Verb – Aorist sigmatic singular

ObjectivesLearning objectives

• The difference between roots and stems
• The morphology of Aorist sigmatic verbs (sg)

VocabularyVocabulary

Noteγίνομαι ἡ ‘become’

The verb γίνομαι is similar to εἰμί in that it links the subject to a nominal or adjectival predicate. Because it is the noun/adjective that serves as the predicate and not the verb itself, the predicate after the verb is found in nominative case, e.g. ὁ λίθος γίνεται ἄρτος ‘the stone becomes bread.’

NoteGeneral Greek: Roots vs. stems

Both θυσιαστήριον and θυσία begin with θυσία, and they are also related to the verb θύω, which means ‘to sacrifice.’ All of these words, therefore, have an initial √θυ in common, which is the root of all three words. A root is a meaningful sound that gives the primary lexical meaning of a word (indicated by the square root symbol √ followed by the root itself). Roots that refer to things typically form nouns, those that refer to eventualities form verbs, and those that refer to states form adjectives (see Semantics A for a fuller discussion). Some roots, however, can form words in any category. So, the root √θυ can form both the verb θύω as well as the noun θυσία. Notice, these two words share the same root, but they do not have the same stem (see 10.1.3 for discussion of stem). The stem for θύω is θυ (identical to the root √θυ), while the stem for θυσία is θυσι, since the α on the end gives the case and number information. Both words, however, have the same root, √θυ, as we have already said, and this is why they have related meanings, namely being related to the event of sacrificing (see Morphology A for more on how to form words in Greek). Although roots and stems may look the same, they represent different concepts. Because roots carry the primary lexical meaning of the word, identifying the root of a word you are learning can help you to learn the word more easily, if you already know another word with the same root.

GrammarGrammar Topic: Verb – Aorist sigmatic singular

The sigmatic Aorist does not have the characteristic theme vowels like the thematic Aorist (see 11.1.3.1 and 12.1.3.1), but instead, as the name suggests, has a σ. The sigmatic Aorist is also sometimes called the 1st Aorist, and the thematic is called the 2nd Aorist.

MorphologyMorphology: Verb – Aorist sigmatic singular

• The sigmatic Aorist begins with an initial ε – the augment (like the thematic Aorist).
• The endings are based on -σα:
• The 2s adds the characteristic σ of the 2s (2.1.4.1).
• An ε(ν) replaces the α in the 3s ending (compare to the thematic 3s, e.g. ἔ-λαβ-ε(ν)).