Imperfect Tense:
Middle
What used to be?
What was going on?
When we were children .....
ἐπεὶ παῖδες ἦμεν...
Click here for translation
καθ' ἡμέραν ἐγειρόμην καὶ ἐπῇρον ἐμαυτόν πολὺ πρωί.
καὶ ἡ μήτηρ ἐγείρετο καὶ ἐπῇρε ἑαυτήν .
εἴτα δὲ τὸν πατέρα ἤγειρε καὶ τὸ ἄριστον (= πρωινὸν δεῖπνον) παρεσκεύαζε.
ἐκαθιζόμεθα περὶ τὴν τράπεζαν.
Χριστιανοὶ όντες τῷ θεῷ ηὐχόμεθα.
ἠσθίομεν σιγῇ.
διὰ τί οὐ διελεγόμεθα ἀλλήλοις ;
ὁ πατὴρ οὐκ ἤθελε, ἥσυχος ἀριστᾶν (= ἐσθίειν τὸ πρῶτον δεῖπνον τῆς ἡμέρας) ἐβούλετο.
χαλεπὸς ἦν ὁ πατήρ, χαλεπὸς ἦν καὶ ἐγώ .
αἱ μὲν ἀδελφαὶ εὐ ἐπείθοντο, μικραὶ οὖσαι,
ἐγὼ δὲ ἰσχυρὸς ὢν καὶ ἄοκνος, οὐδέποτε οὐδενὶ ἐπειθόμην.
ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐγὼ ἐσίγων ἐν ᾧ δὲ ἤσθιον.
μετὰ τὸ δεῖπνον ὁ πατὴρ πρῶτος ἐπὶ τὸ ἔργον ἐξήρχετο .
ἐν τραπέζῃ τινὶ εἰργάζετο. (Another ει lengthening instead of η, like εἶχον)
καὶ ἐγὼ πρωὶ εἰς τὀ διδασκαλεῖον ἐπορευόμην.
οὐ διότι ἐφίλουν τὸ διδασκαλεῖον
ἀλλὰ διότι ἐβουλόμην παίζειν μετὰ τῶν ἑταίρων .
αἱ δὲ ἀδελφαὶ εἰς ἄλλον τινὰ διδασκαλεῖον ἐπορεύοντο .
Compare:
Present Tense |
|
Imperfect Tense
|
I |
am obeying |
|
πείθ |
ομαι |
I |
was obeying |
|
ἐ |
πειθ |
όμην |
you |
are obeying |
πείθ |
ει / ῃ |
you |
were obeying |
ἐ |
πείθ |
ου |
he/she/it |
is obeying |
πείθ |
εται |
he/she/it |
was obeying |
ἐ |
πείθ |
ετο |
we |
are obeying |
πειθ |
όμεθα |
we |
were obeying |
ἐ |
πειθ |
όμεθα |
you |
are obeying |
πείθ |
εσθε |
you |
were obeying |
ἐ |
πείθ |
εσθε |
they |
are obeying |
πείθ |
ονται |
they |
were obeying |
ἐ |
πείθ |
οντο |
Note: 1. The 'you are obeying' should have been: πείθεσαι, but:
Note: 1. the σ was dropped and since ε + αι becomes ει or ῃ
Note: 1. 'You my friend obey' is πείθει or πείθῃ
Note: 2. The 'you were obeying' should have been: ἐπείθεσο, but:
Note: 2. The σ was dropped and since ε + ο becomes ου
Note: 2. 'You my friend used to obey' is ἐπείθου .
So: 'Were you travelling?' ἐπορεύou ;
So: 'What did you want?' τί ἐβούλou ;
Exercise 8: Translate
Click here for answers
- ἐν ᾧ δὲ ἠργάζοντο οἱ τέκοντες
ἠναγκαζόμην τὰς ἀδελφὰς φυλάττειν.
αἱ ἀδελφαὶ εἵποντό μοι πανταχόσε. (another ε lenghtening to ει)
πολλάκις ὠργιζόμην διότι αἰεὶ ἐβούλοντο
πράττειν ἅπαντα ἐποίουν ἐγώ.
- κατ' ἔτος ὁ Μίνως ἐδέχετο ἑπτὰ νεανίας τε καὶ ἑπτὰ παρθένους καὶ τῷ Μινωταύρῳ ἐσθίειν παρεῖχεν.
ὁ Μινώταυρος ᾤκει (νῦν δὲ οὐκέτι οἰκεῖ ) ἐν τῷ λαβυρίνθῳ.
- οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι κεκλεισμένοι
(confined, shut up) ἦσαν ἐν τῷ λαβυρίνθῳ.
προὐχώρουν ἐν τῷ σκότῳ. [προεχώρεον] 2 contractions,
the first for past tense marker ε following the vowel ο of προ
the 2nd because it is a contract verb with stem ending in -ε followed by the ο of the ending -ον.
τὸ τοῦ πελωρίου πνεῦμα ὠσφραίνοντο.
παρῆν ὁ Μινώταυρος. δεινὸς ἦν.
ὁ μὲν Ὀδυσσεὺς καὶ ὁ Μινώταυρος ἐμάχοντο.
πολὺν χρόνον ἐμάχοντο.
τέλος δὲ ὁ Ὀδυσσεὺς τὸν Μινώταυρον ἀπέκτεινεν (simple past: once and for all. So definitely NOT Imperfect but AORIST - coming up next)
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