Indicative and Imperative

In 1.2b we conjugated the verb θεραπεύ-ω in the singular and plural, but did not indicate that it referred to the speaker's present time, i.e. that we were conjugating the Present Tense. As a matter of fact, we considered only two variables of the verb: Person and Number. Tense is another variable of the verb.

The next variable I need to explain is Mood. This concept is easy to understand if we start by saying that all the sentences in Lesson 1 are in the Indicative Mood, and that the Indicative makes a statement. Another mood is the Imperative, which expresses a speaker's command or request ("Go!," "Tell me!," etc.). That the Vocative case and the Imperative mood are often associated makes sense: the speaker calls the interlocutor's attention and then tries to influence his/her behavior. We found two examples on page 2.3: φέρε, the 2nd person singular of the Present Imperative, and φέρετε, the 2nd person plural. It will not escape your attention that the 2nd pl Imperative is identical to the 2nd plural Indicative: φέρετε. A 3rd person of the Imperative exists ("Let him/her do something!") and we will consider it below.

A CLUE: When expressing a negative command or prohibition the negative adverb μή is used.

The Infinitive is sometimes listed as a mood, although in reality it expresses the action of the verb as a noun would. It has only one form, no variation for person or number. In English we cite our verbs in the infinitive, marking it with “to”: to say, to flee. We can express the same notion using the gerund: “saying,” “fleeing.” Good news! There is no gerund in Greek. All you need to learn in this lesson is the ending of the Infinitive: -ειν. If we add it to the present stem of the verb, we obtain the present infinitive: to speak = λέγ-ειν, to flee = φεύγ-ειν

Putting the accidents of the verb in their normal hierarchy, we can list them as follows. You will soon see how these categories intersect.

b) ὦ φίλοι, μὴ ἐγκωμιάζετε τοὺς κακοὺς ἀνθρώπους.

Note that the D O τοὺς κακοὺς ἀνθρώπους includes an adjective in the attributive position

c) The examples above are 2nd person imperatives, sg and pl. Here I introduce 3rd person imperatives, sg and pl. We do not have such forms in the English verb, so we need to use a periphrasis (a "roundabout expression") to translate them: "Let him, her, it...," "Let them...". The use of "let" here should not be misunderstood as meaning "allow."

λεγ-έτω = "Let him, her, it say" (lumping together thematic vowel and ending)

λεγ-όντων = "Let them say" (again, lumping together thematic vowel and ending)

d) Let us conjugate now the verb φεύγω ("to escape") in the Present Tense, not just of the Indicative, but in the Imperative and the Infinitive as well.

Note: While in English we refer to verbs citing their infinitive ("to escape") in Greek a verb is cited with several forms, the first of which is the 1sr person singular.

SINGULAR	Indicative	Imperative	Infinitive
FIRST PERSON: I = ἐγώ	φεύγ-ω	none	(no person) φεύγ-ειν
SECOND PERSON: you (sg ) = σύ	φεύγ-εις	φεῦγ-ε
THIRD PERSON: he¹ = αὐτός² or a singular noun, e.g. "the horse" = ὁ ἵππος	φεύγ-ει	φευγ-έτω
FIRST PERSON: we = ἡμεῖς	φεύγ-ομεν	none
SECOND PERSON: you (pl) = ὑμεῖς	φεύγ-ετε	φεύγ-ετε
THIRD PERSON: they = αὐτοί² or a plural noun, e.g. "the horses" = οἱ ἵπποι	φεύγ-ουσι(ν)	φευγ-όντων

Note 1: In this lesson we are still limited to the Greek masculine. But even when we learn feminine forms, for the sake of simplification we will use for the English 3rd person sg "he" meaning "he, she, it."

Note 2: αὐτός (pl. αὐτοί), especially in classical Greek, usually meant "he himself," "they themselves," so when such emphasis is not meant, in our sentences we will use "that man" ( ἐκεῖνος, pl. ἐκεῖνοι) instead.