Seat of Wisdom Seminary, Owerri

New Testament Greek Language

Theology 100 Level: 2022/2023
Lecturer: Louismary Ocha

Texts:
1. New Testament Greek: An Introductory Grammar by Eric G. Jay
2. Any good Greek Lexicon
3. New Testament Greek Bible

Introduction
Greek language is originally spoken by the inhabitants of that part of the Balkan Peninsula called
ancient Greece (from the Latin – Graeci; a name given to them by the Romans). It was also spoken
by the Hellens ({Ellhnej); settlers in other parts of the coast of the Mediterranean – Hellas (ʽElla,j).
Hence the language came to be known as Hellenic – h` ʽEllhnikh. glw/ssa. It has been in existence
from the time of Homer (Between 12th and 8th Cent B.C.) to this day.

Greek of the New Testament

New Testament (NT) Greek has a subtle difference from the classical Greek (the one used by Plato,
Demosthenes, etc.). Though Greek was not the language spoken in Palestine (rather Hebrew), the
Palestinian authors of the New Testament wrote predominantly in Greek language. This was possible
because by already 700 B.C., Hebrew language was already exposed to dialects of the surrounding
tribes, especially Aramaic. This is evident from the request of the messengers of King Hezekiah to
the ambassador of the King of Assyria to speak to them in Aramaic, “for we understand it” (2Kings
18:26). This is about 700 B.C.
By the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by 586 B.C., Hebrew had departed considerably from its
pure state. By the 70 years in Babylon, where they were taken captives, Aramaic, which was the
official language must have eaten deep into the remaining Hebrew language. That is why some of the
Old Testament books written after the exile came in Aramaic (e.g, Ezra and Daniel). This shows that
the Israelites gradually turned to speaking and writing Aramaic. By the time of Christ, Aramaic has
been predominant to the extent that many have lost the Hebrew language and were using Targum
version of the scriptures.
Further, Alexander the Great (of Macedon) in 323 B.C. overturned the Persian empire at Arbela,
destroyed the famous city of the ancient Tyre, overran all western Asia, even crossing into Egypt,
where he founded the world’s new metropolis bearing his own name (332 B.C.). The events of
Alexander formed a historic watershed with many results, of which an important one was the spread
of Greek letters and Greek civilizations. An author beautifully captures the influence of the language
thus: “This noble language of ancient Hellas, so rich and beautiful, so full of power and sweetness,
was destined to work far greater results in the minds and hearts of men than the brief rule of Alexander
and his successors. They soon passed away, and the Greek language which came with them still
remained and spread with great rapidity throughout this whole territory, revealing to these Semitic
races a new world of beauty and power. Although Greece soon fell under the conquering hand of
Rome, Greek art and Greek letters took captive her captor. Rome was then the world, while through
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all her borders the language of Greece became the speech of trade and intercourse. Greek was even
the language of the Roman court, and Roman boys were taught their Homer along with the native
Vergil. The wide use of Greek at that period can be best compared with the English of to-day”1. It
therefore implies that by the time of Christ, Greek was more popular than Hebrew and Aramic. Greek
has emerged as the lingua franca of its time. Greek, therefore became a way of carrying the message
of Christ to all nations.
New Testament used the Greek language called Koinē; from the expression h` koinh. dia,lekto - the
common and every-day language. This is also known as the Hellenistic Greek or Attic Greek mixed
with some dialects of the people of the Near and Middle East. One finds bits of Hebrew, Aramaic and
Syriac words in it. It was the language of the human heart longing for the kingdom of God and the
coming of the Messiah2.

Aims and Objectives

Since Language is not subjective, the goal of learning NT Greek is to go into how the users of the
language employed it especially with reference to the writings in the NT. The words express their
minds. The words are carriers of the message of Christ. Adequate understanding of the language will
lead to the proper understanding of the gospel.

Suggestions to the students

1. Do not be afraid of Greek language. Fear has a way of defeating one before the actual encounter.
2. Study Greek language at least 15 mins every day.
3. All vocabularies must be thoroughly mastered. Writing the words several times will greatly help
to fix them in the mind. Reading flash cards and pronouncing the Greek aloud are helpful.
4. Care should be taken to master the grammar (i.e. declensions, conjugations, syntax).
5. Irregular verbs should be committed to memory.

The Greek Alphabet

Greek alphabet consists of twenty-four (24) characters. The word alphabet is derived from the first
two of the characters: alpha and bēta. A good number of the characters were adapted in Athens (403
B.C.) from the Phoenician alphabet and many correspond to their Latin equivalents.

Alphabet of European countries.

Greek alphabet has capitals (also called the uncials or maiuscules); majorly used by the ancients.
Now, these are used at the beginning of a sentence and paragraph, for proper names, to indicate
quotations and direct speech. It equally has small letters (also known as the minuscule, cursives or
running letters). These are employed every other place except the places mentioned for the use of the
capital. They are commonly used in contemporary texts.
The alphabet and their corresponding sounds include:

1
John Homer Huddilston, Essentials of New Testament Greek, London, Macmillian & Co., Ltd., 1961, xiv-xv.
2
John Homer Huddilston, Essentials of New Testament Greek, London, Macmillian & Co., Ltd., 1961, xix.
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Capital Small Names of the English Pronunciation
letter letters letters equivalent
a a alpha a as in father

B b bēta b as in boy, bat, beg

g g gamma g (hard) as in go, gun, gate

d d delta d as in dawn, dog, dig

E e ĕpsīlon e (short) as in bed, let, met

z z zēta z (initial), or as in zero,

dz (internal) as in adze

h h ēta e (long) as in they, late

Q q theta th as in theology, thin

I i iōta i as in machine, bit, lit

K k kappa k as in keep, king, kin

l l lambda l as in let, letter, lake

m m mū m as in man

n n nū n as in now, noon, net

x x xī x as in axe, lax

o o ŏmīkron o (short) as in omelette, log

p p pī p as in put, pet

r r rhō r as in row, run

j s (initial or internal) sigma s as in sing, single

j (final)

t t tau t as in to, top, tar

u u upsīlon u French u, German ü

f f phī ph as in phone, foot

c c chī ch (kh) as in loch, chasm, Bach

Y Y psī ps as in lips, hips

W w ōmĕga o (long) as in old, tone, wrote

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Note:
g , g is pronounced n when appears before the gutturals g, k, x, c and is called gamma nasal. For
instance a;ggeloj a messenger is pronounced angelos (g hard [Latin – angelus = messenger]), sfi,gx-
sphinx, agkw,n- ankon (elbow), fa,lagx - phalanx
- As in many languages influenced by Latin, one might be tempted to dot an iota. This should not be.
- A short vowel becomes long when followed by two or more consonants or by a double consonant.
e.g: in eu;aggeliou, a becomes long.
- i usually becomes j or y when used as a consonant in English; e.g., ̓ Ihsou/j- Jesus; ̓Iakw,b- Yakob.
- Initial r which always has a rough breathing (r`), becomes rh in English and pronunciation; e.g.,
“rhetoric”.
- The small letter sigma has two forms s and j. s is used when sigma begins a word and when it
appears in the middle. j is used only when it appear at the end of the word. For example: stasij –
stasis.

Consonants
The 17 consonants (con+sonants = sounding with) are classified in two different ways:
A. According to whether or not they can be pronounced by themselves and without a vowel sound:
1. Mutes (stops): Cannot be pronounced without the assistance of a slight vowel sound; subdivided
into:
(a) Hard or unaspirated Mutes (voiceless): consonants require no exertion of the vocal chords - k t p
(b) Soft Mutes (voiced): produced when the vocal chords vibrate - g d b
(c) Aspirated Mutes (voiceless aspirates): consonants require exertion of the vocal chords - c q f

2. Semivowels: Consonants which can be sounded without the assistance of even a slight vowel
sound; subdivided into:
(a) Nasals: So called because the breath passes through the nose: m n (g when pronounced as n)
(b) Spirants (sibilants): (from Latin spiro, “breathe”): heard when the breath passage of the oral cavity
is so narrow that a rubbing sound is produced by an expiration: s
(c) Liquids: So called to express the rippling nature of the sound: l r

* In addition are the double consonants, z (dz) x (ks) and Y (ps).

OR

B. According to the organ used in pronunciation

1. Gutturals (Palatals): sounds made by the throat: g k c
2. Labials: sounds made by the lips: b p f
3. Dentals: sounds made by the teeth: d t q

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4. Nasal: sounds produced by passing breath through the nose: m n (g nasal)
5. Liquids: sounds produced by rolling of the tongue: l r
6. Spirant (sibilant): (from Latin spiro, “breathe”): s

* In addition are the double consonants, z (dz) x (ks) and Y (ps).

Consonants at the end of Words

The only consonants that can stand at the end of a Greek word are n, r and j (whether as a single
consonant or in the double consonants x and Y). All other consonants are dropped.
The only exceptions to this rule are the words ἑk (derived from ἑxvv) out of, from and oὐk not, and some
foreign words like Aramaic and Hebrew.

Movable Consonants
Movable n may be added
1. at the end of a word when the next word begins with a vowel (and sometimes to m t d k) or
punctuation follows.
2. to words ending in -si.
3. 3rd person singular in -e or i (but not ei).
4. to esti,.
5. to dative plural ending in i.

Movable j could be found in few words, namely: ou]tw (j) “thus”, a;cri(j) “until”, mevcri(j) “until”, evk
“out of, from.

Vowels
There are seven vowels in Greek. These include: a, e, h, i, o, u and w.
e and o are always short.
h and w are always long.
a, i and u may be either short or long.

Diphthongs
The term diphthong (di,fqo,ggoj – having two sounds) comes from two Greek words di,j - twice and
fqo,ggoj – a sound. Diphthong, therefore, means a combination of two vowels acting as a unit and
pronouncing one sound. They produce unique and distinctive sounds. A diphthong represents a
distinct syllable, when considered from the point of view of word division.
Diphthongs form part of one syllable and act as long vowels except final -ai and -oi.

Greek has eight diphthongs. These are

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ai pronounced like ai in aisle, e.g., paij
ei pronounced like ei in eight, freight, vein e.g., pposkunei
oi pronounced like oi in toil, boil, soil e.g., ploion
ui pronounced like uee in queen e.g., uioj
au pronounced like ow in owl, now e.g., klaumoj
eu pronounced like eu in feud e.g., qerapeuw
hu pronounced like eu in euphony e.g., qerapeuw
ou pronounced like oo in moon e.g., logouj

Note:
1. The second vowel of the diphthong is either i or u.
2. These eight diphthongs are called proper diphthongs.

Iota Subscript and adscript

For certain word, an iota is written under the long vowels: a, h and w; as a|, h| and w|. This iota written
in this manner is called iota subscript. It does not affect the pronunciation of the vowel (the iota is not
pronounced. It is silent) but it is very important part of the spelling. It is a scribal convention to
indicate a letter that had been pronounced at one time.
The iota subscripts are regarded as improper diphthongs. Like the other diphthongs, they are long,
e.g., e`te,ra| (other, another), plhrwqh/| (fullness), lo,gw| (word), sw,|zw (to save).
However, for the uncials, the iota is still written on the line thus hI, WI and called adscript.

Syllables
A few rules will be sufficient in identifying syllables
1. A word has as many syllables as it has vowels and/or diphthongs, ἀ-lh,-qei-a (truth).
2. A single consonant standing between two vowels in one word belongs with the second vowel, e.g.,
a;-gw (I lead) so-fi,-zw (I give wisdom).
3. If two consonants that may begin a word occur in succession, they are not divided but begin another
syllable. For example, in me-ta-sch-ma-ti,-zw. sc may begin a word, e.g., scolh, (school), and does not
divide. Others include: st in cri-stou/, sto,ma (mouth), br in ʼA-bra-a,m, brw/ma (food).
4. When two consonants that cannot begin a word occur together internally, they usually divide so
that one closes the first syllable and the other begins the next syllable, e.g. av-del-fo,j (brother), ev-ge,n-
nh-qhn (I was been).
5. If three consonants occur in succession, the first closes one syllable, and the other two are
pronounced together as the beginning of the next syllable, e.g. gas-tri, (belly).
6. Consonants followed by m or n usually do not divide, e.g., pneu/ma = pneu/-ma (breath, wind);
evpignw/sij = ev-pi-gnw/-sij (knowledge).

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Types of Syllables:
The last syllable of a word is called the ultima, the syllable before the ultima is called the penult
(almost last), and the syllable before the penult is called the antepenult.

Variations in Syllables:
a) Open and Closed Syllables:
A syllable ending in a vowel or diphthong is said to be open; one ending in a consonant is closed;
e.g., mh-thr (mother) - the first syllable is open and the second is closed.
b) Short and Long Syllables:
- A syllable is short when it contains a short vowel followed by a vowel or a single consonant, e.g.,
qe-oj (god), evv-no,-mi-sa (I thought).
- A syllable is long when it contains a long vowel or diphthong, e.g. dou/-loj (slave).

Pronunciation and Punctuation Marks

1. Breathings
The slight preliminary emission of breath when a word begins with a vowel or diphthong sound is
called breathing.
There are two breathing marks: smooth (ʼ) and rough (ʽ).
The rough is pronounced like an aspirated English h (spiritus asper). Historically, the rough breathing
is derived from H. Later, H was used to denote h. H became divided into two: one half to represent
rough sign and the other for smooth sign. For example ai-ma (blood, death, murder) is pronounced
haima, ὣra (hour) = hora, i`storia (history) is pronounced historia.
The smooth breathing is not pronounced (spiritus lenis). For example avriqmo,j (number) is pronounced
arithmos, avkropo,lij () is pronounced akropolis,
(a) Breathing marks are written above initial vowels, e.g., av – avpostellw (I send out, I envoy) rho r`-
r`hma (thing, matter); r`e,w ().
(b) It is written on the second vowel of a diphthong, e.g., euvaggeli,on (gospel, message); vui`o,j (son),
aivte,w ().
(c) It precedes an initial uncial vowel (i.e., on the left of the capital letter), e.g., ʼArch (beginning,
ruler (king)) or rho - ̔Rachl (Rachel) R̔ acab (Rahab).
Note:
(i). Initial u always have rough breathing, e.g., u`ma/j, but if it is the first letter of a diphthong, the
breathing is written over the second letter, e.g., ui`ou (son).
(ii). Initial r always have rough breathing, e.g., ῥh/ma (thing, matter, word, saying) However, when r
appears twice in a word, the first one takes a smooth breathing and the second is given a rough
breathing, e.g., e;ῤῥhxen (), Pu,ῤῥoj (Pyrrhus).
(iii). a|, h| and w| take both the breathing and the accent on the first vowel, even when an i is written
in the line, e.g., a;|dw, ;Aidw (I sing).
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(iv). In compound words, e.g., proora,w (I foresee, see beforehand), from pro + oraw, the rough
breathing is not written, though it must often be pronounced.

2. Punctuations
Greek manuscripts often omit punctuation signs altogether, but those used in printed Greek are:
Period (.) as in English
Comma (,) as in English
Colon or semicolon (˙) a dot above the line
Question mark or note of interrogation (;) English semicolon
Other signs include:

Crasis (from the Greek kra/sij, meaning mingling) is the “fusing” of two words into one. This usually
happens when a vowel at the end of a word blends with another vowel at the beginning of the next
word. This is placed over the syllable formed by the crasis. Thus, the words kai. ἑgw,, through become
crasis, kἀgw,. This is a phenomenon involving only sound. The meaning is not affected in any way.

Apostrophe: (Greek ἀpostrofh, a turning away)

Apostrophe is marked with a coronis sign (’)3, e.g., kaq’. This is used in elision. Elision occurs when
words ending in short vowels are followed by words beginning with vowels, the final vowel of the
first word is dropped for euphonic reasons (when the two words are run together, it sounds better and
is easier to pronounce). This deletion or expulsion of the short vowel is called elision. The apostrophe
is an indication that elision has occurred, e.g., in met’ aὐtou, the a of meta has elided, and the two words
are pronounced as one.
When the second word begins with a rough breathing mark and elision occurs, a resulting final t or p
is replaced by q or f (i.e. th or ph sounds), e.g.,
met’ aὐtou (met-ow-too) and meq’ ἡmw/n (meth-hā-mōn).
ep’ aὐton (ep-ow-ton) and ef’ ἡma/j (eph-hā-mas).

Diaeresis (Greek diai,resij a taking apart or separation)

Diaeresis is marked with a double dot ̈ , written over i or u when these do not form a diphthong with
the preceding vowel.
The dot is usually written over the second vowel of two vowels that would otherwise be a diphthong.
Rather, the breathing is written over the first vowel, and not over the second as it would be if the
syllable were a diphthong, e.g., ἀi?dioj (eternal, everlasting) to be pronounced as a-dios and not aidios
(Rom 1:20).
Hence diaeresis indicates that the alphabet or sound belong to separate syllables and are to be
pronounced separately and not as a diphthong, e.g., kia, is one syllable, while ̓Hsai?ou is four
syllables ̓H-sa-i?-ou.

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Greek korwni,j ,(coronis ’) meaning hook - similar to or identical with a smooth breathing.
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Accent
Accent was invented to assist foreigners in correct pronunciation of Greek language. It does not
indicate stress on a syllable but the pitch of the voice.
There are three accent marks:
1. Acute ( ´ ; a,) indicates rise in the voice (raised tone). It can rest over short or long vowels and
diphthongs. It may stand on ultima, penult or antepenult; e.g., kalo,j, dai,mwn, a;nqrwpoj.

2. Grave ( ̀ ; a. ) indicates that the pitch is flat (low-pitched tone); the vowel is to be pronounced
as normal. It can rest over short or long vowel and diphthongs. It stands on the ultima only;
e.g., kai., aὐto.j. However, this mark is usually not written.

3. Circumflex ( ̂ ; a/) indicates a rise followed by a fall in the voice; hence, formed by the
combination of the acute and grave signs. It combines the tones of acute and grave. It can rest
over vowels long by nature and diphthongs. It may stand on ultima or penult; e.g., gh/, Qeou/,
dw/ron, tou/to.
* So, when acute or circumflex is not written, it is to be taken that it has grave mark even when not
marked.

Also, accents provide means of distinguishing between different words with the same spelling; e.g.,
ti,j- who?; tij- someone.
Note:
i) If an accent occurs on diphthong, it is written over the second vowels: ai,, ai., ai/.
ii) When an accent and a breathing mark are placed over the same vowel, the acute or grave follows
the breathing mark, e.g., ai;rw (I lift) h;, ai], o]roi (boundary).
iii) The circumflex is placed over the breathing mark, e.g., oi=noj, ou-toj,
iv) An accent on the initial syllable of a word beginning with a capital vowel is written to the left of
it with the breathing, Ἢggizen, +Hlqon, but if the syllable is a diphthong, the accent is placed above
the second vowel, e.g. Ou]twj, Ou-toj, except for capitals of a|, h|, w| (as in ;Aidhj) where the accent
stands before the first vowel.
v) When a word has an acute on the last syllable, e.g., avrch,, the acute is turned into a grave accent
(when other words follow) unless a full stop or colon immediately follows; e.g., auvto.n, auvto,n.
Therefore, the grave is written in place of a final acute on a word that is followed immediately by
another word in the sentence.
vi) The accent is always recessive (i.e., it goes back as far as possible from the last syllable). The last
syllable determines the position of the accent. If the last syllable is long, the accent always occurs on
the next to the last syllable – the penult; otherwise, on the third syllable – antepenult. If the ultima is
long, the acute accent may stand on one of the last syllables only; e.g., avnqrw,pw|; and the circumflex
on the last syllable only; grafh/j.
vii) The circumflex accent may stand on long syllables only; e.g., dw/ra, grafw/n.

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viii) The penult (the last second to the last syllable) is to be accented, if it is long and the ultima is
short, the accent on the penult must be a circumflex; e.g., oi=koj.

Inflection
Parts of speech
Greek has the following parts of speech: substantive (noun, sometimes adjectives), adjectives,
pronouns, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and particles

Verbs
Verbs are simply known as action words. They usually give meaning to sentences. They are regarded
as the most important part of the speech to any language.

Types of Greek verbs

Greek verbs have
- Regular verbs (as in English; regular verbs have their past indicated with -ed. e.g., I walk = I
walked).
- Irregular verbs (as in English; irregular verbs cannot have their past indicated with -ed. e.g., I
wake up cannot be I waked up, instead; I woke up. Or I eat cannot be I eated, instead; I ate
already).

Expressions of Greek verbs

Greek verbs are expressed in
-voice
-mood
-tense
a) Voice: active, middle (not reflexive) and passive

b) Mood: The form showing the attitude of the speaker. This is subjective.
Indicative (present, future, past).
Imperative
Conjunctive (subjunctive and optative)
Infinitive: Infinitives are verbal nouns. This means that they have features common with both
verbs and nouns. For instance, Greek also has verbal infinitive like participle and verbal adjective.

c) Tense: The form depicting the distance between the moment of utterance and the time it was said.
Present, Imperfect, Future, Aorist, Perfect and Pluperfect.
These could be categorized or viewed in 3 fundamental ways:
i) durative, incomplete action (present and imperfect): actions here do not express limits because it is
or was continuous; i.e., it is or was taking place, repeating.
ii) unitary or complete action (future and aorist): actions here are viewed as whole, regardless of how
long the action took or might take.
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iii) complete action emphasizing result or state of being (perfect and pluperfect): actions here are
considered as perfected or completed in the past but the effect of which are continuing in the present;
i.e., there is the past or present state or result are based on a previously completed action. Diagram:

Active Passive
Present: I kill, I am killing I am (being killed) It is a tense that denotes ongoing event or
continuing event. The tense itself does not
tell you if I’m ever going to stop the
killing or being killed. Therefore, it is not
a completed action.

Imperfect: I was killing I was being killed Like the present, the imperfect is
“imperfective” and uncompleted; only
that it is past tense and denote continuous,
repeated or attempted action; it was going
on in the past – who can tell if I ever
stopped killing or being killed; only the
context might tell.

Future: I shall kill I shall be killed This denotes a simple and complete
action in the future. It is saying; I will do
this specific future act or the act will be
done to me. This is without reference to
how long it may take me or whoever, to
do it.

Aorist: I killed I was killed This is usually translated with the English
past simple tense. It is pure and simple.
The aorist does not tell whether the action
was momentary or prolonged. It does not
say how long it took me to kill or be killed
– simply that I killed or I was killed. No
more, no less.

Perfect: I have killed I have been killed While the action was done in the past but
the effect of the action is still present. It is
a completed or perfected action. It looks
back from the point of the present.
I have killed or have been killed, but the
consequences of the killing are ongoing. I
am currently in the state of having killed
or having being killed.

Pluperfect: I had killed I had been killed This is a past historic tense of the perfect
tense. It is a tense of completion or
perfection like the perfect tense. While
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 the perfect tense looks back to the past
from a point in the present, the pluperfect
looks back from the point of the past.
While the consequences of past action
continued until a more recent time in the
past, they are no longer ongoing. It is like
saying: But look who killed or is killed.
Example with an irregular verb in English:
Present: I go, I am going.
Imperfect: I was going.
Future: I will go.
Aorist: I went.
Perfect: I have gone; I am gone.
Pluperfect: I had gone; I was gone.

Verb formation
Greek verbs are divided into 2 main classes: those ending in -w and those ending in -mi. Those ending
in -w are far more numerous than those ending in -mi.
The second conjugations are mi- conjugations.

Number of the verb: This points to the quantity of the verb: for example: Singular or plural.
Person: This refers to who is acting. These could bear the name or names or pronounces of the
subject. These could be:

Singular Plural
First person: I We
Second person: You You
Third person: He, She or It They

Greek verbs are highly inflected. The inflection of verbs are usually referred to as Conjugations. It
has these components:
Stems: Refer to the part of the word that expresses the root idea. It is usually invariable. Many verbs
have both a verb stem and a present stem. In some verbs, both stems appear in different forms.
Inflection or Flexion: Refers to augmentations or reduplications affixed (added) to the stem. These
include: prefixes (added in beginning) and suffixes (added at the end).
These affixes provide information that nuances the basic meaning of the verb.
Suffixes are added to the end of the stem to express person, number, tense, voice and mood.
Lexical form of a verb refers to the form you would use to look up the word in a Greek lexicon or
dictionary. It usually comes in the first person singular form.
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Parsing Greek Verbs:
Parsing is stating precisely what part of speech a word is. Parsing a verb means identifying its
-person (1st pers sg/pl, 2nd pers sg/pl, 3rd pers sg/pl)
-number (Singular or plural)
-tense (present, imperfect, future, aorist, perfect, pluperfect)
-voice (active, middle, passive)
-mood (indicative, imperative, conjunction [subjunctive or optative], infinitive)
-and lexical form
Parsing a noun involves, giving the following:
- case
-number
- nominative singular (for more details, the genitive singular)
Parsing an adjective or pronoun involves identifying the following:
- gender
- case
- number
- nominative singular

Primary Active Endings and Tenses

Under the primary active ending and tenses, we have the present and future tenses. Both share the
same ending.
Inflection or Endings of Primary-tense, active-voice verb: (Present and Future).
Singular Plural
First person - (no ending) - men
Second person: -j - te
Third person: - (no ending) - si(n)

Linking vowels: These connect the endings with stem. All active indicative verbs have linking
vowels that connect the endings to the stem. The linking vowels given here are for present and future
tenses. These include:
Singular Plural
First person -w -o
Second person: - ei -e
Third person: - ei - ou
13
Root or stem of both present and future tenses active voices
To identify the present-tense active-voice verb, simply remove the final from the lexical form. Thus
the stem of luw (I loose, release) is lu-.

Present-tense active-voice verb

Present Active Indicative of luw.
Singular Plural
1 lu, w (I loose [release]) / lu, o men (We loose [release]) /
am loosing [releasing]) are loosing [releasing])
2 lu, ei j (You loose [release]) / lu, e te (You loose [release]) /
are loosing [releasing]) are loosing [releasing])
3 lu, ei (He/she/it looses [releases]) / lu, ou si(n) (They loose [release]/
is loosing [releasing]) are loosing [releasing])
* Parse certain verbs from the example above and similar ones. Study the vocabulary and do the
exercises in page 18 of Eric Jay

Note:
Other functions of Present Indicative Active
a) Punctiliar meaning:
The present indicative normally expresses linear action in the present. For example, lu,w “I am
loosing”. But some verbs could have punctiliar (unextended point of time) meaning. For
example, r̔ api,zw “I slap”. le,gw “I say” is more frequent. However, there is no difficulty in translation.

b) Iterative Present:
The present indicative can also be used to represent repeated action. For example:
kaq’ ̔hme,ran avpoqnh,skw (I Cor 15:31) “I die daily”
a;lloj pro. evmou/ katabai,nei (John 5:7) “another (always) steps down before me”

c) Attempted action:
There are a few instances in the NT, where the Present indicative active was used to represent
attempted action (Conative present). For example, liqa,zete (John 10:32) “You try (want) to stone me”.

d) Historic present:
In narrative, to emphasis vividness, the present indicative active can be used instead of the past tense.
This is common in Mark. For example evkba,llei (drove out, sent out) in Mk 1:12.

e) Futuristic present
Present indicative active can be used to express future sense like English would say (I sail next week).
For example, paradi,dotai (Mk 9:31) will be betrayed. The use of the present tense here implies
assurance.
14
f) Gnomic present: Present indicative active can be used to express a general truth.
Future Active Indicative
The first identifier of the future is s affixed (suffixed) to the stem before adding the linking vowel and
the primary endings
In translating the future tense in English, you add the modal verbs: shall, will.

Singular
1 lu, s w (I will loose [release]) /
be loosing [releasing])
2 lu, s ei j (You will loose [release]) /
be loosing [releasing])
3 lu, s ei (He/she/it will loose [release]) /
be loosing [releasing])
Plural
lu, s o men (We will loose [release]) /
be loosing [releasing])
lu, s e te (You will loose [release]) /
be loosing [releasing])
lu, s ou si(n) (They will loose [release]/
be loosing [releasing])

Certain changes happen when s combines with gutturals, labials and dentals =
1. Gutturals (Palatals): sounds made by the throat: g k c + s = x
2. Labials: sounds made by the lips: b p f + s = Y
3. Dentals: sounds made by the teeth: d t q + s = dental drops and s is retained.

Guttural anoigw = I open

Singular Plural
1 anoixw (I will open) / anoixomen (We will open) /
be opening]) be opening)

2 anoixeij (You will open) / anoixete (You will open) /

be opening) be opening)

3 anoixei (He/she/it will open) / anoixousi(n) (They will open/

be opening) be opening)

Labial grafw = write

Singular Plural
1 graYw (I will write) / graYomen (We will write) /
be writing]) be writing)
2 graYeij (You will write) / graYete (You will write) /
be writing) be writing)
3 graYei (He/she/it writes) / graYousi(n) (They will write/
be writing) be writing)
15
Dental peiqw - I persuade
Singular Plural
1 peisw (I will persuade) / peisomen (We will persuade) /
be persuading]) be persuading)

2 peiseij (You will persuade) / peisete (You will persuade) /

be persuading) be persuading)

3 peisei (He/she/it will persuade) / peisousi(n) (They will persuade/

be persuading) be persuading)

Secondary Active Endings and Tenses

The secondary tenses of the indicative mood are those that are past-oriented; they express past action
or consequence. These include:
- Imperfect
- Aorist
- Pluperfect
Note:
1. The imperfect tense is found only in the indicative mood.
2. Only the Aorist tense is used in other moods.

Inflection or Endings of Secondary-tense, active-voice verb: (Imperfect, Aorist, Pluperfect).

Singular Plural
First person: - n (or no ending) - men
Second person: -j - te
Third person: - (no ending [movable n]) - n (or -san)

The first person singular and the third person plural exhibit some variation from tense to tense: n is
added to make pronunciation easier and when vowel follows and often at the end of the sentence.

Linking vowels: These include:

Singular Plural
First person -o -o
Second person: -e -e
Third person: -e -o
Note: o and e are the linking vowels. o before an ending that begins with m or n; elsewhere, e.

16
Imperfect Tense Active Indicative
The imperfect tense is built on the first principal part – the present tense stem. Both tenses (present
and imperfect) express durative or progressive aspect.

Formation of Imperfect Tense Active Indicative

The Augment
The prefix ev to the verb is called the augment and it is an indicator of past time, since imperfect is
past and historic tense.
The augment in ev always has the smooth breathing.

The Augment and Consonants

If the stem begins with a consonant, an e̓- will be present (e̓ + blep = evblep).

The Augment and Vowels

If the stem begins with a vowel, the e̓- will be absorbed into the vowel and the vowel will be
lengthened according to the following patterns:
ev + a or e = h (e̓ + a̓g = h̓g-) eg, a;gw (present- I lead) = h;gon (imperfect – I was leading)

ev +o =w (e̓ + o̓mnu = w̓mnu-) eg, ovnomazw, (present- I name) = wvno,mazon (imperfect – I was
naming)

ev + i or u = no change (e̕ + u̔mn = u̔mn-) eg, ivscu,w (present- I am strong) = i;scuon (imperfect – I was
strengthening)

eg, ̔ubri,zw (present- I insult) = u]brizon (imperfect – I was

insulting)
Note: e + i or u are lengthened to iˉ or uˉ though not written.
Some stems beginning (or appearing to begin) with e have augment ei instead of h. Of these verbs, the
commonest is e;cw (have); imperfect. ei=con. The stem of e;cw is in reality sec-.

The Augment and Diphthongs

- If the verb stem begins with a diphthong, the lengthening will take one of the following forms:
e + au or eu = hu (e+ eu̔risk = hu̔risk-), e.g., auvxa,nw = hu;xanon, eu̔ri,skw = hu]riskon
e + ai or ei = h| (e + ai̕r = h̕r-) e.g, ai;rw = h|=ron
e + oi = w| (e + oi̕kt = w̕|kt-) e.g., oivktirw = w|k; tiron
Note that the iota in ai , ei and oi endures as a subscript.
The breathing for the augment formed by prefixing of the lengthening of a vowel or diphthong retains
the same breathing as in the unaugmented form of the present root. For example: auvxa,nw becomes
hu;xanon, ai;rw becomes h|=ron, eu̔ri,skw becomes hu]riskon, oivktirw becomes w|k; tiron.

17
The Augment and Compound verbs
Like in many other languages, Greek has compound verbs. This is a combination of a prefix (usually
a preposition) and a simple verb (non-compound verb). For instance, avpolu,w (I release) is a compound
of the prefix avpo, and the simple verb lu,w.
In a compound verb, the augment is placed on or before the stem of the simple verb. That is, after the
prefixed preposition. For example, e̓kba,llw with an augment (e̓k + e + ba,llw) becomes e̓xe,ballon, (the k
of ek changes to x before a subsequent vowel), not h̓kba,llon.
If the preposition ends in a vowel, the final vowel will drop off before an augment. For example,
a̓polu,w becomes a̓pe,luon. But the preposition peri, and pro,, retain their final vowels, For example,
prope,mpw become proe,pempon.

Imperfect Tense Active Indicative

Singular Plural
1 e; lu o n (I was loosing) ev lu, o men (We were loosing)
2 e; lu e j (You were loosing) / ev lu, e te (You were loosing)
3 e; lu e (n) (He/she/it was loosing) / e; lu o n (They were loosing)
Note:
i. The first person singular and the third person plural have the same form. They are distinguished by
the context.
ii. The translation is different from the Aorist passive which could be translated as: “I was loosed”.
Imperfect Active Aorist passive
I was killing I was killed
I was loosing I was loosed

Aorist Tense Active Indicative

The Aorist indicative is used to express simple past time. It makes no reference to how long it took
for an action to be completed, only that it happened. This is usually translated with the English simple
past tense. It is pure and simple past tense. The action is terminated and not repeated or continuing.
The aorist does not tell whether the action was momentary or prolonged. It does not say how long it
took, simply that it happened. No more, no less. For example: they went, he ate, we danced, etc. When
we say “we danced”, it does not indicate how long it took us to dance or how long we danced. This
is different from Imperfect tense which conveys the idea of repeated or continuing action in the past
time.

There are two forms of Aorist. These are referred to as First or Weak Aorist and Second or Strong
Aorist. Very few verbs have both. These two have no difference in meaning except for those verbs
that have both.

Formation of First Aorist tense Active Indicative

18
1. As in every Indicative Active tense, get the stem by removing the last w- from the Lexicon form.
For example, luw = lu.

2. Like the Imperfect, Aorist has prefixed augment e-; which indicates its past time. For example, luw
(loose) ev + lu = evlu-; diw,kw (pursue) gives ev + diwk = evdiwk-.

3. If the verb stem begins with a vowel (as in imperfect tense), the ev will be absorbed into the vowel
and the vowel will be lengthened according to the following patterns:
ev + a or e = h (e̓ + a̓g = h̓g-) eg, a;gw (present- I lead).

ev +o =w (e̓ + o̓mnu = w̓mnu-) eg, ovnomazw, (present- I name).

ev + i or u = no change (e̕ + u̔mn = u̔mn-) eg, ivscu,w (present- I am strong).

eg, ̔ubri,zw (present- I insult).

Note: e + i or u are lengthened to iˉ or uˉ though not written.

- If the verb stem begins with a diphthong, the lengthening will take one of the following forms (as
in imperfect):
e + au or eu = hu (e+ eu̔risk = hu̔risk-).

e + ai or ei = h| (e + ai̕r = h|̕r-).
e + oi = w| (e + oi̕kt = w̕|kt-).
Note that the iota in ai , ei and oi endures as a subscript.

4. The rules in Imperfect as regards the changes in the simple verb of the compound verb apply here.
For example, uparcw is a combination of upo and arcw, So ev + uparc = uphrc.

5. s is suffixed to the stem as in future. Here, it indicates a weak aorist and not future time. Hence,
the same changes that take place when you suffix s to palatals, labials and dental consonants repeat
here thus:
- Gutturals (Palatals): sounds made by the throat: g k c + s = x
- Labials: sounds made by the lips: b p f + s = Y
- Dentals: sounds made by the teeth: d t q + s = dental drops and s is retained.
For instance, diw,kw (pursue): evdiwk + s = evdi,wx; gra,fw (write) graf + s = e;gray; pei,qw (persuade); peiq +
s = e;peis .

6. When s encounters liquid and nasal consonants, the s disappears but the influence is felt, and is
shown in a compensating lengthening of the stem. For example, me,nw (remain) men + s = emein.
7. The linking vowel for all the persons in Singular and plural is a except 3rd person singular which is
e. These are attached directly to s. Thus:

Linking vowels for Aorist Tense Active Indicative

Singular Plural
1 a a

19
2 a a

3 e a

8. The secondary ending apply but the first person singular has no ending. Thus, we have
Singular Plural
First person: - no ending - men
Second person: -j - te
Third person: - (movable n) - n (or -san)

Weak or First Aorist

Aorist Tense Active Indicative of lu,w

Singular Plural
1 e; lu s a (I loosed) ev lu, s a men (We loosed)
2 e; lu s a j (You loosed) ev lu, s a te (You loosed)
3 e; lu s e (n) (He/she/it loosed) e; lu s a n (They loosed)

Aorist Tense Active Indicative of grafw

Singular Plural
1 e; gray a (I wrote) ev gra,y a men (We wrote)
2 e; gray a j (You wrote) ev gra,y a te (You wrote)
3 e; gray e (n) (He/she/it wrote) e; gra,y a n (They wrote)

The negative is translated by adding “did”. For instance ouvk e;lusan = They did not loose; ouvk evgrayamen
= They did not write.

 N/B: Notice the difference in translation between Aorist passive and imperfect
Imperfect Active Aorist Active Aorist passive
I was killing I killed I was killed
I was loosing I loosed I was loosed

Perfect Tense Active Indicative

The perfect tense is the third primary tense. It has a double emphasis: present state resulting from past
action. The perfect tense indicates that a past event now completed or accomplished has a continuing
effect or consequence in the present. While the action was done in the past but the result of the action
is still present. As the name implies, it is a completed or perfected action. It looks back from the point
of the present and expresses the view of an action as being in some way prior.
There are two types of perfect tense: The First or Weak and Second or Strong Perfect tense. The
Weak is the frequently found.

20
Formation of Perfect Tense Active Indicative
1. There is a reduplication of the initial consonant for verbs or stems beginning with consonants
(except r). For example, lu,w = l-lu. Reduplication signifies a tense of completion.
2. ev is attached to the reduplicated initial consonant before the stem. For example, lu,w = le,-lu, pisteu =
pe-pisteu.

3. Suffix k to the stem. The First or Weak Perfect has k but the Second or Strong Perfect tense has no
k.
4. In cases of compound verbs, the reduplication and e come after the preposition. For example, ekball
= ekbeball.
5. The consonants f (phi), c (chi) and q (theta) reduplicate in a modified form with p, k and t
respectively (that is the basic sound without the aspiration). Note carefully the following patterns:
f = pe (feugw [I flee, I escape] = pefeug-)
c = ke (carijomai [I graciously confer, pardon, forgive] = kecaris-)
q = te (quw [I sacrifice] = tequ-)

6. Verbs whose stems begin with two consonants; the second being either guttural (g k c), dental (d t
q) or labial (b p f), prefix ev instead of duplicating.

7. Double consonants; viz. x (xi), z (zeta) and Y (psi) cannot be reduplicated because double
consonants cannot be redoubled. Instead, they prefix ev. For example, zhte,w (seek) = evzh,th ka.
8. Verbs whose stems begin with two consonants, the second being a liquid ( l r) or a nasal (m n),
repeat the first consonant in reduplication. For example,
gra,fw (write) = ge,graf a,
kli,nw (incline) = ke,kli ka,
qnh,skw (die) = te,qnh ka (I have died, I am dead)
9. Stems beginning with r has the r usually doubled. Therefore, it is prefixed with evr (more usual)
or ̔re (less usual). For example, ̔ri,zomai = evrrizwme,noi (the ending is of the middle or passive
participle); r̔ anti,zw = ̔rerantisme,noi (like the other one, the ending is of the middle or passive participle).
10. A verb with an initial vowel may reduplicate by lengthening the vowel:
a or e lengthens to h (evlpiz = hvlpi);
o lengthens to w (ovmnu= wvmnu-);

i and u do not change form.

Remember that the same lengthening also happens in the augment of the imperfect and aorist. Perfect
will be differentiated by k, at least in the weak perfect.
However, with some verbs, the initial a, e or o does not lengthen. Other irregularities in the ways
certain verbs form the perfect tense may be observed from the list of principle parts. These should be
carefully memorized.
11. Another form of reduplication is called Attic reduplication. This is the prefixing of the first
syllable of the stem, and the lengthening of the first vowel of the stem itself. For example, evlau,nw (I
drive). The stem is evla. Therefore, the perfect is evl h,la ka; avkou,w (I hear) = avk h,ko a.

21
12. As in Aorist, the linking vowel for all the persons in Singular and plural is a except 3rd person
singular which is e. Thus:

Linking vowels for Perfect Tense Active Indicative

Singular Plural
1 a a

2 a a

3 e a

13. It employs secondary endings like Weak Aorist Active Indicative but the third person plural can
appear in two forms: - n or - san. Thus, we have
Singular Plural
First person: - no ending - men
Second person: -j - te
Third person: - (movable n) - n (or -san)

Perfect Tense Active Indicative

(Weak Perfect)
Verb: lu,w = le,luka.
Singular Plural
1 le,lu k a (I have loosed le,lu k a men (We have loosed)
and the effect
continues)

2 le,lu k a j (You have loosed) le,lu k a te (You have loosed)

3 le,lu k e (n) (He/She/It has le,lu k a si(n)

loosed) [le,lu k a n] (They have loosed)

Note: Do not forget that the form le,lukan is found at times.

(Weak Perfect)
Verb: pisteuw = pepisteuka.
Singular Plural
1 pe pisteu k a (I have believed) pe pisteu k a men (We have believed)

2 pe pisteu k a j (You have believed) pe pisteu k a te (You have believed)

3 pe pisteu k e (n) (He/She/It has pe pisteu k a si(n) (They have believed)

believed) [pe pisteu k a n]

* First or Weak perfect is usually predominant with verbs with vowel stems.
22
Strong Perfect
Remember, Strong Perfect has no k as was stated above but the reduplication is evident

(Strong Perfect)
Verb: gra,fw = ge, graf a.
Singular Plural
1 ge, graf a (I have written) ge gra,f a men (We have written)

2 ge, graf a j (You have written) ge gra,f a te (You have written)

3 ge, graf e (n) (He/She/It has ge gra,f a si(n) (They have written)
written)

Note the saying:

Jn 19:22 avpekri,qh ̔o Pila/toj, ]O ge,grafa, ge,grafa Pilate answered “What I have written, I have written”
(and it now stands as I wanted it to stand when I wrote it in the past)

* As usual, we have cases of irregular verbs. An example is in the Second or Strong Perfect is

Verb: peiqw = pepoiqa

Singular Plural
1 pe, poiq a (I have persuaded) pe, poiq a men (We have persuaded)

2 pe, poiq a j (You have persuaded) pe, poiq a te (You have persuaded)

3 pe, poiq e (n) (He/She/It has pe, poiq a si(n) (They have persuaded)
persuaded)

*Note 1: oi=da is a strange verb which has the same meaning as ginw,skw (I know, I am knowing). The
present tense form of oi=da does not occur in the NT. As could be seen the lexical form already appears
as Second/strong Perfect, so it is conjugated thus:

Verb: oi=da = oi=da

Singular Plural
1 oi=d a (I know; am knowing) oi=d a men (We know; are knowing)

2 oi=d a j (You know; are knowing) oi=d a te (You know; are knowing)

3 oi=d e (n) (He/She/It has knows; oi=d a si(n) (They know; are knowing)
is knowing)

23
* Note 2: In strong/second perfect, when the final consonants are b z, these change to their aspirated
forms before the personal endings (i.e, f g respectively). For example, kra,zw (cry) = ke,kraga. lamba,nw
appears thus:
Verb: lamba,nw (I take)
Singular Plural
1 ei;lhf a (I have taken) ei;lhf a men (We have taken)

2 ei;lhf a j (You have taken) ei;lhf a te (You have taken)

3 ei;lhf e (n) (He/She/It has taken) ei;lhf a si(n) (They have taken)

* The prefix -eiv instead of reduplication in this perfect is an irregularity.

Note other strange vowels in perf. on p. 54 of Eric G. Jay.

Pluperfect Tense, Active Indicative

The Pluperfect tense is the past or historic tense of perfect. While the perfect tense looks back to the
past from the standpoint of the present: “I have eaten the food”, the pluperfect looks back from the
standpoint of the past: “I had eaten the food”. In other words, it has a double emphasis: past state
resulting from previous action. It expresses a completed action in which the consequences are no
longer in effect. Both action and effects are past experiences. For example: “He had finished” as
against the perfect: “He has finished”. Like the perfect, the pluperfect may stress either the completed
action or the consequence that existed up to a particular time in the past. The pluperfect tense exists
only in the indicative mood. Pluperfect, like the perfect, may be weak or strong.

Formation of Pluperfect Tense, Active Indicative

1. The pluperfect indicative is formed from the perfect active stem. That is, the reduplicated stem.
Reduplication signifies a tense of completion.

2. As a secondary tense (historic time), it has an augment but this could be omitted. This is because
by the time of the NT writings, the pluperfect was only augmented sporadically.

3. The augment is formed according to the rules for the augment in the imperfect and the aorist. Note
that for verbs beginning with a vowel, the augment would have no effect on the vowel already
lengthened due to reduplication.

4. As in perfect tense, suffix -k to the stem.

5. Pluperfect only has -ei as the linking vowels. In some cases, this diphthong is the only element that
distinguishes the pluperfect from the perfect. Note that the perfect active has either a or e as the linking
vowels.

6. The only difference between the endings of the pluperfect and those of the imperfect and aorist
active tenses is that the 3rd plural ending is always -san and never -n. Thus:
24
 Singular Plural
First person: - n (or no ending) - men
Second person: -j - te
Third person: - (no ending [movable n]) - san

Pluperfect Tense, Active Indicative (Weak Pluperfect)

Verb: lu,w.
Singular Plural
1 (ev) lelu, k ei n (I had loosed) (ev)v lelu, k ei men (We had loosed)
(and the effect
had continued)

2 (ev) lelu, k ei j (You had loosed) (ev)v lelu, k ei te (You had loosed)

3 (ev)v lelu, k ei (He/She/It had (ev)v lelu, k ei san (They had loosed)
loosed)

(Weak Pluperfect)
Verb: pisteuw.
Singular Plural
1 (ev) pe pisteu, k ei n (I had believed) (ev) pe pisteu, k ei men (We had believed)
(and the effect
had continued)

2 (ev) pe pisteu, k ei j (You had believed) (ev) pe pisteu, k ei te (You had believed)

3 (ev) pe pisteu, k ei (He/She/It had (ev) pe pisteu, k ei san (They had believed)
believed)

N/B: The augment ev- can be omitted.

(Strong Pluperfect)
This is formed from a strong perfect. Notice that there is no suffixed -k to the stem.
Verb: gra,fw.

Singular Plural
1 (ev) ge gra,f ei n (I had written) (ev) ge gra,f ei men (We had written)
25
2 (ev) ge gra,f ei j (You had written) (ev) ge gra,f ei te (You had written)
3 (ev) ge gra,f ei (He/She/It had written) (ev) ge gra,f ei san (They had written)

Note the saying:

]O evgegra,fei evge,gra,fei “What he had written, he had written”.
* oi=da in the pluperfect is h|;dein and could be seen the lexical form in the Second/strong Pluperfect, so
it is conjugated thus:

Verb: oi=da
Singular Plural
1 h|;d ei n (I knew; was knowing) h;|d ei men (We knew; were knowing)

2 h;|d ei j (You knew; were knowing) h|;d ei te (You knew; were knowing)

3 h;|d ei (He/She/It knew; was knowing) h|;d ei san (They knew; were knowing)

The verb “to be” eivmi,

The verb “to be” eivmi, in Greek is intransitive (that is, it cannot take a direct object). It expresses a
state of being rather than an action. It indicates existence (God is). It is a copulative (or coupling)
verb; that is, it joins or links the subject with an adjective as predicate (God is good. Joy is happy.
Paul is smart) or noun phrases (Jesus is the good shepherd. John is a creative artist). The italicised
words and phrases are not direct objects rather they are subject complements. The conjugation of the
verb “to be” is irregular so the easiest way to go about it is by mastering it. It has neither active nor
passive voice. There are three tenses. These include present, imperfect and future indicative moods.
They are conjugated as follows:

Present indicative mood

eivmi, = I am

Singular Plural
1 eivmi, (I am) evsme,n (We are)

2 ei= (You [sg.] are) evste, (You [pl.] are)

3 evsti,(,n) (He/She/It is) eivsi,(n) (They are)

Imperfect indicative mood

eivmi, = I am

Singular Plural
1 h;mhn (I was) h-men or h-meqa (We were)

26
2 h-j (You [sg.] were) h-te (You [pl.] were)

3 h-n (He/She/It was) h-san (They were)

Future Indicative mood

eivmi, = I am

Singular Plural
1 e;someai (I shall be) evso,meqa (We shall be)

2 e;sh| (You [sg.] shall be) e;sesqe (You [pl.] shall be)

3 e;stai (He/She/It shall be) e;sontai (They shall be)

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