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NT Greek Theo 1
NT Greek Theo 1
Texts:
1. New Testament Greek: An Introductory Grammar by Eric G. Jay
2. Any good Greek Lexicon
3. New Testament Greek Bible
Introduction
Greek language is originally spoken by the inhabitants of that part of the Balkan Peninsula called
ancient Greece (from the Latin – Graeci; a name given to them by the Romans). It was also spoken
by the Hellens ({Ellhnej); settlers in other parts of the coast of the Mediterranean – Hellas (ʽElla,j).
Hence the language came to be known as Hellenic – h` ʽEllhnikh. glw/ssa. It has been in existence
from the time of Homer (Between 12th and 8th Cent B.C.) to this day.
1
John Homer Huddilston, Essentials of New Testament Greek, London, Macmillian & Co., Ltd., 1961, xiv-xv.
2
John Homer Huddilston, Essentials of New Testament Greek, London, Macmillian & Co., Ltd., 1961, xix.
2
Capital Small Names of the English Pronunciation
letter letters letters equivalent
a a alpha a as in father
dz (internal) as in adze
m m mū m as in man
x x xī x as in axe, lax
p p pī p as in put, pet
j (final)
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Note:
g , g is pronounced n when appears before the gutturals g, k, x, c and is called gamma nasal. For
instance a;ggeloj a messenger is pronounced angelos (g hard [Latin – angelus = messenger]), sfi,gx-
sphinx, agkw,n- ankon (elbow), fa,lagx - phalanx
- As in many languages influenced by Latin, one might be tempted to dot an iota. This should not be.
- A short vowel becomes long when followed by two or more consonants or by a double consonant.
e.g: in eu;aggeliou, a becomes long.
- i usually becomes j or y when used as a consonant in English; e.g., ̓ Ihsou/j- Jesus; ̓Iakw,b- Yakob.
- Initial r which always has a rough breathing (r`), becomes rh in English and pronunciation; e.g.,
“rhetoric”.
- The small letter sigma has two forms s and j. s is used when sigma begins a word and when it
appears in the middle. j is used only when it appear at the end of the word. For example: stasij –
stasis.
Consonants
The 17 consonants (con+sonants = sounding with) are classified in two different ways:
A. According to whether or not they can be pronounced by themselves and without a vowel sound:
1. Mutes (stops): Cannot be pronounced without the assistance of a slight vowel sound; subdivided
into:
(a) Hard or unaspirated Mutes (voiceless): consonants require no exertion of the vocal chords - k t p
(b) Soft Mutes (voiced): produced when the vocal chords vibrate - g d b
(c) Aspirated Mutes (voiceless aspirates): consonants require exertion of the vocal chords - c q f
2. Semivowels: Consonants which can be sounded without the assistance of even a slight vowel
sound; subdivided into:
(a) Nasals: So called because the breath passes through the nose: m n (g when pronounced as n)
(b) Spirants (sibilants): (from Latin spiro, “breathe”): heard when the breath passage of the oral cavity
is so narrow that a rubbing sound is produced by an expiration: s
(c) Liquids: So called to express the rippling nature of the sound: l r
OR
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4. Nasal: sounds produced by passing breath through the nose: m n (g nasal)
5. Liquids: sounds produced by rolling of the tongue: l r
6. Spirant (sibilant): (from Latin spiro, “breathe”): s
Movable Consonants
Movable n may be added
1. at the end of a word when the next word begins with a vowel (and sometimes to m t d k) or
punctuation follows.
2. to words ending in -si.
3. 3rd person singular in -e or i (but not ei).
4. to esti,.
5. to dative plural ending in i.
Movable j could be found in few words, namely: ou]tw (j) “thus”, a;cri(j) “until”, mevcri(j) “until”, evk
“out of, from.
Vowels
There are seven vowels in Greek. These include: a, e, h, i, o, u and w.
e and o are always short.
h and w are always long.
a, i and u may be either short or long.
Diphthongs
The term diphthong (di,fqo,ggoj – having two sounds) comes from two Greek words di,j - twice and
fqo,ggoj – a sound. Diphthong, therefore, means a combination of two vowels acting as a unit and
pronouncing one sound. They produce unique and distinctive sounds. A diphthong represents a
distinct syllable, when considered from the point of view of word division.
Diphthongs form part of one syllable and act as long vowels except final -ai and -oi.
Note:
1. The second vowel of the diphthong is either i or u.
2. These eight diphthongs are called proper diphthongs.
Syllables
A few rules will be sufficient in identifying syllables
1. A word has as many syllables as it has vowels and/or diphthongs, ἀ-lh,-qei-a (truth).
2. A single consonant standing between two vowels in one word belongs with the second vowel, e.g.,
a;-gw (I lead) so-fi,-zw (I give wisdom).
3. If two consonants that may begin a word occur in succession, they are not divided but begin another
syllable. For example, in me-ta-sch-ma-ti,-zw. sc may begin a word, e.g., scolh, (school), and does not
divide. Others include: st in cri-stou/, sto,ma (mouth), br in ʼA-bra-a,m, brw/ma (food).
4. When two consonants that cannot begin a word occur together internally, they usually divide so
that one closes the first syllable and the other begins the next syllable, e.g. av-del-fo,j (brother), ev-ge,n-
nh-qhn (I was been).
5. If three consonants occur in succession, the first closes one syllable, and the other two are
pronounced together as the beginning of the next syllable, e.g. gas-tri, (belly).
6. Consonants followed by m or n usually do not divide, e.g., pneu/ma = pneu/-ma (breath, wind);
evpignw/sij = ev-pi-gnw/-sij (knowledge).
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Types of Syllables:
The last syllable of a word is called the ultima, the syllable before the ultima is called the penult
(almost last), and the syllable before the penult is called the antepenult.
Variations in Syllables:
a) Open and Closed Syllables:
A syllable ending in a vowel or diphthong is said to be open; one ending in a consonant is closed;
e.g., mh-thr (mother) - the first syllable is open and the second is closed.
b) Short and Long Syllables:
- A syllable is short when it contains a short vowel followed by a vowel or a single consonant, e.g.,
qe-oj (god), evv-no,-mi-sa (I thought).
- A syllable is long when it contains a long vowel or diphthong, e.g. dou/-loj (slave).
2. Punctuations
Greek manuscripts often omit punctuation signs altogether, but those used in printed Greek are:
Period (.) as in English
Comma (,) as in English
Colon or semicolon (˙) a dot above the line
Question mark or note of interrogation (;) English semicolon
Other signs include:
Crasis (from the Greek kra/sij, meaning mingling) is the “fusing” of two words into one. This usually
happens when a vowel at the end of a word blends with another vowel at the beginning of the next
word. This is placed over the syllable formed by the crasis. Thus, the words kai. ἑgw,, through become
crasis, kἀgw,. This is a phenomenon involving only sound. The meaning is not affected in any way.
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Greek korwni,j ,(coronis ’) meaning hook - similar to or identical with a smooth breathing.
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Accent
Accent was invented to assist foreigners in correct pronunciation of Greek language. It does not
indicate stress on a syllable but the pitch of the voice.
There are three accent marks:
1. Acute ( ´ ; a,) indicates rise in the voice (raised tone). It can rest over short or long vowels and
diphthongs. It may stand on ultima, penult or antepenult; e.g., kalo,j, dai,mwn, a;nqrwpoj.
2. Grave ( ̀ ; a. ) indicates that the pitch is flat (low-pitched tone); the vowel is to be pronounced
as normal. It can rest over short or long vowel and diphthongs. It stands on the ultima only;
e.g., kai., aὐto.j. However, this mark is usually not written.
3. Circumflex ( ̂ ; a/) indicates a rise followed by a fall in the voice; hence, formed by the
combination of the acute and grave signs. It combines the tones of acute and grave. It can rest
over vowels long by nature and diphthongs. It may stand on ultima or penult; e.g., gh/, Qeou/,
dw/ron, tou/to.
* So, when acute or circumflex is not written, it is to be taken that it has grave mark even when not
marked.
Also, accents provide means of distinguishing between different words with the same spelling; e.g.,
ti,j- who?; tij- someone.
Note:
i) If an accent occurs on diphthong, it is written over the second vowels: ai,, ai., ai/.
ii) When an accent and a breathing mark are placed over the same vowel, the acute or grave follows
the breathing mark, e.g., ai;rw (I lift) h;, ai], o]roi (boundary).
iii) The circumflex is placed over the breathing mark, e.g., oi=noj, ou-toj,
iv) An accent on the initial syllable of a word beginning with a capital vowel is written to the left of
it with the breathing, Ἢggizen, +Hlqon, but if the syllable is a diphthong, the accent is placed above
the second vowel, e.g. Ou]twj, Ou-toj, except for capitals of a|, h|, w| (as in ;Aidhj) where the accent
stands before the first vowel.
v) When a word has an acute on the last syllable, e.g., avrch,, the acute is turned into a grave accent
(when other words follow) unless a full stop or colon immediately follows; e.g., auvto.n, auvto,n.
Therefore, the grave is written in place of a final acute on a word that is followed immediately by
another word in the sentence.
vi) The accent is always recessive (i.e., it goes back as far as possible from the last syllable). The last
syllable determines the position of the accent. If the last syllable is long, the accent always occurs on
the next to the last syllable – the penult; otherwise, on the third syllable – antepenult. If the ultima is
long, the acute accent may stand on one of the last syllables only; e.g., avnqrw,pw|; and the circumflex
on the last syllable only; grafh/j.
vii) The circumflex accent may stand on long syllables only; e.g., dw/ra, grafw/n.
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viii) The penult (the last second to the last syllable) is to be accented, if it is long and the ultima is
short, the accent on the penult must be a circumflex; e.g., oi=koj.
Inflection
Parts of speech
Greek has the following parts of speech: substantive (noun, sometimes adjectives), adjectives,
pronouns, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and particles
Verbs
Verbs are simply known as action words. They usually give meaning to sentences. They are regarded
as the most important part of the speech to any language.
b) Mood: The form showing the attitude of the speaker. This is subjective.
Indicative (present, future, past).
Imperative
Conjunctive (subjunctive and optative)
Infinitive: Infinitives are verbal nouns. This means that they have features common with both
verbs and nouns. For instance, Greek also has verbal infinitive like participle and verbal adjective.
c) Tense: The form depicting the distance between the moment of utterance and the time it was said.
Present, Imperfect, Future, Aorist, Perfect and Pluperfect.
These could be categorized or viewed in 3 fundamental ways:
i) durative, incomplete action (present and imperfect): actions here do not express limits because it is
or was continuous; i.e., it is or was taking place, repeating.
ii) unitary or complete action (future and aorist): actions here are viewed as whole, regardless of how
long the action took or might take.
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iii) complete action emphasizing result or state of being (perfect and pluperfect): actions here are
considered as perfected or completed in the past but the effect of which are continuing in the present;
i.e., there is the past or present state or result are based on a previously completed action. Diagram:
Active Passive
Present: I kill, I am killing I am (being killed) It is a tense that denotes ongoing event or
continuing event. The tense itself does not
tell you if I’m ever going to stop the
killing or being killed. Therefore, it is not
a completed action.
Imperfect: I was killing I was being killed Like the present, the imperfect is
“imperfective” and uncompleted; only
that it is past tense and denote continuous,
repeated or attempted action; it was going
on in the past – who can tell if I ever
stopped killing or being killed; only the
context might tell.
Future: I shall kill I shall be killed This denotes a simple and complete
action in the future. It is saying; I will do
this specific future act or the act will be
done to me. This is without reference to
how long it may take me or whoever, to
do it.
Aorist: I killed I was killed This is usually translated with the English
past simple tense. It is pure and simple.
The aorist does not tell whether the action
was momentary or prolonged. It does not
say how long it took me to kill or be killed
– simply that I killed or I was killed. No
more, no less.
Perfect: I have killed I have been killed While the action was done in the past but
the effect of the action is still present. It is
a completed or perfected action. It looks
back from the point of the present.
I have killed or have been killed, but the
consequences of the killing are ongoing. I
am currently in the state of having killed
or having being killed.
Pluperfect: I had killed I had been killed This is a past historic tense of the perfect
tense. It is a tense of completion or
perfection like the perfect tense. While
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the perfect tense looks back to the past
from a point in the present, the pluperfect
looks back from the point of the past.
While the consequences of past action
continued until a more recent time in the
past, they are no longer ongoing. It is like
saying: But look who killed or is killed.
Example with an irregular verb in English:
Present: I go, I am going.
Imperfect: I was going.
Future: I will go.
Aorist: I went.
Perfect: I have gone; I am gone.
Pluperfect: I had gone; I was gone.
Verb formation
Greek verbs are divided into 2 main classes: those ending in -w and those ending in -mi. Those ending
in -w are far more numerous than those ending in -mi.
The second conjugations are mi- conjugations.
Number of the verb: This points to the quantity of the verb: for example: Singular or plural.
Person: This refers to who is acting. These could bear the name or names or pronounces of the
subject. These could be:
Singular Plural
First person: I We
Second person: You You
Third person: He, She or It They
Greek verbs are highly inflected. The inflection of verbs are usually referred to as Conjugations. It
has these components:
Stems: Refer to the part of the word that expresses the root idea. It is usually invariable. Many verbs
have both a verb stem and a present stem. In some verbs, both stems appear in different forms.
Inflection or Flexion: Refers to augmentations or reduplications affixed (added) to the stem. These
include: prefixes (added in beginning) and suffixes (added at the end).
These affixes provide information that nuances the basic meaning of the verb.
Suffixes are added to the end of the stem to express person, number, tense, voice and mood.
Lexical form of a verb refers to the form you would use to look up the word in a Greek lexicon or
dictionary. It usually comes in the first person singular form.
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Parsing Greek Verbs:
Parsing is stating precisely what part of speech a word is. Parsing a verb means identifying its
-person (1st pers sg/pl, 2nd pers sg/pl, 3rd pers sg/pl)
-number (Singular or plural)
-tense (present, imperfect, future, aorist, perfect, pluperfect)
-voice (active, middle, passive)
-mood (indicative, imperative, conjunction [subjunctive or optative], infinitive)
-and lexical form
Parsing a noun involves, giving the following:
- case
-number
- nominative singular (for more details, the genitive singular)
Parsing an adjective or pronoun involves identifying the following:
- gender
- case
- number
- nominative singular
Linking vowels: These connect the endings with stem. All active indicative verbs have linking
vowels that connect the endings to the stem. The linking vowels given here are for present and future
tenses. These include:
Singular Plural
First person -w -o
Second person: - ei -e
Third person: - ei - ou
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Root or stem of both present and future tenses active voices
To identify the present-tense active-voice verb, simply remove the final from the lexical form. Thus
the stem of luw (I loose, release) is lu-.
Note:
Other functions of Present Indicative Active
a) Punctiliar meaning:
The present indicative normally expresses linear action in the present. For example, lu,w “I am
loosing”. But some verbs could have punctiliar (unextended point of time) meaning. For
example, r̔ api,zw “I slap”. le,gw “I say” is more frequent. However, there is no difficulty in translation.
b) Iterative Present:
The present indicative can also be used to represent repeated action. For example:
kaq’ ̔hme,ran avpoqnh,skw (I Cor 15:31) “I die daily”
a;lloj pro. evmou/ katabai,nei (John 5:7) “another (always) steps down before me”
c) Attempted action:
There are a few instances in the NT, where the Present indicative active was used to represent
attempted action (Conative present). For example, liqa,zete (John 10:32) “You try (want) to stone me”.
d) Historic present:
In narrative, to emphasis vividness, the present indicative active can be used instead of the past tense.
This is common in Mark. For example evkba,llei (drove out, sent out) in Mk 1:12.
e) Futuristic present
Present indicative active can be used to express future sense like English would say (I sail next week).
For example, paradi,dotai (Mk 9:31) will be betrayed. The use of the present tense here implies
assurance.
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f) Gnomic present: Present indicative active can be used to express a general truth.
Future Active Indicative
The first identifier of the future is s affixed (suffixed) to the stem before adding the linking vowel and
the primary endings
In translating the future tense in English, you add the modal verbs: shall, will.
Singular Plural
1 lu, s w (I will loose [release]) / lu, s o men (We will loose [release]) /
be loosing [releasing]) be loosing [releasing])
2 lu, s ei j (You will loose [release]) / lu, s e te (You will loose [release]) /
be loosing [releasing]) be loosing [releasing])
3 lu, s ei (He/she/it will loose [release]) / lu, s ou si(n) (They will loose [release]/
be loosing [releasing]) be loosing [releasing])
Certain changes happen when s combines with gutturals, labials and dentals =
1. Gutturals (Palatals): sounds made by the throat: g k c + s = x
2. Labials: sounds made by the lips: b p f + s = Y
3. Dentals: sounds made by the teeth: d t q + s = dental drops and s is retained.
The first person singular and the third person plural exhibit some variation from tense to tense: n is
added to make pronunciation easier and when vowel follows and often at the end of the sentence.
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Imperfect Tense Active Indicative
The imperfect tense is built on the first principal part – the present tense stem. Both tenses (present
and imperfect) express durative or progressive aspect.
ev +o =w (e̓ + o̓mnu = w̓mnu-) eg, ovnomazw, (present- I name) = wvno,mazon (imperfect – I was
naming)
ev + i or u = no change (e̕ + u̔mn = u̔mn-) eg, ivscu,w (present- I am strong) = i;scuon (imperfect – I was
strengthening)
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The Augment and Compound verbs
Like in many other languages, Greek has compound verbs. This is a combination of a prefix (usually
a preposition) and a simple verb (non-compound verb). For instance, avpolu,w (I release) is a compound
of the prefix avpo, and the simple verb lu,w.
In a compound verb, the augment is placed on or before the stem of the simple verb. That is, after the
prefixed preposition. For example, e̓kba,llw with an augment (e̓k + e + ba,llw) becomes e̓xe,ballon, (the k
of ek changes to x before a subsequent vowel), not h̓kba,llon.
If the preposition ends in a vowel, the final vowel will drop off before an augment. For example,
a̓polu,w becomes a̓pe,luon. But the preposition peri, and pro,, retain their final vowels, For example,
prope,mpw become proe,pempon.
There are two forms of Aorist. These are referred to as First or Weak Aorist and Second or Strong
Aorist. Very few verbs have both. These two have no difference in meaning except for those verbs
that have both.
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1. As in every Indicative Active tense, get the stem by removing the last w- from the Lexicon form.
For example, luw = lu.
2. Like the Imperfect, Aorist has prefixed augment e-; which indicates its past time. For example, luw
(loose) ev + lu = evlu-; diw,kw (pursue) gives ev + diwk = evdiwk-.
3. If the verb stem begins with a vowel (as in imperfect tense), the ev will be absorbed into the vowel
and the vowel will be lengthened according to the following patterns:
ev + a or e = h (e̓ + a̓g = h̓g-) eg, a;gw (present- I lead).
- If the verb stem begins with a diphthong, the lengthening will take one of the following forms (as
in imperfect):
e + au or eu = hu (e+ eu̔risk = hu̔risk-).
e + ai or ei = h| (e + ai̕r = h|̕r-).
e + oi = w| (e + oi̕kt = w̕|kt-).
Note that the iota in ai , ei and oi endures as a subscript.
4. The rules in Imperfect as regards the changes in the simple verb of the compound verb apply here.
For example, uparcw is a combination of upo and arcw, So ev + uparc = uphrc.
5. s is suffixed to the stem as in future. Here, it indicates a weak aorist and not future time. Hence,
the same changes that take place when you suffix s to palatals, labials and dental consonants repeat
here thus:
- Gutturals (Palatals): sounds made by the throat: g k c + s = x
- Labials: sounds made by the lips: b p f + s = Y
- Dentals: sounds made by the teeth: d t q + s = dental drops and s is retained.
For instance, diw,kw (pursue): evdiwk + s = evdi,wx; gra,fw (write) graf + s = e;gray; pei,qw (persuade); peiq +
s = e;peis .
6. When s encounters liquid and nasal consonants, the s disappears but the influence is felt, and is
shown in a compensating lengthening of the stem. For example, me,nw (remain) men + s = emein.
7. The linking vowel for all the persons in Singular and plural is a except 3rd person singular which is
e. These are attached directly to s. Thus:
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2 a a
3 e a
8. The secondary ending apply but the first person singular has no ending. Thus, we have
Singular Plural
First person: - no ending - men
Second person: -j - te
Third person: - (movable n) - n (or -san)
Singular Plural
1 e; lu s a (I loosed) ev lu, s a men (We loosed)
2 e; lu s a j (You loosed) ev lu, s a te (You loosed)
3 e; lu s e (n) (He/she/it loosed) e; lu s a n (They loosed)
The negative is translated by adding “did”. For instance ouvk e;lusan = They did not loose; ouvk evgrayamen
= They did not write.
N/B: Notice the difference in translation between Aorist passive and imperfect
Imperfect Active Aorist Active Aorist passive
I was killing I killed I was killed
I was loosing I loosed I was loosed
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Formation of Perfect Tense Active Indicative
1. There is a reduplication of the initial consonant for verbs or stems beginning with consonants
(except r). For example, lu,w = l-lu. Reduplication signifies a tense of completion.
2. ev is attached to the reduplicated initial consonant before the stem. For example, lu,w = le,-lu, pisteu =
pe-pisteu.
3. Suffix k to the stem. The First or Weak Perfect has k but the Second or Strong Perfect tense has no
k.
4. In cases of compound verbs, the reduplication and e come after the preposition. For example, ekball
= ekbeball.
5. The consonants f (phi), c (chi) and q (theta) reduplicate in a modified form with p, k and t
respectively (that is the basic sound without the aspiration). Note carefully the following patterns:
f = pe (feugw [I flee, I escape] = pefeug-)
c = ke (carijomai [I graciously confer, pardon, forgive] = kecaris-)
q = te (quw [I sacrifice] = tequ-)
6. Verbs whose stems begin with two consonants; the second being either guttural (g k c), dental (d t
q) or labial (b p f), prefix ev instead of duplicating.
7. Double consonants; viz. x (xi), z (zeta) and Y (psi) cannot be reduplicated because double
consonants cannot be redoubled. Instead, they prefix ev. For example, zhte,w (seek) = evzh,th ka.
8. Verbs whose stems begin with two consonants, the second being a liquid ( l r) or a nasal (m n),
repeat the first consonant in reduplication. For example,
gra,fw (write) = ge,graf a,
kli,nw (incline) = ke,kli ka,
qnh,skw (die) = te,qnh ka (I have died, I am dead)
9. Stems beginning with r has the r usually doubled. Therefore, it is prefixed with evr (more usual)
or ̔re (less usual). For example, ̔ri,zomai = evrrizwme,noi (the ending is of the middle or passive
participle); r̔ anti,zw = ̔rerantisme,noi (like the other one, the ending is of the middle or passive participle).
10. A verb with an initial vowel may reduplicate by lengthening the vowel:
a or e lengthens to h (evlpiz = hvlpi);
o lengthens to w (ovmnu= wvmnu-);
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12. As in Aorist, the linking vowel for all the persons in Singular and plural is a except 3rd person
singular which is e. Thus:
2 a a
3 e a
13. It employs secondary endings like Weak Aorist Active Indicative but the third person plural can
appear in two forms: - n or - san. Thus, we have
Singular Plural
First person: - no ending - men
Second person: -j - te
Third person: - (movable n) - n (or -san)
(Weak Perfect)
Verb: pisteuw = pepisteuka.
Singular Plural
1 pe pisteu k a (I have believed) pe pisteu k a men (We have believed)
* First or Weak perfect is usually predominant with verbs with vowel stems.
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Strong Perfect
Remember, Strong Perfect has no k as was stated above but the reduplication is evident
(Strong Perfect)
Verb: gra,fw = ge, graf a.
Singular Plural
1 ge, graf a (I have written) ge gra,f a men (We have written)
3 ge, graf e (n) (He/She/It has ge gra,f a si(n) (They have written)
written)
* As usual, we have cases of irregular verbs. An example is in the Second or Strong Perfect is
2 pe, poiq a j (You have persuaded) pe, poiq a te (You have persuaded)
3 pe, poiq e (n) (He/She/It has pe, poiq a si(n) (They have persuaded)
persuaded)
*Note 1: oi=da is a strange verb which has the same meaning as ginw,skw (I know, I am knowing). The
present tense form of oi=da does not occur in the NT. As could be seen the lexical form already appears
as Second/strong Perfect, so it is conjugated thus:
2 oi=d a j (You know; are knowing) oi=d a te (You know; are knowing)
3 oi=d e (n) (He/She/It has knows; oi=d a si(n) (They know; are knowing)
is knowing)
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* Note 2: In strong/second perfect, when the final consonants are b z, these change to their aspirated
forms before the personal endings (i.e, f g respectively). For example, kra,zw (cry) = ke,kraga. lamba,nw
appears thus:
Verb: lamba,nw (I take)
Singular Plural
1 ei;lhf a (I have taken) ei;lhf a men (We have taken)
3 ei;lhf e (n) (He/She/It has taken) ei;lhf a si(n) (They have taken)
1. The pluperfect indicative is formed from the perfect active stem. That is, the reduplicated stem.
Reduplication signifies a tense of completion.
2. As a secondary tense (historic time), it has an augment but this could be omitted. This is because
by the time of the NT writings, the pluperfect was only augmented sporadically.
3. The augment is formed according to the rules for the augment in the imperfect and the aorist. Note
that for verbs beginning with a vowel, the augment would have no effect on the vowel already
lengthened due to reduplication.
5. Pluperfect only has -ei as the linking vowels. In some cases, this diphthong is the only element that
distinguishes the pluperfect from the perfect. Note that the perfect active has either a or e as the linking
vowels.
6. The only difference between the endings of the pluperfect and those of the imperfect and aorist
active tenses is that the 3rd plural ending is always -san and never -n. Thus:
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Singular Plural
First person: - n (or no ending) - men
Second person: -j - te
Third person: - (no ending [movable n]) - san
2 (ev) lelu, k ei j (You had loosed) (ev)v lelu, k ei te (You had loosed)
3 (ev)v lelu, k ei (He/She/It had (ev)v lelu, k ei san (They had loosed)
loosed)
(Weak Pluperfect)
Verb: pisteuw.
Singular Plural
1 (ev) pe pisteu, k ei n (I had believed) (ev) pe pisteu, k ei men (We had believed)
(and the effect
had continued)
2 (ev) pe pisteu, k ei j (You had believed) (ev) pe pisteu, k ei te (You had believed)
3 (ev) pe pisteu, k ei (He/She/It had (ev) pe pisteu, k ei san (They had believed)
believed)
(Strong Pluperfect)
This is formed from a strong perfect. Notice that there is no suffixed -k to the stem.
Verb: gra,fw.
Singular Plural
1 (ev) ge gra,f ei n (I had written) (ev) ge gra,f ei men (We had written)
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2 (ev) ge gra,f ei j (You had written) (ev) ge gra,f ei te (You had written)
3 (ev) ge gra,f ei (He/She/It had written) (ev) ge gra,f ei san (They had written)
Verb: oi=da
Singular Plural
1 h|;d ei n (I knew; was knowing) h;|d ei men (We knew; were knowing)
2 h;|d ei j (You knew; were knowing) h|;d ei te (You knew; were knowing)
3 h;|d ei (He/She/It knew; was knowing) h|;d ei san (They knew; were knowing)
The verb “to be” eivmi, in Greek is intransitive (that is, it cannot take a direct object). It expresses a
state of being rather than an action. It indicates existence (God is). It is a copulative (or coupling)
verb; that is, it joins or links the subject with an adjective as predicate (God is good. Joy is happy.
Paul is smart) or noun phrases (Jesus is the good shepherd. John is a creative artist). The italicised
words and phrases are not direct objects rather they are subject complements. The conjugation of the
verb “to be” is irregular so the easiest way to go about it is by mastering it. It has neither active nor
passive voice. There are three tenses. These include present, imperfect and future indicative moods.
They are conjugated as follows:
Singular Plural
1 eivmi, (I am) evsme,n (We are)
eivmi, = I am
Singular Plural
1 h;mhn (I was) h-men or h-meqa (We were)
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2 h-j (You [sg.] were) h-te (You [pl.] were)
eivmi, = I am
Singular Plural
1 e;someai (I shall be) evso,meqa (We shall be)
2 e;sh| (You [sg.] shall be) e;sesqe (You [pl.] shall be)
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