General information. In Greek, the medio-passive (passive) voice is very common.

In Greek, the medio-passive (passive) voice is very common. Middle voice(medium) and the passive voice (passivum) coincide in form most of the time. The medial voice denotes a return action (λούομαι - I wash), mutual (μάχομαι - I fight), an action in favor of the subject (πορίζομαι - I deliver for myself). Medial forms are translated into Russian by the active or reflexive voice. Often the same Greek verb used in different voices has to be translated by different Russian verbs, for example πείϑω - I convince, πείϑομαι - I obey. To form the present tense of the passive voice indicative mood the present stem and primary medio-passive endings are used with the appropriate connecting vowels. The connecting vowels, as in the active voice, are ο before μ and ν, ε before σ and τ. The personal endings of the medio-passive voice are as follows:

- in main tenses:

Imperfectum medii-passivi

1. Medio-passive voice of verbs.

2. Syntactic constructions in a Greek sentence.

3. Texts.

1. Medio-passive voice of verbs General information

In Greek, the medio-passive (passive) voice is very common. The middle voice (medium) and the passive voice (passivum) coincide in form most of the time. The medial voice denotes a return action (λούομαι - I wash), mutual (μάχομαι - I fight), an action in favor of the subject (πορίζομαι - I deliver for myself). Medial forms are translated into Russian by the active or reflexive voice. Often the same Greek verb used in different voices has to be translated by different Russian verbs, for example πείϑω - I convince, πείϑομαι - I obey. To form the present tense of the passive voice of the indicative mood, the stem of the present tense and the primary medio-passive endings with the corresponding connecting vowels are used. The connecting vowels, as in the active voice, are ο before μ and ν, ε before σ and τ. The personal endings of the medio-passive voice are as follows:

- in main tenses:

- in historical times:

In the second person singularσ between connecting vowels and vowel endings usually drops out, causing their merging: ε-σαι = ῃ, ε-σο = ου.

Conjugation in the medio-passive voice of the verb λύω:

Praesensmedii- passivi

Imperfectummedii-passivi

Infinitivus praesentis passive

The passive present infinitive is formed by adding the ending -σθαι with the help of the connecting vowel -ε- to the stem of the present: παιδεύ-ε-σθαι – be educated λύ-ε-σϑαι - to be released, to be released

Participum (participle) praesentis medii-passivi

λυ-ό-μενος, -μένη, -μενον - liberated, liberated.

Imperative praesentis medii- passivi

The forms of the imperative mood of the medio-passive voice are formed from the basis of the present tense with the help of special endings:

2. Syntactic constructions

in a Greek sentence

Passive turnover

In the passive phrase, the name of an actor or object is used in the genitive case with the preposition ὑπό, which is not translated in this case (cf. ab in Latin, von in German, by in English, par, de in French). For example: Οἱ ἵπποι ὑπὸ Σϰυϑῶν ἐϑύοντο - horses were sacrificed by the Scythians (i.e. the Scythians sacrificed horses). The same construction is used for verbs with the form of the active voice, but close in meaning to the passive voice: ἀποϑνῄσϰω ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων - I kill (lit. I die) enemies, I die from (hands) enemies.

Remember that everything you learn must be spoken aloud, listening to the voice acting of both the lesson itself and the answers to the exercises. Do not be afraid if you are not yet strong in reading rules - just repeat after the announcer and return to the file according to reading rules.
The pronunciation will pick up by itself in the process of working with the Greek language.

  Listen to the audio lesson with additional explanations

In Greek, as in all other European languages, you can't just say:

I'm beautiful, he's weird, they're at home, you're at work.

Get used to what any foreigner will say:

I There is beautiful, she There is weird, they There is at home, you There is At work.

The so-called verb "be" is one of the most important verbs in any foreign language.

The English- to be. The Germans have sein.

The French- être. The Italians- essere.

The Greeks also have a verb "be".

Verb conjugation είμαι (to be)

Present tense verb είμαι (to be) is the only verb that does not change according to the rules. Therefore, it must be remembered.

Together with the verb είμαι (to be) we will consider pronouns, which also have their own characteristics.

For example:

Αυτός είναι διευθυντής και αυτή είναι γραμματέας. Αυτός είναι πολύ πλούσιος και αυτή είναι πολύ όμορφη.
He (is) the director, and she (is) the secretary. He (is) very rich, and she (is) very beautiful.

What you need to pay attention to in pronouns.

The main thing is that the Greeks quite often do not use pronouns, because they believe that this is already evident from the verb. It concerns any phrases and sentences. But you still need to know the pronouns.

pronoun feature "They". There are 3 pronouns in Greek "They": αυτοί, αυτές, αυτά.

Αυτοί - This "They" male. If there are men in the company, as well as men and women, even if it is a whole harem, but there is one man, then this pronoun is used. That is: man + man, man + woman, man + child (boy, girl) use the pronoun αυτοί .

Αυτές - This "They" female. If there are women in the company, or women and children who are neuter in Greek. So: woman + woman, woman + child (girl) – αυτές . But if woman + child (boy), then the pronoun αυτοί .

Αυτά - This "They" neuter. For example, children, boys and girls- they are all middle class. Children, boy + girl, as well as inanimate objects (pieces of furniture, for example) - αυτά .

Negative form of the verb είμαι

Just put a particle in front of the verb δεν .

Αυτός δεν είναι διευθυντής και αυτή δεν είναι γραμματέας. Αυτός δεν είναι πολύ πλούσιος και αυτή δεν είναι πολύ όμορφη.
He is not (is) a director, and she is not (is) a secretary. He is not (is) very rich, and she is not (is) very beautiful.

Interrogative form of the verb είμαι

Complete analogy with the Russian language. What we want to ask, then we highlight with intonation. Note the unusual question mark in Greek " ; ».

Αυτή είναι γραμματέας; - She's a secretary?
Αυτός είναι πολύ πλούσιος; – Is he very rich?

Set expressions

On the basis of the verb to be είμαι in Greek, there are a number of set expressions that are simply enough to learn and introduce into your speech:

Coordination

Many of these set expressions contain adjectives in Greek: to be tired, to be in love, contented, busy, and so on.

In Russian we say:

I'm healthy I'm healthy A they are healthy s.
I'm busy I'm busy A they are busy s.

What you should pay attention to - in the language of grammar, this is called match the adjective in gender and number. If it’s easier, then you need to put the correct endings to these adjectives:

For example:

Είμαι κουρασμέν ος . - I'm tired.
Είμαι κουρασμέν η . - I'm tired.
Είμαι σίγουρ ος . - I'm sure.
Είμαι σίγουρ η .- I'm sure.
Το παιδί είναι σίγουρ ο . - The child is sure.
Είμαστε σίγουρ οι . – We are sure. (male)
Είμαστε σίγουρ ες . – We are sure. (female)
Τα παιδιά είναι σίγουρ α . The kids are sure.

Usually the first lesson we have is devoted only to the verb to be and its set expressions.

Because with the verb είμαι (to be) phrases are built with turnover "it is"(this is a store, this is a city in Greece, this is music), then in such sentences, in addition to the verb, there is also a noun.

Therefore, we will also give nouns as a microtopic for this lesson.

Nouns in Greek

Nouns in Greek are divided into 3 genders: male, feminine And average. The noun must be preceded by an article, which indicates the gender of the word. In this lesson, we answer questions "Who? What?" in the singular:

Pay attention to the articles and the characteristic endings for each gender: masculine - article O, feminine - article η , neuter - article το .

For example:

Εγώ είμαι η Τατιάνα. - I (am) Tatyana.
Αυτός είναι ο Νίκος. - He (is) Nikos.
Αυτή είναι η Ελένη. - She (is) Eleni.
Αυτό είναι το τηλέφων ο . – This (is) a telephone.
Εμείς είμαστε ο Γιώργος και η Νατάσα. – We (are) Yorgos and Natasa.

That's all. Despite the volume of material, it is all very simple and presented in the correct sequence.

No one forces you to work through this lesson in 15 minutes and say that there is too much material in it, nothing was remembered. Nothing will be remembered if this material is not worked out and introduced into your speech. Therefore, we recommend that you return to the lesson several times, working on one topic in the exercises: whether it is a verb conjugation, set expressions or nouns.

In the exercises we missed a lot of pronouns. And it looks right and beautiful for Greek. However, if they are needed for grammar, so that it is easier for you to understand, their use is not a mistake, you can put them almost everywhere. It will just look more bookish.

Be sure to listen to the voice acting of both the entire lesson and the exercises in order to hear the Greek language. Work with the Greek Reading Rules file throughout the course.

The verb expresses an action or state and denotes them in the categories of voice, person, number, tense, mood. In sentences, verbs are predicates.

The active voice means that the action comes from the subject ( boy sees a book). The passive voice means that the action is directed to the subject (in the nominative case) ( work is done).

When conjugated, verbs change person, number, tense and mood (in Russian verbs in the past tense and subjunctive mood, unlike Greek ones, the gender also changes). The face and number show who or what, one or more, is doing the action. All these features are characteristic of both Russian and Greek verbs. However, Greek verbs also have their own characteristics, some of which, inherited from the Indo-European basis, were also in the Old Russian language, but disappeared as it developed. Until the end of the XIII - beginning of the XIV centuries. Russian verbs used the past tenses characteristic of the Greek language: aorist, imperfect, plus-quaperfect, which were later replaced by one past tense that developed on the basis of the perfect.

Some Greek verbs are not used in all tenses or in all forms and therefore are called insufficient. If you need to express the action transmitted by them, then for the missing times use the synonyms of the verb. This phenomenon helps to understand why irregular verbs some tenses are formed from a different stem - it may indicate a different, synonymous root.

Greek verb be conjugate as follows

Some verbs conjugate with big features. First of all, this applies to -mi verbs:

Verb give

When conjugated, present tense verbs have the following endings (the connecting vowels are omicron before mu and nu, or epsilon in other cases):

Medial pledge corresponds return form verbs in Russian, means that the action takes place in one's own interests. It is formed with the help of endings used for the passive voice:

Some verbs exist only in the medial passive form, but have a meaning that must be translated into the active voice. Such verbs are called depositional, since their meaning is, as it were, separated (deposited) from the sign of the grammatical passive form (passive voice).

Present tense (praesens)

Merged verbs-έw.

Merge Rules

Merged verbs in omicron.

Merge Rules

Present tense (media voice)

The imperfect (past imperfect tense) was inherited from the Proto-Indo-European language, and in addition to Greek, it also passed into all Slavic languages. However, later all East Slavic languages, including Old Russian, lost it. The imperfect denotes an action in the past, long, sometimes repeated, but not limited to some period of the past, some period of time.

The imperfect has two features: at the beginning of a verb that begins with a consonant, the vowel epsilon appears. In addition, all verbs have endings that do not exactly match the present tense:

If the verb begins with a vowel: a > h, e > h, o > w. These vowels sound almost the same, but longer - lengthened. In diphthongs, only the first sound is lengthened: ai > ῃ, oi > ῳ, au > hu.

For verbs with prefixes, the increment does not appear in front (i.e., not before the prefix), but before the root (i.e., between the prefix and the stem). In this case, the last vowel of the prefix does not appear before the consonant, as before, but before the vowel and therefore falls out (as unnecessary, for euphony). The exceptions are prefixes pro-, peri-, where the last vowel does not change.

The verb to have (ἔcw) takes the form eἴcon.

verb imperfect be

Middle (medial) and passive voice of the imperfect. Before endings, verbs in this tense have the same increment (epsilon before consonants or lengthening of vowels) as in the past tense of the active voice.

The endings are joined with the same connecting vowels as in the medial and passive voice of the present tense. These connecting vowels interact in fused verbs according to the rules of fusion.

Past tense imperfective (imperfectum)

Passive voice. Past tense imperfective (imperfectum)

active voice

Medial pledge

Aorist- This is the past tense form, which is inherited from the Proto-Indo-European language. In addition to Greek, it was used in all Slavic languages, including Old Russian, but all East Slavic languages ​​have lost it. With the help of the aorist, an action committed in the past was indicated, which was considered completely finished.

In Greek, as well as in Old Russian and Old Slavonic, there were two forms of the aorist. The sigmatic (or first) aorist before the endings had the suffix sigma (in Old Russian - the sound s), which interacted with other sounds, causing vowel lengthening. In some verbs, the aorist is formed from a different stem (the so-called second aorist).

The first aorist of the active and middle voices.

Many verbs form the aorist with the suffix -sa and an increment. The increment for verbs that begin with a vowel, and for verbs with prefixes, occurs according to the rules of the past tense of the imperfective form. If the verb begins with a vowel: a > h, e > h, o > w. These vowels sound almost the same, but longer - lengthened. In diphthongs, only the first sound is lengthened: ai > ῃ, oi > ῳ, au > hu. For verbs with prefixes, the increment does not appear in front (i.e., not before the prefix), but before the root (i.e., between the prefix and the stem). In this case, the last vowel of the prefix is ​​​​not before the consonant, as before, but before the vowel and therefore drops out (as unnecessary, for euphony). The exceptions are prefixes pro-, peri-, where the last vowel does not change.

First aorist of the active voice

First aorist of the middle voice

The interaction of consonant stems with sigma occurs according to the rules

In fused verbs, the stem vowel is lengthened: pure alpha ceases to be pure; alpha impure > h; e > h; o > w. Exceptions: the stem vowel is not lengthened in verbs: gelάw > ἐgέlasa kalέw > ἐkάlesa. Examples:

Irregular verbs: carry jέrw - ἤnhgka (ἤnegkon) give dίdwmi - ἔdwka (ἔdomen)

proclaim ἀggέllw - ἤggeila.

Second aorist (asigmatic – aoristII) active and middle collateral. For many common (irregular) verbs, it is formed from a special stem (indicated in the dictionary, it must be remembered) with the help of an increment in front (as in the simple past tense - imperfect) and the end of the simple past tense (imperfect). As in the imperfect, verbs in the aorist can be used in active or medial voices.

The increment for verbs that begin with a vowel, and for verbs with prefixes, occurs according to the rules of the simple past tense.

Second aorist active

Second aorist medial

Verbs in aorist (II)

Aorist (I–II) of the passive voice.

Aorist I is formed using a suffix and endings

In fused verbs, the stem vowel is lengthened before -J-.

Aorist II in the passive has the same endings, but they are added immediately to the aorist stem without the suffix J.

The perfect is a form of the past tense, which is inherited from the Proto-Indo-European language both in Greek and in all Slavic languages, including Old Russian. In modern West Slavic languages, it has survived to our time. The perfect expresses an action in the present, which became possible as a result of some other action in the past ( I came, those. I went and now I have come. Russian verb walked used here with the prefix (came), thanks to which it gets a perfect look, answering a question what to do. So in fact, with the Greek more complex system times and the simplification of the same system with the development of the Russian language, it became possible to convey the perfect with the help of another, typical for the Russian language, verb feature - aspect).

The perfect is formed with the help of special endings from a special stem. By general rules, the initial consonant of the root is doubled and joined in front of the former root with the help of the connecting vowel epsilon.

If the root does not begin with a consonant, but with a vowel, then this vowel is more often not doubled, but simply lengthened (only sometimes it is repeated with lengthening). If the root begins with more than one consonant, then instead of doubling, an increment sometimes occurs. In fused verbs, in addition to doubling the consonant, the last vowel of the stem is lengthened. For some verbs, the perfect stem is formed in a completely different way, so it is better to memorize it in a dictionary.

Perfect endings

The pluperfect (literally: "more than perfect") is also inherited from the Proto-Indo-European language both in Greek and in all Slavic languages, including Old Russian. The plus-quaperfect is used to denote an action that took place before another action that occurred in the past.

This time is formed from the basis of the perfect, but it, like in the simple past tense, has an increment.

Verb endings

The medial-passive forms of PLQPF are formed by adding the usual medial-passive endings of the simple past tense to the perfect stem of the verb, and without connecting vowels.

However, in practice, these endings in the perfect and PLQPF look different for each verb, since the rule applies - the sigma between consonants drops out, therefore, for verbs with a perfect stem, the consonant -sJe > Je, -sJai > Jai. After that, the interaction of the last consonant of the stem with endings begins according to the rules:

b, p, j + s > y-

b, p, j + m > mm-(< -bm-, -pm-, -jm-)

b, p, j + t > pt-(< -bt-, -jt-)

b, p, j + J > jJ-(< -bJ-, -pJ-)

g, k, c + s > x-

g, k, c + m > gm-(< -km-, -cm-)

g, k, c + t > kt-(< -gt-, -ct-)

g, k, c + J > cJ- (< -gJ-, -kJ-)

d, t, J + s > s-(< -ds-, -ts-, -Js-)

d, t, J + m > sm-(< -dm-, -tm-, -Jm-)

d, t, J + t > st-(< -dt-, -tt-, -Jt-)

d, t, J + J > sJ- (< -dJ-, -tJ-, -JJ-)

Future tense. The future tense is formed using the sigma suffix and regular endings.

active voice

An indefinite form (infinitive) is also formed: before the usual ending, the suffix sigma -sein is added.

Middle voice

As with fused verbs, the rules of fusion apply, but now not between the vowels of the stem and the suffix or ending, but between the consonants of the stem and the suffix sigma. Therefore, at first glance it may seem that the future tense is formed from a different basis.

Merge Rules

In fused verbs, the stem vowel is lengthened. Alpha pure ceases to be pure. Alpha impure > h e > h o > w. Exceptions: stem vowel is not lengthened in verbs: gelάw > gelάsw kalέw > kalέsw

Future tense of the verb be

Some verbs in the present tense have an active form, but in the future tense they exist only in the medial-passive voice. But when translated into Russian, this is not expressed (in Russian, you can say: "I'm going" or: "and I'm going to myself, I'm going" - the same shade of recurrence, actions in one's own interests are present in the Greek grammatical form) .

Irregular verbs in the future tense have a special stem

The imperative mood (imperativus) expresses an impulse or command to do something. With a negative particle mή, it naturally expresses a ban on an action, a request or a call not to do it. This mood exists for the present tense verbs of the active and medial-passive voices, the aorist of the active, separately middle and separately passive voices, the perfect of the active and medial-passive voices.

The imperative is formed with the help of special endings of the 2nd and 3rd person singular and plural. The speaker wants You or you, he or They did something ( do it, do it!). About himself (that is, in the 1st person), as in Russian, he says in the indicative mood: i want to do or in the subjunctive: I would like, but is unlikely to say: let me do.

Imperative endings.

active voice praesens

Forms imperative mood for verb be

Some irregular verbs have imperative endings the same or similar to the verb be.

The mood expresses the relation to the reality of the action that the verb conveys (real, probable, only supposed, even unreal). So far, we have been talking about verbs in the indicative mood (indicativus), expressing real actions in the present, past or future. The Russian subjunctive expresses actions that are supposed, possible or desired. There is such an inclination in Greek (coniunctivus). But instead of a simple particle ( would), as in Russian, in Greek it is formed in a special way.

The present conjunctive of the active and medial-passive voices of ordinary and continuous verbs. The subjunctive is used in both main and subordinate clauses. In main (independent) sentences, it serves to express doubt or motivation.

To express negation in the conjunctiva (as well as in the imperative mood and optative) is not the particle oὐ, but the particle mh. (In the indicative mood, it is used to express a wish about which it is clear that it cannot be realized).

The conjunctiva is formed using long connecting vowels: - h- (instead of -e-) and -w- (instead of -o-), which attach the usual endings for each voice.

Ordinary verbs

Fusion verbs. In fused verbs, the same fusion rules apply.

Merge Rules

Meaning particlesἄn. This particle, when used with the conjunctiva (subjunctive), conveys the meaning of a generalization ( "Whoever said..."). With the indicative mood (indicative), it gives a shade of opposition ( "I would say..."). With a participle or ifinitive, it conveys the possibility or opposite of reality.

Inclination matching. If in the main clause the predicate is in one of the so-called main tenses (present, perfect, future), then in the subordinate clause you need to use the subjunctive mood (subjunctive).

This rule is applied most fully in the clauses of the goal and in the clauses of the object, which depend on the verbs of the main clause with the meaning of fear (jobέomai). Such verbs with the meaning of fear to express the undesirable (what, so as not to - "I'm afraid it won't happen") are accompanied by the preposition mή. To express what is desired (what is not - "I'm afraid it won't happen") they are accompanied by two prepositions: mή, oὐ.

The conjunctions ὅti ( What), ὡV ( to). After these unions, the indicative mood (indicative) is also used.

If the same verbs in the main sentence were not in the main tenses, but in the so-called historical ones (the past tense of the imperfect form is the imperfect, the aorist, more than the past is the pluperfect), then in the subordinate clauses after the same conjunctions, no conjuncts are used -telnoe, and desirable inclination (optative).

The conjunctions ἵna, ὅpwV, ὡV ( to) and ἵna mή, ὅpwV mή, ὡV mή ( not to).

Verb subjunctive be

The subjunctive mood (conjunctiva) in the aorist is formed either with the help of a sigma (sigma-tic - I aorist) or from a special stem (II aorist). In both cases, this mood uses long connecting vowels (as in the conjunctiva of other tenses) and regular endings. However, unlike the indicative aorist (indicative), in the subjunctive the aorist does not have an increment, which makes it more similar to the present tense.

The perfect conjunctiva is active. The perfect conjunctiva can be formed in two ways. The first way is to attach ordinary endings to the perfect stem with the help of long connecting vowels characteristic of the conjunctiva:

The second way is to combine the perfect active participle in the right gender and number with the verb be in the conjunctiva:

The perfect conjunctiva is medially passive. These forms are formed by combining the perfect passive participle in the correct gender and number with the verb to be in the subjunctive:

In Greek, there is another mood for expressing those actions that in Russian we would convey with the subjunctive mood. This is optativus, the desired mood. It is used:

1. In independent sentences to express desire (" If I did!»).

2. After the particle ἄn to express the possibility (" could tell»).

3. In subordinate clauses, if historical tenses are used in the main clause (past imperfective tense - imperfect, aorist, more than past - PLQPF).

4. With the negation of mή (as well as conjunctives) in the subordinate clauses of the goal and in additional clauses expressing fear.

Ordinary verbs

Fusion verbs. Verbs on-άw. These verbs have the same fusion rules: a + o = w.

Verbs on-έw. These verbs have the same fusion rules: e + oi = oi. Therefore, in the optative, the signs of continuous verbs disappear and the endings coincide with the endings of non-fused verbs.

Verbs ending in -όw. These verbs have the same fusion rules: o + oi = oi. Therefore, in the optative, the signs of continuous verbs disappear and the endings coincide with the endings of non-fused verbs.

Optative of the active, middle and passive voice of the future tense. The optative of the future tense is used in indirect speech and in indirect questions after historical times (simple past - imperfect, aorist, long past - PLQPF).

Active deposit. The rules for the formation of these forms are very simple - the future tense, as before, is indicated by the suffix sigma, and the usual endings of the optative of the active voice are added to it:

Middle voice. The rules for the formation of these forms are also very simple - the future tense, as before, is indicated by the suffix sigma, and the usual optative endings of the middle voice are added to it:

Passive voice. The rules for the formation of these forms are also very simple - the suffix -Je- serves as a sign of the passive, then the future tense, as before, is indicated with the suffix sigma, and the usual endings of the optative of the medial-passive (= middle) voice are attached to it:

Optative aorist (I and II) active, middle and passive.

I aorist. Active deposit. The rules for the formation of these forms are simple - the sign of the aorist is the usual suffix -sa- for it, and the endings of the optative of the active voice are attached to it, but due to the interaction with the vowel of the suffix, the omicron disappears from these endings and only iota remains (a + oi> i).

Middle voice. The rules for the formation of these forms are also simple - the usual suffix -sa- remains the sign of the aorist, and the endings of the optative of the middle voice join it, but due to the interaction with the vowel of the suffix, the omicron disappears from these endings and only iota remains (a + oi > i ).

Passive voice. The sign of a passive aorist is its suffix -J-, special optative endings are attached to it, in which the omicron disappears and the iota remains.

II aorist. Active deposit. The rules for the formation of these forms are very simple - the sign of the aorist is its modified stem, and the usual endings of the present optative of the active voice are added to it.

Middle voice. The rules for the formation of these forms are also very simple - the altered stem remains the sign of the aorist, and the usual endings of the present optative of the middle voice are added to it.

Passive voice. The sign of the aorist is its modified stem, which is joined by the optative endings of the passive voice of the first aorist:

The optative of the active and medial-passive perfect. Active deposit. These forms are formed in two ways. The first way (similar to the way of forming the optative of the second aorist): the usual endings of the optative of the active voice of the present tense are added to the perfect stem.

The second way: the active optative of the present tense of the verb to be is added to the active participle of the perfect in the required gender and number (this method is similar to the second way of forming the active perfect in the conjunctiva).

The indefinite form of the verb, the infinitive, simply indicates the action or state, not indicating either its time, or its relation to reality, or the number of actors, or who is speaking (the actor himself, the interlocutor, or a third person). Therefore, the infinitive expresses neither the tense, nor the mood, nor the number, nor the person necessary for such an expression, i.e. does not have the grammatical features of the verb discussed above.

The infinitive expresses only the meaning of the form (imperfect or perfect: write - write; speak - say), pledge ( wash - wash, see - seem). Since, as already noted, the Russian perfect form of the verb ( do, say) conveys such an action, which in a more complex ancient system of tenses, characteristic of the ancient Greek language, was denoted by the perfect, it is natural to meet in Greek with the perfect infinitive.

But if this infinitive is quite easy to understand and translate with the help of the Russian infinitive from the perfective verb, then understanding and translating Greek infinitives from those times that are not in the Russian language requires more attention and abstract thinking. Sometimes this will require, at least mentally and to begin with, to build a whole subordinate clause. And then it is worth thinking about the laws of literary translation, where cumbersome expressions are unacceptable, unless the author wants to specifically influence the reader in such a way as to tire and confuse him.

To express the perfect form of some actions (for example, speak - say) in Russian we use different stems or just different verbs, which, according to other features, look like synonyms (words of different sound and spelling, but the same meaning). This helps to understand an important phenomenon for the Greek language - the existence of a large number of verbal stems (for irregular verbs or for verbs with greater or lesser features in conjugation), from which various tenses are formed.

These are the foundations of the present tense, the future tense of the active and middle voice, the aorist of the active and middle voice, the perfect of the active voice, the perfect of the middle and passive voice, the aorist of the passive voice - only 6 bases. With an in-depth study of the Greek language, they must be memorized, for example, as incorrect English verbs. Textbooks have special reference tables for these basics, and in dictionaries they are indicated for verbs with conjugation features. According to the laws of the formation of these stems (similar changes in the interaction of vowels and consonants, the presence of suffixes, the doubling of the stem or its completely different form, unpredictable for the student), Greek verbs are divided into several groups (classes).

A special group (IX) consists of verbs in -mi; for the rest of the verbs, the most complex and irregular (with suppletive stems) are assigned to group VIII, and the simplest and practically correct are assigned to group I. Accordingly, the load on memory increases or decreases to memorize these basics: the closer to the correct group of the verb, the less exceptions need to be remembered and more forms can be formed independently, knowing the rules for their formation. In reference books, when systematizing, each group is divided into several subgroups that combine verbs with stems into specific sounds or their phonetic subsets.

Understanding this requires a deeper knowledge than just familiarity with the Greek alphabet and the ability to read letters. It must be remembered that Greek sounds, like Russian ones (as well as sounds, for example, of modern European languages), are grouped according to the type of sound production (pronunciation) using the tongue, lips, larynx into back-lingual (g, k, c), labial (b, p, j), front-lingual (d, t, J), etc.

In the role of a verb, the infinitive is combined with an adverb (showing how an action is performed); with the particle ἄn (pointing to possible, desirable, supposed or impossible actions); after the verbs meaning the transmission of thoughts, the infinitive of the future tense shows what future action this thought is expressed about (a construction like: I hope to give). The infinitive can be used in an imperative statement, acting instead of the imperative mood (a construction like: to tell relatives = to tell relatives = to tell relatives); can be part of a compound verb predicate (construction like: I want to rest); in introductory sentences (construction like: how to say, how to be, how to be).

In compound verbal predicates, the second (not infinitive) part of the predicate, if it is expressed by a name (for example, a noun or a pronoun), is put in the nominative case, being the logical subject of such a predicate. At the same time, a construction like a Russian statement: I don't want to be in debt(by whom, by what) in Greek is used in the form: I don't want to be in debt. IN impersonal sentences with a compound verbal predicate, its nominal part is used in the accusative (in a construction like: need to be careful(by whom, by what) in Greek attentive put in the accusative case).

The Greek infinitive can play not only the role of a verb, but also a noun. It can be subject (constructs like Russian: lying is bad); addition (like: I want to live); definition (constructs like: willing to listen), in particular, such a definition that explains the measure, quality or degree (constructions like: not one to pretend; assigned to rectify the situation).

As a noun, the infinitive can even be accompanied by a neuter article. This infinitive with the article takes on the meaning of an abstract verbal noun of the middle gender. To express the antithesis of this noun, you can use a negative particle (usually mή). You can even more diversify its use with the help of prepositions ( so that instead of etc.), and it is possible to qualitatively emphasize the verbal meaning of the action (strengthening, weakening, usefulness, etc. of the action) using an adverb (constructs like: learning \u003d learning - light, not learning \u003d not learning - darkness, learning \u003d learning well - even better). Such a phenomenon is called substantiation.

In Russian dictionaries, the initial form of the verb is the infinitive. This is convenient, because such a form consists only of the stem of the verb and the ending, being the source for various grammatical forms (for example, speak). In Greek dictionaries, it is customary to indicate verbs in the form of the 1st person singular of the active voice of the present tense ( I say - lgw). From this basis, you need to be able to form all other forms that arise when conjugating verbs according to the rules, you need to be able to bring an unknown verb that occurred in the text during translation to it, replacing its suffix, ending, increment (if any) with signs of this form , doubling (if any). Only after that you can find out the meaning of the verb from the dictionary. The dictionary indicates those forms of the verb that are formed with some exceptions.

The indefinite form of verbs ends in -ein. The passive and medial infinitive ends in -esJai.

In the future tense, the infinitive before the usual ending adds the suffix sigma -sein. In the future neuter, the infinitive adds the sigma suffix -sesJai before its regular ending in the present neuter.

Future tense of the verb be(infinitive): eἶnai > ἔsesJai.

In the first aorist of the active voice, the infinitive ends in -sai. In the first aorist of the middle voice, the infinitive has the ending: -sasJai. In the aorist (I–II) of the passive voice, the infinitive ends in -Jhnai. In the second aorist, the active infinitive has the same ending (but with a different stem) as in the present tense -ein. In the second aorist, the medial infinitive of the middle voice has the same ending (but with a different stem) as in the present tense -esJai.

The perfect is medially passive. The infinitive is formed by adding the passive infinitive ending of the present tense to the same stem: -sJai.

The verb form is the participle (participium). The similarity with the verb is manifested in the fact that the participle denotes the action or state of a person or object, manifested in time ( talking, running). In this case, the participle can convey verbal features of the form (perfect or imperfect: seer - seer), pledge (real - active or passive - passive: reader - readable) and different times (present, past, future: speaking, saying, saying). The difference from the verb is that the participle does not conjugate, but changes like adjectives, agreeing with nouns. Since the participle combines the features of a verb and an adjective, it is called the verb-nominal form. Other words can be agreed with participles in the same way that they were agreed with the original verb for it (direct object: honor parents - honor parents; adverb: speaking loudly speaking loudly).

In Greek, participles may not be combined with other members of the sentence, but convey the verbal meaning of the action independently of them (the so-called absolute participle). The participle can be used with the article and substantivized, getting the meaning of a noun. In Russian, this phenomenon also occurs. For example, encountering the expression All students in this school have been promoted to the next grade., we forget that student- this is a participle in origin, and we take it as a noun, as a synonym for the word student.

The Greek participle as a definition can be placed both before the word being defined and after it. To convey different shades of the meanings of the verb, the Greek participle can be combined, like a verb, with the particle ἄn. When translating various shades of participle, sometimes you have to use verbose expressions, participles or participles with an infinitive. In Greek, not only compound verbs are possible, but also compound participial predicates (in Greek I want to make can be expressed as a construct like: I will make wishing or unwilling, those. against your will; or keen). Sometimes participles from verbs expressing certain feelings, recognition, acquisition have to be translated in whole subordinate clauses(type: glad to know; I'm glad I know literally in Greek, such a construction would look like rejoice knowing).

The passive participle of ordinary and continuous verbs in alpha is formed from the stem of the verb with the help of the connecting vowel omicron and masculine, feminine and neuter endings: -omenoV, -omenh, -omenon. The masculine and neuter genders are declined according to the II declension, the feminine - according to the I declension. In fused verbs, the connecting vowel before the ending changes when interacting with the vowel of the stem of the verb according to the rules of fusion.

In the future tense of the middle voice, the suffix sigma -somenoV is added before the usual ending.

Active participles are formed from the stem of the verb by adding suffixes and endings: for the feminine -ousa, for the masculine -wn, for the neuter -on. Feminine participles are declined according to the 1st declension (genitive -oushV), masculine and neuter participles are declined according to III declension(genitive -ontoV). In fused verbs, the interaction of vowels occurs according to the previous rules of fusion.

In the same way, active participles of the II aorist are formed, but from the stem of the verb in the aorist.

Active participles of the I aorist are formed with the help of other suffixes: for the feminine -sasa, for the masculine -saV, for the neuter -san. Feminine participles are declined according to the 1st declension (genitive -sashV), masculine and neuter participles are declined according to the 3rd declension (genitive -santoV).

In the aorist (I-II) of the passive participles have suffixes and endings: feminine -Jeisa; masculine -JeiV; neuter -Jen. Participles of the feminine gender are declined according to the 1st declension. The masculine and neuter participles are declined according to the third declension (genitive case in -JentoV).

The active participle of the future tense is formed with the help of suffixes and endings: for the feminine -sousa, for the masculine -swn, for the neuter -son. Feminine participles are declined according to the 1st declension (genitive -soushV), masculine and neuter participles - according to the 3rd declension (genitive -sontoV). Sigma interacts with the stem of the verb according to the rules of the future tense.

Active participle of the present tense of the verb give- dίdwmi: feminine - didoῦsa, oύshV; masculine - didoύV, didόntoV; neuter gender - didόn, didόntoV.

Active participle aorist of the verb to give: feminine - doῦsa, hV; masculine - doύV, dόntoV; neuter gender - dόn, dόntoV.

The active participle of the perfect has endings that are attached to the perfect stem: for the feminine -uia; for masculine gender -wV; for the neuter -oV. Feminine participles are declined according to the 1st declension (genitive -uiaV), masculine and neuter participles - according to the 3rd declension (genitive -ontoV).