εἰμί to be

 

Like in most languages, the verb to be is irregular in practically all its forms, tenses and moods.
Which would of course make it very difficult to learn, if it weren't used so frequently. And since we're constantly stumbling over it, we should end up knowing it very well indeed.

The complications are twofold:

  1. Its forms are irregular, to be practiced extensively
  2. It is an enclitic, i.e. mostly unstressed, except for 2nd person singular.
    These special rules apply for he, she, it is.

Compare:

Enclitic εἰμί and its regularly stressed compounds
πάρειμι to be present,
ἄπειμι, to be absent, away (from),
σύνειμι to be together with.
 
 Present 
is Who? is present   is away  
  εἰμί I πάρ ειμι    ἄπ ειμι
  εἶ you (sg) πάρ ει ἄπ ει
  ἐστί(ν)   he, she, it    πάρ εστι(ν) ἄπ εστι
  ἐσμέν we πάρ εσμεν ἄπ εσμεν
  ἐστέ you (pl) πάρ εστε ἄπ εστε
  εἰσίν they πάρ εισι(ν) ἄπ εισι(ν)
 
 
ὁ Δικαιόπολις ὁ τοῦ Ξανθίου δεσπότης ἐστίν. ἐν ᾦ δὲ πάρεστιν ὁ δεσπότης πονεῖ ὁ Ξανθίας. νῦν δὲ (but right now) ἄπεστιν ὁ Δικαιόπολις καὶ οὐ πονεῖ ὁ δοῦλος, ἥσυχος καθεύδει ὑπὸ τῷ δένδρῶ.
In class, roll-call.
Παῦλος. - πάρειμι
Μέλιττα; - πάρειμι
Φιδίας; - ἀπεστιν.
τί οὐ πάρεστι; - μάλα κάμνει
οἱ δεσπόται σύνεισι τοῖς δοῦλοις ἐν τοῖς ἀγροῖς. (if not, no work gets done)
 

 

 
he, she, it is
1. movable   ν  
  ἐστι  
  normal form   μακρός ἐστι καὶ χαλεπός
  ἐστιν   
  if followed by a vowel   ἔστιν αὐτουργός
  before a punctuation mark (full stop, comma...)     αὐτουργός ἐστιν.    
2. enclitic    ἐστιν
  Enclitics lean on preceding word for strength and stress.
  In (almost) all cases they are unstressed and have no written accent.
  Except as: 1st word   ἔστιν αὐτουργός
  and after negative   οὐκ  
    as well as a few others.		   οὐκ ἔστιν  
3rd person singular ἔστιν stressed on the first syllable while all the other forms are then accented on the last syllable
But after οὐκ opinions seem divided:
some grammarians stay with accent on last syllable whereas according to others it is the proclitic οὐκ that has the accent.
  Your choice (or your tutor's):     
  οὐκ εἰμί
  οὐκ ἐσμέν
  οὐκ ἐστέ
  οὐκ εἰσίν		   or    οὔκ εἰμι
  οὔκ ἐσμεν
  οὔκ ἐστε
  οὔκ εἰσιν
 
 
 
There is a tree in the field. ἔστι δένδρον ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ
I am in the field: εἰμὶ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ. Or, emphatic: ἐγώ μέν εἰμι ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ.
The oxen are in the field but Xanthias is not there: οἱ μὲν βόες εἰσὶν ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ, ὁ δὲ Ξανθίας οὐ πάρεστι. οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ, ἀλλὰ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ. καθεύδει γὰρ ἥσυχος.
There is a house in the field. There are also trees (!). But there are no stones. ἔστιν οἶκος ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ, ἔστι καὶ δένδρα. Ἀλλὰ οὐκ εἰσὶ λίθοι.
We're humans, we're not oxen (Even if some of us are as strong and/or as dumb as them). ἄνθρωποί ἐσμεν, οὐκ ἐσμὲν βόες.
Are you (pl.) uneasy/not secure? Are you not strong? ἆρ' οὐχ ἥσυχοί ἐστε; οὐκ ἐστὲ ἰσχυροί;
 
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