Verb – 3rd person middle & passive imperative

ObjectivesLearning objectives

• The middle and passive morphology of the 3rd person imperative
• The effective use of the imperative

VocabularyVocabulary

MorphologyMorphology: Verb – 3rd person middle & passive imperative

• The Luo med-psv and Aorist mid forms have the same endings: -σθω in sg and -σθωσαν in pl
• ε precedes the ending in Luo and Efagon, and σα precedes it in Elusa
• The psv endings are -θήτω and -θήτωσαν, which may interact with the stem in various ways (see Phonology B)

SemanticsSemantics: Verb – Imperative (6 – Effective)

Verb – Imperative: all 4 parts on one page →Also in Lesson 22.1, Lesson 38.3, Lesson 39.3

The uses of the imperative discussed so far have involved someone doing the action expressed by the verb, though what is to be done can be interpreted as a command, request, or suggestion. At other times, the imperative does not describe something to be done but something that should be done by someone else or a wish of the speaker. These uses are commonly found with middle and passive verbs.

The effective use of the imperative is used to describe something being done by virtue of the utterance:

Jesus goes on to say that this will happen for the person who believes and does not doubt. The previous verse speaks of ‘believing God’, so it seems that God is the one who would do this, even though the mountain is the one being “addressed.” Although God is not told to pick up the mountain and throw it, he is understood as the implied agent of the lifting and throwing events.