Imperfect Middle/Passive and Infinitive Review

Putting the imperfect together

You have already met the imperfect middle/passive in Lesson 10. Now make the pattern familiar enough to recognize in a sentence: augment + present stem + secondary middle/passive endings. For λύω this gives ἐ-λυ-όμην, 'I was being loosed' or, in a suitable context, 'I was loosing for myself'.

The six forms are ἐλυόμην, ἐλύου, ἐλύετο, ἐλυόμεθα, ἐλύεσθε, ἐλύοντο. Notice especially -μην for 'I', -μεθα for 'we', and -ντο for 'they'. The second singular ἐλύου is shortened: do not expect every ending to remain visibly separated from the connecting vowel.

The augment identifies a past indicative form; the ending identifies person and number. Work from both ends of the word before deciding what it means. A compound keeps its augment after the preposition: προσέρχομαι becomes προσηρχόμην, 'I was approaching'.

• ἐλύετο ὁ δοῦλος. — The slave was being released.
• ἐλύοντο οἱ δοῦλοι. — The slaves were being released.
• ἐπορευόμεθα εἰς τὸν οἶκον. — We were going to the house.

Translate the voice, not just the ending

Middle/passive endings do not automatically mean 'was being'. A passive subject receives an action; a middle subject participates in it with particular involvement. Some verbs, traditionally called deponents, normally use these endings with meanings that English expresses actively: ἐπορεύετο means 'he was going', not 'he was being gone'.

The imperfect views a past situation from within, as unfolding or recurring. 'Was receiving' and 'used to receive' are both possible translations of ἐδέχετο. The surrounding sentence, rather than the ending alone, chooses between them.

An agent introduced by ὑπό with the genitive often makes a passive reading clear. A bare dative may express a means or instrument instead. First identify the subject; then ask whether it is acting, receiving an action, or carrying out the verb's normal middle meaning.

• ὁ μαθητὴς ἐδιδάσκετο ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀποστόλου. — The disciple was being taught by the apostle.
• ὁ μαθητὴς ἐδέχετο τὸν ἄρτον. — The disciple was receiving the bread.

Reviewing the infinitive

An infinitive names an action without giving its own person or number. English often marks it with 'to': to release, to receive, to teach. Compare λύει, 'he releases', with λύειν, 'to release'. The first is a complete finite verb; the second normally depends on another word or construction.

The present active infinitive ends in -ειν, as in λύειν and γράφειν. The present middle/passive infinitive ends in -εσθαι, as in λύεσθαι and δέχεσθαι. It can still have an object: θέλω γράφειν τὸν λόγον means 'I want to write the message'.

Present infinitives present the action as ongoing or general, not necessarily as happening now. They have no augment. Later you will meet other infinitives and more complex uses; for now recognize the ending and connect the action to the verb it completes.

• θέλω δέχεσθαι τὸν λόγον. — I want to receive the message.
• θέλω εἶναι μαθητής. — I want to be a disciple.

Choosing a word for 'not'

You already use οὐ, οὐκ, and οὐχ to make a statement negative: οὐ γράφω, 'I do not write'. A second negative, μή, normally accompanies the infinitive in constructions such as θέλω μὴ γράφειν, 'I want not to write'. Here μή belongs with γράφειν, not with θέλω.

Changing the position can change what is denied. οὐ θέλω γράφειν means 'I do not want to write'; θέλω μὴ γράφειν means 'I want to avoid writing'. Find the action that the negative belongs to before translating the sentence.

The construction helps you choose οὐ or μή. Later you will meet μή in commands, conditions, and some participle phrases, and οὐ in other constructions. Use the examples for the construction you are reading rather than assuming that every verb form has one fixed negative.

• οὐ θέλω γράφειν. — I do not want to write.
• θέλω μὴ γράφειν. — I want not to write / I want to avoid writing.

Connecting two things together

καί can add a second item ('and'), add something to a statement ('also'), or emphasize something unexpected ('even'). In καὶ ὁ μαθητὴς γράφει, the context may suggest 'the disciple also writes' or 'even the disciple writes'.

Two occurrences of καί can work as a pair: καὶ γράφει καὶ διδάσκει, 'he both writes and teaches'. οὔτε ... οὔτε is the negative pair: οὔτε γράφει οὔτε διδάσκει, 'he neither writes nor teaches'. Translate each pair as a unit.

οὐδέ can mean 'and not', 'nor', or 'not even'. εἴτε ... εἴτε means 'whether ... or'. These short words show how the parts of a sentence relate; they do not change the verb endings.

• καὶ ἀκούει καὶ βλέπει. — He/she both hears and sees.
• οὔτε ἀκούει οὔτε βλέπει. — He/she neither hears nor sees.
• οὐ γράφει οὐδὲ διδάσκει. — He/she does not write or teach.

Vocabulary (13)

συναγωγή, ἡ

assembly, synagogue

ἐκκλησία, ἡ

assembly, church

ἐπί, ἐπ᾽, ἐφ᾽

(+gen) on; (+dat) at; (+acc) on, to

ἐργάζομαι

I work, labor

προσέρχομαι

I come to, approach

εἰσέρχομαι

I go in, enter

ἐξέρχομαι

I go out, come out

ἀπέρχομαι

I go away, depart

διέρχομαι

I go through, pass through

ἡγέομαι

I lead; I consider

διαλέγομαι

I discuss, reason

ἀναπαύομαι

I rest, take rest

προσδέχομαι

I welcome, accept; I await, expect