Verb – Aorist thematic singular

ObjectivesLearning objectives

• The semantics of the question word πῶς
• The morphology of Aorist thematic verbs sg
• The use of the Aorist for events in a sequence

VocabularyVocabulary

Noteπῶς

The word πῶς ‘how’ is a question word (abbreviated qst) that can be used to question the way something happens:

GrammarGrammar Topic: Verb – Aorist thematic singular

This lesson’s new verb form is called the Aorist, which comes from ἀόριστος meaning an ‘indefinite time.’ In modern linguistics, this form would be called a perfective as opposed to the imperfective in the present tense (see Semantics C for further discussion of these terms).

MorphologyMorphology: Verb – Aorist thematic singular

There are two different types of Aorists, one of which is the thematic Aorist. It is called “thematic” because the endings have the same theme vowel qualities as the present endings. However, the stem of thematic Aorist verbs differs from the present stem. Sometimes the two stems are quite close, as in λαμβάνω (where the stem is λαμβαν- in the present) and ἔλαβον (where the stem is ε λαβ - in the Aorist). At other times, the stem is completely different, as in ἐσθίω and ἔφαγον, where the latter is the Aorist form of ἐσθίω meaning ‘to eat’. While there are patterns for some classes of verbs, the relationship between the two verb stems will, for the most part, just need to be memorized. Verbs learned previously for which the Aorist is thematic are listed in the following chart:

• An initial ε is added to form the Aorist stem. This is sometimes referred to as an augment, and it marks the verbs as past tense (see Semantics C for more discussion).
• The endings are similar to the endings of the present tense (see 2.1.4.1), except in shortened forms: λαμβάν-ω vs. ἔλαβ-ον, λαμβάν-εις vs. ἔλαβ-ες, λαμβάν-ει vs. ἔλαβ-ε(ν).
• The accent can go all the way back to the antepenultima because the final vowel is short rather than long.
• The accent cannot precede the augment, so εἰσῆλθον is accented with a circumflex on the η rather than the expected *εἴσηλθον.

SemanticsSemantics: Verb – Aorist (1 – Past Events in Sequence)

Verb – Aorist: all 7 parts on one page →Also in Lesson 12.1, Lesson 14.1, Lesson 21.1, Lesson 24.2, Lesson 26.2, Lesson 31.2

One of the primary functions of the Aorist is to refer to past events in a sequence, such as in stories. We already saw that the present tense can have this function at times (9.4.3.2), but this is not nearly as common as the Aorist, which is the normal form used to narrate events that happen one after another. As we said with the historical present use (10.4.3.2), sequential events involve two components of meaning. First, events are referenced that occur before the speech time–in other words, past events. Second, the endpoints of events are included in the time span under discussion. This gives the effect of events happening in sequence with one event ending and then the next event occurring after it ends, and so on.