Recessive:
verbs only
 
The stress is placed on a syllable as far away from the end of the word as possible. Within reason of course. The Greeks decided that it would not be aesthetic to put the stress on any syllable further than 2 removed from the back, antepenult was fine, anything else was undesirable.
 




Advanced note

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When it says that the accent on verbs is recessive, it means it moves back towards the front of the verb as far as possible, but only in the case of "conjugated" verb forms:
indicative, imperative, subjunctive and optative.
Not infinitives and participles which are not conjugated but declined.
Declined like nouns (active participles, feminine plural genitive always -ῶν)
Declined like adjectives (middle and passive participles).

When preceded by the declined neuter article τό, τοῦ, τῷ infinitives, though undeclinable themselves, play the part of abstract nouns. That is why their accent is not recessive, but can be on ultima, penult or antepenult, as the case may be.

  • On ultima: infinitives: ποιεῖν, τιμᾶν, πληροῦν, ....
    On ultima: participles: ποιῶν, ἐλθών, λελυκώς, ...
     
  • On penult: infinitives: καθίζειν, λῦσαι, λελυκέναι, λελυκέσθαι, πεπαιδεῦσθαι, ...
    On penult: participles: ἀναβαίνων, ἀνεωγμένος, ...
     
  • On antepenult: infinitives: παύεσθαι, παύσασθαι, ...
    On antepenult: participles: δίωξας, βουλόμενος, ...