τίθημι and Related Verbs; 'One' and 'No One'

τίθημι: I put or place

τίθημι is another common -μι verb. Its present active is τίθημι, τίθης, τίθησιν, τίθεμεν, τίθετε, τιθέασιν. Compare δίδωμι: present reduplication with ι, a long vowel in the singular, and a short vowel in the plural. Here the vowels are η and ε rather than ω and ο.

Its principal parts are τίθημι, θήσω, ἔθηκα, τέθεικα, τέθειμαι, ἐτέθην. The aorist singular is ἔθηκα, ἔθηκας, ἔθηκεν. Biblical Greek also uses κ in plural forms: ἐθήκαμεν, ἐθήκατε, ἔθηκαν. Older short-stem plurals are ἔθεμεν, ἔθετε, ἔθεσαν. Again a κ-aorist is not a perfect just because κ appears.

Useful forms include present infinitive τιθέναι, aorist infinitive θεῖναι, participle θείς, θεῖσα, θέν, and command θές. Compounds retain the underlying pattern: προστίθημι means 'I add', literally 'put toward'. Learn the compound's meaning rather than translating its parts mechanically.

• τίθησι τὸ βιβλίον ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ. — He places the book in the house.
• ἔθηκεν τὸν λίθον ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν. — He put the stone on the ground.

ἀφίημι: leave, allow, or forgive

ἀφίημι is a common relative of the -μι verbs. Depending on its object and context, it means 'I leave', 'I let go', 'I allow', or 'I forgive'. Recognize present ἀφίησι(ν), 'he/she leaves or forgives', and infinitive ἀφιέναι, 'to leave/forgive'. The present has several shapes in New Testament Greek, including second singular ἀφεῖς and third plural ἀφίουσι(ν); learn the encountered forms rather than forcing every ending into one regular pattern.

The aorist ἀφῆκα means 'I left/forgave'. Compare ἀφῆκες, 'you left/forgave', and ἀφῆκε(ν), 'he/she left/forgave'. Like ἔθηκα and ἔδωκα, these have κ in the aorist. The aorist infinitive is ἀφεῖναι and the participle ἀφείς, ἀφεῖσα, ἀφέν. The command ἄφες means 'leave / allow / forgive', and plural ἄφετε addresses several people.

When ἀφίημι means 'forgive', the thing forgiven can be accusative and the person receiving forgiveness dative: ἀφίησι τὰς ἁμαρτίας τῷ μαθητῇ, 'he forgives the disciple's sins'. This is another reason to learn a verb's case pattern along with its meaning. When it means 'allow', an infinitive can name the permitted action: ἄφες με λέγειν, 'allow me to speak', with με as the infinitive's subject.

• ἀφίησι τὰς ἁμαρτίας τῷ μαθητῇ. — He forgives the disciple's sins (sins accusative; disciple dative).
• ἀφῆκεν τὸν οἶκον. — He/she left the house.
• ἄφες με λέγειν. — Allow me to speak.

Mixed present patterns

Some verbs occur in both -μι and -ω present patterns. δείκνυμι and δεικνύω mean 'I show'. ἀπόλλυμι and ἀπολλύω mean 'I destroy / lose'; their middle forms often mean 'I perish'. An alternate dictionary ending need not indicate a different word.

These verbs commonly show -νυ- in the present, as in δείκνυμι, but other tense stems need not retain it: δείξω, 'I will show', and ἔδειξα, 'I showed'. ἀπόλλυμι has future ἀπολῶ and aorist ἀπώλεσα; its middle aorist ἀπωλόμην means 'I perished'.

Separate morphology from lexical meaning. ἀπολλύει τὸ βιβλίον means 'he loses/destroys the book', whereas ἀπόλλυται can mean 'he perishes'. Use the subject, object, and context to select the appropriate sense.

• δείκνυσι τὸν οἶκον τῷ μαθητῇ. — He shows the house to the disciple.
• ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἀπώλεσε τὸ βιβλίον. — The person lost the book.

One and none

εἷς, μία, ἕν means 'one'. Masculine genitive is ἑνός, dative ἑνί, and accusative ἕνα. The neuter ἕν is both nominative and accusative. Feminine μία, μιᾶς, μιᾷ, μίαν follows first-declension endings. There is no ordinary plural of this cardinal number.

οὐδείς, οὐδεμία, οὐδέν means 'no one / nothing / not one'; μηδείς, μηδεμία, μηδέν supplies the corresponding μή-based negative. Their final element declines like 'one': οὐδενός, οὐδενί, οὐδένα. Choosing the οὐ- or μη- family depends on the construction, much like οὐ and μή.

Do not confuse neuter ἕν with preposition ἐν, 'in'. Breathing and accent differ. οὐδείς can stand alone as 'no one' or modify a noun: οὐδεὶς μαθητής, 'no disciple'. A Greek negative pronoun and another negative may reinforce a single negation rather than canceling it as in formal English.

• εἷς μαθητὴς καὶ μία ἐκκλησία — one disciple and one assembly
• οὐδεὶς ἀκούει. — No one listens.

Vocabulary (7)

τίθημι

I set, put, place

προστίθημι

I add

ἀπόλλυμι

I destroy, lose; middle: I perish

δείκνυμι

I show; alternate present δεικνύω

εἷς, μία, ἕν

one

οὐδείς, οὐδεμία, οὐδέν

no one, nothing

μηδείς, μηδεμία, μηδέν

no one, nothing (μή-based constructions)