Biblical Greek Year 1 Lesson 3
The Present Indicative Active
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Present Indicative Active Endings:
Singular:
1st Person: -ω
2nd Person: -εις
3rd Person: -ει
Plural:
1st Person: -ομεν
2nd Person: -ετε
3rd Person: -ουσι(ν)
Infinitive λέγειν, to be saying, to say
The Present Indicative Active form in Greek is used to denote an action that is occurring in the present time from the writer’s perspective. It can indicate a continuous, habitual, or general truth.
The indicative is the only mode in which the tenses show absolute time. The main idea of tense is always the kind of action.; therefore, even in the indicative time is secondary. Duration or linear action in a continuous or progressive manner is the action expressed by the tense.
Present Tense: Indicates the time of the action as present.
It can denote a continuous action (e.g., “I am studying”).
It can represent a habitual action (e.g., “I study every day”).
It can also indicate a general truth (e.g., “The earth revolves around the sun”).
Indicative Mood: This mood is used for making factual statements or asking questions that are seen as actual.
Active Voice: In the active voice, the subject of the verb is the one performing the action (e.g., “He writes a letter” – the subject “he” is doing the action of writing).
Parsing a Present Indicative Active Verb
Parsing involves identifying five components of a verb: tense, mood, voice, person, and number.
- Tense: Present.
- Mood: Indicative.
- Voice: Active.
- Person: Indicates who is performing the action:
- 1st person: “I” or “we”
- 2nd person: “you” (singular or plural)
- 3rd person: “he/she/it” or “they”
- Number: Singular or Plural.
Parsing Example: λέγω (I say)
λέγω (I say) – ω ending for 1st person singular.
λέγεις (You say) – εις ending for […]