Greek Verbs that disallow an aspectual form

Post Reply
MAubrey
Posts: 1090
Joined: May 6th, 2011, 8:52 pm
Contact:

Greek Verbs that disallow an aspectual form

Post by MAubrey »

I know that εἰμὶ is one example of a verb that disallows the aorist, but are there any other verbs where there is a gap in the "tense-form" (<-- I truly despise that term) paradigm?

I feel like I should know already, but I'm drawing a complete blank right now.
Mike Aubrey, Linguist
SIL International
Koine-Greek.com
Stephen Carlson
Posts: 3351
Joined: May 11th, 2011, 10:51 am
Location: Melbourne
Contact:

Re: Greek Verbs that disallow an aspectual form

Post by Stephen Carlson »

I keep coming up with suppletive verbs, where disallowed aspectual form are supplied through another root.

Have you consulted this book?

Daniel Kölligan, Suppletion und Defektivität im griechischen Verbum. Bremen: Hempen Verlag, 2007. Pp. iii, 575. ISBN 10: 3-934106-56-0. ISBN 13: 978-3-934106-56-6. €58.00.

There's a BMCR book review on it by Coulter George.

I haven't read the book, but it seems to be on point.
Stephen C. Carlson, Ph.D.
Melbourne, Australia
RandallButh
Posts: 1105
Joined: May 13th, 2011, 4:01 am

Re: Greek Verbs that disallow an aspectual form

Post by RandallButh »

I didn't understand why you used 'tense-form' if you don't like the term?
You could refer to aspect-stems, which is pretty accurate even if including future-potential, or
tense-stems if you wanted to be quasi traditional but misleading for infinitives and non-indicatives, or
verb category stems if you wanted something more generic.
Just refer to the stems or bases or whatever, rather than the overly generic 'forms'.

As for the verbs themselves, sometimes it depends on definitions of Greek.
For example, γενέσθαι can be viewed as the aorist of εἶναι. (Stephen mentioned suppletion, and some interesting references that I haven't read.)

Some other common verbs include
κεῖσθαι (sometimes this functions in voice-suppletion with τιθέναι)
ἕπεσθαι
ὑπάγειν
δεῖν (in senses of obligation)
κάθησθαι (aorist is suppletive καθίσαι)
ἐπίστασθαι

Then there are the 'funny perfects'
like
εἰδέναι
πεποιθέναι

or verbs like
οἴχεσθαι
ἀπιέναι (literary)
ἤκειν

and quasi-rare, quasi-suppletives like
καθεῦδειν (aorist is rare and slightly different root καθευδῆσαι), or
μνημονεύειν (aorist is usually a suppletive μνησθῆναι, very rarely μνημονεῦσαι)

Several of the above need some training at a fluency workshop so that we can attain three-year-old-kid proficiency.

You gotta love Greek.
MAubrey
Posts: 1090
Joined: May 6th, 2011, 8:52 pm
Contact:

Re: Greek Verbs that disallow an aspectual form

Post by MAubrey »

Thanks, Randall.

I used the term because my brain wasn't functioning. I was drawing blanks on everything: κεῖσθαι, ὑπάγειν, ἤκειν, and terms like "aspectual stems."
Mike Aubrey, Linguist
SIL International
Koine-Greek.com
Paul-Nitz
Posts: 497
Joined: June 1st, 2011, 4:19 am
Location: Sussex, Wisconsin

Re: Greek Verbs that disallow an aspectual form

Post by Paul-Nitz »

So, is the lack of an aorist because the semantic meaning of the word would not mesh with an aorist idea? For example, does ερχ stem carries the continuous idea within the meaning of the word, therefore, it must change roots in order to express, "went." Likewise, would other words work that way. Within the meaning of the word κεῖσθαι is there the idea of a continuous state of lying down, therefore it is incompatible with the aorist idea? Likewise, ὑπαγειν και ἔπεσθαι;

βούλεσθαι ? I find an aorist (βουληθῆναι) listed in some sources and not in others.
Paul D. Nitz - Lilongwe Malawi
MAubrey
Posts: 1090
Joined: May 6th, 2011, 8:52 pm
Contact:

Re: Greek Verbs that disallow an aspectual form

Post by MAubrey »

Stephen Carlson wrote:I keep coming up with suppletive verbs, where disallowed aspectual form are supplied through another root.

Have you consulted this book?

Daniel Kölligan, Suppletion und Defektivität im griechischen Verbum. Bremen: Hempen Verlag, 2007. Pp. iii, 575. ISBN 10: 3-934106-56-0. ISBN 13: 978-3-934106-56-6. €58.00.

There's a BMCR book review on it by Coulter George.

I haven't read the book, but it seems to be on point.
That looks great. I hadn't seen it before. Thanks for the heads up.
Mike Aubrey, Linguist
SIL International
Koine-Greek.com
Post Reply

Return to “Syntax and Grammar”