Middle-Passive Imperative & Infinitive

8.4a: Middle-Passive Imperative and Infinitive

Learning the Middle-Passive Imperative will provide a good opportunity to reinforce the contrast between the meanings of the middle and passive forms of a verb that has all three voices. A few examples will help avoid a common mistake in the translation of middle and passive. The active meaning of ἀλλάσσω is to change. The middle ἀλλάσσομαι means to exchange To translate ἀλλάσσομαι as passive we need to refer to the active meaning "change" and interpret it as "to be changed." It would be a mistake to understand the passive as "to be exchanged." Similarly, the three voices of πείθω should be translated as follows: πείθω = I persuade; πείθομαι (middle) = I obey (someone in the dative); πείθομαι (passive) = I am persuaded, not "I am obeyed." The chart presents middle and passive imperative forms of φυλάσσω = I guard. We will translate φυλάσσομαι (middle) as I defend myself, and φυλάσσομαι (passive) as I am guarded (by someone else).

MIDDLE / PASSIVE (here translated as Middle)

a) Imperative[1]

Present Infinitive	Form	Translation as Middle	Translation as Passive
2nd person Singular	φυλάσσου	Defend yourself!	(You sg) "Be guarded!" (by someone)
3rd person Singular	φυλασσέσθω	Let him defend himself!	Let him be guarded (by someone)
2nd person Plural	φυλάσσεσθε	Defend yourselves!	(You pl) "Be guarded!" (by someone)
3rd person Plural	φυλασσέσθων	Let them defend themselves!	Let them be guarded (by someone)

b) Infinitive

Present Infinitive	Form	Translation as Middle	Translation as Passive
	φυλάσσ - εσθαι	To defend oneself	To be guarded!

NOTE:

In the next section we will have to tackle verbs that look as if they were middle or passive, but do not mean what they seem to say... They are called "deponent verbs." We recognize them because their citation presents only middle-passive forms. 8.4b explains these verbs.

[1] A TIP (or half of it) “To be” takes middle endings in the future, but... there is no Future Imperative, so we cannot use that analogy to remember the endings of a Present Imperative in the middle voice. Comparing the new endings with those of the active imperative may be helpful for most persons of the verb. (It is applicable more generally, as we shall see later). If for the active τ of the imperative you substitute the typical middle-passive mark σθ, you make the ending middle / passive.