-
Greek Lessons
- Seeking the Signs or the Bread? A Grammatical and Stylistic Journey through John 6:26
- Worry and Worth: A Greek Look at Matthew 6:25
- Indirect Discourse and the Weight of Silence: The Interrogative Mood in Mark 6:24–25
- Tense That Breathes Eternity: The Aorist Imperative and Eschatological Joy in Luke 6:23
- Sent with Purpose: Subjunctive Aims and Pastoral Comfort in Ephesians 6:22
-
Category
Category Archives: Grammar
Present Indicative: The Present Of Past Action Still In Progress
The Present Of Past Action Still In Progress
The Present Indicative, accompanied by an adverbial expression denoting duration and referring to past time, is sometimes used in Greek, as in German, to describe an action which, beginning in past time, is still in progress at the time of speaking. English idiom requires the use of the Perfect in such cases.
Acts 15:21; Μωϋσῆς γὰρ ἐκ γενεῶν ἀρχαίων κατὰ πόλιν τοὺς κηρύσσοντας αὐτὸν, for Moses from generations of old has had in every city them that preached him. See also Luke 13:7, ἔρχομαι, 15:29, δουλεύω, John 5:6, ἔχει; 2 Tim. 3:15, οἶδας.… Learn Koine Greek
Posted in Grammar
Tagged Aorist Indicative, Present Indicative, δουλεύω, ἔρχομαι, ἔχει, οἶδας, πάρλαι, πάρος, ποτὲ
Comments Off on Present Indicative: The Present Of Past Action Still In Progress
Present Indicative: The Present For The Future
The Present For The Future
In a similar way the Present Indicative may be used to describe vividly a future event.
Mark 9:31; Ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου παραδίδοται εἰς χεῖρας ἀνθρώπων, the Son of man is delivered into the hands of men. See also Matt. 26:18, ποιῶ; 27:63, ἐγείρομαι; Luke 3:9, ἐκκόπτεται.
REMARK. The term “Present for Future” is sometimes objected to, but, without good reason. The arguments of Buttmann, pp. 203f., and Winer, WT. pp. 265 ff.; WM. pp. 331 ff., are valid only against the theory of an arbitrary interchange of tenses. It is indeed not to be supposed that Greek writers confused the Present and the Future tenses, or used them indiscriminately.… Learn Koine Greek
Present Indicative: The Historical Present in Greek
The Historical Present
The Present Indicative is used to describe vividly a past event in the presence of which the speaker conceives himself to be.
Mark 11:27; Καὶ ἔρχονται πάλιν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα, and they come again to Jerusalem.
See also Luke 8:49, ἔρχεταί; John 18:28, Ἄγουσιν. This use is very frequent in the gospels.
The Greek Present Indicative tense, often referred to in biblical studies as the “historical present,” is a linguistic feature that enlivens narrative by describing past events as if they are occurring in the present. This stylistic choice creates immediacy, drawing the reader into the scene and making the events more vivid and dynamic.… Learn Koine Greek
Posted in Grammar
Tagged Historical Present, Present Indicative, Ἄγουσιν, ἔρχεταί
Comments Off on Present Indicative: The Historical Present in Greek
Present Indicative: The Aoristic Present
The Aoristic Present
The Present Indicative is sometimes used of an action or event coincident in time with the act of speaking, and conceived of as a simple event. Most frequently the action denoted by the verb is identical with the act of speaking itself, or takes place in that act.
Acts 16:18; Παραγγέλλω σοι ἐν ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ.
See also Mark 2:5, ἀφίενταί; Acts 9:34, ἰᾶταί; Acts 26:1, Ἐπιτρέπεταί; Gal. 1:11, Γνωρίζω and the numerous instances of le,gw in the gospels.
REMARK. This usage is a distinct departure from the prevailing use of the Present tense to denote action in progress (cf.… Learn Koine Greek
Posted in Grammar
Tagged Aoristic Present, Ernest De Witt Burton, Present Indicative, ἀφίενταί, Ἐπιτρέπεταί, ἰᾶταί
Comments Off on Present Indicative: The Aoristic Present
Present Indicative: The General Or Gnomic Present
The General Or Gnomic Present
The Present Indicative is used to express customary actions and general truths.
Matt. 7:17; οὕτως πᾶν δένδρον ἀγαθὸν καρποὺς καλοὺς ποιεῖ, τὸ δὲ σαπρὸν δένδρον καρποὺς πονηροὺς ποιεῖ, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit.
2 Cor. 9:7; ἕκαστος καθὼς προῄρηται τῇ καρδίᾳ, μὴ ἐκ λύπης ἢ ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἱλαρὸν γὰρ δότην ἀγαπᾷ ὁ θεός, for God loveth a cheerful giver.… Learn Koine Greek
Posted in Grammar
Tagged Ernest De Witt Burton, Gnomic Present, Present Indicative
Comments Off on Present Indicative: The General Or Gnomic Present
Present Indicative: The Conative Present
The Conative Present
The Present Indicative is occasionally used of action attempted, but not accomplished. This use is, however, not to be regarded as a distinct function of the tense. The Conative Present is merely a species of the Progressive Present. A verb which of itself suggests effort, when used in a tense which implies action in progress, and hence incomplete, naturally suggests the idea of attempt. All the verb-forms of the Present system are equally, with the Present, capable of expressing attempted action, since they all denote action in progress. John 10:32, λιθάζετε, and Gal. 5:4, δικαιοῦσθε, illustrate this usage in the Present.… Learn Koine Greek
Posted in Grammar
Tagged Ernest De Witt Burton, ἄγει, δικαιοῦσθε, λιθάζετε
Comments Off on Present Indicative: The Conative Present
Present Indicative: The Progressive Present
The Progressive Present
The Present Indicative is used of action in progress in present time.
Matt. 25:8; αἱ δὲ μωραὶ ταῖς φρονίμοις εἶπαν Δότε ἡμῖν ἐκ τοῦ ἐλαίου ὑμῶν, ὅτι αἱ λαμπάδες ἡμῶν σβέννυνται, our lamps are going out.
Gal. 1:6; Θαυμάζω ὅτι οὕτως ταχέως μετατίθεσθε ἀπὸ τοῦ καλέσαντος ὑμᾶς, I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that called you.
The most constant characteristic of the Present Indicative is that it denotes action in progress. It probably had originally no reference to present time. But since, in the historical periods of the language, action in progress in past time is expressed by the Imperfect, and the Future is used both as a progressive and as an aoristic tense for future time, it results that the Present Indicative is chiefly used to express action in progress in present time.… Learn Koine Greek
Posted in Grammar
Tagged Ernest De Witt Burton, θαυμαζω
Comments Off on Present Indicative: The Progressive Present
Tenses Of The Indicative Mood
(1) The significance of the tenses of the Indicative mood may be stated in general as follows: – As respects progress: The Present and Imperfect denote action in progress; the Perfect, Pluperfect, and Future Perfect denote completed action; the Aorist represents the action indefinitely as an event or single fact; the Future is used either of action in progress like the Present, or indefinitely like the Aorist.
As respects time:
The Present and Perfect denote present time; the Imperfect, Aorist, and Pluperfect denote past time; the Future and Future Perfect denote future time.
(2) The tenses of the Indicative in general denote time relative to that of speaking.… Learn Koine Greek
The Greek Tenses
The action denoted by a verb may be defined by the tense of the verb:
(a) As respects its progress. Thus it may be represented as in progress, or as completed, or indefinitely, i.e., as a simple event without reference to progress or completion. This corresponds to what is known as aspect in Greek grammar: the viewpoint or manner in which an action is portrayed.
(b) As respects its time, as past, present, or future. This is known as temporal reference, and it is most strictly observed only in the Indicative mood.
The tenses of the Indicative mood in general define the action of the verb in both these respects: aspect and time.… Learn Koine Greek
Posted in Grammar
Leave a comment
Greek Has 7 Tenses
There are seven tenses in Greek:-
Present, Imperfect, Aorist, Future, Perfect, Pluperfect, Future Perfect.These tenses express both aspect (the kind of action) and time (when the action takes place), though aspect is often more primary than time in many moods outside the indicative.
Those tenses which denote present or future time are called Primary Tenses. Those tenses which denote past time are called Secondary Tenses.
Since the time denoted by a tense varies with the particular use of the tense and the mood in which it occurs, no fixed or absolute line of division can be drawn between the two classes of tenses.… Learn Koine Greek
Posted in Grammar
Leave a comment
