42
The Perfect System
You have learned four tenses of Greek verbs: the present, future, imperfect, and aorist. These lessons present the final tenses, those of the PERFECT SYSTEM.
The tenses of the PERFECT SYSTEM refer to completed action. These tenses differ from the other tenses in ASPECT. If the aspect of a verb is COMPLETED (often with a sense of just now completed), then in Greek it is expressed by a verb of the PERFECT SYSTEM.
To review, ASPECT is a grammatical term that expresses the relationship between the ACTION of a verb and the PASSAGE OF TIME. In other words, aspect describes whether the action, regardless of its tense, was:
- SIMPLE. This is a simple action, or an action not marked as continuing, simple, or completed.
- Greek marks this aspect by using the VERB STEM (e.g., the aorist tense)
- ONGOING. This is an action that took place over an extent of time, was habitual, or was more than a single action in some way.
- Greek expresses this aspect by using the PRESENT STEM (e.g., the present and imperfect tense)
- COMPLETED. This is a completed action that has lasting results. This aspect often reflects a state resulting from past action. For example, if someone has just died, then he is dead. In fact, it is the resulting state that is often the emphasis of this aspect, not the action of the verb itself. I have made you a drink, i.e., your drink is ready.
- Greek marks this aspect by using the PERFECT STEM (e.g. the perfect and pluperfect tenses)
To see how Greek past tenses differ in aspect, note the following:
- Aorist: I walked
- snapshot of a past action (simple aspect)
- the speaker travelled from point A to B
- Imperfect: I was walking/ used to walk
- video of past action (ongoing aspect)
- the speaker was traveling from point A to B
- Perfect: I have just walked
- action is completely done, with results still felt in the present (completed aspect)
- the speaker has just now arrived at point B (a resulting state)
Formation: Perfect Active
Greek tenses of the PERFECT SYSTEM add the following distinctive markers to the verb stem:
- The initial sound of the VERB STEM is doubled. This addition, called REDUPLICATION, creates a PERFECT SYSTEM verb stem (S 439).
- To mark the ACTIVE voice, verbs add the suffix –κ– to the perfect system stem. When adding –κ– to the verb stem is too difficult to pronounce, the –κ– merges or drops out.
Reduplication
You may recall that in the present tense, some verbs reduplicated their initial consonant sound, adding an –ι– for ease of pronunciation. For example:
- δω– → διδω– (present stem)
The PERFECT SYSTEM also reduplicates, adding an –ε– for ease of pronunciation (S 340). For example:
- λυ → λελυ– (perfect stem)
- δεικ → δεδεικ– (perfect stem)
- γραφ → γεγραφ– (perfect stem)
- δω → δεδω– (perfect stem)
However, if the Greek verb stem starts with a vowel, an AUGMENT is added. Just as we saw with IMPERFECT verbs, the augment LENGTHENS a short vowel (S 442).
- ἀρχ → ἠρχ– (perfect stem)
- ἐθελη → ἠθελη