Comparative Teaching of Old Greek and Latin/Lesson 04 Part 1

Comparative Teaching of Old Greek and Latin Lesson 04 Part 1

Translated from the Greek Wikipedia|Wikiversity: "Συγκριτική διδασκαλία των κλασικών γλωσσών / (Comparative Teaching of the Classical Languages)"

LESSON 04 PART 1. The verb. Regular verbs. Present, imperfect, future indicative, active voice.

4.1.1. Present, imperfect, future indicative in active voice, of the Old Greek verbs of the first conjugation in -ω.

Verbs are the declinable words that show what makes or what suffers or in what situation the subject is found. Indicative is the mood of the real, the basic mood that is used mainly in main clauses as well as in subordinate clauses denoting real statements. It usually expresses something which the speaking person considers real or opposite to real or possible in the past or repeated in the past or a wish that cannot be realised etc. Old Greek Language also maintained both the thematic conjugation, i.e. the one that uses, in forming verbal forms, the thematic vowels -ε-, -ο- (λύ-ο-μεν, λύ-ε-τε) of the Indoeuropean Language, and the not thematic conjugation, the verb forms of which are formed, by adding the endings directly on the verb stem (ἵ-στα-μεν, τι-θέ-ασι).

Declension of the indicative in the active voice

Persons / Indoeuropean / Indicative present / Indicative imperfect / Indicative future

1st singular / *ag-o1,2,5,6 / ἄγ-ω / ἦγ-ον / ἄξ-ω

2nd singular / *ag-e-si / ἄγ-εις / ἦγ-ες / ἄξ-εις

3rd singular / *ag-e-ti / ἄγ-ει / ἦγ-ε(ν) / ἄξ-ει

1st plural / *ag-o-mes / ἄγ-ο-μεν / ἤγ-ομεν / ἄξ-ομεν

2nd plural / *ag-e-te / ἄγ-ε-τε / ἤγ-ε-τε / ἄξ-ε-τε

3rd plural / *ag-o-nti / ἄγ-ουσι < ἄγ-ο-ντι / ἦγ-ον / ἄξ-ουσι

2nd plural / - / ἄγ-ε-τον / ἤγ-ε-τον / ἄξε-τον

3rd plural / - / ἄγ-ε-τον / ἠγ-έτην / ἄξε-τον

The thematic vowels -ε-, -ο- of the Indoeuropean Language were short. The thematic vowel -o- is used in front of nasals (μ,ν), while in the other cases it is used the thematic vowel -ε-. The present and future tenses use the endings of the initial tenses (-ω, -εις, -ει-, -ομεν, -ετε, -ουσι), the imperfect uses the endings of the historical tenses (-ον, -ες, -ε, -ομεν, -ετε, -ον). The imperfect tense, in order to denote the past, apart from the endings of the historical tenses, it also takes the syllable augment (λύ-ω > ἔ-λυ-ον) or the time augment (ἄγ-ω > ἦγ-ον). The forms of the dual number will be analyzed in the texts.

4.1.2. Present, imperfect, future indicative, active voice, of the Latin verbs.

Latin kept only the thematic conjugation of the Indoeuropean Language which it developed in further four conjugations, the first one having as thematic vowel a long -a- (am-a'-re), the second one with thematic vowel a long -e- (del-e'-re), the third one with thematic vowel a short -i- (le'g-e-re) or, according to other linguists, without thematic vowel and the fourth one with thematic vowel a long -i- (aud-i'-re).

Declension of the indicative in the active voice.

Persons / Imperfect of the Indoeuropean / Indicative present / Indicative imperfect / Indicative future

1st singular / *e-bher-o-m3,4,7 / am-o / ama’-ba-m / ama’-bo

2nd singular / *e-bher-e-s / am-a-s / ama’-ba-s / ama’-bi-s

3rd singular / *e-bher-e-t / am-a-t / ama’-ba-t / ama’-bi-t

1st plural / *e-bher-o-me / ama’-mus / ama-ba’-mus / ama’bi-mus

2nd plural / *e-bher-e-te / ama-ti-s / ama-ba’-tis / ama’-bi-tis

3rd plural / *e-bher-o-nt / ama-nt / ama’-ba-nt / ama’-bunt

The present and future tenses use the endings of the initial tenses (-o, -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -nt), the imperfect the endings of the historical tenses (-m, -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -nt), that are same with the endings of the initial tenses with difference in the first singular person. The imperfect, in order to denote the past, apart from the endings of the historical tenses, takes between the verb stem and the ending the suffix -ba-. The future takes the suffix -bi-, having a short vowel, which is contracted in the 1st singular person in -bo and in the 3rd plural person the short-voweled -bi- becomes -bu- in front of the ending -nt.

The second conjugation is formed and conjugated precisely as the first one but it has as thematic vowel a long -e-, instead of the -a- of the first conjugation, and does not contract, in the first singular person of the present indicative, the thematic vowel with the ending -o (del'-e-o, del-e'-bam, del-e'-bo). The third conjugation in the present indicative uses as thematic vowel a short -i-, which becomes -u- in front of the ending -nt (leg-o, leg-i-s, leg-i-t, le'g-i-mus, le'g-i-tis, leg-u-nt). The third conjugation forms the imperfect indicative with the long thematic vowel -e-, precisely as the second one (leg-e'-bam), and the future indicative with the long thematic vowel -a- for the first singular person and -e- for the other persons (leg-a-m, leg-e-s, leg-e-t, leg-e'-mus, leg-e'-tis leg-e-nt).

Finally the fourth conjugation forms the present indicative with a long thematic vowel -i- (fi'n-i-o, fin-i-s, fin-i-t, fin-i'-mus, fin-i'-tis, fi'n-i-unt), which maintains in the first singular and third plural person together with the ending (fin-i-o, fin-i-unt). The imperfect and the future are formed with the thematic vowels of the third conjugation, but they keep before the endings the thematic vowel -i- of the fourth conjugation (fin-i-e-ba-m, fin-i-a-m).

4.1.3. Peculiarities, deflections and completions:

(These elements are studied in second and in third phase, i.e. after it has been completed the study of the regular course.)

1. Character of the verbal stem is the last sound of the stem. Enclitic vowels are those vowels that show the mood of the verb, e.g. the Old Greek verb in the optative mood has the enclitic vowel -ι- (λύ-ο-ι-μι) and the Latin subjunctive of the second conjugation has -ea- (de'l-ea-m). Tense suffix is the syllable or the sound that is added to the verbal stem, in order to be formed the stem of some verb tense (βαλ-j-ω, λυ-θή-σ-ο-μαι).

2. The stem of the present tense is same with the verbal stem (λύ-ω) or is formed with reduplication (γί-γν-ο-μαι) or is formed by the verbal stem with addition of present tense suffixes (βαλ- j - ω, ἄρ- J - ω, εὑρ- ίσκ - ω, ἁμαρτ- άν - ω, κόπ- τ - ω, φυλάκ- j - ω, φυλάσσω, πλάθ- J - ω, πλάσσω, πλάττω).

3. Verbs ending in -ίω, -ύω have usually long the vowel -ι- or -υ- of the ending (λύω, λῦε). Exceptions are the verbs:ἐσθίω, ἑλκύω, μεθύω, ἐπαΐω, ἀνύω, ἀρύω. The verb φύω has the vowel -υ- short before a vowel and long before a consonant. The verbs ending in -ζω, -ττω and -πτω usually, not always, have, the vowel of the penultimate short.

4. Greek imperfect and future tense are generally formed with the present tense stem, the imperfect also taking the syllable augment or the time augment (ἔ-λυ-ον) and the future taking the tense suffix -σ- between the stem and the ending (λύ-σ-ω). The future tense endings are the same with the present tense endings.

5. Latin imperfect indicative of the 4th conjugation (aud-i-re) was formed, in older days, with the ending -i'bam instead of the ending -ie'bam (audi'bam instead of audie'bam) and the future tense with the ending -i'bo instead of the ending -iam (aud-i'-bo instead of au'd-i-am).

To continue look at: Lesson 04 Part 2

To see the Introduction look at: Introduction