Perfect Active and Middle/Passive

An action with a present result

The perfect often presents a state resulting from an earlier event. An aorist says 'I released'; a perfect says 'I have released', with attention to the resulting situation. English 'have' is a useful starting point, but it is not a mechanical translation rule.

Some perfects naturally translate as English presents. οἶδα means 'I know', not normally 'I have known'; γέγραπται means 'it is written', with the written statement treated as standing in force. Let the verb's meaning and the context determine the English wording.

Do not read permanent or irreversible results into every perfect. The form gives a viewpoint on a state; it does not by itself claim that the state can never change.

• γέγραπται ὁ λόγος. — The message is written / stands written.
• οἶδα τὸν μαθητήν. — I know the disciple (perfect form with present meaning).

Reduplication and the perfect active

Many perfects repeat the first consonant and add ε at the beginning. λύω becomes λέλυκα: λε- is the reduplication, λυ- carries the meaning, and -κα marks the regular perfect active. Its six forms are λέλυκα, λέλυκας, λέλυκε(ν), λελύκαμεν, λελύκατε, λελύκασι(ν).

Reduplication differs from a past augment. ἔλυσα has an augment and reports a past event; λέλυκα has reduplication and presents a resulting state. With verbs beginning in a vowel, however, the initial vowel lengthens, so the spelling can resemble an augment.

Aspirated consonants repeat as their unaspirated partners: θ gives τεθ-, φ gives πεφ-, χ gives κεχ-. Some consonant clusters take ἐ- instead of the simple repeated consonant. Not every perfect active has κ: learn the fourth principal part rather than constructing every form by guesswork.

• λύω → λέλυκα — I release → I have released
• πιστεύω → πεπίστευκα — I believe → I have believed
• γράφω → γέγραφα — I write → I have written (no κ)

Perfect middle/passive: endings straight onto the stem

The fifth principal part supplies the perfect middle/passive stem. For λύω it is λέλυμαι. The endings attach directly, without the ο/ε connecting vowel: -μαι, -σαι, -ται, -μεθα, -σθε, -νται. Thus λέλυται means 'he/she/it has been released' in a passive context.

Middle and passive share these forms, just as in the present system. Context chooses the meaning. A consonant at the end of the stem can combine with the ending: γράφω has γέγραμμαι, and third singular γέγραπται. Recognize these from their principal parts rather than expecting the λύω spelling everywhere.

The perfect active infinitive is λελυκέναι; the perfect middle/passive infinitive is λελύσθαι. Both keep reduplication. Unlike an augment, reduplication belongs to the perfect system even in forms that are not indicative.

• λέλυται ὁ δοῦλος. — The slave has been released (and is now free).
• γεγράφασι τὸν λόγον. — They have written the message.

Recognizing the pluperfect

The pluperfect places the resulting state in the past. English often uses 'had': 'he had released' or 'it had been written'. It is much less common than the perfect in biblical Greek, so recognition is the first goal.

Look for a perfect stem with past-tense marking and endings. For example, ἐλελύκει means 'he had released'. Forms can vary, including whether an augment is written; do not identify a pluperfect from one letter alone.

A frequent form worth learning is ᾔδει, from οἶδα: 'he/she knew'. Just as οἶδα normally means 'I know', its pluperfect commonly expresses a past state of knowing rather than the awkward English 'had known'.

• ᾔδει τὸν λόγον. — He/she knew the message.

Vocabulary (7)

ὀφθαλμός, ὁ

eye

δικαιοσύνη, ἡ

righteousness, justice

οἶδα

I know (perfect form, present meaning)

γέγραπται

it is written (perfect passive of γράφω)

πείθω

I persuade; (perfect πέποιθα) I trust

θεραπεύω

I heal, treat; I serve

Πέτρος, -ου, ὁ

Peter