Verb – Middle: all parts

SemanticsSemantics: Verb – Middle (1 – Reflexive)

When we introduced non-active voices (see 7.1.3), we noted that there was a three-way distinction: middle, medio-passive, and passive. The Aorist distinguishes between middle and passive, but Luo and Eluon do not, so the Efagon middle is our first true middle form. One interpretation that is often considered to be the basic meaning of the middle is the reflexive. A reflexive interpretation means that the one who performs the action of the verb performs that action on him or herself. Reflexive interpretations normally arise with transitive verbs in active voice, and the middle then specifies that the subject is also the object (or more precisely, the subject has the same role in the sentence as the original object). We can see this in a verb like ἐνδύω ‘dress someone.’ When used in the middle, it has a reflexive interpretation, i.e. ‘dress yourself’:

fromLesson 23.1: Verb – Thematic aorist/Efagon middle

SemanticsSemantics: Verb – Middle (2 – Affected subject)

Besides a reflexive interpretation, the middle voice can also be used when the subject of the verb is affected by the action in some way:

The verb δέχομαι ‘receive’ involves someone now in possession of something they were not in possession of before (though that possession may be metaphorical, as it is in our verse when people receive the word). While middle verbs often have affected subjects, it is not the case that every verb with an affected subject will be in the middle. A verb like λαμβάνω ‘take’ also has a meaning where the subject ends up with something they did not begin with, but it is in active voice. There is a slight difference in meaning between these two verbs, though. Whereas λαμβάνω may refer to someone who is actively taking something, δέχομαι refers to the act of receiving something that is offered. In other words, the subject in λαμβάνω plays a more active role in coming into possession of the object. Although we cannot assume that a verb with an affected subject is in the middle voice, some verbs with an affected subject do appear in the middle voice, especially when the subject plays less of an active role in the event.

fromLesson 24.1: Verb – Leluka medio-passive plural

SemanticsSemantics: Verb – Middle (3 – Change of state)

Middle verbs often have a change of state interpretation. For example, the middle verb κοιμᾶται ‘fall asleep’ refers to the change from not sleeping to sleeping, but the active verb καθεύδω refers to the state of sleeping:

fromLesson 31.1: Participle – Elusa middle

SemanticsSemantics: Verb – Middle (5 – Mental verbs)

The prototypical subject in a verb with active voice physically engages in an action, and the prototypical object is physically affected by that action (see Syntax B for more on prototypical features of subjects and objects and how they relate to voice). A verb like break involves a prototypical subject and object. In Peter broke the glass, the subject Peter is intentionally and physically engaged in an action that causes a change in the glass. The object glass has many characteristics that are the opposite of the subject: it is not intentionally acting, it changes on account of the event, and the change is a physically different state than when it started. For verbs that have characteristics of prototypical subjects and objects, the verb is almost always active voice, and the object is accusative case.

However, many verbs do not have a prototypical subject or object. A verb like βούλομαι ‘want’ has a subject that does not engage in any physical action. Moreover, there is a sense in which the subject is not intentionally doing anything but is governed by some external force that is causing the desire, i.e. his or her predisposition, habits, etc. For these reasons, verbs that refer to mental states are often found in middle rather than active voice in many languages, and there is a class of verbs in Greek that behave the same way—βούλομαι, φοβοῦμαι, γεύομαι, and λογίζομαι all refer to a mental state or experience where the subject has less of these prototypical subject features. With these kinds of verbs, the subject is often called an experiencer rather than an agent, as we would call the subject in a verb like break. Verbs with experiencer subjects in Greek are often (but not always) found in middle voice.

fromLesson 33.2: Verb – Efagon middle subjunctive