C.W. Shelmerdine
Introduction to Greek
2nd edition
(Newburyport, MA: Focus, 2008)
The Perfect System
(from Chapters 31-33)
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
1. The perfect system
2. The perfect and pluperfect active indicative
of regular verbs (4th principal part)
3. The perfect and pluperfect middle/passive
indicative of regular verbs (5th principal part)
4. The dative of personal agent
5. The perfect infinitive (4th and 5th principal
parts)
6. Result (consecutive) clauses
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
parse/parsing
• 1st, 2nd or 3RD PERSON
• SINGULAR or PLURAL
• PRESENT, IMPERFECT, FUTURE,
AORIST, PERFECT or PLUPERFECT
• INDICATIVE, INFINITIVE,
IMPERATIVE, SUBJUNCTIVE,
OPTATIVE, PARTICIPLE
• ACTIVE, MIDDLE, PASSIVE
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
1. The perfect system
•
•
•
The perfect tense refers to a completed action
which results in the current situation.
Recall that the aorist tense refers to a single past
action.
Recall that the imperfect tense refers to ongoing
or repeated past action.
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
1. The perfect system
•
Imperfect (incomplete past)
–
•
Aorist (single action)
–
•
I was climbing the tree.
I climbed the tree.
Perfect (completed action)
–
I have climbed the tree.
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
1. The perfect system
•
•
The present, imperfect, and aorist tenses
together make up about 90% of the verb forms
in most ancient Greek texts.
The present, future, imperfect, aorist and
perfect tenses together make up over 99% of the
verb forms in most ancient Greek texts.
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
1. The perfect system
2. The perfect and pluperfect active indicative
of regular verbs (4th principal part)
3. The perfect and pluperfect middle/passive
indicative of regular verbs (5th principal part)
4. The dative of personal agent
5. The perfect infinitive (4th and 5th principal
parts)
6. Result (consecutive) clauses
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
2. The perfect and pluperfect active indicative
of regular verbs (4th principal part)
•
The perfect adds a reduplication to the beginning
of the stem.
–
For a stem beginning with a consonant, this reduplication
means the consonant doubles, separated by an -ε• λυ-  λελυ• γραφ-  γεγραφ-
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
2. The perfect and pluperfect active indicative
of regular verbs (4th principal part)
•
•
The perfect adds a reduplication to the beginning
of the stem.
Most verbs also add the tense marker -κ- to the end
of the stem.
• λυ-  λελυκ-
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
singular
• -α (I)
• -ας (you)
• -ε(ν) (s/he, it)
plural
• -αμεν (we)
• -ατε (you, y’all)
• -ασι(ν) (they)
the endings for the perfect
(like the weak [1st] aorist endings,
except in the 3rd plural)
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
singular
• λέλυκα
• λέλυκας
• λέλυκε
plural
• λελύκαμεν
• λελύκατε
• λελύκασι
perfect tense
stem = λελυκ
Note the addition of both the reduplication
and the κ to the stem.
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
2. The perfect and pluperfect active indicative
of regular verbs (4th principal part)
•
•
The perfect tense refers to a completed action
which results in the current situation.
The pluperfect tense refers to a completed action
which resulted in a specific situation in the past.
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
2. The perfect and pluperfect active indicative
of regular verbs (4th principal part)
•
Imperfect (incomplete past)
–
•
Aorist (single action)
–
•
I climbed the tree.
Perfect (completed action)
–
•
I was climbing the tree.
I have climbed the tree.
Pluperfect (completed action in the past)
–
I had climbed the tree.
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
2. The perfect and pluperfect active indicative
of regular verbs (4th principal part)
•
•
The pluperfect is the secondary version of the
perfect indicative, so it adds an augment (like the
imperfect and aorist).
Like the perfect tense, it adds both a reduplication
to the beginning of the stem and the tense marker
-κ- to the end of the stem.
• λυ-  ἐλελυκ-
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
singular
• ἐλελύκην
• ἐλελύκης
• ἐλελύκει(ν)
plural
• ἐλελύκεμεν
• ἐλελύκετε
• ἐλελύκεσαν
pluperfect tense
stem = ἐλελυκ
Note the addition of the augment, reduplication
and κ to the stem.
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
2. The perfect and pluperfect active indicative
of regular verbs (4th principal part)
•
Watch out for the pluperfect in the readings, but it
is a very rare tense and you are not responsible for
it in this class.
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
Looking up a Greek verb
The 1st sg present indicative active is the first
principal part of a verb
–
–
–
–
–
–
ἄγω, ἄξω, ἤγαγον, ἦχα lead, bring
γράφω, γράψω, ἔγραψα, γέγραφα write
διώκω, διώξω, ἐδίωξα, δεδίωχα pursue
λύω, λύσω, ἔλυσα, λέλυκα loose, set free
πείθω, πείσω, ἔπεισα, πέπεικα persuade
πέμπω, πέμψω, ἔπεμψα, πέπομφα send
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
Looking up a Greek verb
The 1st sg future indicative active is the second
principal part of a verb
–
–
–
–
–
–
ἄγω, ἄξω, ἤγαγον, ἦχα lead, bring
γράφω, γράψω, ἔγραψα, γέγραφα write
διώκω, διώξω, ἐδίωξα, δεδίωχα pursue
λύω, λύσω, ἔλυσα, λέλυκα loose, set free
πείθω, πείσω, ἔπεισα, πέπεικα persuade
πέμπω, πέμψω, ἔπεμψα, πέπομφα send
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
Looking up a Greek verb
The 1st sg aorist indicative active is the third
principal part of a verb
–
–
–
–
–
–
ἄγω, ἄξω, ἤγαγον, ἦχα lead, bring
γράφω, γράψω, ἔγραψα, γέγραφα write
διώκω, διώξω, ἐδίωξα, δεδίωχα pursue
λύω, λύσω, ἔλυσα, λέλυκα loose, set free
πείθω, πείσω, ἔπεισα, πέπεικα persuade
πέμπω, πέμψω, ἔπεμψα, πέπομφα send
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
Looking up a Greek verb
The 1st sg perfect indicative active is the fourth
principal part of a verb
–
–
–
–
–
–
ἄγω, ἄξω, ἤγαγον, ἦχα lead, bring
γράφω, γράψω, ἔγραψα, γέγραφα write
διώκω, διώξω, ἐδίωξα, δεδίωχα pursue
λύω, λύσω, ἔλυσα, λέλυκα loose, set free
πείθω, πείσω, ἔπεισα, πέπεικα persuade
πέμπω, πέμψω, ἔπεμψα, πέπομφα send
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
1. The perfect system
2. The perfect and pluperfect active indicative
of regular verbs (4th principal part)
3. The perfect and pluperfect middle/passive
indicative of regular verbs (5th principal
part)
4. The dative of personal agent
5. The perfect infinitive (4th and 5th principal
parts)
6. Result (consecutive) clauses
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
3. The perfect and pluperfect middle/passive
indicative of regular verbs (5th principal
part)
•
•
The perfect and pluperfect middle/passive use the
same stem as the active, except without the -κmarker.
For reference, this stem is shown in the 5th
principal part.
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
3. The perfect and pluperfect middle/passive
indicative of regular verbs (5th principal
part)
• The perfect and pluperfect middle/passive
indicative use the standard endings:
–
–
primary endings -μαι -σαι -ται -μεθα -σθε -νται
for the present, future, and perfect tenses.
secondary endings -μην -σο -το -μεθα -σθε -ντο
for the imperfect, aorist, and pluperfect tenses.
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
ACTIVE
singular
• λέλυκα
• λέλυκας
• λέλυκε
plural
• λελύκαμεν
• λελύκατε
• λελύκασι
MIDDLE/PASSIVE
singular
• λέλυμαι
• λέλυσαι
• λέλυται
plural
• λελύμεθα
• λέλυσθε
• λέλυνται
perfect tense
stem = λελυ (+ κ in active)
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
ACTIVE
singular
• ἐλελύκην
• ἐλελύκης
• ἐλελύκει
plural
• ἐλελύκεμεν
• ἐλελύκετε
• ἐλελύκεσαν
MIDDLE/PASSIVE
singular
• ἐλελύμην
• ἐλέλυσο
• ἐλέλυτο
plural
• ἐλελύμεθα
• ἐλέλυσθε
• ἐλέλυντο
pluperfect tense
stem = ἐλελυ (+ κ in active)
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
1. The perfect system
2. The perfect and pluperfect active indicative
of regular verbs (4th principal part)
3. The perfect and pluperfect middle/passive
indicative of regular verbs (5th principal part)
4. The dative of personal agent
5. The perfect infinitive (4th and 5th principal
parts)
6. Result (consecutive) clauses
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
Genitive of agent
•
When a sentence is passive, the agent of the
action normally goes in the genitive following
ὑπό:
–
ὁ Περικλῆς διώκει τοὺς Πέρσας.
•
–
“Pericles pursues the Persians.” (active)
οἱ Πέρσαι διώκονται ὑπὸ τοῦ Περικλέους.
•
“The Persians are pursued by Pericles.” (passive)
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
Genitive of agent
•
An instrument is expressed by the dative,
whether the verb is active or passive:
–
ὁ Περικλῆς διώκει ἁμάξῃ τοὺς Πέρσας.
•
–
οἱ Πέρσαι διώκονται ἁμάξῃ ὑπὸ τοῦ
Περικλέους.
•
–
“Pericles pursues the Persians in a chariot.”
“The Persians are pursued by Pericles in a chariot.”
οἱ Πέρσαι διώκονται ἁμάξαις.
•
“The Persians are pursued by chariots.”
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
4. The dative of personal agent
•
When the verb is perfect and passive, however,
the personal agent is usually in the dative:
–
ὁ Περικλῆς λέλυκε τοὺς ἵππους.
•
–
“Pericles has set the horses free.”
οἱ ἵπποι λέλυνται τῷ Περικλεῖ.
•
“The horses have been set free by Pericles.”
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
1. The perfect system
2. The perfect and pluperfect active indicative
of regular verbs (4th principal part)
3. The perfect and pluperfect middle/passive
indicative of regular verbs (5th principal part)
4. The dative of personal agent
5. The perfect infinitive (4th and 5th principal
parts)
6. Result (consecutive) clauses
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
5. The perfect infinitive (4th and 5th principal
parts)
•
perfect infinitives
–
–
endings: –έναι (active) –σθαι (middle)
 λελυκέναι (active) λελύσθαι (middle)
•
The accent for these infinitives is fixed on the penult.
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
5. The perfect infinitive (4th and 5th principal
parts)
•
The perfect infinitive is used only to emphasize the
completeness of some action:
–
–
οὐκ ἐθέλω λύειν τὴν πόλιν· ἀλλ’ ἐθέλω
καταλελύσθαι.
I don’t want to set the city free: I want it completely
destroyed!”
Shelmerdine Chapter 32
1. The 2nd (strong) perfect active
2. Reduplication
3. The perfect middle/passive of consonant stem
verbs
4. The perfect active participle
5. The perfect middle/passive participle
6. Supplementary participles not in indirect
statement
Shelmerdine Chapter 32
1. The 2nd (strong) perfect active
•
•
The term 2nd (strong) perfect refers to verb
which does not add the tense marker -κ- to form
its perfect stem.
This happens almost always because adding -κ
to the verb stem would make it difficult or
unpleasant to pronounce.
Shelmerdine Chapter 32
Looking up a Greek verb
The 1st sg perfect indicative active is the fourth
principal part of a verb
–
–
–
–
–
–
ἄγω, ἄξω, ἤγαγον, ἦχα lead, bring
γράφω, γράψω, ἔγραψα, γέγραφα write
διώκω, διώξω, ἐδίωξα, δεδίωχα pursue
λύω, λύσω, ἔλυσα, λέλυκα loose, set free
πείθω, πείσω, ἔπεισα, πέπεικα persuade
πέμπω, πέμψω, ἔπεμψα, πέπομφα send
Shelmerdine Chapter 32
1. The 2nd (strong) perfect active
2. Reduplication
3. The perfect middle/passive of consonant stem
verbs
4. The perfect active participle
5. The perfect middle/passive participle
6. Supplementary participles not in indirect
statement
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
2. Reduplication
•
The reduplication necessary to form the perfect
stem might also be modified for pronunciation
purposes.
–
For a stem beginning with an aspirated consonant,
reduplication means only the stop consonant doubles, not
the aspiration:
• θυ-  τεθυ-
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
2. Reduplication
•
The reduplication necessary to form the perfect
stem might also be modified for pronunciation
purposes.
–
For a stem beginning with a sigma, reduplication
usually means adding the -ἐ- but not doubling the σ:
• στρατεύ-  σεστρατευκ-  ἐστρατευκ• ἵστημι (στη-)  ἑστηκ-
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
2. Reduplication
•
The reduplication necessary to form the perfect
stem might also be modified for pronunciation
purposes.
–
For a stem beginning with a vowel, reduplication
means effectively lengthening the vowel:
• ἀ-, ἐ-  ἠ• ὀ-  ὠ• ἰ-  ἰ• ὐ-  ὐ-
Shelmerdine Chapter 32
1. The 2nd (strong) perfect active
2. Reduplication
3. The perfect middle/passive of consonant
stem verbs
4. The perfect active participle
5. The perfect middle/passive participle
6. Supplementary participles not in indirect
statement
Shelmerdine Chapter 32
3. The perfect middle/passive of consonant
stem verbs
•
•
Also for purposes of pronunciation, if the stem of
the verb ends in a consonant, some assimilation
takes place with the consonant of the ending.
Recall the basic relationship of the consonants
(Shelmerdine page 2).
Shelmerdine Chapter 32
Labial
Dental
Palatal
unvoiced stop π
τ
κ
voiced
β
δ
γ
aspirated
φ
θ
χ
+σ
ψ
σ
ξ
nasal
μ
ν
γκ, γγ, γχ,
γξ
Shelmerdine Chapter 32
3. The perfect middle/passive of consonant
stem verbs
•
Middle verb endings start with one of five
consonant sounds:
–
–
–
–
–
μ (μαι, μην, μεθα, μένος –η –ον)
σ (σαι, σο)
τ (ται, το)
σθ (σθε, σθαι)
ντ (νται, ντο)
Shelmerdine Chapter 32
3. The perfect middle/passive of consonant
stem verbs
•
•
Labials and palatals assimilate to the voice and
aspiration of the adjacent consonant.
Dentals become σ throughout.
Shelmerdine Chapter 32
+τ
Labial
(π, β, φ)
πτ
Dental
(τ, δ, θ)
στ
Palatal
(κ, γ, χ)
κτ
+μ
μμ
σμ
γμ
+ σθ
φθ
σθ
χθ
+σ
ψ
σ
ξ
+ ντ
-
-
-
Shelmerdine Chapter 32
3. The perfect middle/passive of consonant
stem verbs
•
The third person plural endings (νται, ντο) yield
clusters too complicated to be pronounced
smoothly (e.g., μντ, σντ, γντ), especially for a
construction used only rarely.
Shelmerdine Chapter 32
3. The perfect middle/passive of consonant
stem verbs
•
Consequently, Greek substitutes a periphrastic
(using multiple words to substitute for a single one)
construction: the perfect passive participle + 3rd
person plural form of εἰμί.
–
For γράφω, for example, instead of *γέγραμνται, we
find γεγραμμένοι εἰσι, literally “having been written,
they are”  “they have been written.”
Shelmerdine Chapter 32
1. The 2nd (strong) perfect active
2. Reduplication
3. The perfect middle/passive of consonant stem
verbs
4. The perfect active participle
5. The perfect middle/passive participle
6. Supplementary participles not in indirect
statement
Shelmerdine Chapter 32
4. The perfect active participle
• To form the perfect active participle,
to the perfect active stem, add
-ώς –υῖα –ός (nominative singular endings)
-ν- disappears in the masculine/neuter,
-υι- replaces -ουσ- in the feminine,
but otherwise identical to the present active.
λελυκώς λελυκυῖα λελυκός κτλ. (p. 244)
Shelmerdine Chapter 32
1. The 2nd (strong) perfect active
2. Reduplication
3. The perfect middle/passive of consonant stem
verbs
4. The perfect active participle
5. The perfect middle/passive participle
6. Supplementary participles not in indirect
statement
Shelmerdine Chapter 20
5. The perfect middle/passive participle
•
All participles in the middle voice have the
marker -μεν-.
• All participles in the middle voice use –ος –η –ον
endings.
•
Thus to form the perfect middle participle,
to the perfect middle stem,
add –μένος –μένη –μένον
 λελυμένος λελυμένη λελυμένον
Shelmerdine Chapter 33
1.
2.
3.
4.
The perfect subjunctive and optative
Numbers
Declension of numbers
The negative pronouns/adjectives οὐδείς
and μηδείς
5. Clauses of fearing
6. Indirect questions
Shelmerdine Chapter 33
1. The perfect subjunctive and optative
•
•
The subjunctive exists in only two tenses, the
present and aorist.
Shelmerdine shows forms for the perfect
subjunctive, but these are rare and of restricted
use, so you may safely ignore them.
Shelmerdine Chapter 33
1. The perfect subjunctive and optative
•
Greek uses a periphrastic (using multiple words
to substitute for a single one) construction: the
perfect participle + the present subjunctive of
εἰμί.
–
–
γεγραφότες ὦσι, literally “having written, they
are”  “they have been written.”
γεγραμμένοι ὦσι, literally “having been written,
they are”  “they have been written.”
Shelmerdine Chapter 33
1. The perfect subjunctive and optative
•
•
The optative exists in only two tenses, the
present and aorist.
Shelmerdine shows forms for the perfect
optative, but these are rare and of restricted use,
so you may safely ignore them.
Shelmerdine Chapter 33
1. The perfect subjunctive and optative
•
Greek uses a periphrastic (using multiple words
to substitute for a single one) construction: the
perfect participle + the present optative of εἰμί.
–
–
γεγραφότες εἶεν, literally “having written, they
are”  “they have been written.”
γεγραμμένοι εἶεν, literally “having been written,
they are”  “they have been written.”
The Perfect System
(Chapters 31-33)
for next class (Thursday, April 14, 2011):
• Quiz:
– Endings of the perfect active indicative +
infinitive
• Verb overview and review
Quiz 38
singular
• -α (I)
• -ας (you)
• -ε(ν) (s/he, it)
plural
• -αμεν (we)
• -ατε (you, y’all)
• -ασι(ν) (they)
infinitive –έναι
the endings for the perfect
Shelmerdine Chapter 31
for next class (Monday, April 25, 2011):
• Quiz: Vocabulary Chapter 31
– omit: οὐκέτι
• Remainder of Chapters 31-33