In previous lessons, most of the verbs we have studied have ended in -ω in the first-person singular. This large family of verbs is called the thematic conjugation because the endings are attached to the verbal stem by means of a thematic vowel (e.g., ο/ε in the present tense). It is also called the ω conjugation.

A second major conjugation is called the athematic conjugation because no thematic vowel is used. Athematic verbs are also called -μι verbs because the first-person singular ends with -μι (e.g., εἰμί).

A verb is a word that expresses an action or a state of being. Speakers of English tend to think about verbs primarily in terms of their tense (e.g., past, present, future). In Greek, verbs also have other important characteristics, namely, aspect and voice.

Verbal Aspect

The term “aspect” refers to the kind of action that is depicted by a verb. The meaning of a verb is not related only or exclusively to temporal categories but also to the kind of action, or the way that an event occurs. There are three verbal aspects in Greek. Each of these aspects is linked to specific tenses. In other words, the morphology of the verb will you (some extent) specify the aspect of a given verb. In the indicative mood, Greek verbs express both time and tense as well as aspect.

First Aorist Passive Participle

The aorist passive participle is formed from the sixth principal part, which is to say, on the basis of the aorist passive indicative form. Its endings are very similar to the aorist active endings, with the exception of the nominative masculine and neuter singular forms.

To form the aorist passive participle, simply add to the stem the passive tense formative, -θε, in the masculine and neuter forms and -θει in the feminine forms. Also note that when the consonants -ντ- are deleted in the dative plural (m. and nt.), compensatory lengthening of the vowel occurs:

The great philosophers Plato and Aristotle and the Greek dramatists of Classical Athens wrote in what is now known as Attic Greek (or Classical Greek), which is one of the four major dialects of the antique Greek-speaking world, the others being Ionic, Doric, and Aeolic. However, in the centuries following the Classical period, Ionic Greek came to have a strong influence on the Attic dialect, transforming it into what we now know as Hellenistic Greek.

Hellenistic Greek spread throughout the eastern Mediterranean in the wake of Alexander the Great's conquest of the Persian Empire. The wave of Greek colonization that followed brought with it the Hellenistic Greek language, which quickly became the common language of the region. Hellenistic Greek continued in use throughout the Roman provinces of the eastern Mediterranean during the Roman period. Owing to its widespread usage, Hellenistic Greek was known, even in ancient times, as the koine language or dialect (ἡ κοινὴ διάλϵκτος), meaning the “common” language of the people. This explains why the Hebrew Bible was translated into Hellenistic Greek (the so-called “Septuagint”) in the third and second centuries BC, and why the New Testament was also written in Hellenistic Greek, rather in than another language such as Aramaic or Syriac. In the centuries that followed, the Septuagint became the de facto liturgical text of countless synagogues and early churches. Indeed, as the basis for early Christian liturgy, devotion, and theology, the Septuagint emerged as the most significant body of literature in late antiquity.

The First Declension

In this lesson we shall study the first declension. Most of the nouns in this declension are feminine in gender. Feminine nouns of the first declension can be grouped into three classes, namely:

1. those having the vowel -η in the ending;

2. those having the vowel -α in the ending;

3. those having a mixed -α/-η pattern in the ending.

These different vowels in the endings occur only in the singular forms. The plural endings are identical in all three classes. We will refer to these three classes of first declension nouns as follows:

1. η-pure (also known as η-stem)

2. α-pure (also known as long α-stem)

3. α-impure (also known as short α-stem)

The simple past tense in Greek is termed the aorist tense. The term “aorist” is derived from the Greek adjective ἀόριστος, meaning “without boundaries” or “unbounded.” In other words, the aorist tense describes a past action, without further definition or qualification.

The aorist tense is formed in two different ways. These two ways are called, respectively, the first aorist and the second aorist. These two aorist forms are translated the same way. They are simply two different ways of forming a past tense, namely a regular way and an irregular way. As an analogy, compare the formation of past tenses in English. The regular way of forming a past tense is to add the suffix “–ed” to the verb stem:

There are many other athematic-verbs, besides those discussed in the previous lesson. In this lesson we will discuss two other frequently occurring athematic verbs, namely δείκνυμι (“I show, explain”) and ϕημί (“I say”), as well as some non-indicative forms of δίδωμι, τίθημι, and ἵστημι.

δείκνυμι (“I show, explain”)

Another relatively common athematic verb in the New Testament is δείκνυμι (dhi-kni-mi). This verb is an athematic verb only in the present and imperfect tenses. In the GNT, one finds only the following examples of the present active tense of this verb. In the present tense paradigm, νυ is added to the root, δεικ, to form the present stem, δεικνυ-.

Contract Verbs

There are many verbs whose stems end in a vowel, either -ε, -α, or -ο. These final vowels combine, or contract, with the connecting vowels of the personal endings. These so-called “contract” verbs can be grouped into the following three categories:

1. ε-contract verbs

2. α-contract verbs

3. ο-contract verbs

As you review the contraction of vowels in the paradigms below, you will notice that some vowels dominate other vowels. This is termed the principle of phonodynamism. As a way of beginning to understand contract verbs, review some of the basic guidelines of contraction, as oulined below, and then turn to the example verbs for specifics. In general you will note that:

1. o-sounds tend to prevail over all other vowel sounds, whether preceding or succeeding.

2. when a-sounds and e-sounds meet, the intial sound takes precedence; thus α + ε → α, but ε + α → η.

3. iota (ι), whether written as subscript, or sounded, does not disappear.

Moods

Greek verbs are found in four so-called moods. The term “mood” indicates the relation of the action to reality, as understood by the author. All the verbs studied in the preceding lessons were in the indicative mood, with the exception of the Greek participle. The indicative is the most usual mood of everyday discourse and narrative. It is the mood of direct statements, assertions, direct questions, and historical descriptions. We could say that it is the mood of actuality.

The three remaining moods are as follows: the subjunctive, imperative, and optative. (The infinitive and participle are not moods but can be treated as moods for the purposes of parsing.)

(bracketed numbers refer to chapter numbers)

1. ἀγαθός, -ή, -όν (7)

2. ἀγαπάω (4)

3. ἀγάπη (21)

4. ἀγαπητός, ή, όν (4)

5. ἄγγελος (1)

6. ἁγιάζω (24)

7. ἅγιος, -α, -ον (8)

8. ἀγρός (21)

9. ἄγω (10)

10. ἀδελϕή (6)

11. ἀδελϕός (6)

12. αἷμα, -ατος (21)

13. αἴρω (9)

14. αἰτέω (4)

15. αἰώνιος, -ον (10)

16. ἀκούω (2)

17. ἀλήθεια (6)