Perfect Indicative
The perfect indicative in the Greek language does not express the same thing as the Portuguese preterite perfect. In Greek, this verbal tense refers to an action performed in the past, but its emphasis is on the present result of that action viewed as complete.
Ἄνθρωπε, ἀφέωνταί σοι αἱ ἁμαρτίαι σου. → “Man, your sins are forgiven.”
Notice that Jesus' statement declares a present reality resulting from the forgiveness granted. Therefore, the best translation for the Greek perfect is often the present or compound form in Portuguese.
Perfect Indicative Active Voice
| Person | Greek | Translation (Complete action w/ present effect) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sg | λέλυκα | I have loosed (I have been loosing) |
| 2nd sg | λέλυκας | you have loosed |
| 3rd sg | λέλυκε(ν) | he/she/it has loosed |
| 1st pl | λελύκαμεν | we have loosed |
| 2nd pl | λελύκατε | you have loosed |
| 3rd pl | λέλυκαν (λελύκασιν) | they have loosed |
Observe the two main morphological characteristics of the active perfect:
1. The consonant kappa (κ) connects the stem to the ending.
2. “Reduplication”: the initial consonant of the verb is repeated at the beginning of the verbal form, accompanied by the vowel epsilon (λε-).
• In verbs beginning with a vowel, reduplication lengthens the initial vowel, similar to the augment (α, ε → η; ο → ω). Example with ἀγαπάω: ἠγάπηκα, ἠγάπηκας, ἠγάπηκεν, ἠγαπήκαμεν, ἠγαπήκατε, ἠγάπηκαν.
Perfect Indicative | Middle and Passive Voices
In the middle and passive voices, there is reduplication at the beginning, but there is no consonant κ nor thematic vowel; the endings attach directly to the stem:
| Person | Greek | Translation (Passive Voice) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sg | λέλυμαι | I have been loosed (I am free) |
| 2nd sg | λέλυσαι | you have been loosed (you are free) |
| 3rd sg | λέλυται | he/she/it has been loosed (he/she/it is free) |
| 1st pl | λελύμεθα | we have been loosed (we are free) |
| 2nd pl | λέλυσθε | you have been loosed (you are free) |
| 3rd pl | λέλυνται | they have been loosed (they are free) |
Vocabulary
Vocabulário do Capítulo
- ἄρχομαι: I begin; [middle voice:] I rule
- δοκέω: I think, I consider; it seems
- καταβαίνω: I go down, descend (Aorist 2 = κατέβην)
- μαρτυρέω: I witness, testify
- μέλλω: I am about to; I am going to (+ infinitive)
- πληρόω: I fill, fulfill
- τηρέω: I keep, guard
- ἀπόστολος (ἀποστόλου), ὁ: apostle
- μήτηρ (μητρός), ἡ: mother
- οἰκία (οἰκίας), ἡ: house, family
- ὀφθαλμός (ὀφθαλμοῦ), ὁ: eye
- ὥρα (ὥρας), ἡ: hour
- ἀλλήλων: one another, mutually
- ὅστις, ἥτις, ὅτι: who, which, whoever; whatever
- παρά: (+ gen., dat., acc.) beside, from, with
καὶ ἡμεῖς πεπιστεύκαμεν καὶ ἐγνώκαμεν ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ.
(and we have believed and have known that you are the Holy One of God — John 6.69)