Miruirrtum Seueru

The Subjunctiue arud

Imperatiue Modrs
!TIIITIIIIIITI'TIIIITITIIIIIIIITTTITTIIITITIITTITTIITTIITI

In This Lesson:
) Vocabulary
) Introduction to the Modes
) Minimum Seven-A The Subjunctive Mode
) Minimum Seven-B The Imperative Mode
) Translating Subjunctives and Imperatives
More Information on Infinitives
More Information on the 2Aorist-The
CopycatTense
>
IIIIITTIIiTTIIITTIIITITTTIITIIITT T'IIIITTT!IIII!ITTII!TIIT
86 LEssoN 8

PART ONE: Vocobulory

Port A.
&v untranslatable, used to make a definite statemenr
contingent upon something. Notice the effect of dv
in the rwo words, 6te and e[ below
iorv if (er + av)-but this "if" carries a new connotation,
discussed below.
|va in order that, that (mostly used with the subj. mode)
6 rcaqn6g fruir, crop, result
6 Aaoq people, crowd
Lotn6q,-oV, -I adj.: remaining, left; nouns the rest; adv.: from now
on
;.rarcdqrog, -ov, -a blessed, h"ppy
pdMar I am about to ...

14 no, not, lest [form of the negative in the subjunctive

and imperative modes]

Fq6€ neither
pq6e[9, -rv, -Fra not one, nothing
r1 o66q way
6te when (but addav to the word and we have:
6rorv whenever (6te + dv)
o$te and not, neither, nor
oi:yt not, emphatic no (no indzed)
r.et9co I persuade, convince
ntpr.,o I send
niv,o I drink
nLelr,lv more (comparative of no,Lug)
t6 nAotov boat
rcqeopriteeoq, -ov, -d. elder
 ftAinimum Seve:n 87
. riQoo, uvirr-r I worship
t6 nqr6ocorcov face

tqretg, tgla three [trio and the Spanish and French "t!1ee']

Port B.
&QX, active: I rule; middle: I begin
boE aea I glorify, praise, honor
eyelqro I raise up
eisavyyeLi(a I evangelize
euglorco I find [Eureka]
i6oq, -ov, -A onet own (e.g., people, home) fidiogyncracy]
rlrceQaArj head
6 v6proq law fnomenclature=law or system of naming ...1

r1 ooQh wisdom [philosophy=l6vs of wisdom]

orcelqr<r-r I sow [cf, oft€Qpra: seed=sPerm]
rt...rt and, likewise, and so
toro0tog, -oitov, -aurq such as

6 t6nog place [topographyl

'bnaya I depart
'{sl:totqyco I exist, am Present (ta 0rcdqlovta: possessions)

Qnpi I say
Q€q, I bear
4 ,lr"X.l life, nature, soul (versus spirit)
ag as

PART TWO: The Three Modes in Koine Greek

. Indicative: (Indicates a fact) I read a book.
. Subjunctive: (Shows uncertainty in a fact) I malt read a book
. Imperative: (Commands something be done) Read the book!
88 LESSON 8

As indicated earlier, a fourth mode, the optative mode, also occurs. It shows up in the NT just 68
times and its importance is mentioned in the discussion on conditional sentences in Lesson 10.

\We have learned the indicatiue up to this point. Here are some review points about the
indicatiue mode:
. It is used for all tenses: The Primary tenses (present, future) and the Secondary
tenses (imperfect, aorist, and perfect).

. The Secondary tenses have an augment: "t" for "earlier"-that is, earlier than the
Present.

For the other two modes (the subjunctiae and the imperatiue):
o The Greek uses only tLUo tensesi the present tense and the aoist tense. (There are ten
places where the old perfed subjunctive of oiba occur.)

. \(/hy? In these two modes the Greek wants to merely distinguish between
"continuous" action (the present tense) and "point" action (the aorist tense).
\What does this mean?

. Point = stxrt doing something that has not been done

o Continuous or linear = continue doing something that is already being done.
. Examples in English: I (may) start to study (aorist), or, I (mry) go on
studying (present).
. Unfortunately, English translations often do not refect these differences,
translating both as: I (may) study.
. Only the primary tense endings are used as a foundation for these two
modes.
. Therefore, since it is the secondarT endings that require an augment (e) and we are
not using the secondary endings for the subjunctiue and the im?erdtiue, the aorist
subjunctiue and the aorist irnperatiue do not have an augment.
 lAinimum Seven 89

PART THREE: The Subjunctive Mode

The minimum for the subjunctive mode is the subjunctive of elpi. fu noted above, dl
subjunctives, including the subjunctive of elpt, are built on the primary endings. For
review, we give these mro sets of primary endings here (nvo of the four "basics"):

lh.uraenvacrnry Ihnaenvuroors/pessnry
1 -<'t -oFat
SG 2 -sE -n
3 -tt -tta.l
I -opev -ope0a
PL 2 -tr€ -eoOe
3 -ouor(v) --ovtAt

There are just two steps you need to take to form the five different forms of the
subjunctive:

Step 1 :
. Lengthen the connectinguowel(o/ou hecomes <o and t becomes 11 in the forms you
have already learned)

. This is the result. In the secorud and thlrd personssingular, the iota becomes a
subscript so that it actually lools like: -q1€ and -{1, in the NT
respectively,

Pnrumvecrnm Prurvrenvrvnoorr/pessnm
"1. t's c.lprat
SG2qLsn
3 lt qtat

L orpev o;peOa
PL 2 lte r1o0e
3 coo(v) ovtat

. So thefnished productin the active, the Minimum itself, looks like:

90 LE5SON 8

Mfu.imuru Seaeru -A

t rir
SG2frs
3fr
I (.)pw
PL 2 ite
3 <irot(v)

Tltis uery form is the subjunctive of eipf, and is the only one of the five subjunctive forms
that can stand alone, that is, it does not require a verb stem to complete the word-just as
is the case with the indicative form and participle of elpi. (Of course, it can have a verb
stem attached, it is just that it is not required, to be a proper word.) The middle/passive
and all three aorist forms above require a verb stem.

,l
Subjunctive of eipi Indicatirre of elpi
I GJ I miy be eipi I am
SG2 Il<
taJ You may be ei You are
3 nl! He,.she or it may be iotlv He, she or it is

I ripev Yg may be iopdv \fle are

PL 2 i". You may be ior6 You are
3 rirol(v) They may be eioi(v) They are

' Do not forget: these words (the verb "to be") always call for the nominative case:
flre o[ pa0qtal pou or, iot€ o[ paO4rai pou =

You may be my disciples (subjunctive) or You are my disciples (indicative).

o In both cases, "disciples" is nominatiue because of the verb "1o $g"-g[pi-whether

indicative or subjunctive.

' The same is true for rhe imperatiue mode of eipri-{iscussed in the next section.
 Minirnum Seven 91

Step 2z
. The present tense simply adds a verb stem for all voices.

' The aorist tense inserts an abbreviated tense identifier to the endings.

' Thus, for the aorist active and aorist middle, insert a sigma (o instead of oor) in
front ofthe active and middle endings, respectively
' For the aorist passiue, insert a theta (O instead of efl infront ofthe acaveending
(once again, the aorist passive is built on the active form-as is the case for the aorist
passive in all of its formations: verbs in all modes and participles and infinitives).

The results look like this (note that the endings within the blocts are all tlte same, aldthat
the key to the tense identification of the tense/voice is what irnmedianly precedes thebloched
endings).

The first three subjunctives are built on the Primary actiue.

Present octive
1A$
SG 2 /ttr
3 A13
1 Ali
PL2A6
3Ln
Aorist octive
I Ario
SG 2 Auo
3 Luo

I Auo
PL 2 Atio
3 Ario
9? LESSON 8

Aorist POSSffe
1 Arie
SG 2 AliO
3 Li)O

I A60
PL 2 A0e
3 Lt)g

The last two subjunctives are built on the Primary middb/passiue.

Present middle/possive
IA$fr^lrrar
sG 2 ^sln' I

3 aflntar I

I
I Aulcirpe0al
PL 2 Aflrlo'Oe I

3 L{<^rvtar I

Aorist middle
I
2 Afoln I
Afola,trar
SG
3 Luolt"o, I

1 Auolru.uJ
2 Auolqo0e I
a Ariolgrvral
 lrtinimum Seven 93

New Testoment Tronslotion

Itis often difficult to reflect the differences between the Greek aorist subjunctive and the
Greek present subjunctive-the point versus linear or continuous action. Many rimes,
therefore, in the English versions, the translation will not tell us which tense was used.

Knowing the Greek, however, allows you to make the distinctions in your use of the
passage, be that in teaching or preaching-in which you can make the text come to life far
beyond the constrictions oftranslation guidelines. Examples ofthis are given following the
discussion on the irnperatiue mode.

PART FOUR: The Imperotive rtiode

Minimurn Seaen-B

SG 2
3 _tg(n

PL 2
3 -ro)oav
The Minimum for this mode is the two endings: -TG, and --r(nodv. They are discussed
below.

fu in English, this is the mode of "command"-*1s ordering of someone to do

something. [You] listen to me!-in which t]re "you" is understood.
The same translation principle we spoke about for the subjunctive applies to the
imperative, namely, we are concerned solely with continuous (linear) or point
action, and therefore need just the same two tenses to convey these distinctions
(the present and aorist tenses).

Illustration: Are we commanding someone to stafi doing something (aorist) or

to continae doing something they are already doing (present)? [Begrn to] pay
attention (aorist); [Continue to] pay attenrion (present).
94 LEssoN 8

There is one important difference in the Greek lrnperatiue from the English lrnperatiue.
. In English, we have just two forms, a command for someone (singular) to do
something, or a command for some persons (plural) to do something.
o In Greek, though, there are four forms, two singular and nvo plural. The difference
is eary to explain.

. The Greek wants to distinguish benareen the command to have the person you are
speaking to [You-(singular or plurd)] do sornething, and the command to have
the person you are speaking to comrnand a third party to dn something.

. The command to the person being addressed (either singular or plural) would be:
Read the book!

. This corresponds exactly with the English imperative.

. Different from English is thq pplnm?{rd I to have a third parry do something
(either singular or plural): You have sotneone ebe do ...
'W'e
now turn'to the actual formations. To make this as down-to-earth as possible, we
mention a pattern that occurs in all five forms of the imperatiue mode.

iAoking the Imperotive Eosy

There is a pattern in three of the four imperative forms for both the active and the middle/
passive conjugations.

Smcuen Pluner
2. (different) similar (and the sarne as the indicative)
' 3. similar similar

Observe the letters in red of the following conjugations (-tcr 6d -tcooav):

Present active (Insert connecting vowel-always e)

Aue Arlets
Lutre,t Lutrr;loav
Aorist active (replace connecting vowel with -oa) :
Ar.ioov Auoatt
Avoo!<o huop1rlnfio'.v
 Minimum Seven 95
Aorist passive (replace connecting vowel with -Or1)
Ari0qtt Af0qre
Au0r]r<^r Au0r1r<.roav
Present middle/passive

Ariou Arieo0e
Auio0c.r Luto0ui,oocv
Aorist middle
Luoon Luoao0e
Luoao0,o Luoao0r,i,ootv

Notes on the formotions

' \(e use the same tense identifiers as previously (with the aorist passive again built
on the actiue voice).
. The second person plural is identical to the indicative for all three voices, so in
these places context determines whether you have an indicative or an imperative.
.
. The second person singular is different for all five forms and must be recognized
by memorization.
. The remaining two forms: add (third singular) and (third plural)
-r<o -r<^roav
to the present active and aorist passive, and for the other three conjugations in the
third person, substitute the "T" with a "oO" = and -o0<^locv.
-o0crl
PART FIVE: Tronsloting the Subjunctive ond Imperative
In Appendix I the distinctive differences between these two tenses are illustrated. A clear
example, however; about the importance is given here from the New Testament. In Luke
14:12, the New Revised Standard Version, along with all other major English translations,
ffanslates the imperative in a misleading way.

He said also to the one who had invited him, "tVhen you give a luncheon or a dinneg do
not inaite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they
may invite you in return, and you would be repaid (emphasis supplied).

The imperative: "do not invite" sounds like a clearly stated prohibition to ever invi.ting
96 LES5ON 8

your friends, your brothers (which is a word for fellow church members), your relatives
and rich neighbors. The prohibition as translated here would be accurate if it were an
aorist imperative. But it is not. It is a present imperative,'the tense that conveys ongoing
action. It should, therefore, be ffanslated something like: "do not only invite," or "do nor
continually invite" to the exclusion of the outqrsts. See Appendix I.

PART SIX: tlAore Informotion on Infinitives

In Lesson 5 the infinitive was introduced. There it was noted that the infinitive completes
the verbal idea and is translated with the English 'to" in front of it. Example: I tm able to
walh.

. The "to walli' is the infinitive, completing the verb "I am able."
IU7e
' saw that the present active infinitive has an -tlv on the end of the verb--
llitew to loose.
o Hence, iliwapanfuietv = I am able to loose.
Here are the forms of all the infinitives in Greek with information about the form and the
function.
Present activq l6erv, to loose (go on loosing). Remember, the copycat 2 aorist acrive
also has the -ew ending.
All other infinitives with: ar-making it easy to recognize an infinitive, underlined
end
in the list below, and the tense and voice of the infinitive can be determined by the tense
identifiers, highlighted in red.

Present middle/passive l6eo0a.f To be loosed (go on being...)

Aorist active k(to& To loose (start to loose)
Aorist middle )dtoqo0an To loose oneself (start to...)
Aorist passive l,u04vat To be loosed (start to be...)
Perfect active lelurcdva.r To have loosed
Perfect middle/passive ,tel[6_o0An To have been loosed

The Future infinitive occurs only five times in the NT; four of them are in the book of
Acts, and all four are the future infinitive of eipi ) €oeo0ar. They are part of the
construction called the "Accusative of General Reference" discussed in Lesson 10. Each
carries the notion of "would" or "will" happen.
 iAinimum Seven 97
Notes on the Formotions
. The aorist tense adds the tense identifier.
. The aorist passive is again built on the active voice
. The 2 aorist, not given here, is the same as the present tense (copycat)

Notes on the Tronslotions

The dynamics mentioned in the discussion on the subjunctive and imperative modes about
continuing action versus point action apply here.
. In the English translations of the Bible it is usually impossible to know what tense
is used in the Greek. But it does make a difference, and this is where the expositor
can make some important points in the pulpit or classroom

. Examples: the infinitives in the present tense and the aorist tense (luerv, L(toorl,
respectively) are both translated "to loose." The student of Greek knows, however,
that what is occurring in Greek is the concept of continuing action for the present
tense: "to go on loosing," and the concept of "point" action for the aorist tense: "to
begin to loose."

't,

t-l
r I r
-:.iI -=
98 LEssoN I
PART SEVEN: More fnformotion on the 2 Aorist-The Copycot
Tense
In Lesson 5 we pointed out that in the indicative mode the 2 aorist has the same endings
as the imperfect tense. In all other modes, as well as in the participle and in infinitives,
the 2 aorist copies the present tense. Here is a demonstration of this phenomenon. The
similarities are emphasized.

PnrsnrrThusn 2 AorusrThNsr
Participle, active Lappar-cov Ldp-(rv '
Participle, mid. /pass. Aappav-6Fsvog Aap-6pevog
Infinitive, active Aapprlv-erv Locp-ttv
Infinitive, mid.ipass. Laupaveo0ar A,ap-to0at
Subjunctive, active Aappdv-copev tuip-orpev
Subjunctive, mid./pass. Lappav-roSral Lap-r.opat
Imperative, active Laypave Lap-e
Imperative, mid./pass. Aaprpdv-ou Lap-ou

In all of the above forms, the endings are identical. Only the verb stem has changed.

PART EI6HT: Exercises

Exercises-1
Iohn 3:1 TIv Di d.v0qr,rnog trc t6v @aqroatc.rv [sound out], Nrrc66qpog [sound
out]dvopra ubrQ,d.qrlc.rvtc-rv lou6a[ov'[soundout] 2 o0tog{A0evngogautov
vurctoq rcaL etnev airQ,Pappi[sound out],, o[6apev 6tt ano 0eo0 iql6pevog
66aorcaAog'oubeLq yag bdvaratra{srata orlpeia noreiv & ou ngreig, €av pr1
{ o 0eoq pret'atroO.3 anercqiOr1 lrloo0g Kal etnev airQ, Afrl, *Fn, ttyi,u
oor, eav Fr{ trg yewqgr;1 &vorOev, ou b0vatar i6eiv trlv paor,l,elav ro0 0eo0.4
Adyerfteog a0rdv [6] Nrrc66r1prog,Ilc,-rq btivatard.lOgr^rnoqyevrnlOrlvaryiqrov
[old] riiv; pu1 66vatar elq tov rcorAilrv [womb] t{s prltqog autoo bedteqrov
 llAinimum Seven 99
[sound out] eloeA0erv ralyewr;Oqvaq 5 anercgl0q lqoouq, Aplv oprtl, A,iya
oo9 iav p4 tq yewrlOr;1 iE ti6atog raL nvefpotluoq, o0 6rivataL eloeA0erv elg
u1v paoilelav toO 0eo0. 6 to yeyewrlpdvov trc trle oagrcdq odqE €otw, rcaL

to y€yewrlpr6vol irc toO nveripato q nleipatotrv. 7 prq Oaupr oo\q[marvel]

6tt e1n6v oo9 Aei tFrog yevrrrl0{var [Acc. of general reference-see Lesson L0]
d.vorOev. 8 td nve0pa 6nou 06Aer nvei [blows] rcaLtrlv Qovrlv a0to0 aroueg,
aM' n60ev [from where] EgXetarrcaL noO i:nayet' oiruog SorLv nag
o0rc o[6aq

6 yeyewr;pr€vog irc toO nvefpatog. 9 anercqiOq Nrrc66qpoq rcaI einev aurQ,

fl6g brivarottraisrayev6oOaq L0 anercgi0r1 lqoo0g rcaI einev aisrQ,Iu el o
bdd.orcaAog toO'IoqarlA rcr:..irqtra ou ywrborcel4; L\ oF l, olrrl, Aiyar oor
6tr 6 o[6a;.rev AaAo0pev 6 6o4arcaFev [raQ)@qro0pev, rca[ u1v praqtuqhv
rcaL

rlp6v ou Aaprpdv ert. L2 eL ta tntyeta. [observe: tftr + yq] elnov upiv r.aL ou
nrote$ete, raii,e iav ta dnougdvn [look at the parts] ntore$oere; 13
einro 0priv
rcaL oubelg avap6pr;rcev [a 2 perfect of avapatlor] elq tdv o0qavov ei prl o sK
toO ougavourarapaq,6 uloq toO avOgornou.'14 rcaLrca0rbq Mo$or1e ri{rooev

[lifted up] rov 6Quv [serpent] ev q tqttpq [wilderness], oritrog u{<^r0rlvat

[aorist passive infinitive] Dei tov ulov toO av0qc,;rcou [this construction is
explained in Lesson L0-'The accusative of general reference"l, L5 Lva naq
6 nrote0arv iv autQ {Xr;1 16 Oritc.rq yaq rlyanlo€v o Oeog
e,o4v alrovtov.
tov rc6opov, cbote tdv ulov tdv povoyevrl €6a;rcev, lva naq 6 rcote0o;v elg
autov prrl an6ArlrottotM' 6Xr;1 e,oqv al<ivtov. 17 oi: yaq andotetAev o Oeog
tdv uldv elg tdv rc6opov [va [condemn] tov rc6o;.rov, aM' [va oa€r;1 6
rcqtrn;1

rc6opoq Dt'autoO. 18 6 mrotefaru elq aOtov ou rcqrlvetat [condemned]'6 0t pr4

nroterir,.rv qDq rc€rcqrtar [has been judged], 6tr pq renior.turev elq to 6vopa
toO provoyevoOq [look at the parts] uloO toO 0eo0.
100 LEssoN 8

Exercises-2
]ohn 3:19 auw16d Botrv 11 rcqloq [sound out] 6tr to Q6q r1A0ev elg tov rc6opov
rairlyanrloav o[ &v0gc^rnor praMov td orc6tog [context] r1 to Qtirg'i, yoq
autdrv novrlga ta
6qya. 20 ndqyae o QaOAa [sound out] rcgdoocov [acting,
practicing:nqafrgl prtoel [hates] to Q6q rcaL oOrc dqXetar ftQog to Q6q, '(va prq
iAeyl0r;1 [be exposed] ta 6qyo autoO. 21 6 Di nordrv trlv aArl0er,av dqrletar
ftQoq to Qroq, [va Qaveqr,-r0r;1 autoO ta Egya 6rr €v OeQ eotw [neuter plural
nolrns oftenhave a verb in the singular]. 22 Merd,rotura{A0ev o lr;oo0q rcaIo[
paOqtalautoO elg tqv'Iouba(av [sound out].7r1v rcaL ercer tprevov ;.ret' a0t6v
rrri tpanrtLev .23 {v 6e rca[ o lcoawrls panrL(av ev Aivrbv [sound out] €yyuq
[near] to0] Ea,l,elp [sound out], 6tr ubaro- noMa {v ercel rcaI naqreylvovto
[zuga and yLvopar] rcaL Lparcrlovro'24 ouo:ti,o yaq {v pepAqprivog [from
pannrol elq tr1v QuAarcqv 6 'Icoawr;q.25 'Eyiveto ofrv (r1qoq [dispute]
erc tr,rv pa0r;t6v loavvou peta lou6atou negl rca.0aqro;ro0 [purification].

26 {A0ov ftqoq tov lorawrlv rcaL eir.av airQ, Tappv 0g 4v peta oo0
rcaL

ndqrav peyond] to0'Ioq6dvou [sound out], rir ou Fepaet0qrrlrcag, i6e o0tog

partrt(etrc:irtctvreq Eqrlovtar nqoq aut6v. 27 anr.xqiOq'Ia-rdwlq Ka[ eInev,
Ou 66vatar &vOqo;ftoq Laltpdverv oubt 8v iav pr1 fl be6oprivov a0tQ erc

to0 ougavoO. 28 aOrol u;.rerq por 1raerugerte 6tr einov [6tr] Ourc elprl eycb o
Xqrrot6g, aM'6tr AneoraLpdvog [a liquid] elpl6pnqoo0ev [before] Brcelvou.
30 €rcervov 6ei a0Edvew, ipi 6t iAatto0o0au 3L 0 &vroOev dql6pevoq
tnavro nctvruoy Eotlv'6 drv €rc rng yrlg drc rr1€ yrlq sorl rcaL €rc qq y1g LaLei.
6 erc toO o0qravoO Sql6prevoq linav,o navrosv €otiv'] 32 6 6orqarcev rcai
{rcouoev ro0to ;.ragtuqre! rcaL rr;v paqrtuqiav auto0 oubelg Aappdver. 33 6
Aaprbv arito0 t{v paqtuqiav toQqayLoey 6tr 6 0edq aArlerlg iorw.