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

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1 Ancient Greek for Everyone: A New Digital Resource for Beginning Greek
as taught at Louisiana State University Spring 2013 Albert Watanabe Unit 11: The Imperfect Tense

2 Intermediate Greek This class (someday, Month ##, 2013)
AGE Unit 11: The Imperfect Tense So far, all verbs have been in primary tenses, meaning that the tenses refer to action in the present or future. This unit introduces a secondary tense (a tense that refers to past), the imperfect tense.

3 Intermediate Greek Building a Greek verb The Master List of Endings
Posted in Moodle is a “Master List of Greek Verb Endings” where you can see the overall scheme of verb endings. Here you can see that you have learned the three sets of primary endings (-μι, -ω or -μαι). Here you can also see the full sets of secondary endings. On the second sheet (= back side) are the other moods, of which you have already learned the infinitive.

4 Intermediate Greek A Greek verb by itself usually communicates FIVE pieces of information: Person: 1st, 2nd, 3rd Number: singular, plural Tense: present, future, imperfect Mood: indicative, infinitive The imperfect tense does not occur in the infinitive mood. Voice: active, middle This unit covers only active verbs.

5 Intermediate Greek The imperfect tense of Greek verbs:
Fundamentally, the imperfect tense is the present tense shifted back into the past. Verbs in the imperfect tense always have exactly the same stem as they do in the present tense. Two markers combine to indicate the imperfect tense: An augment (ἐ-) precedes the stem. Secondary tenses of Greek verbs use endings slightly different from those of primary tenses. As a secondary tense, the imperfect uses these secondary endings.

6 Intermediate Greek Conjugating a Greek verb
In Unit 7, you learned that Greek has two conjugations: -μι verbs -ω verbs In the active voice, these conjugations use somewhat different endings to designate person and number. This is true of both primary and secondary endings. This unit introduces only the active endings of the secondary tenses. The middle endings for both conjugations will be the same (as they are in primary tenses).

7 Intermediate Greek Building a Greek verb
The secondary endings of -μι verbs are as follows: -ν = I (1st sg) -μεν = we (1st pl) -ς = you (2nd sg) -τε = y’all (2nd pl) - = (s)he, it (3rd sg) -σαν = they (3rd pl) Notice that the 3rd person singular has no ending, so this form simply stops with the ending of the verb’s present stem.

8 Notice that the 1st person singular and 3rd person plural
Intermediate Greek Building a Greek verb Remember that -ω verbs have a thematic vowel, so the secondary endings appear as follows: -ον = I (1st sg) -ομεν = we (1st pl) -ες = you (2nd sg) -ετε = y’all (2nd pl) -ε = (s)he, it (3rd sg) -ον = they (3rd pl) Notice that the 1st person singular and 3rd person plural are identical.

9 Notice that the 1st person singular and 3rd person plural
Intermediate Greek Building a Greek verb Remember that -ω verbs have a thematic vowel, so the secondary endings appear as follows: -ον = I (1st sg) -ομεν = we (1st pl) -ες = you (2nd sg) -ετε = y’all (2nd pl) -ε = (s)he, it (3rd sg) -ον = they (3rd pl) Notice that the 1st person singular and 3rd person plural are identical.

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

11 Intermediate Greek Building a Greek verb
Recall that some verbs add a marker (often a ν) to the stem that says the verb is in the present tense. A verb always uses the same marker in the imperfect tense that is uses in the present: δεικνυ = “show” (in the present) λυ = “loosen” (no marker in the present) λαμβαν = “take” (in the present)

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

13 The Imperfect Indicative Active of δείκνυμι (GPH p. 157)
Intermediate Greek ἐδείκνυν ἐδείκνυς ἐδείκνυ ἐδείκνυμεν ἐδείκνυτε ἐδείκνυσαν Building a Greek Verb The Imperfect Indicative Active of δείκνυμι (GPH p. 157)

14 The Imperfect Indicative Active of λύω (GPH p. 70)
Intermediate Greek ἔλυον ἔλυες ἔλυε ἐλύομεν ἐλύετε ἔλυον Building a Greek Verb The Imperfect Indicative Active of λύω (GPH p. 70)

15 The Imperfect Indicative Active of λαμβάνω
Intermediate Greek ἐλάμβανον ἐλάμβανες ἐλάμβανε ἐλαμβάνομεν ἐλαμβάνετε ἐλάμβανον Building a Greek Verb The Imperfect Indicative Active of λαμβάνω

16 Intermediate Greek From Unit 2: -μι Verbs δίδωμι give τίθημι put, make
ἵστημι stand ἵημι throw εἰμί be φημί say

17 The Imperfect Indicative Active of δίδωμι (GPH p. 124)
Intermediate Greek ἐδίδουν ἐδίδους ἐδίδου Notice that δίδωμι uses -ου- here in the singular rather than -ω-, as it does in the present tense. ἐδίδομεν ἐδίδοτε ἐδίδοσαν Building a Greek Verb The Imperfect Indicative Active of δίδωμι (GPH p. 124)

18 The Imperfect Indicative Active of τίθημι (GPH p. 146)
Intermediate Greek ἐτίθην ἐτίθεις ἐτίθει Notice that τίθημι uses -ει- here in the singular rather than -η-, as it does in the present tense. ἐτίθεμεν ἐτίθετε ἐτίθεσαν Building a Greek Verb The Imperfect Indicative Active of τίθημι (GPH p. 146)

19 Intermediate Greek Vowel contractions in the Imperfect Tense
If the verb stem begins with a vowel, instead of adding the augment -ε, the initial vowel lengthens (α and ε  η, ο  ω). Verbs that have vowel contraction in the present tense (Contract verbs, Unit 7) follow the same rules of vowel contraction in the imperfect tense.

20 The Imperfect Indicative Active of ἵστημι (GPH p. 135)
Intermediate Greek ἵστην ἵστης ἵστη This verb has a long vowel augment, but it does not affect the way it the vowel is written (since long and short ι are written the same). ἵσταμεν ἵστατε ἵστασαν Building a Greek Verb The Imperfect Indicative Active of ἵστημι (GPH p. 135)

21 The Imperfect Indicative Active of ἵημι
Intermediate Greek ἵην ἵεις ἵει Notice that ἵημι uses -ει- here in the singular rather than -η-, as it does in the present tense ἵεμεν ἵετε ἵεσαν This verb has a long vowel augment, but it does not affect the way it the vowel is written (since long and short ι are written the same). Building a Greek Verb The Imperfect Indicative Active of ἵημι

22 The Imperfect Indicative Active of εἰμί (GPH p. 178)
Intermediate Greek ἦ or ἦν ἦσθα ἦν Notice that εἰμί has irregularities in the singular. ἦμεν ἦτε ἦσαν Building a Greek Verb The Imperfect Indicative Active of εἰμί (GPH p. 178)

23 The Imperfect Indicative Active of φημί (GPH p. 169)
Intermediate Greek ἔφην ἔφης or ἔφησθα ἔφη ἔφαμεν ἔφατε ἔφασαν Building a Greek Verb The Imperfect Indicative Active of φημί (GPH p. 169)

24 Intermediate Greek From Unit 7: Contract Verbs
The rules of vowel contraction operate in verbs when the stem ends in one of the vowels α, ε or ο. In these cases, this final vowel of the stem contracts with the thematic vowel of “-ω verbs.”

25 The Imperfect Indicative Active of αἱρέω
Intermediate Greek (ἐ-αἵρεον ) ᾕρουν (ἐ-αἵρεες ) ᾕρεις (ἐ-αἵρεε ) ᾕρει This verb has a long vowel augment. (ἐ-αἱρέομεν ) ᾑροῦμεν (ἐ-αἱρέετε ) ᾑρεῖτε (ἐ-αἵρεον ) ᾕρουν Building a Greek Verb The Imperfect Indicative Active of αἱρέω

26 The Imperfect Indicative Active of ἐρωτάω
Intermediate Greek (ἐ-ερώταον ) ἠρώτων (ἐ-ερώταες ) ἠρώτας (ἐ-ερώταε ) ἠρώτα This verb has a long vowel augment. (ἐ-ερωτάομεν ) ἠρωτῶμεν (ἐ-ερωτάετε ) ἠρωτᾶτε (ἐ-ερώταον ) ἠρώτων Building a Greek Verb The Imperfect Indicative Active of ἐρωτάω

27 The Imperfect Indicative Active of δηλόω GPH p. 119)
Intermediate Greek (ἐδήλοον ) ἐδήλουν (ἐδήλοες ) ἐδήλους (ἐδήλοε ) ἐδήλου (ἐδηλόομεν ) ἐδηλοῦμεν (ἐδηλόετε ) ἐδηλοῦτε (ἐδήλοον ) ἐδήλουν Building a Greek Verb The Imperfect Indicative Active of δηλόω GPH p. 119)

28 Intermediate Greek Understanding the Imperfect Tense
Fundamentally, the imperfect tense is the present tense shifted back into the past. The present tense indicates that an action is currently taking place. The imperfect tense indicates that an action was taking place. Think of it as a bit of video of an action from the past.

29 Intermediate Greek Translating the Imperfect Tense
Traditionally, therefore, the imperfect is translated using was/were + -ing forms. For example: ἐδίδουν = “I was giving” ἐδίδοσαν = “they were giving” In some contexts, a simple past in English sounds better, even if the traditional translation also works (“they gave every day” rather than “they were giving every day”). Sometimes other translations will make better sense in a particular context (for example, “they used to give,” “they kept giving”).

30 Intermediate Greek VOCABULARY: Although a Greek verb can morph into many different forms, it is listed in a dictionary (Greek “lexicon”) under just one form. As you have seen, verbs are listed in their 1st person, singular, present, indicative, active form, with a -μι or -ω ending, depending on the conjugation of the verb. Nothing about the imperfect tense affects how a Greek verb is listed. The imperfect forms are not normally listed (even as a principal part), so you need to be able to recognize the present tense of a verb when you see it in the imperfect tense.

31 Intermediate Greek VOCABULARY
Verbs with prefixes in the imperfect tense. Keep in mind that the augment attaches to the beginning of the verb’s stem. Even if the verb is a compound with a prefix, the augment is normally added directly to the stem: ἐδίδοσαν = “they were giving” παρα + ἐδίδοσαν = παρεδίδοσαν = “they were delivering”

32 Intermediate Greek Next class (someday, Month ##, 2013)
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