Elementary New Testament Greek, 2014a

10: Imperfect Tense
Assembly Line A
As you can see in the diagram, there are no machines or workers on Assembly Line
A! Nothing happens! The verb root enters the Line and exits the line without any
changes* being made, except that (conceptually speaking!) the product is “stamped”
with its new identication tag: “First Principal Part.” [*Well, O.K.! Sometimes the
length of the root vowel is lengthened, or extended into a diphthong…but other than
that (!), nothing happens.]
Many verbs we have studied have traveled down Assembly Line A. In the following
forms (Present Active Indicative, 1st person, singular) notice the underlined portion.
It is the unmodied verb root, clearly visible, now functioning as the First Principal
Part (from which the Present Tense must be formed):
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Assembly Line B
The process of (iota) reduplication [is this word itself redundant?] takes the initial
consonant of the root, repeats it, and connects it to the root by means of an iota ().
Sometimes the results are clearly visible and immediately understandable. At other
times, a secondary procedure partly masks the original reduplication process.
Root
First Principal
Part
μ
Explanation
The delta () is reduplicated.
[Don’t worry about the lengthening of the omicron.]
μ
The theta () is reduplicated.
[Two thetas in succession must be changed to … .]
μ μ
[We show these contract verbs in uncontracted form to show the root]
μ μ
[Including all of the many compound forms of these verbs.]
[The root is actually , but the sigma () has dropped off.]
The sigma () is reduplicated.
μ
[The initial sigma reduces to a rough breathing.]
The pi () is reduplicated.
The gamma () is reduplicated.
[The second gamma then drops out.]
The delta () is reduplicated.
[Note the second process of adding .]
μ
The gamma () is reduplicated.
[The second gamma drops out, etc.]