Ancient Greek for Everyone:
A New Digital Resource for
Beginning Greek
as taught at
Louisiana State University
Spring 2013
Albert Watanabe
Unit 13: The Aorist Tense
Elementary Greek
This class (someday, Month ##, 2013)
AGE Unit 13: The Aorist Tense
• Unit 11 introduced a secondary tense (a tense that refers to
past), the imperfect tense.
• This unit introduces the most common secondary tense, the
aorist tense.
Elementary Greek
Building a Greek verb
• The Master List of Endings
– Posted in Moodle is a “Master List of Greek Verb Endings”
where you can see the overall scheme of verb endings.
Here you can see the three sets of primary endings
(-μι, -ω or -μαι) and also the full sets of
secondary endings.
– On the second sheet (= back side) are the other moods, of
which you have already learned the infinitive.
Elementary Greek
• A Greek verb by itself usually communicates FIVE
pieces of information:
–
–
–
–
–
Person: 1st, 2nd, 3rd
Number: singular, plural
Tense: present, future, imperfect, aorist
Mood: indicative, infinitive
Voice: active, middle
• This unit covers only active forms.
Elementary Greek
• The aorist tense of Greek verbs:
– Fundamentally, the aorist tense communicates a single
discreet action.
– In practice, it is impossible to use the aorist in the present,
because the action described is in the past by the time a
speaker or writer communicates it.
– Accordingly, the aorist is a secondary tense.
Elementary Greek
• The aorist tense of Greek verbs:
– Both the imperfect and aorist tenses describe actions in the
past. They differ in what is called “aspect.”
• The aorist conveys a single, discreet action. This is the more
common, default tense for referring to action in the past.
• The imperfect conveys activity that was more than a single action
in some way.
– For example:
• “I walked.” Aorist: think of a single image of the speaker in the act
of walking.
• “I was walking.” Imperfect: think of an ongoing video of the
speaker walking.
Elementary Greek
• The aorist tense of Greek verbs:
– In form, both the aorist and imperfect are secondary tenses,
so
• an augment (ἐ-) precedes the stem in the indicative mood, and
• they use secondary endings.
– The stem, however, is almost always different for the two
tenses. Therefore, it is essential to identify the stem
correctly in order to know the tense of the verb and what
action the verb conveys.
Elementary Greek
Building a Greek verb
– The verb stems of the aorist and imperfect tenses are
almost always different.
– Verbs in the imperfect tense always have exactly the same
stem as they do in the present tense.
– The stem of a verb in the aorist tense will be different in
one of two ways:
• The verb adds the aorist marker -σα- to the stem (known as the
“1st aorist” or “weak aorist”)
or
• The verb uses just the stem of the verb itself with no specific
marker (known as the “2nd aorist” or “strong aorist”).
Elementary Greek
Building a Greek verb
• The “1st aorist” or “weak aorist” adds the aorist marker
-σα- to the stem of the verb:
• Recall the secondary endings of -μι verbs:
-ν = I (1st sg)
-ς = you (2nd sg)
- = (s)he, it (3rd sg)
-μεν = we (1st pl)
-τε = y’all (2nd pl)
-σαν = they (3rd pl)
• The aorist marker -σα- merges with the above endings.
Elementary Greek
Building a Greek verb
1st (weak) aorist indicative endings:
• -σα-  -σα I (1st sg)
-σα- + -μεν = -σαμεν we (1st pl)
• -σα- + -ς = -σας you (2nd sg) -σα- + -τε = -σατε y’all (2nd pl)
• -σα-  -σε = (s)he, it (3rd sg) -σα-/-σαν  -σαν = they (3rd pl)
1st (weak) aorist indicative
= augment + verb stem + above endings
Elementary Greek
Building a Greek verb
• Remember that, to begin building a Greek verb,
start with the “stem.”
• The stem tells what action the verb describes:
δεικ = “show”
λυ = “loosen, destroy”
Elementary Greek
Building a Greek verb
• In secondary tenses, a Greek verb adds an augment to the
beginning of the stem.
• This augment used to be a separate word (ἐ), which meant
that the verb was in the past, and gradually it became a
prefix to the verb stem:
– ἐλυ = “loosen” (secondary indicative)
– ἐδεικ = “show” (secondary indicative)
Elementary Greek
• ἔλυσα
• ἔλυσας
• ἔλυσε
• ἐλύσαμεν
• ἐλύσατε
• ἔλυσαν
Building a Greek Verb
The Aorist Indicative Active of λύω (GPH p. 78)
Elementary Greek
• ἔδειξα
• ἔδειξας
• ἔδειξε
• ἐδείξαμεν
• ἐδείξατε
• ἔδειξαν
Building a Greek Verb
The Aorist Indicative Active of δείκνυμι (κ + σ = ξ)
Elementary 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 alphabetized by their 1st person,
singular, present, indicative, active form, with a -μι or -ω
ending, depending on the conjugation of the verb.
• The next “principal part” is the 1st person, singular, future,
indicative, active.
• The third “principal part,” and the final one for which you are
responsible in this course, is the 1st person, singular, aorist,
indicative, active.
Elementary Greek
• Although advanced vocabulary lists and lexica give six
principal parts for Greek verbs, you are responsible for only
these first three. For most reading purposes at the beginning
and intermediate levels, these three are sufficient.
• A separate Power Point collects and presents all the verbs and
their principal parts.
– The Classical Vocabulary collects together the principal parts of all the
verbs in the Dickinson College Commentaries vocabulary list.
– The New Testament Vocabulary collects together the principal parts of
all the verbs which appear 30+ times in the NT.
Elementary Greek
Conjugating a Greek verb
• In Unit 7, you learned that Greek has two conjugations:
– -μι verbs
– -ω verbs
• Both types of verbs form the 1st (weak) aorist in the same
way (augment + stem + -σα-, etc.). Notice that -ω verbs
drop their thematic vowel in this process.
• When verbs form the 2nd (strong) aorist,
-ω verbs retain their thematic vowel
-μι verbs add endings directly to their stem.
Elementary 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.
Elementary 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.
Elementary Greek
Building a Greek verb
• The “2nd aorist” or “strong aorist” uses just the stem
of the verb itself with no specific marker.
• Remember that, to begin building a Greek verb,
start with the “stem.”
• The stem tells what action the verb describes:
λαβ = “take”
• In secondary tenses, however, a Greek verb adds an
augment to the beginning of the stem.
ἐλαβ = “take” (secondary indicative)
Elementary Greek
• ἔλαβον
• ἔλαβες
• ἔλαβε
• ἐλάβομεν
• ἐλάβετε
• ἔλαβον
Building a Greek Verb
The Aorist Indicative Active of λαμβάνω
Elementary 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.
Elementary Greek
Conjugating a Greek verb
Note these two verbs,
which both expand their stems in the present tense,
are deponent in the future tense,
and are regular -μι verbs in the aorist.
• βη-  βαίνω, βήσομαι, ἔβην walk, come, go
• γνω-  γιγνώσκω, γνώσομαι ἔγνων know, learn, think
Note this verb,
which is deponent in the present and future tenses,
and a regular -μι verb in the aorist.
• ἁλ-  ἁλίσκομαι, ἁλώσομαι ἑάλων be captive
Elementary Greek
• ἔβην
• ἔβης
• ἔβη
• ἔβημεν
• ἔβητε
• ἔβησαν
Building a Greek Verb
The Aorist Indicative Active of βαίνω
Elementary Greek
• ἔγνων
• ἔγνως
• ἔγνω
• ἔγνωμεν
• ἔγνωτε
• ἔγνωσαν
Building a Greek Verb
The Aorist Indicative Active of γιγνώσκω (GPH p. 162)
Elementary Greek
• ἑάλων
• ἑάλως
• ἑάλω
• ἑάλωμεν
• ἑάλωτε
• ἑάλωσαν
Building a Greek Verb
The Aorist Indicative Active of ἁλίσκομαι
Elementary Greek
Unit 2 -μι verbs:
Most -μι verbs have a 1st (weak) aorist.
The verb εἰμί has no aorist at all.
These four -μι verbs have 2nd (strong) aorists:
• δω-  δίδωμι, δώσω, ἔδωκα give
• ἥ-  ἵημι, ἥσω, ἧκα throw
• στη-  ἵστημι, στήσω, ἔστησα/ἔστην stand
• θη-  τίθημι, θήσω, ἔθηκα put, make
Elementary Greek
• ἔδωκα
• ἔδωκας
• ἔδωκε
• ἔδομεν
• ἔδοτε
• ἔδοσαν
Notice that, in the singular, δίδωμι
uses -ω-, as it does in the present
tense, and also adds a -κα- marker.
Building a Greek Verb
The Aorist Indicative Active of δίδωμι (GPH p. 129)
Elementary Greek
• ἔθηκα
• ἔθηκας
• ἔθηκε
• ἔθεμεν
• ἔθετε
• ἔθεσαν
Notice that, in the singular, τίθημι
uses -η-, as it does in the present
tense, and also adds a -κα- marker.
Building a Greek Verb
The Aorist Indicative Active of τίθημι (GPH p. 151)
Elementary Greek
• ἔστην
• ἔστης
• ἔστη
• ἔστημεν
• ἔστητε
• ἔστησαν
Notice that ἵστημι uses its long
vowel -η- in both the singular and
plural forms.
Building a Greek Verb
The Aorist Indicative Active of ἵστημι (GPH p. 140)
Elementary Greek
• ἧκα
• ἧκας
• ἧκε
• εἷμεν
• εἷτε
• εἷσαν
Notice that, in the singular, ἵημι uses
η-, as it does in the present tense, and
also adds a -κα- marker.
Notice that ἵημι uses ει- here in the
plural.
Building a Greek Verb
The Aorist Indicative Active of ἵημι
Elementary Greek
The aorist tense of Greek verbs:
When a verb has both types of aorist,
the 1st (weak) is transitive (setting up an accusative object) and
the 2nd (strong) is intransitive (as if in the Middle Voice).
• στη-  ἵστημι, στήσω, ἔστησα/ἔστην stand
– ἔστησα “I stood (something) up.”
– ἔστην “I stood up.”
• φυ-  φύω, φύσω, ἔφυσα/ἔφυν produce, grow
– ἔφυσα “I grew (something).”
– ἔφυν “I grew.”
Elementary Greek
The aorist tense of Greek verbs:
• There is another version of the aorist tense as well.
• This version always conjugates like a regular -μι verb.
• To mark this version, the marker -θη- is added to the end of
the verb’s stem, before the ending. If adding -θη- is too
hard to pronounce, only -η- is added.
• This version is known as the “aorist passive.”
Elementary Greek
• ἐλύθην
• ἐλύθης
• ἐλύθη
• ἐλύθημεν
• ἐλύθητε
• ἐλύθησαν
Building a Greek Verb
The Aorist Indicative Passive of λύω (GPH p. 88)
Elementary Greek
The aorist tense of Greek verbs:
• To mark this version, the marker -θη- is added to the end of
the verb’s stem, before the ending. If adding -θη- is too
hard to pronounce, only -η- is added.
• Advanced vocabulary lists provide six principal parts for
Greek verbs, and the “aorist passive” is the sixth of these
parts. A Greek lexicon will also regularly indicate the aorist
passive forms of a verb.
• You are responsible only for the first three parts in this
course, however.
• Generally speaking, the aorist passive is easy to recognize
and parse because of its distinctive -θη- marker and regular
personal endings.
Elementary Greek
• A Greek verb by itself usually communicates FIVE
pieces of information:
– Voice: This indicates the role the subject plays in the action.
– Greek can distinguish three roles (voices):
– Passive: The subject receives the consequence of the action
• We are run by a computer.
• We are stopped by a police officer.
• The drinks are bought by me.
Elementary Greek
The aorist tense of Greek verbs:
• Although this form is known as the “aorist passive,” it in
fact evolved in meaning over the centuries.
• Ιn the earliest Greek, the form is almost always intransitive
(as if in the Middle Voice):
– δεινὼ δέ οἱ ὄσσε φάανθεν
“…and her eyes appeared awesome.” (Iliad 1.200)
Elementary Greek
The aorist tense of Greek verbs:
• By the time of Koine and Biblical Greek, these same forms
are used frequently in passive constructions.
– Active: ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν ὁ θεός.
• “God gave us eternal life.” - 1 John 5:11
– Passive: ὁ νόμος διὰ Μωϋσέως ἐδόθη.
• “The law was given through Moses.” - John 1:17
• Intransitive uses continue as well, however:
– Καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν ἕκαστος εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ,
– Ἰησοῦς δὲ ἐπορεύθη εἰς τὸ Ὄρος τῶν Ἐλαιῶν.
• “And each went to his own home, but Jesus went to the Mount
of Olives” Jn 7:53-8:1
Elementary Greek
The aorist tense of Greek verbs:
• Finally, like the present tense, the aorist occurs in the
infinitive mood.
• The augment to secondary tenses always means that the action
actually took place in the past. Consequently, only the
indicative mood uses the augment, since it is the only mood
that specifies actual historical action.
• Therefore the aorist infinitive never has the augment.
Elementary Greek
• A Greek verb by itself usually communicates FIVE
pieces of information:
–
–
–
–
–
Person: 1st, 2nd, 3rd
Number: singular, plural
Tense: present, future, imperfect, aorist
Mood: indicative, infinitive
Voice: active, middle
• This unit covers only active forms.
Elementary Greek
The aorist tense of Greek verbs:
– The “1st aorist” or “weak aorist” uses the ending
–σαι for the infinitive:
• λῦσαι
• δεῖξαι (κ + σ = ξ)
Elementary Greek
The aorist tense of Greek verbs:
– The “2nd aorist” or “strong aorist” uses the same
infinitive endings as the present tense:
– The –ω verb conjugation uses –εῖν:
• λαβεῖν
• The accent is fixed and unchanging on this form.
– The –μι verb conjugation uses –ναι:
• γνῶναι, βῆναι, δοῦναι, θεῖναι, ἱστάναι, εἷναι, φύναι,
λυθῆναι
• The accent is fixed on the penult (the syllable before the ending)
on this form.
Elementary Greek
The aorist tense of Greek verbs:
– In the infinitive mood, both the present and aorist tenses
refer to action in general, without indicating the historical
reality of it. They differ in what is called “aspect.”
• The present conveys activity that ongoing in some way.
• The aorist conveys a single, discreet action.
– For example:
• βούλομαι βαίνειν. “I want to go walking.” Present: think of an
ongoing video of the speaker walking.
• βούλομαι βῆναι. “I want to walk.” Aorist: think of a single
image of the speaker walking.
Elementary Greek
• Next class (someday, Month ##, 2013)
– Hercules reading
– Classical reading
– Biblical reading