Class Notes: September 1, 2007

Class Notes and Comments

Lesson 12: Important Sections and points (but read all the Sections):

74. See the Sidebar for the vocabulary list of all words, including the extra words, as well as for audio files of the vocabulary.

75. Greek verbs have six "principal parts," and when you see a verb in a lexicon or in the Greek to English Vocabulary in the back of the textbook, the verb's principal parts will be listed. (If there is a --, that means that there is no New Testament occurrence of that principal part of that verb.) The six principal parts in order are:

1. Present
2. Future
3. Aorist
4. Perfect Active
5. Perfect Passive
6. Aorist Passive (from which the Future Passive is formed)

A regular verb may be "deponent" in one or more of its principal parts. Some verbs are very irregular, and some of their principal parts may use stems that are quite different from the Present stem. With "regular" verbs like λυω, one can easily figure out the other five principal parts from the Present stem once one knows the regular principal parts patterns. With irregular verbs (i.e., verbs that have different stems for one or more principal parts), one has to memorize or learn to recognize the various principal parts for those verbs. Fortunately, few verbs have more than three different stems that are used for the principal parts, and some of those that do are common verbs that you'll encounter a lot and thus become familiar with (e.g., λεγω, ερχομαι).

The basic principal part formations for regular verbs (i.e., where the same stem occurs in all six principal parts) are as follows:

1. Present: present stem + thematic vowel (ε or ο) + ending: λυ-ω (the ο thematic vowel contracts with the ω ending in the 1st-person singular) (Imperfect: ε augment + present stem + thematic vowel + ending: ε-λυ-ο-ν)
   
2. Future: present stem + σ + thematic vowel + ending: λυ-σ-ω (the ο thematic vowel contracts with the ω ending in the 1st-person singular)
3. (1st) Aorist: ε augment + present stem + σα + ending: ε-λυ-σα (no ending in the 1st-person singular) (2nd Aorist follows the Imperfect pattern)
   
4. (1st) Perfect Active: reduplicated initial consonant + ε + present stem + κα + ending: λ-ε-λυ-κα (no ending in the 1st-person singular) (2nd Perfect Active has no κ)
   
5. Perfect Passive: reduplicated initial consonant + ε + present stem + ending: λ-ε-λυ-μαι
6. (1st) Aorist Passive: ε augment + present stem + θη + ending: ε-λυ-θην ((1st) Future Passive: present stem + θησ + thematic vowel + ending: λυ-θησ-ο-μαι) (2nd Aorist/Future Passive has no θ)
   

See the "Indicative Verbs Chart" in the sidebar under the "VERBS" section for a chart that lays out the patterns and formations for verbs.

76. & 77. Memorize the forms of the Future Active and Middle Indicative (the Future Passive will be learned in Lesson 16 Section 111). Note that (for regular verbs) they are identical to the Present Active and Middle Indicative except for the inclusion of a σ between the stem and the ending.

78. Memorize this "chart" of how the various consonants change when they are combined with the σ of the Future tense. I discussed this in more depth when I was using Story & Story's textbook GREEK TO ME (hence my references to "Story" in what I write), which you can read here if you're interested. Read this whole section, as future forms of some of the verbs you know or need to know are discussed.

79. Memorize all of these irregular Future verb forms.

80. Memorize the Future Indicative of ειμι. In the Indicative mood ειμι occurs only in the Present ("I am"), Imperfect ("I was") and Future ("I will be"), so once you learn this, you will know all the Indicative forms of ειμι. There are no Aorist ("I was" as a simple past) or Perfect ("I have been") or Pluperfect ("I had been") forms of ειμι; instead, forms of γινομαι ("I become") or υπαρχω ("I exist") are used.

81. Do all the Exercises and check your answers. See the Sidebar for Exercises Answers. As I mentioned, I may only post the answers to the English to Greek Exercises, as you can view Croy's Answer Key for the Practice and Review Exercises, and you can use your New Testament and Old Testament (or translation of the Septuagint) to check your LXX and NT Exercises.

Our reading next week will continue at Mark 2, if we continue in Mark.