 kenthmnew12 m =odxroa
margaritria13.
Atn tn epan pitero p 14 tow mikrow
atn tn epan Basila tn Basilvn.
1

The Alexandrians had gathered to see Cleopatras

children, Caesarion and his little brothers, Alexander
and Ptolemy, the first time they brought them outside
into the Gymnasium to proclaim them kings in the
midst of the brilliant pomp of the soldiers.

Alexanderthey called him King of Armenia, of

Media, and of the Parthians. Ptolemythey called him
King of Cilicia, of Syria and of Phoenicia.
Caesarionthey made him stand out foremost, dressed
in rosy silk,

on his breast a garland of hyacinths, his belt a

double row of sapphires and amethysts, his sandals
bound with white ribbons embroidered with rosecolored lilies.
Him they named more grandly than the little ones;
him they called King of Kings.

C.P. Cavafy (1863-1923), one of the major Greek poets of the modern era, lived in Alexandria for most of his life
while there was still a large Greek population settled there (as there is no longer). Cavafy wrote quite a few
poems on ancient Greece and ancient Alexandria, especially of its decadent final period under Antony and
Cleopatra before Egypt was turned into a private province belonging to the Roman emperors. This poem is
about an event in 34 B.C. when Cleopatra's children were paraded in splendor as grand kings of the eastern
Mediterranean such as they might have come to be had Antony defeated Octavian in the battle of Actium of 31;
but this was unlikely to be. The two younger children, Alexander and Ptolemaios Philadelphos were Antony's
sons; the elder child, here called King of Kings, was Caesarion (little Caesar) Julius Caesar's son by
Cleopatra.
2 3 pl. aor. pass. of mazeomai: be gathered
3 to see (n don = na dvsin)
4 tou = ato
5 diminutive n. pl. = delfow
6 po = when
7 prth for = the first time
8 t = at: them
9 they took them out = jballon
10 st = efiw t
11 n t khrjoun = in order to proclaim them = ancient na at khrjvsin
12 mw st = msa w tn: into the middle of the
13 glorious parade
14 = atn
15 stkontan a deponent (stkomai), here = stsanto: They made him stand
16 pi = more, the ancient plon
17 mprost = in front (mprosyen)
18 ntumnow = dressed (ancient domai: dress oneself)
19 s: in (< efiw)
20 metji triantafull: rosy silk
21 breast, chest (same as the ancient word)

Selections illustrating Greek Linguistic History 110

Ofl Alejandrino nivyan15 bbaia16

po17 san lgia18 at 19 ka yeatrik20.
All mra tane21 zest22 ka poihtik23,
oranw na24 galzio noixt25,
t Alejandrin Gumnsion na
yriambik26 katryvma27 tw txnhw,
tn alikn28 polutleia29 ktakth 30,

The Alexandrians knew very well that these things

were mere words and vain display. But the day was
warm and romantic, the sky was clear blue, the
Gymnasium of Alexandria a triumphant work of art, the
finery of the courtiers was exquisite,

Kaisarvn lo31 xriw ki' morfa32

(tw Kleoptraw uflw, ama33 tn Lagidn34)
ki' ofl Alejandrino trexan35 pi 36 stn ort 37
ki' nyousizontan1 ki' peufmousan2
llhnik ki' afiguptiak ka poio braka3,
gohteumnoi4, m t' rao5 yama6,
m' lo po7, bbaia, jeran 8 t jizan at,
t kofia9 lgia sane atw ofl basileew10.

Caesarion was all grace and beauty (Cleopatras

son, blood-descendant of the Lagidae), and the
Alexandrians hastened to the festivities and got excited
and shouted joyfully in Greek, and in Coptic, and some
in Hebrew, enthralled at the beautiful sightalthough
they knew, for sure, what they were worthwhat
trifling, empty words these kingships were.

1 garland, bunch of flowers

2 p = of, made from
3 guess at it.
4 belt
5 a double row
6 ki' : ka with alpha syncopated out and the iota becoming a consonant (y) before the following vowel.
7 guess at it.
8 bound (passive participle from same verb used in antiquity, dv
9 sandals
10 m' = m: with (met).
11 sprew kordlew: white ribbons
12 from kentv, embroider. What form must this be?
13 = odxroa margaritria: rose-colored lilies
14 pitero p = mezona (greater than, grander than)
15 from niyv (the ancient gignskv)
16 for sure, positively
17 po is an all purpose relative adverb or pronoun or conjunction in modern Greek: that
18 mere words (diminutive of lgow in the nom. pl.)
19 at = these things
20 for show, purely ornamental
21 impf. 3 sg. of emai
22 warm
23 guess at it
24 n. sg. indefinite article (a), the ancient n.
25 galzio noixt: clear azure
26 triumphant
27 success, achievement
28 courtiers
29 polutleia: extravagance, luxurious trappings
30 splendid
31 lo: wholly, altogether (ancient lvw)
32 = emorfa: beauty, grace
33 ama: same as the ancient word for blood
34 The Lagidae were the royal dynasty of Alexandria, descended from Ptolemy Lagidas, the general of Alexander
35
36
37

the Great who was the Egyptian kingdom's first Greek ruler.
from the ancient verb trxv, run
in multitudes (the ancient pla)
ort: same as the ancient word for festival

Selections illustrating Greek Linguistic History 111

1
2
3
4
5

The verb is nyousizomai, meaning get excited

the verb is peufhm: cheer, shout hurrah
i.e. in the three different languages spoken by major blocs of the populace of Alexandria
gohtev: charm (the ancient verb means cast a spell on, bewitch
beautiful (from the ancient word ra meaning season which came to mean spring; so the adjective then
came to mean bright & colorful, beautiful
6 spectacle (same as the ancient word)
7 m' lo po: for all that although
8 from jrv: know
9 kofiow: trivial
10 atew ofl basileew: these kingdoms or the kingships (to which Cleopatra's three children had been named).