Imperfect Active Indicative

Formation

The imperfect is a past tense, and Greek marks its past tenses with a prefix called the augment, placed in front of the stem. If the verb begins with a consonant, the augment is simply the syllable ἐ-: λύω becomes ἔλυον. This is called the syllabic augment.

If the verb begins with a vowel, that vowel lengthens instead: α becomes η, ε becomes η, ο becomes ω. So ἀκούω ('I hear') becomes ἤκουον ('I was hearing'). This is called the temporal augment, and it is why some past-tense verbs look quite different from their present forms — check for a lengthened first vowel.

In compound verbs (a preposition joined to a verb), the augment normally goes between the two parts: ἐκβάλλω ('I throw out') becomes ἐξέβαλλον. Here ἐκ changes to ἐξ before the vowel of the augment. This is a consonant change, separate from dropping a vowel. In other compounds a final vowel may drop, as in ἀπολύω → ἀπέλυον, 'I was releasing'.

After the augment come the secondary endings, the past-tense set: -ον, -ες, -ε(ν), -ομεν, -ετε, -ον. Notice that 1st person singular (ἔλυον, 'I was loosing') and 3rd person plural (ἔλυον, 'they were loosing') look identical — context tells them apart.

• ἔλυον — I was loosing / they were loosing (same form)
• ἤκουον — I was hearing (α lengthened to η)
• ἐξέβαλλον — I was casting out (augment inside the compound)

Meaning

Greek past tenses differ not in when the action happened but in how the writer views it. The imperfect portrays past action as ongoing, repeated, or just beginning — a video rather than a snapshot.

Translate it with 'was ...-ing' or 'used to ...': ἐδίδασκεν is 'he was teaching' (in progress) or 'he used to teach' (habitually). When a narrative says ἔλεγον, it often means 'they were saying' — a stream of comments, not a single statement.

The imperfect of εἰμί is irregular and very frequent: ἤμην, ἦς, ἦν, ἦμεν, ἦτε, ἦσαν. The 3rd singular ἦν ('he/she/it was') is one of the most common words in the New Testament — learn to spot it instantly.

• ἐδίδασκεν τὸν μαθητήν — he was teaching the disciple (ongoing action)
• ἦν ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ — he was in the house (imperfect of εἰμί)

Vocabulary (14)

μένω

I remain, stay

βάλλω

I throw, cast

ἀλήθεια, ἡ

truth

ἀναβαίνω

I go up

καταβαίνω

I go down

ἐκβάλλω

I throw out, drive out

ἀποκτείνω

I kill

κηρύσσω

I proclaim, preach

θαυμάζω

I wonder, marvel

δοξάζω

I glorify, honor, praise

ἑτοιμάζω

I prepare, make ready

τότε

then

νῦν

now

οὐδέ

and not, nor, not even