Verb forms (Grammar 2)

εὕρηκα

(Archimedes in Plutarch's Moralia 1094c)

("I've found it!")

εὕρηκα: perfect active, 1 pers. sg, from εὑρίσκω . The ending -κα is the characteristic ending of the perfect tense.

The perfect tense (or more properly, the perfect aspect), expresses an action that has been COMPLETED, often with a sense of just now completed.

For an overview of the endings of the perfect tense, see ch. 41 The Perfect System: Part I, at Ancient Greek for Everyone.


Introduction to Ancient Greek verb endings

All Greek finite verb tenses (in the indicative, subjunctive, and optative moods) use only one of two set of endings: PRIMARY endings and SECONDARY ones. In general, PRIMARY TENSES refer to action in the PRESENT or FUTURE; SECONDARY TENSES refer to action in the PAST. (cf. Ancient Greek for Everyone, ch. 28 The Imperfect Tense).
Therefore the present, future, perfect, and future perfect use the same primary endings, while the imperfect, aorist, and pluperfect all use the secondary endings. A summary table of the primary and secondary endings can be found here.

The imperative mood has its own endings (explained later).

Italian Trulli ὣς ἔφατ᾽

(Hom. Il. 1.43)

("So he said")

ἔφατ᾽: contracted form of ἔφατο , imperfect middle 3rd sg of the verb φημί ("I say, I speak"). The prefix ἔ- (called "augment") indicates that the verb is in the past, the suffix -το is the ending used for 3rd person sg in the historical tenses/aspects and middle voice.

There is a debate whether the augment was originally a separate particle, of if it started since the beginning as a past tense marker prefixed to the verb (Willi 2018, Origins of the Greek verb, ch.7, CUP).

Italian Trulli ὣς ὁ μὲν ἔνθα καθεῦδε

(Hom. Od. 6.1)

("So there he slept")

καθεῦδε: "he slep" , 3rd sg imperf ind act, from καθεύδω . The imperfect is formed with the secondary endings. The ending -ε is just the thematic vowel, since there is no secondary ending for the 3rd pers sg active. The stem for the imperfect is the same as the present tense stem (Ancient Greek for Everyone, ch. 28 The Imperfect Tense).

ἔνθα : "there" (adv indeclform).

ἀντέγραψαν ‘αἴκα.’

(Plutarch, De garrulitate, 17)

("they wrote back, ‘If.’")

ἀντέγραψαν: "they wrote back", verb 3rd pl AORIST ind act elide_preverb, from ἀντιγράφω. The ending -σαν is the secondary ending for the 3rd pers pl.

αἴκα: "if", doric version of ἐάν . Doric was the dialect of Laconia, were Sparta was.

μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ

(Hom. Il. 1.1)

("sing the wrath, my Goddess")

μῆνιν : "the wrath", noun sg fem acc (from μῆνις).

ἄειδε : "sing", verb 2nd sg act pres IMPERAT epic ionic, from ἀείδω.

θεὰ : "o goddess", noun sg fem voc attic doric aeolic , fem. of θεός .

-ε is the most common ending for 2nd person singular active imperatives. -ε is the thematic vowel, since there is no added ending for thematic verbs.
Other endings for the 2nd sg act of the imperative are -θι (used for athematic verbs, as in ἴθι, "go"), -ς (used in some imperative aorists), -ον (used in the imperative sigmatic aorist).


For a chart of common imperatives see here, for a more detailed explanation of the endings of the imperative, see ch. 41 Imperative at Ancient Greek for Everyone.

ἂν ἐμβάλω εἰς τὴν Λακωνικήν, ἀναστάτους ὑμᾶς ποιήσω

(Plutarch, De garrulitate, 17)

("If I invade Laconia, I shall drive you out")

ἂν : "if", also found as ἤν , which are contracted forms of ἐάν (which in turn derives from εἰ + ἄν). When followed by the future indicative indicated a limitation or condition.

ἐμβάλω: "I will invade", verb 1st sg FUT IND ACT attic epic doric contr, from ἐμβάλλω. For the verbs with present stem ending in -λλ-, the verb stem (used for the future, aorist, and perfect) ends in-λ-. This verb has a contracted future, without the caractheristic -σ- marker, because the stem ends in -λ and Greek tended to avoid pronouncing –σ– directly after a liquid (-λ, –ρ) or a nasal (-μ, –ν).
For more, see Ancient Greek for Everyone, ch. 18 Contract Futures - Liquid and Nasal Verb Stems.

εἰς τὴν Λακωνικήν: "into Laconia".

ποιήσω "I will make", verb 1st sg FUT IND act contr, from ποιέω. Here we find the –σ– characteristic marker of the future tense. The ε at the end of the verb stem (ποιε–) gets lengthened to η in front of –σ; this happens to verbs in –έω, –άω, and –όω. For more, see Ancient Greek for Everyone, ch. 17 Contract Verbs: Part I

ὑμᾶς "you", pron 2nd pl ACC indeclform, NOM: σύ ;

ἀναστάτους: "removed, made to depart, driven out from one's home", adj pl masc ACC (NOM: ἀνάστατος);

ἢν ἐθέλῃσιν

(Hom. Il. 9.429)

("if he wishes")

ἢν : "if" + SUBJUNCTIVE (whereas εἰ is followed by ind. or opt.). Epic form also εἴ κε, or αἴ κε.

ἐθέλῃσιν : "he wishes" (verb 3rd sg pres subj act epic nu_movable), from ἐθέλω ("to will, wish, purpose"). The thematic vowel -ῃ is lengthened (from ε), and this denotes the subjunctive mode. The ending -σιν is the primary ending for the 3rd pers. pl. The stem is the same as that of the present indicative.


A note on the optative: according to Farrar (cf. A Brief Greek Syntax), "the optative is no mood at all, but merely a name for past tenses of the subjunctive."

ὡς Ὀδυσεὺς ἔγροιτο, ἴδοι τ᾽ ἐυώπιδα κούρην

(Hom. Od. 6.113)

("that Odysseus might awake and see the fair-faced girl")

ἔγροιτο: "he might awake", verb 3rd sg aor opt mid epic, from ἐγείρω ("to awaken, wake up, rouse").

ἴδοι: "he might see", verb 3rd sg aor opt act, from εἶδον ("to see").

ἐυώπιδα: "fair-eyed", noun sg fem acc,from εὐῶπις -ιδος, from εὖ + ὤψ.


To mark the optative mood, an –ι– is inserted between the thematic vowel and the personal ending. For more details on the optative, see ch. 47 The Optative Mood, at Ancient Greek for Everyone.

γράψαντος αὐτοῖς τοῦ Φιλίππου

(Plutarch, De garrulitate, 17)

("when Philip wrote to them")

γράψαντος .. τοῦ Φιλίππου : "when Philip wrote", PART sg AOR ACT masc GEN, genitive absolute; from γράφω (part. aor act NOM sg masc: γράψᾱς ). Philip is Philip II of Macedon.

αὐτοῖς : "to them", pl masc DAT (NOM pl: αὐτοί, NOM sg: αὐτός ).


For an introduction to Greek participles, see ch. 37 Participles: Part I, at Ancient Greek for Everyone.

Italian TrulliΚάλχας Θεστορίδης οἰωνοπόλων ὄχ᾽ ἄριστος,
ὃς ᾔδη τά τ᾽ ἐόντα τά τ᾽ ἐσσόμενα πρό τ᾽ ἐόντα

(Hom. Il. 1.69-70)

("Calchas son of Thestor, far the best of bird-diviners,
who knew the things that were, and that were to be, and that had been before")

ᾔδη : "knew", verb 3rd sg PLUP IND act doric aeolic contr, from οἶδα ("to know").

ἐόντα : "that were", PART pl PRES ACT neut acc epic doric ionic, from εἰμί ("to be").

ἐσσόμενα : "that will be", PART pl FUT MID neut acc epic, from εἰμί ("to be").

τ᾽ .. τ᾽ ..: (contraction of τε.. τε..) "both .. and .."


For an introduction to the Greek Pluperfect, and in particular to the verb οἶδα and its pluperfect, see ch. 44 The Perfect System: Part III, at Ancient Greek for Everyone.