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Class Notes

Imperfect Indicative Middle and Passive

The Imperfect Indicative Middle and Passive are grammatical construction that expresses an action being performed on the subject (passive voice) or by the subject for the subject’s benefit (middle voice) and occurring continuously or repeatedly in the past (imperfect tense). This tense is used when describing events that were ongoing, habitual, or repeated over a period of time, rather than a single, completed action.

The Imperfect Indicative Middle and Passive Endings:

Singular

1st Person:  – όμην

2nd Person: – ου

3rd Person: – ετο

Plural

1st Person: – όμεθα

2nd Person: – εσθε

3rd Person: – οντο

The imperfect Tense indicated action in the past, up to the point of writing. It is ongoing or repetitive action occurring in the past.

The indicative mood is used to express a statement as factual or reality. Therefore, the action is perceived as real or certain.

The passive voice emphasis that action of the verb being performed on the subject. Where the middle expresses the subject performs the action and is directly involved in its effect or outcome; therefore, done for the subject’s own benefit, on themselves, or in some reciprocal manner.

Imperfect Indicative Middle/Passive conjugation using λύω (to loose).

Singular

1st Person: ἐλυόμην – I was loosing (for myself)

2nd Person: ἐλύου – You were loosing (for yourself)

3rd Person: ἐλύετο – He/She/It was loosing (for him/her/itself)

Plural

1st Person: ἐλυόμεθα – We were loosing (for ourselves)

2nd Person: ἐλύεσθε – You all were loosing (for yourselves)

3rd Person: ἐλύοντο – They were loosing (for themselves)

Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive Examples:

ἐγίνετο (from γίνομαι – “to become” or “to […]

Class Notes

Prepositions

Prepositions are adverbs specialized to define more clearly the meaning of case, many of which came to be used in composition with verbs. When the word functions as an adverb it does not need an object; however, when serving as a preposition it required an object.

Some words can function as either prepositions or adverbs, depending on whether they have an object:

Preposition: “She walked across the bridge.” (“Across” is a preposition because it relates to “the bridge.”)

Adverb: “She walked across.” (“Across” functions as an adverb because it has no object and modifies the verb “walked.”)

The Greek preposition is used to better define the idea of case. They assist the cases by aiding in clarifying the meaning of the case. The case governs the meaning of the preposition. Therefore, the preposition does not give the meaning to the case, for they do not govern the case.

As an example for how the meaning of the preposition is governed by the case it is used with we can examine the different meanings of παρά (para) based upon what case the noun is expressing.  παρά (para) primarily means “beside,” “alongside,” or “near. The English word parallel is derived from παράλληλος (parallēlos), which is a compound of two parts: παρά (para): Meaning “beside” or “alongside.” ἀλληλος (allēlos): Meaning “one another.”

Ablative: from the side of.

Locative: by the side of.

Accusative: beside, beyond, against (contrary to).

By the nature of the Nominative and Vocative cases, they do not use prepositions. Therefore, the cases that use prepositions are the genitive, ablative, dative, locative, instrumental, and accusative.

When used in compound with the verbs the prepositions have two common uses.

The preposition is merely local. I throw out combines ἐκ […]

Class Notes

Imperfect Indicative Active

Imperfect Indicative Active

The Imperfect Indicative Active Endings:

Singular

1st person: – ν

2nd person: – ς

3rd person: –

Plural

1st person: – μεν

2nd person: – τε

3rd person: – ν or σαν

The imperfect is a past tense that denotes continuous or repeated action in the past. Unlike the aorist when expressing past tense, which describes a simple, completed action, the imperfect emphasizes the ongoing, habitual, or iterative nature of the action. This tense is used to describe actions that were in progress or repeated over a period of time in the past, up to the point of writing, often without a clear indication of when they were completed.

Form and Structure:

• The imperfect is constructed by taking the verb stem (λου) and adding an augment (usually ἐ-) to the beginning of the verb to indicate past time, followed by specific tense endings. ἐ – λού – ον (“I was washing”)
• Syllabic augment (ἐ-): used with verbs beginning with consonants.
• Temporal augment (lengthening of the initial vowel): used with verbs that start with vowels.

Endings in the Imperfect Tense:

1st person singular: -ον (ἐ- + stem + ο + ν → “I was doing”)

2nd person singular: -ες (ἐ- + stem + ε + ς → “You were doing”)

3rd person singular: -ε(ν) (ἐ- + stem + ε + – → “He/She/It was doing”)

1st person plural: -ομεν (ἐ- + stem + ο + μεν → “We were doing”)

2nd person plural: -ετε (ἐ- + stem + ε + τε → “You (plural) were doing”)

3rd person plural: -ον (ἐ- + stem + ο + ν or σαν → “They were doing”)

Usage of the Imperfect Tense:

• Narrative: Often used in narrative passages to set the scene or […]