[B-Greek] Question about tense stems and what they are.
Steven Lo Vullo
slovullo at mac.com
Fri Sep 17 12:41:54 EDT 2004
On Sep 17, 2004, at 9:21 AM, Mitch Larramore wrote:
> I think an oversimplified answer is probably best at
> this time (and as far as I can take it). The ROOT of a
> verb is generally that part of the verb that carries
> its MEANING. The STEM is that part (maybe better to
> say "form") of a verb that is used for a particular
> TENSE (Present, Aorist, Perfect, etc). So, LU- is the
> FORM of the ROOT LU- used in the Present TENSE (notice
> they look exactly the same), while LELU is the FORM of
> the ROOT LU- used in the Perfect TENSE (ROOT and STEM
> look different).
Hi Mitch:
The LE- is actually reduplication, in which the initial consonant is
duplicated in the formation of the perfect and pluperfect tenses. The
following section from Stevens' grammar may interest you and Jimmy:
The final component of the Greek verb is the lexical, the information
found in a Greek dictionary. For this, we must understand roots, verb
stems, and tense stems.
Root. In the hierarchy of word formation, including verbs, the first
level is the root . This is the base for all related word forms. The
second level is the stem , in which the root forms a trunk for creating
related nouns, adjectives, and verbs through noun stems, adjective
stems, and verb stems. "Cognates" are word forms related to the same
root, whether noun, adjective, verb, etc.
Verb Stem. A verb stem is that particular form in which a word root
manifests itself as a verb. Verb stems communicate the fundamental
"action," the verb ("know," "teach," "have," "receive," "send"). To
illustrate, the word root GNO- can grow into the noun cognate GNWSIS
("knowledge"), the adjective cognate GNWSTOS ("known"), and the verb
cognate GINWSKW ("I know").
Tense stems. The third level of hierarchy is for verbs, because verbs
have the additional job of forming separate tenses. The third level,
then, is a verb stem’s several different tense stems. A tense stem is
a limb coming off the trunk of a verb stem that through formatives
(prefixes, suffixes, infixes) creates a distinct verb tense. One verb
stem can have up to six different tense stems. How will one know this
basic verb stem?
Omega Form. The -W form of a verb is the typical lexical form of
thematic verbs. For quite a number of verbs, dropping the -W from this
lexical form provides the basic verb stem. This basic stem is the
building block of conjugations. The verb LUW is a good example.
However, this procedure is not applicable to all verbs.
Hidden Verb Stems. Dropping the -W from the lexical form of a verb does
not always provide the verb stem. The lexical entry is the present
tense of the verb. Yet, the present tense is one of the most irregular
forming tenses in the entire Greek verb system! The verb stem often is
modified in forming the present tense stem. As a result, the present
tense spelling represents the present tense stem, not the spelling of
the original verb stem. We call these "hidden" verb stems, a
descriptive term, simply because they are not immediately obvious in
the verb’s first lexical entry.
For example, the verb stem of BAPTIZW is BAPTID-, not BAPTIZ-. The
verb stem of KHRUSSW is KHRUK-, not KHRUSS-. The verb stem of GINWSKW
is GNO-. How will you know? Vocabulary will indicate hidden stems.
Also, such stems are pointed out in your lexicons, because the lexicon
will give the formations in other tenses, indicating the present tense
stem is not the verb stem. These "hidden" verb stems are important, so
note them carefully to be able to specify conjugations correctly.
In summary, then, for some verbs, the verb stem does give the present
tense stem. So LUW has the verb stem LU-, which also is the present
tense stem. This is because LUW belongs to a large class of verbs that
does not modify the verb stem to create the present stem. However, for
other verbs, the verb stem does not give the present tense stem. So
GINWSKW has the verb stem GNO-, which is modified significantly in
generating the present stem.
Hope this helps, guys.
============
Steven Lo Vullo
Madison, WI
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