The perfect system: participles

Reviewing principal parts

So far, we have worked with the following principal parts of the Greek verb:

First	Third	Sixth
present and imperfect, all voices	aorist active and middle	aorist passive

We will now add the perfect system. It uses the fourth principal part for the active voice, and the fifth principal part for the middle and passive voices.

To find the stem of the perfect active, drop -α from the fourth part. To find the stem of the perfect middle and passive, drop -μαι from the fifth part. For κελεύω, for example we get:

• perfect active: κεκέλευκα -> κεκελευκ-
• perfect middle and passive: κεκέλευσμαι -> κεκελευσ-

As you review (and memorize) the fourth and fifth parts of verbs you have already learned, you will see a typical pattern called reduplication. Compared to the other principal parts, the stem of the fourth and fifth normal shows a repetition of the initial sound. Verbs beginning with a simple consonant repeat the consonant followed by -ε-, e.g., the fourth and fifth parts of κελεύω are κεκέλευκα, κεκέλευσμαι. Note also that the fourth part normally adds a -κ- to the stem we see in the first principal part.

When the verb stem begins with a vowel, the vowel is extended or lengthened, like an augment, e.g., the fourth and fifth parts of ἄρχω are ἦρχα, ἦργμαι.

Meaning

The perfect tense combines aspects of the aorist and present. It refers to events that have been completed in the past, but in contrast to the aorist tense, the perfect emphasizes the ongoing effect or impact of the action. Consider the following example from section 24 of Lysias 1. Euphiletos recounts in first person what “we who first entered the room” saw, and then what the ones who came after them saw, in indirect statement with two participles, κατακείμενον (present tense) and ἑστηκότα (perfect tense).

οἱ μὲν πρῶτοι εἰσιόντες ἔτι εἴδομεν αὐτὸν κατακείμενον παρὰ τῇ γυναικί, οἱ δʼ ὕστερον ἐν τῇ κλίνῃ γυμνὸν ἑστηκότα.

“We who first entered that room saw him still lying next to my wife; those who followed saw him standing naked on the bed.”

The first indirect statement uses the present participle κατακείμενον because the first group saw him while he was still lying down. The second participle ἑστηκότα is an intransitive form meaning “to stand up.” It’s in the perfect tense because Eratosthenes has now stood up – and is still standing there on the bed where they see him.

Formation of the perfect participle

We will begin with the perfect participle. This participle expresses the unique aspect of the perfect tense, a completed action with ongoing effect.

The active participle is a 3-1-3 pattern, with third-declension endings for masculine and neuter, and first-declension endings for feminine. Its accent persists on the ending, as seen in this paradigm from γράφω, with fourth and fifth parts γέγραφα, γέγραμμαι.

Singular:

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	γεγραφώς	γεγραφυῖα	γεγραφός
Genitive	γεγραφότος	γεγραφυίας	γεγραφότος
Dative	γεγραφότι	γεγραφυίᾳ	γεγραφότι
Accusative	γεγραφότα	γεγραφυῖαν	γεγραφός

Plural:

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	γεγραφότες	γεγραφυῖαι	γεγραφότα
Genitive	γεγραφότων	γεγραφυιῶν	γεγραφότων
Dative	γεγραφόσι	γεγραφυίαις	γεγραφόσι
Accusative	γεγραφότας	γεγραφυίας	γεγραφότα

Note the fixed accent of the feminine genitive plural.

The middle and passive participles follow a 2-1-2 pattern, with second-declension endings for masculine and neuter, and first-declension endings for the feminine. The endings for middle and passive voice are identical, and look like the endings of the present middle and passive participles, except that there is no vowel before the -μεν- base of the ending.

Singular:

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	γεγραμμένος	γεγραμμένη	γεγραμμένον
Genitive	γεγραμμένου	γεγραμμένης	γεγραμμένου
Dative	γεγραμμένῳ	γεγραμμένῃ	γεγραμμένῳ
Accusative	γεγραμμένον	γεγραμμένην	γεγραμμένον

Plural:

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	γεγραμμένοι	γεγραμμέναι	γεγραμμένα
Genitive	γεγραμμένων	γεγραμμένων	γεγραμμένων
Dative	γεγραμμένοις	γεγραμμέναις	γεγραμμένοις
Accusative	γεγραμμένους	γεγραμμένας	γεγραμμένα

Note that the accent persists on the penult: this can help you quickly distinguish the perfect middle and passive from the present middle and passive participles.