Verb – Present tense (1s, 2s)

ObjectivesLearning objectives

• The meaning of ἔτι
• The circumflex accent
• To conjugate the present tense verb into the 1s and 2s forms
• The meaning of the present tense occurring within another time interval

VocabularyVocabulary

Noteἔτι

The word ἔτι ‘still’ is your first adverb (abbreviated adv). Adverbs describe an event or state referred to by the verb. When referring to a state or event that lasts for a certain length of time, it means that the event or state continues to hold, as in Heb 11:4: ‘through it [faith], though he died, he ἔτι [still] speaks.’ Although we might expect Abel to not speak after he died, he (according to Hebrews) is still speaking despite having died.

NoteVerbs in 1st person

Starting in this lesson, verbs are listed in their 1s form because this is how they are found in Greek dictionaries. We will revise this “rule” later, but the normal ending is now -ω, e.g. ἐσθίω rather than ἐσθίει.

PhonologyPhonology: Circumflex Accent

The third and final Greek accent is the circumflex. This accent looks like a squiggly line and would have originally been pronounced longer, e.g. δοῦλος. Like the grave, the circumflex is also restricted in the syllable it can fall on – it is only found in the second to last or last syllable.

MorphologyMorphology: Verb – Present 1s, 2s

• The pronouns ἐγώ ‘I’ and σύ ‘you’ are used with the 1st and 2nd singular forms respectively (see 2.2.4.1 and 2.3.4.1).
• The final ω marks 1s (e.g. ἐγὼ κράζω).
• The σ marks 2s (e.g. σὺ κράζεις).

SemanticsSemantics: Verb – Present Tense (1 – Present Progressive cont.)

Verb – Present: all 5 parts on one page →Also in Lesson 1.4, Lesson 6.3, Lesson 9.4, Lesson 10.4

When we describe an event as “in progress” as we did in 1.4.4.2, it means that the event has not finished yet relative to whatever time we are talking about. Essentially, this means that the present tense relates two time intervals. By way of illustration, suppose Joseph traveled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on one Passover, and he was traveling from 3:00–5:00. If we ask the question What is Joseph doing now at 4:20, one could respond He is traveling to Bethlehem meaning that the event of him traveling is still taking place at the time that we are discussing. This basic temporal relationship holds for both the present progressive use of the present and the simple present use (see 1.4.4.2).