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Aorist in Greek

The aorist tense is commonly referred to as the simple past, as it indicates a completed action that took place at a specific point in the past, without emphasizing the duration or repetition of the action. The aorist tense exists in both the active and the middle/passive voice and is used for actions that are seen as singular events or specific actions.

1. Aorist in the Active Voice

Most verbs in the aorist use the following steps for conjugation:

• Add the aorist stem (which may differ from the present tense stem).
• Add the augment (usually an "ε-" or "η-" before the stem) to indicate the past.
• Add the aorist endings.

Regular Aorist Endings (Active):

Person	-ω verbs (γράφω - to write)
1st Person Singular	έγραψα (I wrote)
2nd Person Singular	έγραψες (You wrote)
3rd Person Singular	έγραψε (He/She/It wrote)
1st Person Plural	γράψαμε (We wrote)
2nd Person Plural	γράψατε (You all wrote)
3rd Person Plural	έγραψαν/γράψανε (They wrote)

2. Aorist in the Middle/Passive Voice

The aorist in the middle and passive voices has its own endings and is used to describe actions either done by the subject for itself (middle) or actions performed on the subject (passive).

Aorist Middle/Passive Endings:

• Middle Voice: Expresses actions done by the subject for its own benefit or where the subject is involved in the action.
• Passive Voice: Expresses actions done to the subject by an external force.

Regular Aorist Endings (Middle/Passive):

Person	-ω verbs (γράφω - to write)
1st Person Singular	γράφηκα (I was written)
2nd Person Singular	γράφηκες (You were written)
3rd Person Singular	γράφτηκε (He/She/It was written)
1st Person Plural	γραφτήκαμε (We were written)
2nd Person Plural	γραφτήκατε (You all were written)
3rd Person Plural	γράφτηκαν (They were written)

3. Irregular Aorist Forms

Many Greek verbs have irregular aorist forms, which involve stem changes rather than just adding the usual augment and endings. Some of the most common irregular aorist forms include:

• Πηγαίνω (to go) → πήγα (I went)
• Τρώω (to eat) → έφαγα (I ate)
• Βλέπω (to see) → είδα (I saw)
• Λέω (to say) → είπα (I said)

These verbs must be memorized since they don't follow regular aorist conjugation rules.

4. Aorist Participle

The aorist participle is used in more complex sentence structures and can express time or cause relationships. Like the finite forms, the aorist participle can be in the active, middle, or passive voice. Here’s an example:

• Active Participle: γράψας (having written)
• Middle/Passive Participle: γραφείς (having been written)

5. Negation in the Aorist Tense

To negate an aorist verb, simply place "δεν" (den) before the verb, just like in the present tense.

Examples:

• Δεν έγραψα (I didn’t write).
• Δεν είπα (I didn’t say).

6. Usage of the Aorist

The aorist tense is used for completed actions in the past, usually actions that are seen as a single event or moment. Unlike the imperfect tense, which describes continuous or repeated actions in the past, the aorist focuses on the fact that something was done or occurred at a particular moment.

Examples:

• Completed actions: Χθες έγραψα ένα γράμμα (Yesterday, I wrote a letter).
• Series of actions: Έφαγα, διάβασα, και κοιμήθηκα (I ate, I read, and I slept).

7. Aorist vs. Imperfect

While the aorist describes a specific, completed action, the imperfect tense describes actions that were ongoing or repeated in the past. Understanding this distinction is key to using the aorist correctly.

Examples:

• Aorist (specific action): Έγραψα ένα βιβλίο (I wrote a book).
• Imperfect (continuous action): Έγραφα κάθε μέρα (I was writing every day).