Review
GRK30 readings · 3,087 words
Tense and voice first, then the case it agrees in.
Grammar reference
The tables the drills send you back to.
How to parse any verb
Parsing is decomposition, not recall. Read a finite verb off its slots in this order — the ending first, because it is the part that is always there and always means the same thing.
- 1. The ENDING → person, number, and voice. Active endings (-ω, -εις, -ει… / -ον, -ες, -ε…) look nothing like middle/passive ones (-ομαι, -ῃ, -εται… / -όμην, -ου, -ετο…). Learn the two columns cold and half the parse falls out immediately.
- 2. Primary or secondary ending? Primary (-ω, -ει, -ουσι; -μαι, -ται, -νται) means present, future, perfect, or ANY subjunctive. Secondary (-ον, -ε, -ν; -μην, -το, -ντο) means an augmented past tense or ANY optative.
- 3. The FRONT of the word → tense. A syllabic augment (ἐ-) or a lengthened initial vowel marks a past-tense indicative. A reduplication (consonant + ε: λέ-, γέ-, πέ-) marks the perfect system, in every mood.
- 4. The STEM and any suffix → which tense exactly. -σ- before the ending → future or first aorist; -θη-/-η- → aorist passive; -κα- after reduplication → perfect active; a bare changed stem with secondary endings → second aorist.
- 5. The MOOD SIGN, if the endings were primary/secondary-ambiguous. Long ω/η running through the thematic vowel → subjunctive; -οι-/-αι-/-ιη- → optative; the special imperative endings → imperative.
- Two warnings. The augment lives ONLY in the indicative: an aorist subjunctive, optative, participle or infinitive has no augment, so their 'pastness' is aspect (a single completed action), not past time. And a second aorist (ἔλαβε) wears the same augment and thematic endings as an imperfect (ἔβαλλε) — only the stem tells them apart, so you must know the principal parts.
Personal endings — the two columns
Every finite form ends in one of these. The active set and the middle/passive set are the first thing to recognize (that is the voice); primary vs. secondary within each is the second (present-type vs. past-type / subjunctive vs. optative). Shown with the thematic vowel a regular ω-verb carries.
Active
| Primary — pres./fut./subj. | Secondary — impf./aor./opt. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 sg. | -ω | -ον / -ν |
| 2 sg. | -εις | -ες / -ς |
| 3 sg. | -ει | -ε(ν) / — |
| 1 pl. | -ομεν | -ομεν / -μεν |
| 2 pl. | -ετε | -ετε / -τε |
| 3 pl. | -ουσι(ν) | -ον / -σαν |
Middle / passive
| Primary | Secondary | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 sg. | -ομαι | -όμην |
| 2 sg. | -ῃ (-ει) | -ου |
| 3 sg. | -εται | -ετο |
| 1 pl. | -όμεθα | -όμεθα |
| 2 pl. | -εσθε | -εσθε |
| 3 pl. | -ονται | -οντο |
- Voice first: if the ending has an -μ-/-σθ-/-τ- + vowel shape (-μαι, -σαι, -ται, -μεθα, -σθε, -νται and their secondaries), it is middle or passive. In the present, imperfect, and perfect the middle and passive are identical in form — the label 'middle/passive' just means the ending cannot decide, only the aorist (-θη-) and future can.
- Athematic verbs (εἰμί, φημί, δίδωμι, τίθημι, ἵστημι, δείκνυμι) attach primary active endings directly: -μι, -ς, -σι(ν), -μεν, -τε, -ασι(ν). Their secondary active is -ν, -ς, —, -μεν, -τε, -σαν. Memorize these paradigms separately; they are common in Homer.
- The 2 sg. middle is the slippery one: primary -ῃ / -ει (from -σαι with the σ lost), secondary -ου (from -σο). When a σ survives between vowels (as after an athematic stem) you see the fuller -σαι, -σο.
Augment & reduplication — reading the front of the word
What sits in front of the stem tells you the tense system at a glance, and whether you are even in the indicative.
- Syllabic augment: a consonant-initial stem prefixes ἐ- → λύω → ἔλυον, γράφω → ἔγραφον. This marks the imperfect, aorist, or pluperfect INDICATIVE.
- Temporal augment: a vowel-initial stem lengthens its first vowel instead — α, ε → η; ο → ω; ι → ῑ; υ → ῡ; αι, ᾳ → ῃ; αυ → ηυ; οι → ῳ. So ἀκούω → ἤκουον, ἐθέλω → ἤθελον, ὁράω → ἑώρων.
- The augment appears ONLY in the indicative. No augment on a subjunctive, optative, participle, or infinitive — even an aorist one. If you translate an unaugmented aorist as past time you are mis-parsing its aspect for tense.
- Reduplication: the perfect repeats the initial consonant with ε — λύω → λέλυκα, γράφω → γέγραφα, παύω → πέπαυμαι. A stem beginning with a vowel, or an awkward consonant cluster, reduplicates by lengthening or by a bare ἐ- instead (ἀγγέλλω → ἤγγελκα).
- Reduplication is the perfect system's fingerprint and it stays in EVERY mood (λελυκώς, λελύσθαι), which is exactly how you tell a reduplicated perfect from an augmented aorist. The pluperfect stacks an augment in front of the reduplication: ἐ-λε-λύκειν.
Tense formation — the tell-tale suffix
Once you know it is a verb, this is the marker that fixes which tense. Examples from λύω except where a second-aorist verb is needed.
| Tense system | Tell-tale marker | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present / Imperfect | plain present stem; the imperfect adds the augment | λύει / ἔλυε |
| Future | -σ- between stem and ending, primary endings | λύσει |
| First (sigmatic) aorist | augment + -σα-, secondary endings | ἔλυσε |
| Second (strong) aorist | augment + a CHANGED stem, thematic secondary endings | ἔλαβε (λαμβάνω) |
| Aorist passive | augment + -θη- (or bare -η-), active-type endings | ἐλύθη |
| Perfect active | reduplication + -κα- | λέλυκε |
| Perfect mid./pass. | reduplication + endings straight on the stem | λέλυται |
| Pluperfect | augment + reduplication + -(ε)ι- | ἐλελύκει |
- The trap: a second aorist (ἔλαβε, ἔβαλε, εἶδε) carries the same augment and the same thematic secondary endings as an imperfect. Only the STEM separates them — the imperfect keeps the present stem (ἔβαλλε 'was throwing'), the second aorist uses a distinct one (ἔβαλε 'threw'). This is why the principal parts are worth memorizing.
- A -σ- with primary endings (λύσει) is future; the same -σ- with an augment and secondary endings (ἔλυσε) is aorist. The augment is the deciding vote.
- Homer routinely drops the augment and doubles consonants (ἔλλαβε), and shows -σκ- iteratives (ἔχεσκε 'used to hold'). Parse to the underlying form; the epic surface is cosmetic.
Mood & the non-finite forms
If the endings alone left the mood open, this is the sign that settles it — and the shapes to recognize for the infinitive and the participle, which carry tense and voice but not person.
| Mood | Sign to look for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Indicative | the plain primary/secondary endings, no extra marker | λύει, ἔλυε |
| Subjunctive | lengthened thematic vowel ω/η running throughout, primary endings | λύῃ, λύωμεν |
| Optative | -οι- (thematic), -αι- (1st aorist), -ιη- (athematic); secondary endings | λύοι, λύσαι(το) |
| Imperative | its own endings: -ε, -έτω, -ετε, -όντων; mid. -ου, -έσθω | λῦε, λυέτω |
Non-finite: tense + voice, no person
| Form | Endings by tense/voice | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | -ειν (pres. act.), -σαι (1st aor. act.), -εῖν (2nd aor.), -ναι (perf./athem.), -(ε)σθαι (mid./pass.) | λύειν, λῦσαι, λελυκέναι, λύεσθαι |
| Participle | act. -ων/-ουσα/-ον, aor. -σας/-σασα/-σαν, perf. -κώς/-κυῖα/-κός; mid./pass. -μενος/-η/-ον | λύων, λύσας, λελυκώς, λυόμενος |
- A participle is parsed like an adjective on top of a verb: give its tense and voice (from the verb markers above) AND its case, gender, and number (from the -ος/-η/-ον or third-declension endings). 'aorist active participle, masculine nominative singular' is the full answer.
- The -μενος/-μένη/-μενον shape is the giveaway for a middle/passive participle in the present, future, and perfect; the aorist passive participle instead ends -θείς/-θεῖσα/-θέν (from the -θη- marker).
- Because subjunctives and optatives never take an augment, an aorist subjunctive (λύσῃ) or optative (λύσαι) shows the -σα-/-σ- aorist marker with no ἐ- in front. Read the -σ- as aorist aspect, not the endings as present.
How to parse a noun or adjective
A noun tells you two things you parse — case and number — and one you learn with the word: its gender. An adjective changes all three to agree with the noun it modifies, so for an adjective you parse the gender too.
- 1. The LEMMA gives you the declension, and the declension tells you which ending-set to read against. The dictionary form lists the genitive singular for exactly this reason: -ης/-ας → 1st declension, -ου → 2nd, -ος (on a changed stem) → 3rd. νῆσος, -ου → 2nd; νύξ, νυκτός → 3rd.
- 2. The ENDING gives case and number, once you know the set. -ου is a 2nd-declension genitive singular; -ων is a genitive plural in every declension; -οις/-αις/-σι(ν) are dative plurals. Learn the three tables below as three shapes, not thirty forms.
- 3. GENDER: for a noun it is fixed — memorize it with the noun (the article ὁ / ἡ / τό is the cleanest tag). For an adjective it is live: μέγας (m.), μεγάλη (f.), μέγα (n.). When an adjective ending is ambiguous, the noun it agrees with settles the gender.
- Ambiguities to expect: the nominative and vocative are often identical; the neuter nominative and accusative are ALWAYS identical (both sg. -ον and pl. -α); a bare -α can be neuter plural (nom./acc.) or 1st-declension feminine singular; -ων is genitive plural everywhere. Use agreement and context to break the tie.
- Homer's endings differ on the surface: genitive singular -οιο/-οο for -ου, genitive plural -άων/-έων for -ων, dative plural -οισι/-ῃσι/-εσσι for -οις/-αις/-σι, and the old instrumental/locative -φι. Parse to the classical form underneath.
Case endings — the three declensions
The ending carries case and number. Read it against the right column: the lemma's genitive singular told you which declension you are in.
1st declension — mostly feminine (-η / -α), some masculine (-ης)
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. | -η / -α | -αι |
| Gen. | -ης / -ας | -ῶν |
| Dat. | -ῃ / -ᾳ | -αις |
| Acc. | -ην / -αν | -ας |
| Voc. | -η / -α | -αι |
2nd declension — masc./fem. (-ος), neuter (-ον)
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. | -ος / -ον | -οι / -α |
| Gen. | -ου | -ων |
| Dat. | -ῳ | -οις |
| Acc. | -ον | -ους / -α |
| Voc. | -ε / -ον | -οι / -α |
3rd declension — endings on the stem (find the stem in the gen. sg.)
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. | -ς or — (lengthened stem) | -ες / -α (neut.) |
| Gen. | -ος | -ων |
| Dat. | -ι | -σι(ν) |
| Acc. | -α / -ν | -ας / -α (neut.) |
| Voc. | — (bare stem) | -ες / -α (neut.) |
- In every declension: the genitive plural is -ων, the neuter nominative and accusative match, and the dative plural has an ι or σι in it. Those three facts alone resolve a large share of forms.
- 3rd-declension forms are built on the stem you get by removing -ος from the genitive singular: σῶμα, σώματ-ος → dative σώματ-ι, accusative σῶμα, genitive plural σωμάτ-ων. The nominative singular often hides the stem (a final consonant is dropped or altered), so trust the genitive.
What each case does
Naming the case is half the job; knowing what it is doing in the sentence is the other half, and it is what the parse is for.
| Case | Core job | Usually rendered |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | subject; predicate after 'to be' | the … (does) |
| Genitive | possession; source/separation; the whole (partitive); with many prepositions | of / from … |
| Dative | indirect object; means or instrument; place or time where; with prepositions of rest | to / for / with / by / at … |
| Accusative | direct object; extent of space or time; motion toward (with a preposition or -δε) | the … (is done to); toward … |
| Vocative | direct address | O …! |
- A bare genitive or dative with no preposition is doing one of these jobs on its own — genitive of possession/source, dative of means or indirect object. Reach for a preposition in your English ('of', 'with', 'to') and see which fits the sense.
- With prepositions the case is a strong clue to meaning: the same preposition often takes the genitive for motion-from, the dative for rest-at, and the accusative for motion-toward (e.g. παρά + gen. 'from beside', + dat. 'beside', + acc. 'to beside').