Elementary New Testament Greek, 2014a

2: Introduction to Verbs in the Present Active Indicative
The Meaning of Number (Singular, Plural)
As you have noticed, the rst three forms of are identied as singular, and are
grouped together because they depict an action performed by one actor (I, you, or
he/she/it). The second three forms of are identied as plural, and are grouped
together because they depict an action performed by multiple actors (we, you, or
they).
Notice that the gender of these persons is not identied by these verb forms. “We,”
for example, could stand for men, women, or a mixed group. Because English insists
on expressing the singular of third person in a gender-specic way, we must keep
alive the ambiguity of the Greek form, and remember to keep our gender options
open with a form like : “he, or she, or it is destroying.” Of course in actual
speech or writing, the context will almost always clarify gender identity.
To put these matters of person and number together in the Present Indicative of ,
study the following:
= I am destroying
= You are destroying
= He, she or it is destroying
[The speaker, a single individual (of unspecied gender),
is destroying]
[The one being addressed, a single individual (of unspecied
gender), is destroying]
[Someone or something spoken about, a single entity (of
unspecied gender), is destroying]
[People or things spoken about, more than a single entity
(of unspecied gender), are destroying]
The Meaning of Voice (Active, Middle, Passive)
As you have noticed, the six forms of supplied above are identied as standing
in the Active Voice:
1) Active Voice You might have noticed that every form of we have
studied was translated to show that the persons involved (I, you, he/she/
it, we, y’all, they) are the ones who perform or carry out the action in
question.
2) Passive Voice By way of contrast, you will one day learn forms of
that stand in the Passive Voice. These forms will reverse the polarity of
action, and should be translated to show that the persons involved (I, you,
he/she/it, we, y’all, they) are acted upon by someone or something else:
Translation of the Present Passive Indicative for [no forms to learn now]
I am being destroyed
You are being destroyed
He/she/it is being destroyed
We are being destroyed
Y’all are being destroyed
They are being destroyed
21
μ = We are destroying
= You [y’all] are destroying
() = They are destroying
[The speakers, more than one individual (of unspecied
gender), are destroying]
[The ones being addressed, more than one individual (of
unspecied gender), are destroying]