[B-Greek] Question about tense stems and what they are.

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Fri Sep 17 19:36:18 EDT 2004


Jimmy you really need to distinguish between a verb root and a tense-stem;
in a vowel-root verb like LUW the present stem can be said to be identical
with the verb root (although I'd prefer to describe LUW in terms of a verb
root of LU- and a present stem of LUo/e- (indicating that the thematic
vowel is an essential part of the conjugational stem of LUW in the present
tense. Additive elements combine with LU- to form other tense stems.

This matter was dealt with back in May of this year. Rather than cite it
I'll simply list the archive URL of a message stating my views on this and
indicating a resource I've made available on conjugation of the Greek verb
at my own web-site:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/b-greek/2004-May/030056.html

At 5:25 PM -0400 9/17/04, JMonte2000 at aol.com wrote:
>
>
>Hi Steve thanks
>    So, your saying a Word like LUW, the tense stem LU  in present will
>change as you go to other tense stems, like Present to  Future? Not that our
>example might be a good one since I know from the lessons  some don't
>change, they
>use the same stem.
>What I am asking is, that there are not just class' of roots or tense stems
>that are used in only one way, they change the tense stem as you need be,
>right?  Like say, aorist, to present to future and so on? I was thinking
>that LU
>is a  present tense stem only, and say AKOU for another tense stem. I guess I
>was not  understanding it properly.
>Am I getting now?
>Jimmy Montesano
>
>
>In a message dated 9/17/2004 12:42:27 PM Eastern Standard Time,
>slovullo at mac.com writes:
>
>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
>
>
>
>
>
>Grace and  Peace to You, Jimmy
>---
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-- 

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/



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