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Elementary New Testament Greek, 2014a

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10: Imperfect Tense<br />

Assembly Line “G”<br />

Some evidence exists that a very old Assembly Line, which added the sufx to<br />

form the First Principle Part, had for a time been operational. Only a few traces of<br />

its work remain.<br />

Root<br />

<br />

First Principal<br />

Part<br />

<br />

Explanation<br />

The delta (), when followed by a theta (), was<br />

converted into a sigma ().<br />

Neuter Plural Subjects with 3rd Singular<br />

Verbs<br />

129<br />

In the GNT it is common to nd a neuter plural subject taking a 3rd singular verb<br />

(instead of a 3rd plural verb).<br />

The “Normal:”<br />

A common<br />

“Abnormality:”<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

The children are seeing<br />

the Lord.<br />

The children are seeing<br />

the Lord.<br />

Root, the 1st Principal Part, and the Lexical<br />

Entry<br />

The value of knowing the verb root will emerge more clearly in the next chapter when<br />

we study the Future tense. You will discover that the Future, along with many other<br />

<strong>Greek</strong> verb tenses, is built from one of the other ve Principal Parts, not built from<br />

the First!<br />

And yet, unfortunately, it is the First Principal Part (rather than the root) which has<br />

been chosen by tradition to stand as a verb’s “name tag,” or Lexical Entry, in most<br />

<strong>Greek</strong> dictionaries. So you will be told, for example, that the <strong>Greek</strong> verb meaning<br />

“take/receive” is μ, and you will imagine (unwisely) that from this form<br />

all other forms of this verb will be built. By now you know that (and not<br />

μ ) is the root of this verb from which all the various forms of this verb will<br />

ultimately be derived. You must learn, therefore, to recognize the Dictionary Entry<br />

(e.g. μ) merely as one “branch ofce” of a verb, and must remember that<br />

the “corporate ofce” which runs all the “branch ofces” may not look much like the<br />

Dictionary Entry.<br />

The Imperfect Indicative of μ<br />

Because the verb “to be” is stative (i.e. not expressing action, but state), it is not<br />

really appropriate to parse it with “voice” (Active, Middle, or Passive), even though<br />

Mounce treats these forms (in his Interlinear Code) as Active. We will simply omit<br />

reference to voice, so that we will parse μ as “Imperfect, —, Indicative, First<br />

Person, Singular.”<br />

Singular<br />

Plural<br />

1st μ μ<br />

2nd <br />

3rd

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