Module 17

The Future Indicative and Infinitive Active of ἔχω, ἐλαύνω, ἔρχομαι and the Dynamic Infinitive

The Verb

In Greek and in English, verbs have the same definition and functions. Verbs are words that represent actions (throw) and states of being (be or exist). They differ in the same fundamental way that Greek nouns differ from their English counterparts: they use endings to create meaning in a way that English does not. The Greek verb (ῥῆμα) in its finite form has an ending that indicates what person and number the subject is. The Greek infinitive has an ending that indicates that it is unmarked for person and number.

The Future Indicative Active

The future tense refers to actions that will occur in the future. The future tense stems have a temporal value but no aspect, showing no distinction between the imperfective (incomplete) and perfective (completed) aspect (CGCG 33.4–6). To review what is meant by the aspect of verbs, reread Verb Tense-Aspect in Module 9.

Future Tense Stems

To obtain the future tense stem remove the ending from the second principal part. What remains is the future active and middle tense stem. To this stem, add the future tense endings.

Future Tense Endings

Add to the correct tense stem.

1. Almost all verb forms have recessive accent.
2. The letter nu in the third person plural, present indicative active is a nu-movable. It may be added to the ending when the following word begins with a vowel or at the end of clauses or verses. Otherwise it is left off.

   Primary Middle and Passive (use to form the active voice of deponent verbs)
   		S	Pl
   	1st	-ομαι	-ομεθα
   	2nd	-ει or -ῃ (-εσαι)	-εσθε
   	3rd	-εται	-ονται
   Infinitive Active (use to form the active voice of deponent verbs)
   		-εσθαι

1. Almost all verb forms have recessive accent. Remember that final -αι and -οι count as short for purposes of accentuation except in the optative, a mood learned in Part II of the 21st-Century series.
2. In the second person singular intervocalic sigma dropped out (-εσαι), resulting in the two endings -ει and -ῃ.
3. Deponent verbs are active in meaning and middle and passive in form.

The Conjugation of ἔχω

All ω-verbs combine their stems and endings just as ἔχω does. In the readings that follow, use your knowledge of ἔχω to recognize and translate the forms of other ω-verbs.

Future Indicative Active of ἔχω

To the future active and middle tense stems ἕξ- or σχήσ-, add the correct endings.

Future Infinitive Active of ἔχω

To the future active and middle tense stems ἕξ- or σχήσ-, add ειν.

1. Only the tense stem distinguishes the future indicative active from the present indicative active. Contrast the present stem of ἔχω with the future stem of ἕξω and σχήσω.

The Conjugation ἐλαύνω, ἐλάω

ἐλάω is referred to as a contract ω-verb because its stem ends in alpha in the first person singular, future indicative active of the second principal part. When the stem of principal part I or II ends in alpha, the alpha may contract with the endings in accordance with the chart below. In the readings that follow, use your knowledge of ἐλάω to recognize and translate the forms of other alpha contract ω-verbs.

Future Indicative Active of ἐλαύνω, ἐλάω

To the future active and middle tense stem ἐλα-, add the correct endings.

Future Infinitive Active of ἐλαύνω, ἐλάω

To the future active and middle tense stem ἐλα-, add ειν.

The Conjugation of ἔρχομαι

Deponent ω-verbs are similar to ω-verbs except that they have middle and passive forms but active meanings. All deponent ω-verbs form their present and future indicative actives just as ἔρχομαι does. In the readings that follow, use your knowledge of ἔρχομαι to recognize and translate the forms of other deponent ω-verbs.

Future Indicative of ἔρχομαι

To the future tense stem ἐλεύσ-, add the correct endings.

Future Infinitive of ἔρχομαι

To the future tense stem ἐλεύσ-, add -εσθαι.

The Infinitive

Remember that in English and in Greek the infinitive is unmarked for person and for number. Ιt is classified as a verbal noun and is best understood by thinking of its function as completing or enhancing the meaning of adjectives, clauses, nouns, and verbs. This is why the infinitive is referred to as complement. Sometimes classified as a mood, the infinitive is potential in meaning, ἐν δυνάμει, because its action may or may not be realized. There are two types of infinitives, the declarative and the dynamic. Both the declarative and the dynamic infinitives refer to actions that exist potentially or ἐν δυνάμει.

The Dynamic Infinitive

The dynamic infinitive refers to actions that exist potentially, ἐν δυνάμει. It is negated by the abverb μή not and not οὐ not. For more on the dynamic infinitive, see CGCG 51. Consider its use as a complement in these examples.

1. As a complement to modal verbs:

2. As a complement to verbs of wishing and desiring:

3. As a complement to knowledge verbs:

4. As a complement to verbs of command, compulsion, and persuasion:

5. As a complement to verbs of starting and stopping:

6. Epexegetically as a complement to adjectives and nouns:

7. As a complement of purpose often with verbs of giving, motion, receiving, and taking:

Practice Translating the Infinitive. Translate each of the below, which have been adapted from folk songs and a variety of ancient Greek writers. Remember the meanings and functions of the cases presented in Module 7. Nominative case endings are bolded; genitive endings are italicized; dative endings are highlighted; and accusative endings are underlined. Check your understanding with the translations in the Answer Key. Now go back and read each sentence two or three times, noticing with each rereading how much better your understanding of the sentence becomes. Make this a habit and you will improve quickly.

Praxilla of Sikyon, Πράξιλλα Σικυών c. 451 BCE. Praxilla was a Greek lyric poet of high renown. Only a few fragments of her work have survived. Antipater of Thessalonike (c. 15 BCE) lists her as one of the nine immortal-tongued female poets. Aristophanes parodies her in two of his comedies. The famous sculptor Lysippos (c. 350 BCE) sculpted her in bronze.

Athenaios of Naukratis, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης, c. 190 CE. Athenaios was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian. His fifteen-volume Scholars at Dinner, Δειπνοσοφισταί, on the art of dining, mostly survives. Among other things, the work provides information about Greek literature, quoting from the works of about 700 Greek authors and 2,500 different works. Topics discussed in the volumes include, art, food, music, philology, sex, and wine.

Julian, Flavius Claudius Julianus, c. 331 CE. Julian was Roman emperor from 361 to 363 CE. He was also a philosopher and author of many works written in Greek. About fifteen have survived. Julian rejected Christianity and promoted Neoplatonic Hellenism. For this the Christian Church named him Julian the Apostate. His work, The Caesars, quoted below, was a satire that describes Roman emperors vying for the title of best emperor.

1. ἀγαθὸν ὑπὸ παντὶ λίθῳ σκορπίον φυλάσσειν (Praxilla).
2. οὐ βούλομαι κάλλιστον μὲν ἐγὼ λείπειν φάος ἡλίου (Praxilla).
3. ὁ θάνατός μοι κελεύει ἄστρα φαεινὰ λείπειν (Praxilla).
4. ἄρχομαι καὶ ὡραίους σικύους καὶ μῆλα καὶ ὄγχνας λείπειν (Praxilla).
5. ἔρχεται χελιδὼν καλὰς ὥρας ἄγειν (Folk Song).
6. νόμος ἀνοιγνύναι τὴν θύραν χελιδόνι (Folk Song).
7. Ἠριφανὶς ἐπίσταται τοὺς ἀνημερωτάτους συνδακρῦσαι τῷ πάθει (Athenaios, Scholars at Dinner, quoting Klearkhos speaking about Eriphanis).
8. θέλει γὰρ ὁ θεὸς ὀρθὸς διὰ μέσου βαδίζειν (Athenaios, Scholars at Dinner, quoting Semos of Delos, speaking about the Ithyphalloi).
9. καιρὸς δὲ καλέει μηκέτι μέλλειν (Julian, The Caesars).
10. Ῥέα ἐν Φρυγίᾳ μὲν τοὺς Κορύβαντας ὀρχέεσθαι πείθει (Lucian, The Dance).

Adverbs and Verbs

Adjectives, Nouns, Pronouns

1. The asterisk indicates the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary, which you are to memorize.

Practice Translating. Translate the sentences below adapted from Euripides’ Bakkhai (Βάκχαι). Remember the meanings and functions of the cases presented in Module 7. Nominative case endings are bolded; genitive endings are italicized; dative endings are highlighted; and accusative endings are underlined. Note that the third declension increases the number of possible endings for the nominative singular. Check your understanding with the translations in the Answer Key. Now go back and read each sentence two or three times, noticing with each rereading how much better your understanding of the sentence becomes. Make this a habit and you will improve quickly.

Διόνυσος: ἀδελφαὶ μητρὸς φάσκουσιν ὅτι Διόνυσος οὐκ ἐκφύει Διός ἀλλὰ ἐκ θνητοῦ καὶ ὅτι ἡ Σεμέλη ἐς Ζῆν’ ἀναφέρει τὴν ἁμαρτίαν λέχους. αὐτὴν αἱ ἀδελφαὶ ἐκκαυχάονται ὅτι κτείνει Ζεὺς ἀστραπηφόρῳ πυρὶ ὅτι γάμους ψεύδει. τοιγὰρ αὐτὰς ἐκ δόμων οἰστράω ἐγὼ μανίαις. ὄρος δ’ οἰκέουσι παράκοποι φρενῶν. σκευήν τ’ ἔχειν αὐτὰς ἀναγκάζω ὀργίων ἐμῶν. τὸ θῆλυ σπέρμα Καδμείων, ὅσαι γυναῖκές εἰσι, ἐκμαίνω δωμάτων. ὁμοῦ δὲ Κάδμου παισὶν ἀναμείγνυνται καὶ χλωραῖς ὑπ’ ἐλάταις ἀνορόφοις ἧνται πέτραις. δεῖ γὰρ τὴν ἀτέλεστον τῶν πόλιν βακχευμάτων ἐκμανθάνειν, καὶ εἰ μὴ θέλει, ὅτι ἡ Σεμέλη ἐμὲ τίκτει Διί, ἐμφανῆ θνητοῖς δαίμονα.

Adverbs and Verbs

Adjectives, Nouns, Pronouns

1. The asterisk indicates the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary, which you are to memorize.

Practice Parsing Greek Sentences. Parse each word of the sentences found below. For nouns and pronouns, give the case and function. For verbs, give the person, number, tense, mood, and voice. For adverbs and conjunctions, identify them. For prepositional phrases, give the preposition and the preposition’s object. For adjectives, specify the noun they agree with in gender, number, and case.

Ῥέα ἐν Φρυγίᾳ μὲν τοὺς Κορύβαντας ὀρχέεσθαι πείθει.

αὐτὴν αἱ ἀδελφαὶ ἐκκαυχάονται ὅτι κτείνει Ζεὺς ἀστραπηφόρῳ πυρὶ ὅτι γάμους ψεύδει.

Check your answers with those in the Answer Key.

Papyrology

Papyrus, πάπυρος, is paper made from the papyrus plant. Ancient Egyptians used this plant to make reed boats, mats, rope, sandals, and baskets. They used papyrus paper to write down many things, including lists, records, and literary works. They also used it to wrap mummies. In hot and dry climates, papyrus survives, offering us a window into the past. Papyrologists study the writings these papyri record. Module 30 offers a recently discovered poem by Sappho, preserved on papyrus.

Module 17 Top 250 Vocabulary to be Memorized. Like learning the alphabet and endings, memorizing vocabulary is essential to acquiring language. The better you memorize the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary words, the greater mastery of the language you will have.

Nouns

ἀριθμός, ἀριθμοῦ ὁ number

βίος, βίου ὁ life

δίκη, δίκης ἡ custom, usage; judgment; order, right; penalty, sentence; lawsuit

Verbs

ἀδικέω, ἀδικήσω be unjust, do wrong

αἱρέω, αἱρήσω take, seize, grab, capture; (mid.) choose

γιγνώσκω, γνώσομαι know, recognize; decide + inf.

ἐλαύνω, ἐλάω drive, march

κελεύω, κελεύσω bid, order, command