Second Aorist Active and Middle

Same meaning, another way to build it

The second aorist has the same whole-event viewpoint as the first aorist. 'First' and 'second' label two ways of forming the tense, not two meanings. Most verbs use one pattern or the other; you usually cannot choose freely between them.

Instead of adding σ, a second aorist typically changes the stem. λαμβάνω, 'I receive', has the aorist ἔλαβον, 'I received'. Present λαμβαν- and aorist λαβ- belong to the same verb. That relationship is why the third principal part is worth learning.

Do not treat every short or unfamiliar stem as a new vocabulary word. Look for an augment, check the ending, and compare the remaining stem with principal parts you know.

• λαμβάνω → ἔλαβον — I receive → I received
• βάλλω → ἔβαλον — I throw → I threw
• λείπω → ἔλιπον — I leave → I left

Endings borrowed from the imperfect

The second aorist active uses the same endings as the imperfect active: -ον, -ες, -ε(ν), -ομεν, -ετε, -ον. For λαμβάνω: ἔλαβον, ἔλαβες, ἔλαβε(ν), ἐλάβομεν, ἐλάβετε, ἔλαβον. Context distinguishes first singular from third plural where the forms match.

The decisive difference from the imperfect is the stem. ἐλάμβανον uses the present stem and means 'I was receiving' or 'they were receiving'; ἔλαβον uses the aorist stem and means 'I received' or 'they received'. The augment alone cannot tell them apart.

The middle similarly uses familiar secondary endings with a different stem. γίνομαι has ἐγενόμην, 'I became' or 'I happened'. Compare imperfect ἐγινόμην, which presents the situation as unfolding. Identify the stem before naming the tense.

• οἱ μαθηταὶ ἔλαβον τὸν ἄρτον. — The disciples received the bread.
• ἐγένετο φωνή. — A voice arose / there was a voice.

Common forms worth recognizing immediately

Some frequent second aorists look very different from their presents: λέγω has εἶπον, 'I said'; ἔρχομαι has ἦλθον, 'I came'; ὁράω has εἶδον, 'I saw'. Learn these as pairs. Their unexpected stems are common in narrative, so recognizing them makes reading much easier.

The active infinitive ends in -εῖν, with its characteristic final accent: λαβεῖν, 'to receive', and εἰπεῖν, 'to say'. The middle infinitive has -έσθαι: γενέσθαι, 'to become'. Neither takes an augment.

Compare present λαμβάνειν with aorist λαβεῖν. Both may translate 'to receive', but the present views the receiving as ongoing or general and the aorist views it as a whole. English may leave this difference unexpressed.

• ἦλθεν ὁ κύριος. — The Lord came.
• θέλω λαβεῖν τὸν ἄρτον. — I want to receive the bread.

Vocabulary (9)

εὑρίσκω

I find

ἐσθίω

I eat

πίνω

I drink

πλοῖον, τό

boat, ship

ἀποθνῄσκω

I die

ὁράω

I see (aorist εἶδον)

λείπω

I leave (aorist ἔλιπον)

φεύγω

I flee (aorist ἔφυγον)

εἶπον

I said (aorist of λέγω)