Greek Participles

Wallace states that grasping participles is difficult, but is required to master Greek. He points out that context is perhaps more important with participles than for any other grammar.

The participle is a verb being a verbal adjective, and is often translated "-ing".

They must agree with the word they modify in number, gender and case. Participles convey only aspect. (Only a indicative verb carries time).

Aspect:

Aspect is the type of action, but the time the action occurs may not be indicated.

Aspect and Tense Stems of Participles

Aspect Tense stem
Present continuous present
Aorist undefined aorist
Perfect undefined perfect

Types:

  1. Adjectival participles - action is directed mainly towards the verb
    • That jogging man, is very fit. (verb: is; participle: jogging, it functions as an adjective describing "man")
  2. Adverbial (circumstantial) participles - the action modifes a noun or pronoun
    • John, after jogging, will go to work (verb: to; adverbial prhase: after jogging; particple: jogging"
  3. Genitive absolute - See Daniel Wallace for definition.
    • Genitive absolutes typically involve a noun or pronoun in the genitive case (possessive form) followed by a participle, forming a construction that expresses a circumstantial relationship or a temporal clause that is somewhat independent from the main clause.
    • Ἐλθόντος αὐτοῦ - "When he came". The gentivie particple is Ἐλθόντος - "having come" (genitive singular masculine participle of ἔρχομαι, meaning "to come")

Tense:

  1. Present
  2. Aorist
  3. Perfect

Voice:

  1. Active
  2. Middle
  3. Passive
  4. Deponent

Morphemes

A morphene is the smallest unit of language that has meaning. The following are the four morphene used to build a participle.

Morphenes for forming participles

  masculine feminine neuter
active ντ ουσα ντ
mid/pass μενη

Present Adverbal participle

Present Participle - Active

  masculine feminine neuter
nom sg ων ουσα ον
gen sg οντος ουσης οντος

Present tense stem + Connecting vowel + Active participle morpheme + Case endings

Middle/passive

Present Participle - Middle & Passive

  masculine feminine neuter
nom sg ομενος ομενη ομενον
gen sg ομενου ομενης ομενου

Present tense stem + Connecting vowel + Middle/passive morpheme + Case endings

The connecting vowel follows the same rules as for the present active indicative: omicrom (ο) for personal enndings begining mu (μ) or nu (ν), else epislon (ε), and if no ending, then either epislon or omicon.

Aorist

First Aorist Participle - Active

  masculine feminine neuter
nom sg σας σασα σαν
gen sg σαντος σασης σαντος

Unaugmented first aorist stem + Tense formative + Participle morpheme + Case endings

First Aorist Participle - Middle

  masculine feminine neuter
nom sg σαμενος σαμενη σαμενον
gen sg σαμενου σαμενης σαμενου

Unaugmented first aorist stem + Tense formative + Participle morpheme + Case endings

First Aorist Particple - Passive

  masculine feminine neuter
nom sg θεις θεισα θεν
gen sg θεντος θεισης θεντος

Unaugmented first aorist stem + Tense formative + Participle morpheme + Case endings

Second Ariost Participle - Active

  masculine feminine neuter
nom sg ων ουσα ον
gen sg οντος ουσης οντος

Unaugmented second aorist stem + Connecting vowel + Participle morpheme + Case endings

Second Aorist Particple - Middle & Passive

  masculine feminine neuter
nom sg ομενος ομενη ομενον
gen sg ομενου ομενης ομενου

Unaugmented second aorist stem + Connecting vowel + Participle morpheme + Case endings

Second Aorist Participle - Passive

  masculine feminine neuter
nom sg εις εισα εν
gen sg εντος εισης θεντος

Unaugmented second aorist stem + Connecting vowel + Participle morpheme + Case endings

Perfect

Perfect Participle - Active

  masculine feminine neuter
nom sg κως κυια κος
gen sg κοτος κυιας κοτος

Reduplication + Perfect tense stem + Tense formative (κ) + Participle morpheme + Case endings

Perfect Participle - Middle & Passive

  masculine feminine neuter
nom sg μένος μένη μένον
gen sg μένου μένης μένου

Reduplication + Perfect tense stem + Participle morpheme + Case endings

Identifying and translating the participle

Two types of Participle

  1. Adverbial participles describe an action that is related to the verb
  2. Adjectival participles modify a noun or pronoun, and functions like a noun

Seven Questions

  1. What is case, number and gender of the participle and what word is it modifying?
  2. Is the action directed toward a verb (adverbial) or noun (adjectival)?
  3. If adverbial: use "—ing", key words, while, after, because. Must be anarthrous
  4. If adjectival: is it attributive modifying: "-ing" with key words "who" or "which" or it is substantive functioning: the one who
  5. Aspect: continuous, undefined or completed
  6. Voice: active, middle or passive
  7. Meaning: Sipplest form are the "-ing" with key words while or because.

 

Infinitive morpheme chart

Tense/Voice
Stem t/c Morpheme Principle forms
Present Active
pres ο ντ / ουσα
ων, ουσα, ον
οντος, ουσης, οντος
Present Middle
pres ο μενο / η
ομενος, ομενη, ομενον
ομενου, ομενης, ομενου
1 aorist act
aorist act σα ντ/σα
σας, σασα, σαν
σαντος, σασης, σαντος
1 aorist mid
aorist act σα μενο / η
σαμενος...
1 aorist pass
aorist pas θε ντ
θεις, θεισα, θεν
θεντος, θεισης, θεντος
2 aorist act
aorist act ο ντ / ουσα
ων...
2 aorist mid
aorist act ο μενο / η
ομενος...
2 aorist pass
aorist pas ε ντ
εις, εισα, εν
εντος, εισης, εντος
Perfect act
perf act κ οτ
κως, κυια, κος
κοτος, κυιας, κοτος
Perf mid/pas
perf mid/pas   μενο / η
μένος, μένη ...

 

Genitive Absolute (translation is idiomatic)

By definition, an 'absolute' has no direct grammatical relationship to the rest of the sentence. e.g. "Lord willing, we will arrive at noon."

The genative absolute consists of a noun or pronoun, and participle in the genitive.

The participle may have additional modifiers.

Genitive absolutes tend to occur at the beginning of sentences.

Note that αὐτοῦ often functions as subject in genitive absolute:

e.g. Present: αὐτοῦ ἐρχομένου – "(he) while coming"
e.g. Aorist: αὐτοῦ ἐλθόντος – "(h e) after coming"
e.g. Perfect: αὐτοῦ λελυκότος – "(he) having loosed"

Example

Καὶ εὐθέως, ἔτι αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος, παραγίνεται ᾿Ιούδας (Mark 14:43)
"And immediately, while he was yet speaking, Judas comes up."

 

Periphrastic Constructions

In English the helping verb "will" is used, but in Greek such helping words are not used.

A periphrastic construction (of one type) is when εἰμί and a participle is used together to convey a single idea

Tends to emphasize continuous aspect commonly, and often in the 3rd person plural, perfect middle/passive e.g.: "ἐστε σεσῳσμένοι" formed with ειμί + participle

Present
present εἰμί
+ present participle
Imperfect
imperfect ἤμην
+ present participle
Future
future ἔσομαι
+ present participle
Perfect
present εἰμί
+ perfect participle
Pluperfect
imperfect ἤμην
+ perfect participle
Future perfect
future ἔσομαι
+ perfect participle

 

Participle of εἰμί (being)

Case
Mas
Fem
Neut
Nom
ὤν
οὖσα
ὄν
Gen
ὄντος
οὔσης
ὄντος
Dat
ὄντι
οὔσῃ
ὄντι
Acc
ὄντα
οὖσαν
ὄν
 
Nom
ὄντες
οὖσαι
ὄντα
Gen
ὄντων
οὐσῶν
ὄντων
Dat
οὖσι (ν)
οὔσαις
οὖσι (ν)
Acc
ὄντας
οὔσας
ὄντα

Note

Future particples are not provided here, being very rare in the NT.

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