First Aorist Active and Middle

A whole event, not necessarily a quick event

The aorist indicative normally describes an event in the past. Its distinctive feature is aspect: it presents the event as a whole, without portraying its internal unfolding. Compare ἐδίδασκεν, 'he was teaching', with ἐδίδαξεν, 'he taught'. The imperfect looks inside the activity; the aorist reports the event.

An aorist does not mean an action was instantaneous, happened only once, or was completed forever. A writer can use an aorist to summarize years of work. The viewpoint is compact; the real-world event need not be short.

A simple English past tense is usually a good starting point: 'released', 'wrote', 'believed'. Do not add 'once and for all' or 'began to' unless the context actually supports that meaning.

• ὁ ἀπόστολος ἐδίδασκεν. — The apostle was teaching (viewed as unfolding).
• ὁ ἀπόστολος ἐδίδαξεν. — The apostle taught (viewed as a whole event).

Build the first aorist active

The regular first aorist combines augment + stem + σ + the aorist endings. With λύω: ἔλυσα, ἔλυσας, ἔλυσε(ν), ἐλύσαμεν, ἐλύσατε, ἔλυσαν. The α is especially noticeable, but the third singular has ε instead: ἔλυσε, not a form ending in -σα.

The same consonant combinations familiar from the future appear here: γράφω gives ἔγραψα and διδάσκω gives ἐδίδαξα. Spot the augment at the front, then the σ, ψ, or ξ near the end of the stem.

The name 'first aorist' describes a formation pattern, not an earlier time. Its active and middle stem comes from the third principal part. Some verbs have changes beyond σ, so learn the actual third part alongside the present and future.

• ἐγράψαμεν τὸν λόγον. — We wrote the message.
• ἤκουσαν τὴν φωνήν. — They heard the voice (lengthened initial vowel supplies the augment).

Middle forms and infinitives

The first aorist middle has endings -σάμην, -σω, -σατο, -σάμεθα, -σασθε, -σαντο attached to the augmented stem. ἐλυσάμην can mean 'I released for myself'. The middle expresses the verb's particular middle meaning; it is not the passive 'I was released'.

Middle-form verbs may translate actively: ἐδεξάμην means 'I received'. Learn the lexical meaning first and then describe the form accurately as aorist middle indicative, first person singular.

Aorist infinitives have no augment: λῦσαι is active, 'to release', and λύσασθαι is middle. Their aorist aspect views the action as a whole; it does not by itself make the infinitive past. θέλω λῦσαι means 'I want to release', not 'I want to have released'.

• ἐδέξαντο τὸν λόγον. — They received the message.
• θέλω λῦσαι τὸν δοῦλον. — I want to release the slave.

Vocabulary (9)

βαπτίζω

I baptize

θάνατος, ὁ

death

βασιλεία, ἡ

kingdom, reign

στρατιώτης, ὁ

soldier

ἐπιστρέφω

I turn, return

ἀγοράζω

I buy, purchase

ἰάομαι

I heal, cure

ἐπισκέπτομαι

I visit, care for

Ἰωάννης, -ου, ὁ

John