[B-Greek] Questions about NT verbal aspect

Jonathan Robie jwrobie at mindspring.com
Thu Jan 18 11:58:13 EST 2007


CTCE wrote:
>  I do not wish to belabor the issue, but I personally think that those "old
> guys" knew what they were writing about, and that what we now have is just
> an intellectual fad.

Hi John,

Let's separate the way we think New Testament Greek verbs work from the 
way we choose to describe how it works. Aspect is simply a way of 
describing the difference between sentences like this:

(1) I walked to the store.
(2) I was walking to the store.

The action feels different in those two sentences. In (2), we feel like 
we're in the middle of the action, but not in (1). Both are past tense, 
but the aspect differs. When A. T. Robertson talks about "linear", 
"punctiliar", etc., he is talking about aspect, he just doesn't use the 
term. But today, pretty much nobody uses the terms Robertson or Smyth 
used to describe any language except for Greek, and the only reason we 
use those terms for Greek is that we use good old books. But that makes 
it really hard to compare Greek to other languages, because the terms 
and models we use to describe New Testament Greek are different from the 
terms and models we use to describe other languages.

You don't have to agree with Porter to believe in aspect, and if you 
think the "old guys" knew what they were writing about, you actually do 
believe in aspect, whether you know it or not. Take a look at Fanning 
(Verbal *Aspect* in New Testament Greek) or Olsen (A Semantic and 
Pragmatic Model of Lexical and Grammatical Aspect), and you will find 
that their account of Greek largely agrees with A.T. Robertson or Smyth. 
However, the words they use to explain things are quite different. 
Fanning and Olsen talk about aspect, but they believe that aspect works 
differently than what Porter describes.

Whether you prefer to say "kind of action", Aktionsart, or aspect, you 
also have to figure out the relationship between time and aspect, and 
how these relate to the forms a verb can take. You disagree with 
Porter's account of time and aspect, and prefer a more traditional one. 
You might find that in Fanning or Olsen. Incidentally, I agree with you.

Jonathan



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