the greek verb system: a bird’s eye view chapter 2
TRANSCRIPT
The Greek Verb System: A The Greek Verb System: A Bird’s Eye ViewBird’s Eye View
Chapter 2Chapter 2
Greek LanguageGreek Language
InflectionUnlike English, Greek verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, participles, et al, are highly inflected, i.e., they undergo
changes to indicate gender, case, number, etc.
Rather than Inflection, English Rather than Inflection, English verbs depend on Independent verbs depend on Independent Pronouns to indicate number, Pronouns to indicate number,
gender, etc.gender, etc.
Singular Plural
1st Person I have We have
2nd Person You have Y’alI have
3rd Person He, she, it has They have
Greek verbs, however, to indicate Greek verbs, however, to indicate gender, number, etc., are inflected.gender, number, etc., are inflected.
e[cw I have e[comen We have
e[ceiV You have e[cete Y’all have
e[cei He has e[cousi They have
All finite Greek verbs have 2 parts: a stem and one or more affixes (in the form of a
prefix, suffix, or infix).
English GrammarEnglish Grammar• Verb – a word that describes action or state of being.
– I am studying Greek.– Greek is the language of the New Testament.
• Person– First (I, we)– Second (you)– Third (he, she, it, they)
• Number – either singular or plural– I am the teacher.– You are the students.
• Agreement – A verb must agree with its subject in person and number.
English GrammarEnglish Grammar
• Mood – Indicates the manner in which an assertion is made
• Tense – In English, tense refers to time of action– I study – present tense– I will study – future tense– I studied – past tenseNote: the time of the verb is from the standpoint of the
speaker/writer, not the reader.
• Aspect - What is the difference between:– I studied last night.– I was studying last night.– The difference is in the kind of action: completed versus
continuous.
English GrammarEnglish Grammar
• Voice – refers to the relationship between the subject and the verb.– Active – the subject does the action of the
verb.• Bill hit the ball.
– Passive – the subject receives the action of the verb.
• Bill was hit by the ball.
Greek Verbs- MoodsGreek Verbs- Moods
Mood is the way a speaker/writer chooses to
affirm the reality or unreality of an action
Greek Verbs- MoodsGreek Verbs- Moods
• Indicative [affirmation]• Imperative [command]• Subjunctive [contingency]• Infinitive [verbal expression w/o limits of person & number]• Optative [request or desire] (not widely used in NT)
Greek Verbs- VoiceGreek Verbs- Voice
Voice is the way in which the speaker/writer chooses to relate the grammatical subject of a verb to the
action of the verb.
Greek Verbs- VoiceGreek Verbs- Voice
•Active – Action completed by the subject of the verb
•Passive – Subject receives the action of the verb
•Middle - The subject acts in some way upon itself or to itself.
Greek TenseGreek Tense
“Unlike English, the most significant feature of tense in Greek is kind of
action. A secondary consideration is . . . time of action [and this only in the
indicative mood].”
As a result, much more significant in Greek is how a speaker/writer portrays the action as it relates to aspect and,
secondarily, time.
AspectAspect
“. . . The view of the action that the speaker/writer chooses to present to
the hearer.”
Greek TensesGreek TensesTense Active Voice Passive Voice
Present I study I am being studied
Future I will study I will be studied
Imperfect I was studying I was being studied
Aorist I studied I was studied
Perfect I have studied I have been studied
Pluperfect I had studied I had been studied
Future Perfect
I will have studied
I will have been studied
Greek AspectsGreek Aspects“. . . The view of the action that the speaker/writer “. . . The view of the action that the speaker/writer
chooses to present to the hearer.”chooses to present to the hearer.”
• Imperfective–Focus: process or duration of action
• Perfective–Focus: state or condition resulting from a completed action
• Aoristic–Focus: entire verbal idea, w/o comment on process or result of action
Note: “The aoristic is the normal . . . aspect in Greek. A deviation from the aoristic to another aspect is generally exegetically significant.” (p. 13)
Greek Tense (Aspect)Greek Tense (Aspect)
Time of Action
Kind of Action PastPast PresentPresent FutureFuture
ImperfectiveImperfective Imperfect
I was loving
Present
I am loving
Future
I will be loving
AoristicAoristic Aorist
I loved
Present
I love
Future
I will love
PerfectivePerfective Pluperfect
I had loved
Perfect
I have loved
Future Perfect
I will have loved
Essentially, there are 3 tenses in Essentially, there are 3 tenses in Greek: Past, Present, and Future.Greek: Past, Present, and Future.
All others are variations of one of All others are variations of one of these 3, depending on how the these 3, depending on how the
writer/speaker wishes to writer/speaker wishes to communicate the kind of action communicate the kind of action
taking place.taking place.