NGRK 520 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY TEXTBOOK CHAPTER 16_21 STUDY MATERIALS 2023.pdf

The future can be used to make a command.

2. A comparative adjective such as μείζων is almost always followed by a word in the genitive (the

“genitive of comparison”) to indicate comparison. You can use the key word “than.”

Chapter 16

Present Active Indicative

Exegetical Insight

One of the elements of Greek grammar that you will meet in this lesson is that if a sentence does

not contain a word in the nominative, the subject is included in the verb itself; you can tell what

pronoun to use as the subject by the ending on the verb. But if the Greek sentence has a pronoun in

the nominative, the author is placing emphasis on the subject of the verb.

Numerous times in John’s gospel, beginning with John 6:35, Jesus uses the pronoun ἐγώ with the

verb “to be” in the expression ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ … (“I am the …”; see also 6:41; 8:12; 9:5; 10:7,9,11,14;

11:25; 14:6; 15:1,5). In each case, he is emphasizing who he is. For example, when Jesus says ἐγώ

εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς (6:35) he is, as it were, pointing a finger towards himself and saying, “If you

want spiritual nourishment in your life, then look to me and me only, for I am the bread of life.” The

other ἐγώ εἰμι verses have a similar emphasis. Anything that we want in our spiritual lives we can

find by looking to our blessed Savior Jesus Christ.

There is more. Jesus’ use of ἐγώ εἰμι harks back to the Old Testament, to the story of Moses when

he was approached by God at the burning bush (Exod 3). When Moses challenged the Lord to give

his name, God replied by saying (in the Septuagint), ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν (“I am the one who is”). That is,

Yahweh is the great “I AM” (Exod 3:14). Jesus taps into this famous title for God when he says to the

Jews, “Before Abraham was, I am (ἐγώ εἰμι)” (John 8:58), ascribing to himself the very same name

that Yahweh used in the Old Testament concerning himself. And this same name and expression

underlie all of Jesus’ ἐγώ εἰμι statements in John’s Gospel.

Verlyn Verbrugge

Overview

In this chapter you will learn:

■ that the present tense in the

indicative describes an action that usually

occurs in the present time;

■ that the aspect of the present tense

can be continuous or undefined;

■ the three parts to a present active

indicative verb: present tense stem,

connecting vowel, personal ending;

■ the primary active personal endings.

English

16.1 The present indicative describes an action occurring in the present. The active voice is used

when the subject is performing the action of the verb. The indicative mood describes a fact or asks

a question.

For example, “I see the tall man.” “See” describes an action that is being performed by the subject

of the sentence “I” at the present time.

Greek

16.2 The present active indicative verb in Greek is basically the same as in English. It describes

an action that normally occurs in the present. It can be either a continuous (“I am studying”) or

undefined (“I study”) action.

Remember: the time of the verb is from the standpoint of the speaker/writer, not the reader. What is

present to the biblical writer may or may not be present to us.

16.3 Chart. At the beginning of every chapter that introduces a new verbal form, I will include

one of these summary charts.

The chart is one of the most important elements of each chapter, so be sure to learn it well. Of

course, you first must read through the chapter for it to make sense.

In the present tense, a verb is composed of three parts: the present tense stem; the connecting

vowel; a personal ending.

Present tense stem +Connecting vowel +Primary active personal endings

λυ + ο + μεν ▶ λύομεν

Okay, you’ve learned 1 through 10, but that’s

not enough to do math or play football. Here

are 11 through 20. For more numbers, check

MBG (page 247).

11. ἕνδεκα

12. δώδεκα (or δεκαδύο)

13. δεκατρεῖς (or τρεισκαίδεκα)

14. δεκατέσσαρες

15. δεκαπέντε

16. ἑκκαίδεκα

17. ἑπτακαίδεκα

18. δεκαοκτώ (or ὀκτωκαὶδεκα)

19. ἐννεακαίδεκα

20. εἴκοσι(ν)

16.4 Present tense stem. In Chapter 20, I will discuss in detail the concept of the tense stem.

For now it is sufficient to say that the tense stem is the most basic form of the verb in a particular

tense (like the stem of a noun). It is what is left when you remove the connecting vowel and

personal endings. For example, the stem of λύετε is λυ. The stem is what carries the basic meaning

of the verb.

16.5 Connecting vowel. The connecting vowel is the vowel that connects the verbal stem to the

personal ending. In the indicative mood, if the personal ending begins with mu or nu, the connecting

vowel is omicron; the connecting vowel in every other case is epsilon. If no personal ending is used,

the connecting vowel can be either omicron or epsilon.

λεγ

μεν

▶

λέγομεν

λεγ

τε

▶

λέγετε

λεγ

—

▶

λέγω

The connecting vowels are the same for all the tenses in the indicative mood. Their purpose is to

help with pronunciation; it is easier to pronounce λέγομεν than λέγμεν.

16.6 Personal ending. The personal ending is added to the connecting vowel in order to

designate person and number. This is necessary because the verb must agree with its subject in

person and number.

One of the advantages of a language using personal endings is that you can tell who is doing the

action of the verb because the ending shows person and number. Even if the subject is not stated,

you can discover it from the personal ending on the verb.

Another advantage is that if the subject is expressed, you can confirm that it is the subject by

checking the person and number of the verb against it. This double check should always be

employed since you are really serious about learning the language.

Now have some fun. Perhaps you could do

some simple math drills. Divide the class into

teams and do some speed math on the

board. You can use this formula:

“——καί ——εἰσιν ——.”

For example, the verb λέγεις means “you say” (second person). If you have the two words σύ and

ἄνθρωπος and both look like the subject, the verb tells you that the subject must be σύ because

ἄνθρωπος is third person.

The disadvantage of using personal endings is that there is more to memorize, but this is really a

small price to pay for the advantages you receive.

16.7 Primary endings. There are two sets of personal endings you need to learn. The primary

personal endings are used in the present tense and in the tenses discussed through Chapter 20. I

will discuss the secondary personal endings in Chapter 21 and the differences between primary

and secondary endings.

16.8 Voice. Greek differentiates the present active voice (this chapter) from the present middle

and passive (Chapter 18) by using two different sets of personal endings.

Form of the Present Active Indicative

16.9 Introduction. The forms in our paradigms are listed first, second, and third person singular,

and then first, second, and third person plural. From left to right I list the inflected forms, definition,

the connecting vowel, and the personal ending. (The connecting vowels and personal endings are

colored blue.) In some paradigms I include a similar paradigm for comparison in the far right

column.

Pay special attention to the connecting vowel/personal ending combination and what is happening.

This becomes important later on.

16.10 Paradigm: Present active indicative. Be sure to read the footnotes to this paradigm.

form

translation

connecting vowel

personal ending

1 sg

λύω

I am loosing

—

2 sg

λύεις

You are loosing

3 sg

λύει

He/she/it is

loosing

1 pl

λύομεν

We are loosing

μεν

2 pl

λύετε

You are loosing

τε

3 pl

λύουσι(ν)

They are loosing

νσι

16.11 You will notice that the personal endings have sometimes been changed when they are

actually affixed to the verbs. We are faced here with somewhat the same dilemma we were with

nouns: you need to learn what the personal endings actually are, but at times they have been

modified.

πόσα ἔτη ἔχεις; is “How old are you?” (Modern

Greek is, πόσο χρόνων είσαι.) Go around and

ask each other. Be sure to answer in Greek.

ἔχω —— ἔτη.

With the primary active endings it is best to learn the endings as ω, εις, ει, ομεν, ετε, ουσι(ν), but

always be able to identify the connecting vowel and the true personal ending.

16.12 Master Personal Ending Chart. There are only two charts that you need to learn for verbs.

The following is the first, and is called the Master Personal Ending Chart. (I will fill in the other three-

fourths of this chart in later chapters.) The forms in the second column are the real personal

endings; be sure to learn them as well.

In a sense, these two charts are like the one noun chart and eight noun rules. If you know them and

a few rules, you can identify almost any verbal form in the New Testament.

primary tenses

secondary tenses

active voice

λύω

λύεις

λύει

λύομεν

λύετε

λύουσι(ν)

—

μεν

τε

νσι

middle/passive voice

Characteristics of the Present Active Indicative

16.13 Aspect. The present tense indicates either a continuous or undefined action. You can

translate either “I am studying” or “I study.” Choose the aspect that best fits the context. Aspect

always takes precedence over time.

16.14 Time. The present tense form of a verb generally indicates an action occurring in the

present time.

Verbs and Personal Pronouns

16.15 Personal pronouns in the nominative. Because the personal ending indicates person, it is

generally unnecessary to supply the personal pronoun as the subject of the sentence. Greek could

say “I love Robin” by writing ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ Ῥόβιν or simply ἀγαπῶ Ῥόβιν. When a personal pronoun

does occur, it is for emphasis or to clarify the gender of the subject.

■ Emphasis. ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ Ῥόβιν would be saying “I love Robin.” The combination of the

personal pronoun and the “I” in the verb creates an emphatic expression. Often the emphasis is by

way of contrast, as the examples below show.

οὐχ ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω ἀλλʼ ὡς σύ (Matt 26:39).

Not as I will but as you (will).

Ἰησοῦς αὐτὸς οὐκ ἐβάπτιζεν ἀλλʼ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ (John 4:2).

Jesus was not baptizing, but his disciples.

Now for the really important stuff. You need

to play (American) football. Use the numbers

to draw the other team offsides: εἷς, ὀκτώ,

δεκαπέντε. But what can we use for “hike.”

δίδωμι means “to give” (Chapter 34). The

imperative (Chapter 35) is δός.

ἕξ, ἑπτακαίδεκα, ἑπτά, δός, δός.

Some grammars ask you to translate the nominative form of the pronoun with an intensive pronoun:

“I myself love Robin.” “Jesus himself was not baptizing.” Others permit you to avoid the awkward

English and simply to recognize that the emphasis is there. Check with your teacher.

■ Gender. When you find αὐτός in the nominative, it tells you the gender of the subject—

something the personal ending cannot. One note of caution: αὐτός can be used when the verb is

first or second person. In this case αὐτός is translated first or second person (“I/we” or “you”) and

not third person (“he”).

For example, αὐτὴ λέγεις (second person singular “you speak”) ἀνθρώποις might seem to mean,

“She speaks to men.” This is incorrect. The αὐτή is merely adding emphasis to the subject, which is

“You.” It should be translated “You (yourself) speak to men.”

Summary

1. The present active indicative

describes an action that usually occurs in the

present time.

2. The present tense verb is composed

of three parts: present verbal stem,

connecting vowel, and primary personal

ending.

3. The tense stem is the basic form of

the verb in a particular tense.

4. In the indicative mood, if the personal

ending begins with mu or nu, the connecting

vowel is omicron; otherwise the connecting

vowel is epsilon. If there is no personal

ending, the connecting vowel can be either

omicron or epsilon.

5. A verb agrees with its subject in

person and number.

6. The present active tense uses the

primary active endings: ω, εις, ει, ομεν, ετε,

ουσι(ν). The real personal endings are ——, ς,

ι, μεν, τε, νσι.

7. A movable nu can be added to the

third person plural personal ending.

16.16 Master Verb Chart. At the end of each chapter on verbs, I include my “Master Verb Chart.” It

lists the different parts of each verbal form. As you learn new verbal forms, the chart will grow. It is

the second chart you must learn for verbs, and is in fact the key to the entire verbal system; learn it

well. The full chart is in the Appendix.

There is a column for “Aug/Redup” and another for “Tense form.” You will not learn what these mean

until later chapters, so ignore them for now. The column entitled “1st sing paradigm” is the form of

the paradigm verb in the first person singular.

Master Verb Chart

Tense

Aug/Redup

Tense stem

Tense form

Conn. vowel

Personal

endings

1st sing

paradigm

Present act

pres

ο/ε

prim act

λύω

Vocabulary

Following the frequency of each verb, I list the word’s present tense stem preceded with an

asterisk. At first you should pronounce each verb with each of its six possible personal endings.

The line below the definition contains forms of the verb you do not yet know. If you are making your

own flash cards, write these forms down on the definition side of the card. I will explain what the

forms mean in later chapters.

You have already learned the verb λέγω in Chapter 8, but it is included here so you can see the full

entry.

ἀκούω

I hear, learn, obey, understand (428; *ακου)

(ἤκουον), ἀκούσω, ἤκουσα, ἀκήκοα, ——,

ἠκούσθην

ἀκούω can take a direct object in either the

genitive or accusative.

βλέπω

I see, look at (132; *βλεπ)

(ἔβλεπον), βλέψω, ἔβλεψα, ——, ——, ——

ἔχω

I have, hold (708; *σεχ)

(εἶχον), ἕξω, ἔσχον, ἔσχηκα, ——, ——

In the present tense, the sigma in the root is

replaced with a rough breathing, which in turn

is lost because of the chi. It will reappear in

the future when the chi changes. See MBG if

you want more information, page 260.

λέγω

I say, speak (2,353; *λεγ, *ϝερ, *ϝιπ)

(ἔλεγον), ἐρῶ, εἶπον, εἴρηκα, εἴρημαι, ἐρρέθην

λύω

I loose, untie, destroy (42; *λυ)

(ἔλυον), λύσω, ἔλυσα, ——, λέλυμαι, ἐλύθην

νόμος, -ου, ὁ

law, principle (194; *νομο)

ὅπου

where (82)

πιστεύω

I believe, have faith (in), trust (241; *πιστευ)

(ἐπίστευον), πιστεύσω, ἐπίστευσα,

πεπίστευκα, πεπίστευμαι, ἐπιστεύθην

πιστεύω can take a direct object in either the

dative or accusative. It is the cognate verb of

the noun πίστις and adjective πιστός.

πρόσωπον, -ου, τό

face, appearance (76; *προσωπο)

τότε

then, thereafter (160)

τυφλός, -ή, -όν

blind (50; *τυφλο)

χαρά, -ᾶς, ἡ

joy, delight (59; *χαρα)

Total word count in the New Testament:

138,162

Number of words learned to date:

180

Number of word occurrences in this chapter:

2,172

Number of word occurrences to date:

94,367

Percent of total word count in the New

Testament:

68.30%

workbook summary

Exegesis

The technical name for each use of the tense is in blue. These are the terms you will see in

advanced grammars and commentaries. As you can see by the multiple entries, grammarians have

not settled on any one name for many of the uses.

1. Sometimes a Greek present describes an action that happens immediately. In other words,

it has no real continuous nature (instantaneous, aoristic, punctiliar).

τέκνον, ἀφίενταί σου αἱ ἁμαρτίαι (Mark 2:5).

My son, your sins are forgiven.

2. The Greek present can describe an ongoing action, even though in real time the action does

not last very long (progressive, descriptive).

ἐὰν γὰρ προσεύχωμαι γλώσσῃ, τὸ πνεῦμά μου προσεύχεται (1 Cor 14:14).

For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit is praying.

3. Some actions occur repeatedly (iterative).

πολλάκις γὰρ πίπτει εἰς τὸ πῦρ (Matt 17:15).

For often he falls into the fire.

Or how about agreeing on a number, say

εἴκοσι, and as soon as your numbers add up

to εἴκοσι you hike the ball and run for a

touchdown. ἐννέα, πέντε, δύο, τέσσαρες, and

run like mad!

4. Actions occur regularly but not necessarily at the same time (customary, habitual, general).

νηστεύω δὶς τοῦ σαββάτου (Luke 18:12).

I fast twice a week.

5. Sometimes the Greek present tense will be used to express a timeless fact (gnomic).

ἱλαρὸν δότην ἀγαπᾷ ὁ θεός (2 Cor 9:7).

God loves a cheerful giver.

6. Finally, because the Greek verb system views time as secondary to aspect, it is possible for

the Greek present tense to refer to an action that occurs in the past. The idea is to make the telling

of the past event more vivid by using the present tense (historical, dramatic). We have the same

construction in English, but the Greeks used it much more than we do, so this usage is often

translated with the past tense.

βλέπει τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐρχόμενον πρὸς αὐτόν (John 1:29).

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him.

7. A present tense verb can also be used to describe a future event (futuristic).

ναί, ἔρχομαι ταχύ (Rev 22:20).

Yes, I am coming quickly.

Chapter 17

Contract Verbs

(Present Active Indicative)

Exegetical Insight

The present active indicative often has an imperfective force; that is, it conveys the idea of ongoing

or continuous action. When the Apostle Paul wrote his first letter to the Thessalonian Christians, he

wanted to reassure these new believers that they were not forgotten—that he and his companions

still cared deeply for them. He tells them, “We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in

our prayers” (1 Thess 1:2, NIV).

Paul expresses his constant practice of giving thanks to God by using the present active indicative

verb εὐχαριστοῦμεν. The verb could also, of course, be interpreted as “simple” or “undefined”

action with no overtones of continuous prayer. The adverb “always” (πάντοτε), however, reinforces

our impression that Paul is stressing that he prays regularly for the Thessalonians. It is also likely

that in using the plural “we,” Paul is implying that he met often with Silas and Timothy to pray for

these dear people. Certainly Paul also remembered the Thessalonians in his private times of prayer.

Far from being victimized by a group of itinerant moral preachers who sought their money and food,

the Thessalonians were evangelized by a trio of men who proclaimed to them the living and true

God. These were men whose lives had been touched deeply by the risen Christ and they poured

themselves out to the Thessalonians in a loving and caring way. Their abrupt departure did not

indicate a lack of concern; on the contrary, they were forced to leave, and now they prayed together

constantly to the living God for these fledgling and vulnerable believers!

Clinton E. Arnold

Overview

In this chapter you will learn:

■ the peculiarities of verb stems ending

in α, ε, or ο;

■ the five basic rules governing the

contractions of vowels.

Introduction

17.1 Contract verbs are verbs whose stems end in alpha, epsilon, or omicron. That final vowel is

called the “contract vowel.” For example, the verb ἀγαπάω has a stem ending in alpha (*αγαπα).

Contract verbs follow the standard rules for verbs, but there is one additional point to learn. When

the final stem vowel comes into contact with the connecting vowel, the two vowels contract. The

two vowels will join and often form a different vowel or a diphthong (e.g., *ποιε + ομεν ▶ ποιοῦμεν).

17.2 Contract verbs are categorized according to their final stem vowel. What is encouraging

about contract verbs is that all alpha contracts behave similarly, as do all epsilon and all omicron

contracts. In other words, all contract verbs with stems ending in alpha form their different

inflected endings the same way. Once you learn the forms of ἀγαπάω, you know the inflection

pattern of all other alpha contracts.

Contractions

17.3 Contract verbs are common, and you need to be able to “figure out” what vowels led to a

certain contraction. If you cannot, you will not be able to discover the lexical form of the verb and

thus its meaning.

For example, if you find the form ποιεῖτε, the ει is going to cause problems unless you recognize that

ει can be the result of the contraction of two epsilons. Then you can see that ποιεῖτε is second

person plural of an epsilon contract verb (ποιεῖτε ◄ποιε + ετε).

Often you will discover that several vowel combinations could have given rise to the same

contracted form. For example, ου is formed from the contractions of εο, οε, and οο. If you see

ποιοῦμεν, the connecting vowel and personal ending are ομεν, but is its lexical form ποιέω or

ποιόω?

You meet contractions only in two tenses, the present and the imperfect (Chapter 21). In the other

tenses the contract vowel lengthens and there is no contraction, but more about this later.

17.4 Having said this, I do not want to overstate the significance of understanding contractions.

While knowing what vowels formed the contraction is important for discovering the lexical form of

the word, in most cases it is not significant for parsing. For example, can you parse the following

forms (person and number) even if you do not know what vowels formed the contraction?

person

number

ποιοῦμεν

πληροῦτε

ἀγαπᾷς

ποιῶ

ἀγαπῶσι

17.5 Rules on contraction. Following are the rules showing what contractions are caused by

what vowel combinations. There are a few other possibilities, but you will be shown them as we

come across them. Rules 1 and 2 are the most common.

Rule 7 governs contractions of diphthongs, and illustrations of contracting diphthongs are listed

throughout the rules.

You may also notice that the vowels listed as contracting in rules 1 through 6 are not the real

personal endings but are the altered personal endings you have learned for λύω (ω, εις, ει, etc.).

Rule 8 explains this.

1. ου is formed from εο, οε and οο.

ου

◄

εο

ποιοῦμεν

◄

ποιεομεν

ου

◄

οε

πληροῦτε

◄

πληροετε

ου

◄

οο

πληροῦμεν

◄

πληροομεν

2. ει is formed from εε.

ει

◄

εε

ποιεῖτε

◄

ποιεετε

3. ω is formed from almost any combination of omicron or omega with any other vowel, except

for rule 1.

◄

αο

ἀγαπῶμεν

◄

ἀγαπαομεν

We have a special situation in the lexical form of contract verbs. The alpha, epsilon, or omicron of

the stem is listed in the lexical form because you need to know what that vowel is (e.g., ἀγαπάω).

Teachers differ on this point, but some would

encourage you to start taking your Greek Bible

to church. You will be amazed at how much

you can follow as the English is read.

However, when the word occurs in the text in the first person singular, it will have contracted to the

forms in the paradigm (ἀγαπῶ).

4. α is formed from αε.

◄

αε

ἀγαπᾶτε

◄

ἀγαπαετε

ᾳ

◄

αει

ἀγαπᾷ

◄

ἀγαπαει

5. η is formed from εα.

ῃ

◄

εαι

ποιῇ

◄

ποιηι

◄

ποιεαι

◄

ποιεσαι

The relationship between αε and εα is easy to remember. “The first one wins.” If the alpha is first

(αε), they form a long alpha. If the epsilon is first (εα), they form an eta (which you can think of as

being a long epsilon).

6. Miscellaneous

οι

◄

οει

πληροῖς

◄

πληροεις

πληροῖ

◄

πληροει

7. The contraction of diphthongs. What happens with a diphthong depends upon whether the

contract vowel and the first vowel of the diphthong are the same or different vowels.

a. If the contract vowel and the first vowel of the diphthong are the same,they simplify (i.e.,

one of the double letters drops off).

ει

◄

εει

ποιεῖς

◄

ποιεεις

ου

◄

οου

πληροῦσι

◄

πληροουσι

b. If the contract vowel and the first vowel of the diphthong are different, they contract. If the

second vowel of the diphthong is an iota, it subscripts if possible; if it is an upsilon and the final

letter of the newly contracted diphthong is an upsilon, they simplify to a single upsilon.

ᾳ

◄

αει

ἀγαπᾷ

◄

ἀγαπαει

ου

◄

εου

ποιοῦσιν

◄

ποιεουσι

8. Contract verbs contract as if the true personal endings are those visible in the present

active indicative.

1 sg

αω

▶

ἀγαπῶ

2 sg

αεις

▶

ἀγαπᾷς

3 sg

αει

▶

ἀγαπᾷ

1 pl

αομεν

▶

ἀγαπῶμεν

2 pl

αετε

▶

ἀγαπᾶτε

3 pl

αουσι

▶

ἀγαπῶσι (ν)

Be sure to learn these rules exactly. You will be meeting other contracted forms, and if you know the

rules you will be able to figure them out.

Halftime Review

Of the seven rules, the first five are the most

important.

1. ου is formed from εο, οε, and οο.

2. ει is formed from εε.

3. ω is formed from almost any

combination of omicron or omega with any

other vowel, except for rule 1.

4. α is formed from αε.

5. η is formed from εα.

Contract Verbs

17.6 Paradigm: Present active indicative (contract verbs)

ἀγαπάω means “I love,” ποιέω means “I do,” and πληρόω means “I fill.” The contracting vowels are

listed in parentheses. Work through the paradigm, explaining all the contractions. Pay special

attention to any that may cause you difficulty.

-άω

-έω

-όω

ἀγαπῶ

(αω)

ποιῶ

(εω)

πληρῶ

(οω)

ἀγαπᾷς

(αεις)

ποιεῖς

(εεις)

πληροῖς

(οεις)

ἀγαπᾷ

(αει)

ποιεῖ

(εει)

πληροῖ

(οει)

ἀγαπῶμεν

(αομεν)

ποιοῦμεν

(εομεν)

πληροῦμεν

(οομεν)

ἀγαπᾶτε

(αετε)

ποιεῖτε

(εετε)

πληροῦτε

(οετε)

ἀγαπῶσι(ν)

(αουσι)

ποιοῦσι(ν)

(εουσι)

πληροῦσι(ν)

(οουσι)

17.7 Characteristics of contract verbs

There will almost always be a circumflex over the contracted vowels in the present indicative.

Notice that the endings are nearly the same even when a contraction has not taken place. The

omega is the first person singular ending. The sigma is still present for the second person singular

ending. The plural endings are virtually the same. Concentrate on the similarities.

17.8 Hint. Be sure to remember the rules for the connecting vowel. If you see ἀγαπᾶτε, you may

recognize that the personal ending is τε, but is the verb ἀγαπάω, ἀγαπέω or ἀγαπόω?

■ Since the personal ending begins with tau (ἀγαπᾶτε), the connecting vowel must be an

epsilon.

■ Since ει is formed by εε, you know the verb cannot be an epsilon contract.

■ Since ου is formed by οε, you know the verb cannot be an omicron contract.

■ Therefore, the stem must be an alpha contract: ἀγαπάω.

17.9 In the Appendix (pages 343–44), there is a chart of all possible contractions of single

vowels, and another chart for single vowels and diphthongs.

Summary

1. Contract verbs have stems ending in

α, ε, or ο.

2. The Big Five

The Big Five

1. ου is formed from εο, οε, and οο

2. ει is formed from εε.

3. ω is formed from almost any

combination of omicron or omega with any

other vowel, except for rule 1.

4. α is formed from αε.

5. η is formed from εα.

2. οι is formed from οει.

3. If the contract vowel and the first

vowel of the diphthong are the same, they

simplify.

If the contract vowel and the first vowel of the

diphthong are different, they contract. If the

second vowel of the diphthong is an iota, it

subscripts if possible; if it is an upsilon and

the final letter of the newly contracted

diphthong is an upsilon, they simplify to a

single upsilon.

4. Contract verbs contract as if the

personal endings are those visible in the

present active indicative.

5. The lexical form shows the contract

vowel (ἀγαπάω), but if that form actually

occurs in the text, the contract vowel and

omicron will have contracted (ἀγαπῶ, ποιῶ,

πληρῶ).

6. In the first person singular, no

personal ending is used so the connecting

vowel lengthens to omega.

If you haven’t felt the need to pray yet, you will

soon enough. Here is a prayer a friend of mine

uses in class. You should be able to figure out

what most of it says. Why don’t you memorize

it and use it before every class? I will print the

text a little larger so it is really clear. See page

147 for explanations.

Πάτερ ἡμῶν, ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, ἴσθι μεθʼ

ἡμῶν ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ· βοήθει ἡμῖν

μανθάνουσιν τὴν Ἑλληνικὴν γλῶσσαν·

δίδασκε ἡμῖν τὸν λόγον σου· ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι

τοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ προσευχόμεθα, ἀμήν.

Vocabulary

ἀγαπάω

I love, cherish (143; *αγαπα)

(ἠγάπων), ἀγαπήσω, ἠγάπησα, ἠγάπηκα,

ἠγάπημαι, ἠγαπήθην

δαιμόνιον, -ου, τό

demon (63; δαιμονιο)

ζητέω

I seek, desire, try to obtain (117; *ζητε)

(ἐζήτουν), ζητήσω, ἐζήτησα, ——, ——,

ἐζητήθην

καλέω

I call, name, invite (148; *καλεϜ)

(ἐκάλουν), καλέσω, ἐκάλεσα, κέκληκα,

κέκλημαι, ἐκλήθην

On the root see 17.12. The digamma (ϝ) helps

to explain apparent irregularities in other

tenses, as you will see.

λαλέω

I speak, say (296; *λαλε)

(ἐλάλουν), λαλήσω, ἐλάλησα, λελάληκα,

λελάλημαι, ἐλαλήθην

οἶδα

I know, understand (318; *οἰδα)

εἰδήσω, ᾔδειν, ——, ——, ——

οἶδα is a different type of word. It actually is

another tense (Perfect, Chapter 25), but it

functions as if it were a present. Its paradigm

is as follows.

1 sg

οἶδα

1 pl

οἴδαμεν

2 sg

οἶδας

2 pl

οἴδατε

3 sg

οἶδε(ν)

3 pl

οἴδασιν

ὅταν

whenever (123)

A crasis of ὅτε and ἄν. Introduces a

dependent clause.

πλείων, πλεῖον

larger, more (55; *πλειο)

πλείων is masculine and feminine, πλεῖον is

neuter. It is a 3-3 adjective. The genitive of

both is πλείονος. Notice the ablaut in the final

stem vowel. See the Appendix for its

paradigm (page 350). If you are following

Track Two, just memorize this word for now;

its forms will be explained in Chapter 10.

Because of the word’s meaning, it will often

be followed by a word in the genitive. You can

use the key word “than” with the word in the

genitive. Accordance tags 11 of these

occurrences as comparative adverbs.

πληρόω

I fill, complete, fulfill (86; *πληρο)

(ἐπλήρουν), πληρώσω, ἐπλήρωσα,

πεπλήρωκα, πεπλήρωμαι, ἐπληρώθην

ποιέω

I do, make (568; *ποιε)

(ἐποίουν), ποιήσω, ἐποίησα, πεποίηκα,

πεποίημαι, ——

The translation of this word can sometimes

be quite idiomatic. It has a wide range of

meaning.

τηρέω

I keep, guard, observe (70; *τηρε)

(ἐτήρουν), τηρήσω, ἐτήρησα, τετήρηκα,

τετήρημαι, ἐτηρήθην

Total word count in the New Testament:

138,162

Number of words learned to date:

191

Number of word occurrences in this chapter:

1,987

Number of word occurrences to date:

96,354

Percent of total word count in the New

Testament:

69.74%

Of contract verbs occurring fifty times or more in the New Testament, there is only one omicron

contract (πληρόω), six alpha contracts (ἀγαπάω, γεννάω, ἐρωτάω, ἐπερωτάω, ζάω, ὁράω), but

many epsilon contracts.

workbook summary

Advanced Information

Here are the rules for contraction as they are normally listed.

17.10 Rules for the contraction for single vowels (i.e., total of two vowels).

The full form of the rules is given, but only those illustrations that apply to contract verbs are listed.

Exceptions 2 and 4 are by far the most frequent.

1. Two like vowels form their common long vowel.

αα

▶

2. Exception: When ε and ε contract they form ει, and when ο and ο contract they form ου.

εε

▶

ει

ποιε + ε + τε ▶ ποιεῖτε

οο

▶

ου

πληρο + ο + μεν ▶

πληροῦμεν

3. An ο or ω will overcome an α, ε, or η regardless of their order, and form ω.

οα

▶

αο

▶

ἀγαπα + ο + μεν ▶

ἀγαπῶμεν

4. Exception: When an ε and ο contract they form ου, regardless of their order.

εο

▶

ου

ποιε + ο + μεν ▶

ποιοῦμεν

οε

▶

ου

πληρο + ε + τε ▶

πληροῦτε

5. If an α comes before an ε or an η, they will contract to an α. If an ε or an η comes before an

α, they will contract to an η.

αε

▶

ἀγαπα + ε + τε ▶

ἀγαπᾶτε

17.11 Rules for the contraction of a single vowel and a diphthong

Diphthongs follow the same rules as single vowels described above. However, because there are

three and not two vowels involved, a few extra rules come into play. The only time this takes place in

the present active indicative is the third person plural.

1. When a single vowel is followed by a diphthong that begins with the same vowel as the

single, the two similar vowels simplify and the second vowel remains the same.

οου

▶

ου

πληρο + ουσι

▶ πληροῦσι

αᾳ

▶

ᾳ

ααι

▶

αι

▶

ᾳ

2. When a single vowel is followed by a diphthong that begins with a different vowel than the

single, the single vowel and the first vowel of the diphthong contract according to the regular rules.

If the third vowel is an upsilon and the final letter of the newly contracted diphthong is an upsilon,

they simplify to a single upsilon. If it is an iota it will subscript.

αου

▶

ωυ

▶

ἀγαπα + ουσι

▶ ἀγαπῶσι

εου

▶

ουυ

▶

ου

ποιε + ουσι ▶

ποιοῦσι

Exceptions

εοι

▶

οι

αει

▶

αι

▶

ἀγαπα + ειν ▶

ἀγαπᾶν

οει

▶

οι

πληρο + ει ▶

πληροῖ

οῃ

▶

οι

17.12 Digamma. The digamma was a letter in the Greek alphabet that dropped out of use before

the Koine period. In most cases it was replaced by the upsilon. It is written in today’s grammars as ϝ

or υ (uppercase Ϝ or ϝ). It was pronounced “w” and originally came between ε and ζ in the alphabet.

It is classified as a “semiconsonant.”

The fact that it used to be part of the language explains some of what appears to be irregularities in

the language. For example, the root of ἀκούω actually *ἀκοϝ. When the digamma dropped out of

use, it was replaced by the upsilon, but the fact that it used to be a diagamma explains why there is

no contraction with the omega.

I discuss the digamma in more detail in MBG, #27 (pages 45–47).

Most of the forms in the prayer on page 145

you don’t recognize (or can’t figure out from

the lexicon) are imperatives.

■ ἴσθι is the imperative of εἰμί.

■ βοήθει means “help.”

■ δίδασκε means “teach.”

■ μανθάνουσιν is a participle meaning,

“who are learning.”

βοήθει is a good word to learn under any

circumstances.

Chapter 18

Present Middle/Passive Indicative

Exegetical Insight

ἀρχηγός as a title for Jesus appears only four times in the New Testament, twice each in Acts (3:15;

5:31) and Hebrews (2:10; 12:2). It is notoriously difficult to translate. A survey of the Greek

translation of the Old Testament (LXX) and nonbiblical uses of the term suggests a threefold

connotation: (a) path-breaker (pioneer) who opens the way for others, hence, “guide,” “hero;” (b) the

source or founder, hence, “author,” “initiator,” “beginning;” (c) the leader-ruler, hence, “captain,”

“prince,” “king.”

These ideas are not necessarily exclusive of each other. In fact they probably all combine to speak

of someone who explores new territory, opens a trail, and leads others to it. There he builds a city or

fortress for those who follow and leads them in defense against attackers. When the peace has

been won, he remains as their ruler and the city or community bears his name. He is thereafter

honored as the founding hero.

The Old Testament speaks of several individuals who held such a position. For at least one our word

is actually used. In Judges 11:6 ff., we learn that Jepthah was asked to become “head” over the

inhabitants of Gilead in order to deliver them from the Ammonites (v. 6); one version of the Greek

translation uses the word ἀρχηγός here. Jepthah agreed on condition that the position would be

made permanent. The elders consented and he was made κεφαλὴ καὶ ἀρχηγός even before the

battle (vv. 8–11). At the conclusion of his struggles, “Jepthah judged Israel six years” (Judges 12:7).

In Acts 3:15 Peter accuses the Jews of killing the “ἀρχηγός of life,” suggesting that Jesus is not only

the origin of biological life, but also of “new life” and the guide-protector-provider-ruler-namesake

of those identified with him. Later Peter speaks of Jesus as the “ἀρχηγόν and Savior, to give

repentance to Israel” (5:31). The word “Savior” was associated with the judges of old. Jesus is the

one who meets the emergency situation caused by the sin of God’s people. He comes to bring not

only deliverance but also the continuing service of ἀρχηγός. The writer to the Hebrews speaks of the

suffering “ἀρχηγός of salvation” (2:10) and the “ἀρχηγός and Perfecter of our faith” (12:2). In each

case Jesus as ἀρχηγός not only initiates and provides the new life for his people, but remains with

them through it; they bear his name. He is their hero.

J. Julius Scott, Jr.

Overview

In this chapter you will learn:

■ the passive voice in which the subject

receives the action of the verb;

■ that the present middle/passive is

formed by joining the present tense stem,

connecting vowel, and primary

middle/passive endings;

■ that in the present tense, the middle

and passive are identical in form;

■ about deponent verbs that are middle

or passive in form but active in meaning.

English

18.1 When a verb is active, the subject is performing the action of the verb. When a verb is

passive, the subject is receiving the action.

Active. “I hit the ball.” “I” is the subject of the sentence and is the one performing the action of the

verb “hit.”

Passive. “I am hit by the ball.” “I” is the subject of this sentence, but “I” is not doing the action of the

verb “hit.” The action of the verb is being performed by “ball,” and it is being done to the subject, “I.”

18.2 English forms the present passive by adding the helping verb “am/is/ are” for the undefined

and “am/are being” for the continuous, plus the past participle.

continuous

undefined

present active

I am hitting

I hit

They are hitting

They hit

present passive

I am being hit

I am hit

They are being hit

They are hit

18.3 You can often identify a passive verb by placing “by” after the verb and seeing if it makes

sense. “I was hit.” “I was hit by what?” “I was hit by the ball.” “Was hit” is a passive verb. Sometimes

there will be a prepositional phrase specifying who or what is doing the action of the verb (e.g., “by

the ball”).

18.4 A full chart of the English tenses is given in the Appendix, page 351. If you are unsure of your

English you may want to spend some time studying the chart.

18.5 When you use a helping verb to form the passive voice, the time of the verbal construction is

determined by the helping verb, not the main verb.

For example, the active construction “I remember” shifts to “I am remembered” in the passive.

Because “am” is present, the construction “am remembered” is present, even though

“remembered” is a past participle.

Greek: Present Passive Indicative

18.6 Chart: Present passive indicative

Present tense stem + Connecting vowel + Primary passive personal endings

λυ + ο + μαι ▶ λύομαι

18.7 Paradigm: Present passive indicative. The present passive indicative verb functions

basically the same in Greek as in English. To form the present passive indicative, Greek adds the

primary passive endings to the verbal stem. Be sure to read the footnote to the second singular

form.

form

translation

conn. vow.

ending

pres. act.

1 sg

λύομαι

I am being

loosed

μαι

λύω

2 sg

λύῃ

You are being

loosed

σαι

λύεις

3 sg

λύεται

He, she, it is

being loosed

ται

λύει

1 pl

λυόμεθα

We are being

loosed

μεθα

λύομεν

2 pl

λύεσθε

You are being

loosed

σθε

λύετε

3 pl

λύονται

They are being

loosed

νται

λύουσι(ν)

As you can see, the connecting vowels are more visible in the passive than they are in the active.

18.8 Master Personal Ending Chart. You can now learn another part of the Master Personal

Ending Chart. You are halfway home. (The label reads “middle/passive.” You will see what “middle”

means below.)

primary tenses

secondary tenses

active voice

λύω

λύεις

λύει

λύομεν

λύετε

λύουσι(ν)

—

μεν

τε

νσι

middle/passive voice

λύομαι

λύῃ

λύεται

λυόμεθα

λύεσθε

λύονται

μαι

σαι

ται

μεθα

σθε

νται

18.9 Person, number, tense, time, and aspect. There is no difference between the active and

passive on these points.

18.10 “By.” It is common to find the equivalent of “by” in a Greek sentence after a passive verb. It

will either be ὑπό followed by a noun in the genitive indicating a personal agent (e.g., ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ),

or the simple dative indicating an impersonal instrument (τῷ λογῷ τοῦ θεοῦ).

πάντα μοι παρεδόθη ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρός μου (Matt 11:27).

All things were handed over to me by my Father.

Halftime Review

■ The subject does the action of an

active verb, and it receives the action of a

passive verb.

■ English forms the passive through the

use of helping verbs, and the time of the

verbal construction is determined by the

helping verb and not the main verb.

■ The Greek present passive is formed

by using the primary tense stem, connecting

vowel, and the primary passive personal

endings: ομαι, ῃ, εται, ομεθα, εσθε, ονται.

■ The true personal endings are μαι,

σαι, ται, μεθα, σθε, νται.

■ Passive verbs are often followed by

some “by” construction that indicates who or

what does the action of the verb.

Deponent Verbs

18.11 Deponent Verb. This is a verb that is middle or passive in form but active in meaning. Its

form is always middle or passive, but its meaning is always active. It can never have a passive

meaning. I will discuss the middle voice below.

You can tell if a verb is deponent by its lexical form. Deponent verbs are always listed in the

vocabulary sections with passive endings. In other words, if the lexical form ends in an omega, it is

not deponent (e.g., ἀγαπάω). If the lexical form ends in -ομαι, the verb is deponent (e.g., ἔρχομαι)

You will have to remember that the word is a deponent.

οὐκ οἴδατε ποίᾳ ἡμέρᾳ ὁ κύριος ὑμῶν ἔρχεται (Matt 24:42).

You do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

There is some interesting research currently

happening that questions whether there

actually is such a thing as deponency. For

example, many deponent verbs are

intransitive (36.10) and therefore cannot be

passive. See the class website for an ongoing

discussion.

18.12 Parsing. When parsing a deponent verb, instead of saying “active” or “passive” I

recommend that you say “deponent.” Be sure to translate the inflected form as active. For example,

ἔρχεται is third person singular, present deponent indicative, of ἔρχομαι, meaning “he/she/it is

coming.”

18.13 In a single tense a verb will be either regular or deponent. It cannot be both. ἔρχομαι is

always deponent in the present. It will never be ἔρχω.

However, a verb can be deponent in one tense and not deponent in another. ἔρχομαι is not

deponent in the aorist past tense (Chapter 22).

Present Middle Indicative

18.14 While English has only two voices, Greek has three: active, middle, and passive. In the

present tense the middle and passive are identical in form.

18.15 Chart: Present middle indicative

Present tense stem + Connecting vowel +Primary passive personal endings

ερχ + ο + μαι ▶ ἔρχομαι

18.16 Paradigm: Present middle indicative

form

translation

conn. vow.

ending

pres. act.

1 sg

ἔρχομαι

I come

μαι

λύω

2 sg

ἔρχῃ

You come

σαι

λύεις

3 sg

ἔρχεται

He, she, it

comes

ται

λύει

1 pl

ἐρχόμεθα

We come

μεθα

λύομεν

2 pl

ἔρχεσθε

You come

σθε

λύετε

3 pl

ἔρχονται

They come

νται

λύουσι(ν)

18.17 Meaning. The meaning of a verb in the middle voice can be difficult to define, partly

because it is often an issue of nuance. But let’s make it easy for you now. In the next several

chapters, the only middle verbs you will see are deponent, so they will always have an active

meaning. Actually, the vast majority of middle forms in the New Testament, approximately 75%, are

deponent. You will learn the true use of middles in a later chapter.

In the present tense, the middle and passive are identical in form. There is no way for you to know

whether ἔρχομαι is middle or passive. But since all the middles I will show you for several chapters

are deponent, you will translate all the present middle and passive deponents the same way, as

actives.

Present Middle/Passive Forms of Contracts

18.18 Paradigm: Present middle/passive indicative (contract verbs). Contract verbs follow the

same rules in the middle/passive as they do in the active.

-άω

- έω

-όω

1 sg

ἀγαπῶμαι

ποιοῦμαι

πληροῦμαι

2 sg

ἀγαπᾷ

ποιῇ

πληροῖ

3 sg

ἀγαπᾶται

ποιεῖται

πληροῦται

1 pl

ἀγαπώμεθα

ποιούμεθα

πληρούμεθα

2 pl

ἀγαπᾶσθε

ποιεῖσθε

πληροῦσθε

3 pl

ἀγαπῶνται

ποιοῦνται

πληροῦνται

Notice the many similarities between the regular present passive endings and their contracted

forms. Concentrate on the similarities. You should be able to look at these contracted forms and

discover what the original vowels were that formed this particular contraction.

What is today?

You don’t know? You’ve been studying too

much Greek! Here are the Greek names of the

days. They are all feminine because they

intrinsically modify ἡμέρα. Can you figure out

what they mean?

■ κυριακῇ (ἐν τῇ κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ; Rev

1:10)

■ δευτέρα

■ τρίτη

■ τετάρτη

■ πέμπτη(Didache 8:1)

■ παρασκευή(John 19:42; Martyrdom of

Polycarp 7:1)

■ τὸ σάββατον

In the middle/passive, you see the true personal endings (except second person singular). You do

not have to deal with the issues raised by the eighth rule of contraction as you did in the active.

Summary

1. If a verb is in the passive voice, the

subject is receiving the action of the verb.

2. To form the English passive you add a

helping verb. The time of an English verb that

has helping verbs is determined by the time of

the helping verb.

3. The present middle/passive in Greek

is formed by joining the present tense stem

with the connecting vowel and the primary

middle/passive endings. The primary

middle/passive personal endings are μαι, σαι

(which changes to ῃ when joined with the

connecting vowel), ται, μεθα, σθε, νται.

4. Deponent verbs are middle or passive

in form but active in meaning. Their lexical

form is always middle or passive but their

meaning is always active. You can tell if a verb

is deponent by its lexical form.

5. In the present tense, the middle and

passive are identical in form. Most middles

are deponent and therefore active in

meaning.

Master Verb Chart

Tense

Aug/Redup

Tense stem

Tense form.

Conn. vowel

Personal

endings

1st sing

paradigm

Present act

pres

ο/ε

prim act

λύω

Present

mid/pas

pres

ο/ε

prim

mid/pas

λύομαι

Vocabulary

ἀποκρίνομαι

I answer (231; *ἀποκριν)

——, ἀπεκρινάμην, ——, ——, ἀπεκρίθην

ἀποκρίνομαι can take a direct object in the dative.

δεῖ

it is necessary (101)

This verb is always third person singular, and its subject is always neuter.

(It has a different form for the past tense.)

δύναμαι

I am able, am powerful (210; *δυνα)

(ἐδυνάμην or ἠδυνάμην), δυνήσομαι, ——, ——, ——, ἠδυνήθην δύναμαι

is one of the few exceptions to the rules concerning connecting vowels.

δύναμαι uses alpha throughout.

1 sg

δύναμαι

1 pl

δυνάμεθα

2 sg

δύνασαι or δύνῃ

2 pl

δύνασθε

3 sg

δύναται

3 pl

δύνανται

ἔρχομαι

I come, go (632; *ἐρχ)

(ἠρχόμην), ἐλεύσομαι, ἦλθον or ἦλθα, ἐλήλυθα, ——, ——

νύξ, νυκτός, ἡ

night (61; *νυκτ)

If you are following Track Two, just memorize this word for now; its forms

will be explained in Chapter 10.

ὅστις, ἥτις, ὅτι

whoever, whichever, whatever (153; *ὁ + *τιν)

This word is the combination of the relative and the indefinite pronouns

(ὅς + τις). As such, both halves decline. See the Appendix for the full

paradigm (page 349). If you are following Track Two, just memorize this

word for now; its forms will be explained in Chapter 10.

Because ὅστις is formed with the relative pronoun, it will only introduce a

dependent clause; the ὅστις clause cannot contain the main subject and

verb.

In Koine Greek, this relative indefinite pronoun was starting to shift so

that it could also be used as the relative pronoun. In other words, its

indefinite significance can be lost and ὅστις can be translated the same

as ὅς if required by the context.

The neuter singular ὅτι never occurs in our texts, but ὅ τι (two words)

does occur nine times.

πορεύομαι

I go, proceed, live (153; *πορευ)

(ἐπορευόμην), πορεύσομαι, ——, ——, πεπόρευμαι, ἐπορεύθην

συνάγω

I gather together, invite (59; *συναγ)

συνάξω, συνήγαγον, ——, συνῆγμαι, συνήχθην

τόπος, -ου, ὁ

place, location (94; *τοπο)

ὡς

as, like, when, that, how, about (504)

Total word count in the New Testament:

138,162

Number of words learned to date:

201

Number of word occurrences in this chapter:

2,198

Number of word occurrences to date:

98,552

Percent of total word count in the New

Testament:

71.33%

workbook summary

Chapter 19

Future Active/Middle Indicative

Exegetical Insight

In English we think of the future tense as the tense of simple prediction. Greek often uses the future

that way, too, but in many biblical passages it carries a different sense. Particularly when quoting

the Old Testament (under the influence of a parallel Hebrew construction), the future is used to give

a command. “Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery,” and so on, are not predictions

about the behavior of God’s people, or we would have repeatedly proven God wrong! Rather they

are commands, what grammarians often call the imperatival or volitive use of the future tense. We

do this in English occasionally, particularly in casual speech. For example, the student insistently

says to her friends about an upcoming party, “You will be there!” This is not a prediction but a

demand!

An excellent New Testament example appears when both Jesus and Paul quote Genesis 2:24: “For

this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become

one flesh.” In the context of the story of Adam and Eve, it is natural to take this as God’s prediction

about how married life will proceed among the offspring of these first two human beings, and there

may be a partially predictive element intended here. But when Jesus cites this passage to refute the

Pharisees’ generally more lenient views on divorce (Matt 19:5), he knows full well that many of

God’s people have violated and will continue to violate this creation ordinance. The same is true of

Paul when he establishes the principles of a Christian marriage in the midst of the highly

promiscuous pagan culture of Ephesus (Eph 5:31). Rather, both Jesus and Paul are using the future

tense verbs of the Genesis text primarily in their imperatival sense—telling believers that God

commands them to be faithful to their spouses for life.

That command remains crucial today, when Christians divorce for so many flimsy reasons that the

Bible never condones. As the pastor who married my wife and me told us during premarital

counseling, “There may be extreme instances in which divorce is biblically legitimate. But if you go

into marriage looking for a way out, you will almost surely find it. Far better to commit to each other

that you will never divorce, even if those extreme circumstances were to occur. Then you will have

to turn to God, to Christian friends, and to each other to see you through the difficult times. And

God will prove faithful.” We have heeded this advice for thirty years now, and will continue to heed it

for as long as we live. And in that period of time, while there have been struggles, there certainly has

been nothing emerge to seriously threaten our marriage. God does remain faithful when we commit

to his commands. And some of them come “disguised” in the future tense.

Craig L. Blomberg

Overview

In this chapter you will learn that:

■ the future tense indicates an action

occurring in the future;

■ the future is formed by adding a sigma

to the end of the future tense stem (λύσω);

■ contract verbs lengthen their contract

vowel before the sigma (ἀγαπήσω);

■ knowing the Square of Stops is

especially useful in identifying the future

tense.

English

19.1 The future describes an action that will occur in the future. To form the future you add a

helping verb (“will”/“shall”) to the present tense stem of the verb.

The basic rule in older English for the future tense is that “shall” is used for the first person and

“will” for the second and third. “I shall work hard.” “You will work hard.” “He will slack off.” That

distinction has generally fallen into disuse today, and “will” is used everywhere.

19.2 English verbs are centered on three different forms, and all the variations of the verb are

formed from them.

■ Present. The present tense is also used to form the future tense. “I eat.” “I will eat.”

■ Past. The past tense of “eat” is “ate.”

■ Past perfect. The past perfect tense of “eat” is “eaten.”

Usually the past tense of verbs is formed by adding “-ed”: “kick, kicked, kicked.” Other times you

change the stem: “swim, swam, swum.” Sometimes the past and past perfect are identical: “study,

studied, studied.” In the Appendix there is a chart showing all the basic forms of the English verb

(page 351).

Future Active Indicative

19.3 Meaning. The future tense in Greek has the same meaning as in English. It describes an

action that will occur in the future. As is true of the other tenses, the time reference of the verb is

from the point of view of the writer, not the reader.

Overview of Greek tenses

19.4 Koine Greek has five tenses. You have already learned the present tense, and now are

learning the future. The imperfect, aorist, and perfect are yet to come.

However, because of how Greek forms its tense and voice combinations, there are seven distinct

forms of a Greek verb. Although you do not know the other tenses, here is an example.

Greek

tense/voice

translation

ἀγαπάω

present

I love

ἠγάπων

imperfect

I was loving

ἀγαπήσω

future active

I will love

ἠγάπησα

aorist active

I loved

ἠγάπηκα

perfect active

I have loved

ἠγάπημαι

perfect passive

I have been loved

ἠγαπήθην

aorist passive

I was loved

The overly inquisitive will want to know why the Greek verb is changing its form—like why does the

alpha change to eta, and what are those letters between the verb and the ending. Be patient;

today’s own trouble is sufficient. But I want you to see the overall structure of the verb system.

The imperfect is built on the present tense

form of the verb. That is why there are six and

not seven distinct forms of a Greek verb.

These six different forms are almost

universally called the “principal parts.” I have

not found this terminology helpful. Some

English grammarians use the term “principal

parts” to describe what others call “parts of

speech”: nouns, adjectives, verbs, etc.

Others speak of the three principal parts of

the verb: present (“eat”), past (“ate”), past

perfect (“have eaten”). I call the six different

forms of the verbs, “tense forms.”

19.5 Lexicon listing. If you look up a verb in a lexicon, you will see something like the following.

λύω, λύσω, ἔλυσα, λέλυκα, λέλυμαι, ἐλύθην

Compare this to the chart above. You will see that the lexicon is listing the first person singular form

of the verb in the present (λύω), future active (λύσω), aorist active (ἔλυσα), perfect active (λέλυκα),

perfect middle/passive (λέλυμαι), and aorist passive (ἐλύθην) tenses.

Therefore, if you want to see the future form of a verb, look at the second form in the lexicon. λύσω

is the future active form of λύω.

In BBG, if there is a dash instead of a tense stem, it means that particular tense stem does not

occur in the New Testament.

δοκέω, ——, ἔδοξα, ——, ——, ——

19.6 Tense stem. The basic form of the verb in each of these tense/voice combinations is called

the “tense stem.”

Can you see how ἀγαπάω forms its future tense stem? Its future tense stem is the same as its

present tense stem (ἀγαπα). For some reason (which you are about to learn), the alpha lengthens to

eta, a sigma is added, and the person ending is attached to the end (*ἀγαπα + σ + ω ▶ ἀγαπήσω).

The point to learn is this:

■ ἀγαπα is the present tense stem, meaning that all forms of ἀγαπάω in the present are

formed from ἀγαπα.

■ ἀγαπα is also the future active tense stem, meaning that all forms of ἀγαπάω in the future

active are formed from ἀγαπα.

Pattern 1

19.7 There are four ways Greek verbs form their future tense stem. In this chapter we will look at

Pattern 1.

19.8 Chart: Future active indicative

Future active tense stem + tense formative (σ) + Connecting vowel + Primary active personal

endings

λυ + σ + ο + μεν ▶ λύσομεν

19.9 Future active tense stem. Verbs in Pattern 1 use the same tense stem in the future active

as in the present. *λυ is used in both the present (λύω) and the future (λύσω).

19.10 Tense formative. The future is formed by inserting a sigma between the future tense stem

and the connecting vowel. This sigma is called the “tense formative” because it helps form the

future tense.

λύσω

19.11 Connecting vowel. The connecting vowel is the same as in the present.

λύσομεν

λύσετε

19.12 Personal endings. The future active indicative uses the same primary active endings as the

present active. They contract with the connecting vowels as they do in the present, forming ω, εις,

ει, ομεν, ετε, ουσι.

19.13 Paradigm: Future active indicative

form

translation

conn. vow.

ending

pres. act.

1 sg

λύσω

I will loose

—

λύω

2 sg

λύσεις

You will loose

λύεις

3 sg

λύσει

He/she/it will

loose

λύει

1 pl

λύσομεν

We will loose

μεν

λύομεν

2 pl

λύσετε

You will loose

τε

λύετε

3 pl

λύσουσι(ν)

They will loose

νσι

λύουσι(ν)

Halftime Review

■ The future describes an action

occurring in the future. Aspect is secondary

to time.

■ There are six basic forms of a Greek

verb. The tense stem is the basic form of the

verb in a tense.

■ The present tense stem is used to

form the present (active and middle/passive).

The future tense stem is used to form the

future active.

■ The future active is formed from the

future active tense stem + the tense formative

(σ) + connecting vowel + primary active

personal endings.

Characteristics of Future Active Indicative

19.14 Translation. To translate a future verb you add the word “will” or “shall.” As a general rule,

translate the future with the undefined aspect (“I will eat”) rather than the continuous (“I will be

eating”).

ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν (Matt 19:19).

You will love your neighbor as yourself.

Of all the Greek tenses, the future has the strongest emphasis on time, describing an action

occurring in the future. It is the one Greek tense in which aspect is secondary to time.

Very few words end in ψ, ξ, or a single ς, so

the final ψ, ξ, or single ς normally indicate a

change has occurred.

19.15 Contract verbs. So far you have learned what happens when the contract vowel comes into

contact with the connecting vowel: they contract. But what happens if the contract vowel does not

come into contact with another vowel?

Such is the case in the future tense, where the contract vowel is immediately followed by the tense

formative. In this case, the contract vowel lengthens before a tense formative. Alpha and epsilon

both lengthen to eta while omicron lengthens to omega.

*ἀγαπα

▶

ἀγαπήσω

*ποιε

▶

ποιήσω

*πληρο

▶

πληρώσω

As you will see, this lengthening before a tense formative occurs whenever there is a tense

formative; it is not restricted to just the future tense. Notice that the accent is always over the

lengthened contract vowel.

19.16 Square of stops. If the stem of a verb ends in a stop, when the sigma is added to form the

future you see the same types of changes that you saw in third declension nouns ending in a stop

(e.g., *σαρκ + σ ▶ σάρξ). Whenever you see a psi or xi before the personal ending (e.g., βλέψω,

διώξω), it is relatively safe to assume there is a sigma in there.

The following chart shows the Square of Stops, with a fourth column showing what consonant

results from joining the stop with a sigma.

Labial

▶

Velar

▶

Dental

▶

Labial

πσ

▶

βλεπ

σω

▶

βλέψω

βσ

▶

φσ

▶

γραφ

σω

▶

γράψω

Velar

κσ

▶

διωκ

σω

▶

διώξω

γσ

▶

αγ

σω

▶

ἄξω

χσ

▶

ἐλεγχ

σω

▶

ἐλέγξω

Dental

τσ

▶

δσ

▶

βαπτιδ

σω

▶

βαπτίσω

θσ

▶

πειθ

σω

▶

πείσω

Pattern 1

19.17 As I said earlier, verbs follow four patterns in the formation of their future tense stem. These

patterns carry over to the other tenses, so they are important to learn. In this chapter you have

learned Pattern 1; the other patterns are in the next chapter.

19.18 Pattern 1 verbs use the same stem of the verb in both the present and the future active.

In other words, the present and future tense stems are identical to the root. The final form of the

verb will be changed by the tense formative and other forces, but it is still the same stem. Many

verbs fall into this pattern; these are the easy ones to learn.

19.19 There are three categories in this pattern. You already know them.

a. Roots ending in an iota or upsilon

*ἀκου

▶

ἀκούω

*ἀκου

▶

ἀκούσω

b. Contract verbs

*ποιε

▶

ποιέω

*ποιε

▶

ποιήσω

c. Roots ending in a stop

*βλεπ

▶

βλέπω

*βλεπ

▶

βλέψω

As you get further into Greek, knowing these patterns becomes important. You will be looking at a

verb, wondering what tense it is, and once you realize that it is a Pattern 1 verb you can see that it is

regular in its formation of its tense stems and you will be able to parse the form. So remember

these three categories of verbs.

Have you noticed how inflected languages

use less words than a language like English?

However, when you try to move Greek into

English poetry or songs, the words are

normally too long. I have been trying to learn

how to sing the children’s son, “Head and

Shoulders, Knees and Toes” in Greek, but the

words are just too long. If you can figure it out,

please let me know. The plural forms are in

parentheses.

Head: κεφαλή

Shoulder: ὦμος (ὦμοι)

Knee: γόνυ (γόνατα)

Toe: δάκτυλος (δάκτυλοι)

Eye: ὀφθαλμός (ὀφθαλμοί)

Ear: ὤτιον (ὦτα)

Mouth: στόμα

Nose: ῥίς

Future Middle Indicative

19.20 In the present tense, the middle and passive are the same form. In the future, the form of

the middle is distinct from both the active and the passive. (You will learn the future passive in

Chapter 24.) The future middle is formed from the future active tense stem but uses primary

passive endings (e.g., πορεύσομαι ).

As I said before, there is more to the middle than simply being equivalent to the active; but all the

middles that you have seen so far, and will for some time, are deponent and therefore active in

meaning. That is why the definitions in the following paradigm are active.

Because λύω does not have a deponent future middle, I will use πορεύομαι.

19.21 Chart: Future middle indicative

Future active tense stem + Tense formative (σ) + Connecting vowel + Primary passive person

endings

πορευ + σ + ο + μαι ▶ πορεύσομαι

19.22 Paradigm: Future middle indicative

form

translation

conn. vow.

ending

pres. mid.

1 sg

πορεύσομαι

I will go

μαι

λύομαι

2 sg

πορεύσῃ

You will go

σαι

λύῃ

3 sg

πορεύσεται

He/she/it will

ται

λύεται

1 pl

πορευσόμεθα

We will go

μεθα

λυόμεθα

2 pl

πορεύσεσθε

You will go

σθε

λύεσθε

3 pl

πορεύσονται

They will go

νται

λύονται

19.23 Deponent. A verb is not deponent in the future (or any other tense) merely because it is

deponent in the present. So how do you know if a verb is deponent in the future?

As far as Pattern 1 verbs are concerned, they will use the same stem in the present and the future

active; if the present is deponent then most likely the future is deponent, and vice versa.

ἐγὼ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν εἰς τὰ ἔθνη πορεύσομαι (Acts 18:6).

From now on I will go to the Gentiles.

But what if you want to confirm that a certain form is not an exception? You can look up the verb in a

lexicon, and if the second tense form ends in -ομαι, then it is deponent in the future.

γινώσκω, γνώσομαι, ἔγνων, ἔγνωκα, ἔγνωσμαι, ἐγνώσθην

ἀκούω, ἀκούσω, ἤκουσα, ἀκήκοα, ——, ἠκούσθην

You may have noticed that the stem of γνώσομαι is not the same as the stem of γινώσκω. This is

because γινώσκω belongs to one of the other patterns that you will learn in the next chapter. It is

active in the present and deponent in the future.

19.24 Future of εἰμί: The future of εἰμί is middle deponent. Its root is *εσ. Memorize this

paradigm.

form

translation

future middle

1 sg

ἔσομαι

I will be

πορεύσομαι

2 sg

ἔσῃ

You will be

πορεύσῃ

3 sg

ἔσται

He/she/it will be

πορεύσεται

1 pl

ἐσόμεθα

We will be

πορευσόμεθα

2 pl

ἔσεσθε

You will be

πορεύσεσθε

3 pl

ἔσονται

They will be

πορεύσονται

Summary

1. The future tense indicates an action

that will occur in the future. It usually carries

the undefined aspect.

2. The future tense uses the tense

formative sigma. The active uses the primary

active endings while the middle uses primary

passive. All future middle forms you have

seen so far are deponent and therefore active

in meaning.

3. Contract verbs lengthen their contract

vowel before a tense formative.

4. Knowing the Square of Stops is

especially useful in the future tense. When

joined with a σ, labials go to ψ, velars go to ξ,

and dentals drop out.

5. Many verbs use the same stem in

forming both the present and the future

tenses, including roots ending in iota or

upsilon, contract verbs, and roots ending in a

stop.

6. Verbs that are deponent in one tense

are not necessarily deponent in another.

7. You should memorize the future of

εἰμί.

Master Verb Chart

Tense

Aug/Redup

Tense stem

Tense form.

Conn. vowel

Personal

endings

1st sing

paradigm

Present act

pres

ο/ε

prim act

λύω

Present

mid/pas

pres

ο/ε

prim

mid/pas

λύομαι

Future act

fut act

ο/ε

prim act

λύσω

Future mid

fut act

ο/ε

prim

mid/pas

πορεύσομαι

workbook summary

Vocabulary

It is important that from the very beginning you do not simply memorize these different tense

stems. Learn to apply the rules and concentrate on recognition. Look at the different tense forms

and ask yourself, would I recognize this form if I saw it? Do I understand how the different forms are

related?

In the Appendix there is a list entitled,Tense Forms of Verbs Occurring Fifty Times or More (pages

370–80). It lists all the verbs you will learn in BBG with all their different forms in the different

tenses. I have highlighted in blue those forms you may need to commit to memory. Refer to it

regularly.

Remember those words I have been listing under the definition of a verb? Now you can start to see

what I am doing. These words are the forms of the verb in the different tenses. The first form (not in

parentheses) is the future tense form.

Ignore the future forms of λέγω, οἶδα, and ἔρχομαι until the next chapter.

βασιλεύς, -έως, ὁ

king (115; *βασιλεϝ)

γεννάω

I beget, give birth to, produce (97; *γεννα)

γεννήσω, ἐγέννησα, γεγέννηκα, γεγέννημαι,

ἐγεννήθην

ζάω

I live (140; *ζα)

(ἔζων), ζήσω, ἕζησα, ——, ——, ——

Ἰουδαία, -ας, ἡ

Judea (44; * Ἰουδαια)

Ἰουδαῖος, -αία, -αῖον

adjective: Jewish (194; * Ἰουδαιο)

noun: Jew

Ἰσραήλ, ὁ

Israel (68; *Ἰσραηλ)

No genitive form is given because Ἰσραήλ is

indeclinable.

καρπός, -οῦ, ὁ

fruit, crop, result (66; *καρπο)

μείζων, -ον

greater (48; *μειζον)

μείζων occurs only 48 times in the New

Testament. I have included it here because it

is the comparative form of the adjective μέγας

that occurs more frequently. The neuter

accusative singular (μεῖζον ) can be used

adverbially. Be sure to see its full paradigm in

the Appendix (a-4b[1], page 350). It is often

followed by a word in the genitive, just like

πλείων. You can use the key word “than.”

ὅλος, -η, -ον

adjective: whole, complete (109; *ὁλο)

adverb: entirely

ὅλος often occurs in the predicate position

when it is functioning adjectivally.

προσκυνέω

I worship (60; *προσκυνε)

(προσεκύνουν), προσκυνήσω, προσεκύνησα,

——, ——, ——

Total word count in the New Testament:

138,162

Number of words learned to date:

211

Number of word occurrences in this chapter:

941

Number of word occurrences to date:

99,493

Percent of total word count in the New

Testament:

72.01%

Previous Words

As you meet new tenses, I will list the new tense forms for words you already know in the Previous

Words section. Be sure to review these words.

present

future

Regular verbs

ἀκούω

ἀκούσω

ἀποκρίνομαι

——

δύναμαι

δυνήσομαι

λύω

λύσω

πιστεύω

πιστεύσω

πορεύομαι

πορεύσομαι

Stems ending in a stop

βλέπω

βλέψω

ἔχω

ἕξω

συνάγω

συνάξω

Contract stems

ἀγαπάω

ἀγαπήσω

ζητέω

ζητήσω

καλέω

καλέσω

λαλέω

λαλήσω

πληρόω

πληρώσω

ποιέω

ποιήσω

τηρέω

τηρήσω

Exegesis

1. The basic use of the future is to describe something that will happen in the future

(predictive).

ὁ ἐναρξάμενος ἐν ὑμίν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἐπιτελέσει (Phil 1:6).

He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.

2. As in English, the Greek future can express a command (imperatival).

ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου (Matt 22:37).

You shall love the Lord your God.

3. The future can also state that a generic event will occur. It does not say that a particular

occurrence is in mind, but that such events do occur (gnomic).

οὐκ ἐπʼ ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος (Matt 4:4)

Man shall not live on bread alone.

In Modern Greek, we use θα to indicate the

future. It functions like the English “will.” θά

είναι εκεί means, “He will be there.”

Chapter 20

Verbal Roots, and Other Forms of the Future

Exegetical Insight

Tucked into the first chapter of Hebrews is an Old Testament quotation, Ps. 102:25–27, and this

quotation contains a number of interesting verbal forms addressed in the current chapter. Rabbis of

the first century would string passages together to build up overwhelming evidence for an

argument, and the quotation from Psalm 102, found in Hebrews 1:10–12, is one of several the

author strings together to present powerful evidence that Jesus is superior to angels and worthy of

our complete allegiance. This psalm, particularly, proclaims that Jesus is superior based on his role

as the Creator and Terminator of the heavens and the earth. The idea here is that whereas angels

are created, the Son of God, powerful beyond imagination, rules over the universe as the Creator of

all things and, therefore, will wrap up all of the created order in the end! He will be the ultimate

Terminator!

Notice especially the part of the psalm beginning in Hebrews 1:11, which deals with the wrapping

up of the created order at the end of the age. The uses of the future here are “predictive” in that they

tell what will happen at the end of the world. The psalm states of the heavens and the earth, “They

will perish.” Further, the psalm says of Jesus’ lordship over the created order, the heavens and earth

“will grow old like an article of clothing, and like a cloak you will roll them up, and like a piece of

clothing they will be changed.” Even though Jesus made his creation stable, with sturdy

foundations, he never intended the creation to last forever. In fact, the heavens and the earth, like

an article of clothing, one day will wear out to the point that they have to be rolled up and packed

away because they no longer are useful (think of that old sweatshirt in your closet that is falling

apart!). Jesus is so awesome in his power that he is the one who will do that. Unlike the creation, he

is “the same,” and his years will not end. As the eternal Lord of the universe, one who has the power

to create all things and to wrap them up in the end, Jesus, the Son of God, is worthy of our worship

and the full commitment of our lives!

George H. Guthrie

Overview

In this chapter you will learn:

■ the difference between the verbal

“root” of a verb, which is its most basic form,

and the “stem” of the verb as it appears in a

certain tense;

■ that sometimes the verbal root is the

same as the present tense stem, and other

times it is modified in the formation of the

present tense;

■ that tense stems are not formed from

the present tense stem but from the root;

■ liquid futures.

Verbal Roots and Tense Stems

20.1 Pattern 1. In the previous chapter you learned how to form the future when a verb has the

same stem in the present and the future (ἀκούω ▶ ἀκούσω). This includes stems ending in a stop

(βλέπω ▶ βλέψω) and contract verbs (ἀγαπάω ▶ ἀγαπήσω).

Patterns 2–4. In this chapter you will learn about verbs whose present and future tense stems are

different (βάλλω ▶ βαλῶ).

20.2 Roots and Stems. But before doing so, it is important to pause and discuss the difference

between a verbal stem and its root. This may feel somewhat technical at first, but if you can grasp

the concept now it will make a tremendous amount of difference later on. What you are learning

here applies not only to the future tense but to all the other tenses as well. This is my last detailed

discussion of morphology in BBG.

20.3 Definitions

a. The root of a verb is its most basic form.

For example, the root of ἀγαπάω is *ἀγαπα. (I preface the verbal root with an asterisk). This root

shows itself in the verb ἀγαπάω as well as the cognate noun ἀγάπη and cognate adjective

ἀγαπητός.

All verbs are listed in the vocabulary section with their verbal root. Be sure to memorize the root

along with the lexical form.

λύω

I loose (42; *λυ)

βάλλω

I throw (122; *βαλ)

b. The stem of a verb is the basic form of that verb in a particular tense.

The stem is derived from the root. The verbal root *λυ forms its present tense as λύω and its future

as λύσω. In the case of this Pattern 1 verb, the same stem is used in both tenses.

present:

λυ

▶

λύω

future:

λυ

▶

λύσω

But in the case of βάλλω (“I throw,” *βαλ), which is a Pattern 4 verb, the present and future stems

are different.

present:

βαλλ

▶

βάλλω

future:

βαλ

▶

βαλῶ

So remember, a root is the basic form of the verb. A stem is the basic form of a verb in a certain

tense. The stem does not include the augment or tense formative.

20.4 Relationship of the verbal root and the present tense stem. The verbal root and the

present tense stem can be the same, or the root can be altered when forming the present tense

stem.

a. In Pattern 1 verbs, the verbal root is the same as the present tense stem.

The verbal root was not modified in forming its present tense stem. For example, the root *ἀγαπα

comes unmodified into the present tense stem as ἀγαπα, which forms ἀγαπάω in the first person

singular.

b. In Pattern 2–4 verbs, the verbal root is modified when forming the present tense stem.

For example, the root *βαλ is altered in the present tense stem to βαλλ, which forms βάλλω in the

first person singular.

20.5 Tense stem formed from verbal root. If you assume that the present tense stem is the

base form of the verb and all other tenses are derived from it, you will become confused and

potentially discouraged since this approach forces you to memorize hundreds of “irregular” forms.

However, if you will learn that the different tense stems are formed from the verbal root and not the

present tense stem, memorization and frustration can be kept to a minimum.

For example, the verbal root *βαλ is modified to form its present tense stem by doubling the

lambda: βάλλω. However, when you arrive at the future, you will see only one lambda: βαλῶ. (This is

a special future that does not use the sigma as a tense formative, but more about that later.) When

you learn the aorist tense (Chapter 22), you will see that it as well has only one lambda: ἔβαλον. The

point of the illustration is that if you learn the present tense as the base form, βαλῶ and ἔβαλον

appear irregular. But if you learn the root as *βαλ, βαλῶ and ἔβαλον are perfectly regular, and these

are two less forms to memorize. It is the present tense stem that is irregular.

This may not sound significant right now, but it is. You must realize that the present tense stem is

the most “irregular” tense stem of all. The verbal root is altered to form the present tense stem more

than in all the other tenses combined. What adds confusion to this is that you memorize the

potentially irregular present tense form, which may suggest the present is the verb’s base form.

The present tense stem is built on the verbal root, which may or may not be modified when forming

the present tense stem.

So let’s learn the rest of the patterns. In the Appendix there is a list of all verbs occurring fifty times

or more in the New Testament with all their different tense forms (pages 370–80). The forms that

you probably need to memorize are underlined. As you work through the following chapters,

regularly refer to this chart. On the website there is also a spreadsheet of these verbs, and you can

mark it up to your heart’s content.

Pattern 1: Root Not Modified

20.6 Verbs that follow this pattern do not modify their root in the formation of their present tense

stem. Many verbs fall into this “regular” category and were learned in Chapter 19. They include

stems ending in an iota or upsilon, contract verbs, and roots ending in a stop.

*ἀκου

▶

ἀκούω

▶

ἀκούσω

*ποιε

▶

ποιέω

▶

ποιήσω

*βλεπ

▶

βλέπω

▶

βλέψω

Pattern 2: Different Roots

20.7 Some verbs have totally different forms in the future.

For example, the future of ὁράω (“I see,” from the root *ὁρα) is ὄψομαι. ὄψομαι is in fact a regular

deponent future. Its root is *ὀπ. When the sigma is added, the πσ form a psi according to the regular

rules.

What happened is that the future of ὁράω ceased being used, as did the present of ὄψομαι. The two

forms “got together” and function as if they were the same word. There are only nine verbs in the

New Testament that do this (cf. v-8 in MBG). The first three are listed below; six more to go. By the

way, most of these words are extremely common.

*ἐρχ

▶

ἔρχομαι

I come

*ἐλευθ

▶

ἐλεύσομαι

I will come

*λεγ

▶

λέγω

I say

*ἐρ

▶

ἐρῶ

I will say

*ὁρα

▶

ὁράω

I see

*ὀπ

▶

ὄψομαι

I will see

These words are easy to parse because you must simply memorize both roots. You may want to

create a separate vocabulary card for each root.

Most of the time when a future tense is deponent and the present is not (or vice versa), the verb

uses different roots to form the present and the future, like *ὁρα and *ὀπ.

Pattern 3: Liquid Futures

20.8 Technically, liquid futures are part of Pattern 4. However, all Greek teachers want their

students to learn how liquid futures are formed, and some teachers may not feel the same way

about Pattern 4, so I decided to keep them separate.

20.9 Liquid verbs for the most part are formed regularly. However,

■ they use a slightly different tense formative,

■ and the present and future tense stems are usually slightly different.

20.10 The consonants λ, μ, ν, and ρ are called “liquids” because the air flows around the tongue

(λ, ρ) or the sound goes through the nose (μ, ν) when pronouncing the letter. If the last letter of the

verbal root is a liquid, that verb is called a “liquid verb.”5

20.11 Chart: Future active indicative (liquid)

Future active tense stem + tense formative (εσ) + Connecting vowel + Primary active

personal endings

μεν + εσ + ο + μεν ▶ μενοῦμεν

Instead of adding a sigma as the tense formative, a liquid future adds εσ before the connecting

vowel. However, this sigma does not like to stand between two vowels so it tends to drop out, and

the epsilon and connecting vowel contract.

μεν + εσ + ο + μεν ▶ μενεομεν ▶ μενοῦμεν

This different way of forming the future does not effect the verb’s meaning, only its form.

20.12 Paradigm: Future active indicative (liquid)

liquid

definition

present contract

present liquid

1 sg

μενῶ

I will remain

ποιῶ

μένω

2 sg

μενεῖς

You will remain

ποιεῖς

μένεις

3 sg

μενεῖ

He/she/it will

remain

ποιεῖ

μένει

1 pl

μενοῦμεν

We will remain

ποιοῦμεν

μένομεν

2 pl

μενεῖτε

You will remain

ποιεῖτε

μένετε

3 pl

μενοῦσι(ν)

They will remain

ποιοῦσι(ν)

μένουσι(ν)

20.13 Chart: Future middle indicative (liquid)

Future active tense stem + tense formative (εσ) + Connecting vowel + Primary passive

personal endings

μεν + εσ + ο + μεθα ▶ μενοῦμεθα

20.14 Paradigm: Future middle indicative (liquid)

liquid

definition

present contract

present liquid

1 sg

μενοῦμαι

I will remain

ποιοῦμαι

μένομαι

2 sg

μενῇ

You will remain

ποιῇ

μένῃ

3 sg

μενεῖται

He/she/it will

remain

ποιεῖται

μένεται

1 pl

μενούμεθα

We will remain

ποιούμεθα

μενόμεθα

2 pl

μενεῖσθε

You will remain

ποιεῖσθε

μένεσθε

3 pl

μενοῦνται

They will remain

ποιοῦνται

μένονται

20.15 Present epsilon contracts. The future of a liquid verb looks just like the present tense

epsilon contract verb, including the accent. How will you tell them apart? For example, let’s say you

see μενεῖς. Is it a present epsilon contract or a liquid future?

■ You will have memorized the lexical form as μένω. There is no such word as μενέω.

■ You will notice that the final stem consonant is a liquid, and therefore μενεῖς is a liquid

future.

20.16 Accents. The accent can also be helpful in identifying a liquid verb (but not in distinguishing

it from an epsilon contract). A liquid future always has a circumflex over the contracted vowels

except in the first person plural middle (μενούμεθα).

20.17 Present and future liquids. When comparing the present and future forms of a liquid,

notice the differences. (See the two columns in 20.16 and 20.18.)

■ The accents are different (μένω ▶ μενῶ; μένομαι▶ μενοῦμαι)

■ There is no contraction in the present tense (μένομεν ▶ μενοῦμεν; μενόμεθα ▶ μενοῦμεθα).

20.18 Stem changes. Along with the different tense formative, the future tense stem of a liquid

verb usually is different from its present tense stem (for various reasons). Here are all the examples

up through the vocabulary in this chapter. Notice what is happening.

Addition of double

consonant:

ἀποστέλλω

▶

ἀποστελῶ

βάλλω

▶

βαλῶ

ἐκβάλλω

▶

ἐκβαλῶ

Addition of iota:

αἴρω

▶

ἀρῶ

ἀποκτείνω

▶

ἀποκτενῶ

ἐγείρω

▶

ἐγερῶ

Different roots:

λέγω

▶

ἐρῶ

Only two liquid verbs you know so far show no change in their future tense stems.

κρίνω

▶

κρινῶ

μένω

▶

μενῶ

20.19 Hint. It is often said that “consonants carry the meaning of a word, not the vowels.” If you

can think of a verb primarily in terms of its consonants, then the vocalic changes will not be a major

problem.

For example, γινώσκω, from the root *γνω, becomes γνώσομαι in the future. If you recognize that

the basic consonants carry the word (γν), you can still see them in γνώσομαι. (γινώσκω is a

vocabulary word in this chapter.)

Halftime Review

You have covered a lot of ground so far. Let’s

stop for a moment and see how you are

doing. Remember: a little extra work up front

helps reduce memory work and increases

understanding in the long run.

■ The root of a verb is its most basic

form. The stem of a verb is the basic form of

that verb in a particular tense.

■ All verbs form their tense stems from

their root, not their present tense stem. The

present tense is the most irregular of all

tenses.

■ In Pattern 1 verbs, the root is not

modified in the formation of its present tense

stem. The present and future tense stems will

normally be identical.

■ In Pattern 2 verbs, different roots are

used to form the different tense stems.

■ In Pattern 3 verbs (liquid verbs), their

stems end in a liquid (λ, μ, ν, ρ) and they use

εσ as the future tense formative. The sigma

drops out before the connecting vowel, and

the vowels contract, looking as if the verb

were a present tense epsilon contract.

Sometimes the stem vowel changes in the

future.

Pattern 4: Root Modified Regularly

20.20 Roots in this category are modified in regular ways in the formation of their present tense

stem. In most of the cases, knowing the pattern is sufficient for recognizing an inflected form.

However, in a few of the cases it may be easier to memorize a certain form. These roots fall into

three basic subpatterns.

I am getting into an area that some students have struggled with. You have two options, and your

teacher will have made a decision here for you. You can either memorize the patterns, or you can

memorize all the tense forms of all the verbs that fall into this category. Even if you choose the

latter, please be sure to see the patterns. They will help you in your memorization.

A. Roots in a stop

20.21 Roots that follow this pattern end in a stop, but unlike the roots in Pattern 1, these roots are

modified in the formation of their present tense stem.

■ ιζω/αζω verbs. The present tense stems of verbs that end in ιζω or αζω are generally

formed from roots that actually end in a dental.

For example, βαπτίζω (“I baptize”) is from the root *βαπτιδ. The final letter of the verbal root was

changed to zeta to form the present tense stem. It forms the future as βαπτίσω (*βαπτιδ + σω ▶

βαπτίσω), which is totally regular. Remember, dentals drop out before a sigma according to the

Square of Stops.

■ ασσω verbs. The present tense stem of verbs that end in ασσω are generally formed from

roots that actually end in a velar.

For example, ταράσσω (“I trouble”) is from the root *ταραχ. The final letter of the verbal root was

changed to σσ to form the present tense stem. It forms the future regularly as ταράξω (*ταραχ + σω

▶ ταράξω). Remember, velars and a sigma form xi according to the Square of Stops.

B. Double consonants

20.22 Present tense stems that end in a double consonant are often from roots with a single

consonant (excluding -ασσω verbs).

For example, βάλλω is from the root *βαλ. The double lambda only appears in the present tense

stem; a single lambda is found in the other tenses (e.g., βαλῶ).

C. Letters added

20.23 Some roots add a letter (or letters) to form the present tense stem. The added letter(s) will

not appear in the other tenses.

In the examples below, notice how the root is visible in the future.

■ Iota. Some roots add an iota to form the present tense stem.

*αρ + ι

▶

αἴρω

(present)

*αρ

▶

ἀρῶ

(future liquid)

■ (ι)σκ. Some roots add σκ (or ισκ if the stem ends in a consonant) to form the present tense

stem.

*ἀποθαν

▶

ἀποθνῄσκω

(present)

*ἀποθαν

▶

ἀποθανοῦμαι

(future)

*γνω + σκ

▶

γινώσκω

(present)

*γνω

▶

γνώσομαι

(future)

20.24 Ablaut. You have already seen in some nouns that their vowels change their length or even

drop out (πατήρ ▶ πάτερ ▶ πατρός). The same can happen with verbs.

For example, the root *ἀποθαν loses its stem alpha in the formation of the present tense stem (and

adds an η and ισκ after the modified stem).

*ἀποθαν ▶ ἀποθν + η + ισκ ▶ ἀποθνῄσκω.

It is retained in the future: ἀποθανοῦμαι.

20.25 So what’s the point of all this? There are two ways to learn all the tense forms. You can

either memorize every tense form of every Pattern 4 verb, or you can learn roots and patterns that

allow you to identify most of the tense stems and then memorize the few that are especially

difficult.

Compound Verbs

20.26 A compound verb is a verb that is made up of two parts, a preposition and a verb. For

example, ἐκβάλλω (“I throw out”) is a compound of the preposition ἐκ (“out”) and the verb βάλλω (“I

throw”).

Compound verbs form their tense stems the same way as the simple verb. For example, the future

of βάλλω is βαλῶ, and the future of ἐκβάλλω is ἐκβαλῶ.

Summary

1. The root of a verb is its most basic

form. The stem of a verb is the basic form of

that verb in a particular tense.

2. All tense stems are formed from the

verbal root; the present tense stem is not the

basis for the other tenses.

3. There are four patterns of how the

verbal root forms the present tense stem.

■ Pattern 1. Verbal root and present

tense stem are the same. This includes roots

ending in iota or upsilon, contract verbs, and

roots ending in a stop.

■ Pattern 2. The verb uses different

roots.

■ Pattern 3. Liquid roots (λ, μ, ν, ρ) are

generally used without modification (except

for ablaut) in the present and future active

stems. They use εσ as the tense formative in

the future. The sigma drops out and the

epsilon contracts with the connecting vowel.

They look just like present tense epsilon

contract verbs.

■ Pattern 4. Verbal root is regularly

modified to form the present tense stem. This

includes verbal roots ending in a stop (ιζω,

αζω, σσω), stems ending in a double

consonant, and roots that add one or more

letter(s) (ισκ).

4. A compound verb is made up of a

preposition and a verb. The compound verb

always follows the tense forms of the simple

verb.

Master Verb Chart

Tense

Aug/Redup

Tense stem

Tense form.

Conn. vowel

Personal

endings

1st sing

paradigm

Present act

pres

ο/ε

prim act

λύω

Present

mid/pas

pres

ο/ε

prim

mid/pas

λύομαι

Future act

fut act

ο/ε

prim act

λύσω

Liquid fut act

fut act

εσ

ο/ε

prim act

μενῶ

Future mid

fut act

ο/ε

prim

mid/pas

πορεύσομαι

Liquid fut

mid

fut act

εσ

ο/ε

prim

mid/pas

μενοῦμαι

Check It Out!

Here are the verbs that you have learned so far. Work through each one and identify its category.

(οἶδα is omitted.)

root

present

future

*αγαπα

ἀγαπάω

ἀγαπήσω

*ακου

ἀκούω

ἀκούσω

*βαπτιδ

βαπτίζω

βαπτίσω

*βλεπ

βλέπω

βλέψω

*γεννα

γεννάω

γεννήσω

*γνω

γινώσκω

γνώσομαι

*δυνα

δύναμαι

δυνήσομαι

*ἐρχ, *ἐλευθ

ἔρχομαι

ἐλεύσομαι

*σεχ

ἔχω

ἕξω

*ζα

ζάω

ζήσω

*ζητε

ζητέω

ζητήσω

*καλε

καλέω

καλέσω

*λαλε

λαλέω

λαλήσω

*λεγ, *ἐρ

λέγω

ἐρῶ

*λυ

λύω

λύσω

*ὁρα, *ὀπ

ὁράω

ὄψομαι

*πιστευ

πιστεύω

πιστεύσω

*πληρο

πληρόω

πληρώσω

*ποιε

ποιέω

ποιήσω

*πορευ

πορεύομαι

πορεύσομαι

*προσκυνε

προσκυνέω

προσκυνήσω

*συναγ

συνάγω

συνάξω

*σωδ

σῴζω

σώσω

*τηρε

τηρέω

τηρήσω

When my children came home from their first

day of Spanish class, a flood of Spanish

poured out of their mouths. After a while I

figured out the teacher had taught them the

Spanish for “My hair is ——” and then taught

them all the colors. They were having fun

describing their make- believe punk hair

colors.

How would you say, “My hair is …”?

αἱ τρίχες μου εἰσίν …

Let’s do one better. How would you say, “Your

hair is …”?

αἱ τρίχες σου εἰσίν …

Vocabulary

Be sure to check the verbal roots to see which verbs have altered the root in the formation of the

present tense stem. If the verb uses more than one root, I will show you the different roots.

αἴρω

I raise, take up, take away (101; *ἀρ)

ἀρῶ, ἦρα, ἦρκα, ἦρμαι, ἤρθην

See the explanation in 20.22 for the changes

to the tense stem. αἴρω can take a direct

object in the genitive.

ἀποκτείνω

I kill (74; *ἀποκτεν)

ἀποκτενῶ, ἀπέκτεινα, ——, ——, ἀπεκτάνθην

ἀποστέλλω

I send (away) (132; *ἀποστελ)

ἀποστελῶ, ἀπέστειλα, ἀπέσταλκα,

ἀπέσταλμαι, ἀπεστάλην

βαπτίζω

I baptize, dip, immerse (77; *βαπτιδ)

(ἐβάπτιζον), βαπτίσω, ἐβάπτισα, ——,

βεβάπτισμαι, ἐβαπτίσθην

γινώσκω

I know, come to know, realize, learn (222;

*γνω)

(ἐγίνωσκον), γνώσομαι, ἔγνων, ἔγνωκα,

ἔγνωσμαι, ἐγνώσθην

On the root see 20.27.

γλῶσσα, -ης, ἡ

tongue, language (50; *γλωσσα)

ἐγείρω

I raise up, wake (144; *ἐγερ)

ἐγερῶ, ἤγειρα, ——, ἐγήγερμαι, ἠγέρθην

ἐκβάλλω

I cast out, send out (81; ἐκ + *βαλ)

(ἐξέβαλλον), ἐκβαλῶ, ἐξέβαλον, ——, ——,

ἐξεβλήθην

ἐκεῖ

there, in that place (105)

κρίνω

I judge, decide, prefer (114; *κριν)

(ἐκρινόμην), κρινῶ, ἔκρινα, κέκρικα, κέκριμαι,

ἐκρίθην

λαός, -οῦ, ὁ

people, crowd (142; *λαο)

μένω

I remain, live (118; *μεν)

(ἔμενον), μενῶ, ἔμεινα, μεμένηκα, ——, ——

ὁράω

I see, notice, experience (454; *ὁρα; *ὀπ; *ἰδ)

ὄψομαι, εἶδον, ἐώρακα, ——, ὤφθην

*ὁρα is used to form ὁράω and ἑώρακα. *ὀπ

is used to form ὄψομαι and ὤφθην. *ἰδ is

used to form εἶδον.

σοφία, -ας, ἡ

wisdom (51; *σοφια)

στόμα, -ατος, τό

mouth (78; *στοματ)

σῴζω

I save, deliver, rescue (106; *σωδ)

(ἔσῳζον), σώσω, ἔσωσα, σέσωκα,

σέσῳσμαι, ἐσώθην

Total word count in the New Testament:

138,162

Number of words learned to date:

227

Number of word occurrences in this chapter:

2,049

Number of word occurrences to date:

101,542

Percent of total word count in the New

Testament:

73.49%

Here are some of the colors:

Red: ἐρυθρός

Yellow: ξανθός

Black: μέλας

White: λευκός

Green: χλωρός

Blue: ὑάκινθος

Purple: πορφυρός

Golden: χρυσός

Go find someone to insult!

Previous Words

ἔρχομαι

ἐλεύσομαι (*ἐρχ; *ἐλευθ; class 8)

λέγω

ἐρῶ (*λεγ; *ἐρ; class 8)

οἶδα

εἰδήσω

Advanced Information

20.27 Consonantal iota. One of the more important elements in this entire discussion is a letter

in the Greek alphabet called the “consonantal iota” (ι). You have already met this letter in third

declension stems such as in πίστεως.

Much of the change in verbal tense stems is also due to the consonantal iota.

■ The consonantal iota was added to roots ending in a stop to form their present tense stem,

and the stop + ι became ιζω (*βαπτιδ + ι ▶ βαπτίζω) or σσω (*ταραχ + ι ▶ ταράσσω).

■ The consonantal iota was added to some roots ending in a consonant to form their present

tense stem, and the consonant + ι became a double consonant (*βαλ + ι ▶ βάλλω).

■ The consonantal iota was added to some roots to form their present tense stem, and the ι

became an iota and often moved to another place in the word (*ἀρ + ι ▶ ἀρι ▶ αἴρω). This is called

“metathesis.”

20.28 In MBG I have provided a thorough categorization of these types of changes. What you met

in this chapter is a simplification of the material presented there.

workbook summary

Overview 4

Chapters 21–25

In this section you will learn the rest of the tenses and complete your knowledge of the indicative

verbal system. If you are doing well so far in the text, these chapters will be easy. Just some new

forms and a little new grammar.

Chapter 21

The essence of the Greek verb is not its ability to tell you when an action occurs. In the indicative

time does play a role, but the primary significance of the Greek verb is its ability to describe aspect,

or type of action.

You saw that in the present tense a verb can be either continuous (“I am studying”) or undefined (“I

study.”). It’s up to context to let you know which is intended in any one passage.

However, Greek uses two different tenses to describe past action. The imperfect (this chapter)

describes a continuous action normally occuring in past time.

Greek forms the imperfect by augmenting the tense stem. The augment is a lengthening of the

beginning of the verb.

■ If the verb begins with a consonant, an epsilon is added. *λυ goes to ἔλυον and means “I

was loosing.”

■ If the verb begins with a vowel, the vowel is lengthened. *ἀγαπα goes to ἠγάπως and means

“I was loving.”

The imperfect also uses a different set of endings (“secondary”). In this chapter you will learn both

the active and the passive imperfect, and with them the last two sets of personal endings. You are

now done with personal endings.

Chapter 22

The aorist describes an undefined action normally occuring in the past. The aorist is formed with an

augment and secondary endings (just like the imperfect).

There are two ways to form an aorist. There is no difference in meaning, just form. In this chapter

you will learn the second aorist. A verb forms its aorist either as a first or a second, not both (with a

few exceptions, as you might have guessed by now).

The second aorist is formed with an augment, aorist tense stem, connecting vowel, and secondary

personal endings. The root *λαβ goes to ἔλαβον.

Words that have second aorists are normally words that alter their root in the formation of their

present tense stem. Otherwise, you could not tell the difference between a second aorist and an

imperfect. *λαβ goes to the present as λαμβάνω. The mu and αν are added. Here is its paradigm.

form

translation

conn. vow.

ending

imperfect

1 sg

ἔλαβον

I took

ἔλυον

2 sg

ἔλαβες

You took

ἔλυες

3 sg

ἐλαβε(ν)

He/she/it took

- (ν)

ἔλυε(ν)

1 pl

ἐλάβομεν

We took

μεν

ἐλύομεν

2 pl

ἐλάβετε

You took

τε

ἐλύετε

3 pl

ἔλαβον

They took

ἐλυον

The Master Verb Chart is growing. Be sure to memorize it carefully.

Chapter 23

If a verb forms its aorist with a first aorist stem, then it has an augment, aorist tense stem, tense

formative ( σα ), and secondary active endings. If a verb has a first aorist, most likely the root,

present tense stem, and aorist tense stem will all be the same.

first aorist

translation

ending

imperfect

second aorist

1 sg

ἔλυσα

I loosed

ἔλυον

ἔλαβον

2 sg

ἔλυσας

You loosed

ἔλυες

ἔλαβες

3 sg

ἔλυσε(ν)

He/she/it

loosed

—(ν)

ἔλυε(ν)

ἔλαβε(ν)

1 pl

ἐλύσαμεν

We loosed

μεν

ἐλύομεν

ἐλάβομεν

2 pl

ἐλύσατε

You loosed

τε

ἐλύετε

ἐλάβετε

3 pl

ἔλυσαν

They loosed

ἔλυον

ἐλαβον

Chapter 24

The first aorist passive uses a tense formative (θησ) and active endings. *λυ goes to ἐλύθην (“I was

loosed”). The second aorist passive uses eta as a tense formative. *γραφ goes to ἐγράφην (“I was

written”).

The future passive is formed from the same aorist tense stem (without the augment) but with

primary middle/passive endings. *λυ goes to λυθήσομαι (“I will be written”).

Chapter 25

We now come to the last tense, the perfect. The perfect indicates a completed action whose

effects are felt in the present (of the speaker). We generally connect “have/has” with the perfect.

The perfect is formed with reduplication and the tense formative κα.

■ If the verb begins with a consonant, the consonant is doubled and separated with an

epsilon. *λυ goes to λέλυκα and means “I have loosed.”

■ If the verb begins with a vowel, the vowel is lengthened. *ἀγαπα goes to ἠγάπηκα and means

“I have loved.”

Lexicons list six verbal forms for each verb (assuming each occurs in the New Testament). They are

present ( λύω ), future active ( λύσω ), aorist active ( ἔλυσα ), perfect active ( λέλυκα ), perfect

middle/passive ( λέλυμαι ), and aorist passive ( ἐλύθην ).

Chapter 21

Imperfect Indicative

Exegetical Insight

The Greek imperfect tense is both limited and versatile in its usage. It is limited in that it only occurs

in the indicative mood, but in that mood it has some interesting nuances of meaning. Basically, the

imperfect expresses linear action in past time. That action may be repetitive, prolonged or just

beginning. Sometimes, however, the imperfect expresses repeated attempts.

This is true in Galatians 1:13 where Paul says, “For you have heard of my previous way of life in

Judaism, how I violently persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.” Both verbs in the

second clause of this verse are imperfects. The first one (ἐδίωκον) simply expresses repeated

action in the past. Paul is saying that he often persecuted the church. The second one (ἐπόρθουν) is

“tendential,” i.e., it expresses attempted action. (This is why the NIV adds the word “tried,” which

does not occur in the Greek.) Paul repeatedly persecuted the church, but his violent acts did not,

indeed could not, destroy it. His actions were only attempts, and feeble ones at that. Jesus’

promise about his church was true then, as it is now: “The gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

Walter W. Wessel

Overview

In this chapter you will learn:

■ that the imperfect indicates a

continuous action that usually occurs in the

past;

■ that the imperfect is formed with an

augment, the present tense stem, a

connecting vowel, and secondary personal

endings;

■ that an augment is a prefix indicating

past time. If the verb begins with a

consonant, the augment is an epsilon (λύω ▶

ἔλυον); if the verb begins with a vowel, the

augment is the lengthened vowel (ἀγαπάω▶

ἠγάπων);

■ secondary active and passive

endings, the final two sets of personal

endings.1

William D. Mounce, Basics of Biblical Greek: Grammar, ed. Verlyn D. Verbrugge, Third Edition.

(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 130–182.

NGRK 520 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY TEXTBOOK CHAPTER 16_21 STUDY MATERIALS 2023.pdf

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