Elementary New Testament Greek, 2014a
Elementary New Testament Greek, 2014a
Elementary New Testament Greek, 2014a
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9: Active, Middle, Passive Voices<br />
9: Active, Middle, Passive Voices<br />
By now we’ve studied all ten parts of speech: verbs, nouns, articles, adverbs,<br />
interjections, adjectives, prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions and particles. With<br />
these building blocks in hand we are able to understand (at least in a general and<br />
preliminary way) how all <strong>Greek</strong> sentences are built, however complex they may be.<br />
Of course, the roadway ahead will involve expanding our knowledge of the forms<br />
and uses of the various parts of speech.<br />
Reviewing Verb Parsing<br />
Throughout the preceding chapters we have kept our verbs restricted in tense, voice<br />
and mood to the Present Active Indicative. That has allowed us to focus exclusively<br />
on meeting each of the other parts of speech without unnecessary distraction. Now<br />
it’s time to explore more features of <strong>Greek</strong> verbs.<br />
As we move ahead, let’s review the landscape of parsing to remind ourselves where<br />
we’ve been (marked by the bold font), and where (ultimately) we need to go:<br />
Tenses (7):<br />
Voices (3):<br />
Moods (4):<br />
Persons (3):<br />
Numbers (2)<br />
Present, Imperfect, Future, Aorist, Perfect,<br />
Pluperfect, Future Perfect.<br />
Active, Middle, Passive.<br />
Indicative, Subjunctive, Imperative, Optative.<br />
(Later we will meet the Participle and Innitive<br />
Modes.)<br />
First, Second, Third.<br />
Singular, Plural.<br />
Active and Passive Voices<br />
We’ll begin our expansion with the matter of Voice:<br />
Active Voice<br />
109<br />
As you have experienced throughout the preceding chapters, the active voice tells us<br />
that the personsthings involved (I, you, he/she/it, we, y’all, they) are the ones who<br />
perform or carry out the action in question.<br />
<br />
I am destroying<br />
you are sending<br />
she is teaching<br />
μ <br />
we are nding you are judging they are saving<br />
Passive Voice<br />
By way of contrast, passive forms reverse the polarity of action, so that the persons<br />
things involved (I, you, he/she/it, we, y’all, they) are acted upon by someone or<br />
something else:<br />
μ <br />
I am being destroyed<br />
you are being sent<br />
she is being taught<br />
μ <br />
we are being found you are being judged they are being saved
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