[B-Greek] Grammar: "i will have loosed"

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Thu Aug 3 14:45:48 EDT 2006


On Aug 3, 2006, at 2:06 PM, thomas wrote:

> ΚΑΛΗΜέΡΑ,

You might check out the transliteration scheme at http:// 
metalab.unc.edu/bgreek/faq.txt

>
> I am learning κοινή Greek independently and can't seem to find
> the future perfect, active, indicative, 1st person, singular of LYW
> (λύω) in the book I'm using.
>
> I did find on Harry Foundalis' website an entry for "ancient" Greek
> (most likely Attic) for the above as λελυκώς ἔχω LELUKWS
> EXW, but can't seem to find this in κοινη Greek.

The transliteration is tricky here:  the standard BG scheme uses "X"  
for Xi and "C" for Chi. The form you cite in Unicode is actually a  
periphrastic perfect active, equivalent to LELUKA; the equivalent  
future perfect form would be LELUKWS hEXW; theoretically there could  
be a LELUSW.

The place to look for this sort of thing is Smyth: §584 (http:// 
tinyurl.com/mxh42), §600-601 (http://tinyurl.com/pmq3y).

There are very few authentic future perfects even in Classical Attic,  
but here's one in the GNT that might be called a future perfect:  
EIDHSOUSIN ("they will know") in Heb 8:11, but inasmuch as the  
perfect-tense form OIDA really bears present-tense sense, EIDHSOUSIN  
really functions as a simple future.

We do see occasional future perfect middles -- always periphrastic  
forms; a celebrated instance of it is Mt 16:19 with ESTAI DEDEMENON  
and ESTAI LELUMENON.


Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad2 at mac.com
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/





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