δειπνήσειν μέλλομεν, ἢ τί; (Are we going to have dinner, or what?)
—question asked by Euelpides in Aristophanes’ Birds 464 The future tense (active voice) of the indicative mood uses the same endings as the present tense (active voice): -ω, -εις, -ει, -ομεν, -ετε, -ουσι(ν).
Remember that each of these is actually a combination of a thematic vowel (ε/ο) and a personal ending. These six endings are added to the future stem, which is ordinarily just the present stem + the tense-marker σ:
Future Active Indicative
Singular Endings
παιδεύσω (“I shall teach/shall be teaching”) -σ-ω παιδεύσεις (“you [sg.] will teach/will be teaching”) -σ-εις παιδεύσει (“he/she/it will teach/will be teaching”) -σ-ει Plural
παιδεύσοµεν (“we shall teach/shall be teaching”) -σ-οµεν παιδεύσετε (“you [pl.] will teach/will be teaching”) -σ-ετε παιδεύσουσι(ν) (“they will teach/will be teaching”) -σ-ουσι(ν)
Notice that the accent is recessive, as expected in finite forms, and that mov-able ν is added to the third-person plural. While the present tense is much more likely to have imperfective than aoristic aspect, the future tense is just as likely to have aoristic aspect (e.g., “we shall eat dinner when we are hungry”) as it is to have imperfective aspect (e.g., “we shall be eating dinner for an hour”). The future tense may be translated with “shall,” “will,” or “am/are/is going to.”
Euphony. If the present stem ends in a vowel or a diphthong, adding a sigma to form the future stem presents no complications. If the present stem ends in a consonant, however, the collision between the consonant and the sigma produces either a double consonant (ψ, ξ) or a phonetic change of some sort, designed to avoid roughness in sound. The ancient Greeks always strove for euphony, a pleasing blend of sounds, in their language.
Here is a summary of the euphonic changes that take place when the future stem is formed:
38.
From Alpha to Omega
You may wonder why stems ending in ττ use ξ rather than σ for the future tense.
Contrary to their appearance, these stems are not dental but palatal: they actu-ally end with κ, γ, or χ, followed by a consonantal ι (y-sound). For euphonic rea-sons Attic Greek replaces κι, γι, and χι with ττ (other dialects, including Koine, replace them with σσ).
What happens when a stem ends in a liquid (λ, ρ), a nasal (μ, ν), or ζ will be explained in a later lesson.
Second Principal Part. Many Greek verbs are irregular in the future tense.
This means that knowing how a verb’s future should theoretically look is no guarantee that it will look that way. Fortunately the lexicon will always give you the first-person singular future active indicative (e.g., παιδεύσω) as the verb’s second principal part. Dropping the personal ending -ω will leave you with the future stem.
From now on, whenever a verb is introduced, you will need to learn not just one but two principal parts. The list below contains the first two principal parts of each of the verbs in Lessons 3-5; being able to recognize euphonic changes should help you memorize the forms:
ἀκούω, ἀκούσομαι κλέπτω, κλέψω for middle voice, even when its meaning was active. Future active endings (ἀκούσω, ἀκούσεις, etc.) did not come into use for that verb until late antiquity.
You will not be asked to translate or compose sentences with the future tense of ἀκούω until you have learned the middle voice (Lesson 11).
ἐθέλω forms its future stem by adding both a lengthened thematic vowel (ε be-comes η) and a sigma to its present stem: ἐθελήσω. One of the verbs introduced in this lesson, μέλλω, forms its future stem in the same way: μελλήσω.
From a logical standpoint, it would seem that Greek should not need a future infinitive: its three other infinitives (present, aorist, perfect) should be sufficient to indicate aspect (imperfective, aoristic, or perfective).
While, as a rule, Greek infinitives do not indicate time, there are important exceptions. In certain instances (to be discussed in later lessons), infinitives can show time relative to that of the main verb; in such cases a future 39.
Lesson 6 • 33 infinitive is needed to denote an action occurring subsequent to the time of the main verb.
Future Active Infinitive
παιδεύσειν (“to be going to teach/be teaching”)
The future active infinitive is made by adding the ending -ειν (thematic vowel ε + εν; ε + ε → ει) to the future stem; its accent is always on the penult. It is pos-sible for a future infinitive to have either aoristic aspect (e.g., “to be going to teach on one occasion”) or imperfective aspect (e.g., “to be going to be teaching for a while”). The context will show which aspect is intended.
Use of µέλλω. In the vocabulary list at the end of each lesson, the notation (+ infinitive) indicates that a present infinitive, an aorist infinitive, or, rarely, a perfect infinitive—but not a future infinitive—may be used to complete the idea expressed by the verb. The only verb in this textbook that ever takes a future infinitive as its complement is μέλλω (“I am about,” “I intend”), and even with μέλλω the present infinitive is a common substitute for the future infinitive. Saying μέλλω παιδεύσειν or μέλλω παιδεύειν (“I am about to teach” or “I intend to teach”) is the rough equivalent of saying παιδεύσω (“I am going to teach”). Notice that when you translate the future infinitive with μέλλω, you should drop the words “be going to” to avoid the awkwardness of “I am about to be going to teach.”
If μέλλω is used alone or is complemented with a present infinitive, it may mean “I delay” or “I hesitate,” implying that the speaker intends to do something but has qualms about doing it. Examples: μὴ μέλλε, “don’t delay!”; μέλλω παιδεύειν, “I hesitate to teach.” Thus, while μέλλω + future infinitive will always mean “I am about/intend to,” the meaning of μέλλω + present infinitive (either “I am about/intend to” or “I delay/hesitate to”) will depend on the context.
Vocabulary
ἀλλάττω, ἀλλάξω change, alter [cf. parallax]
ἀλλάττω does not mean “I change” in the sense of “I become different”;
rather, it means “I make something or someone change.” Thus, in the ac-tive voice, it always has a direct object with it; i.e., it is always transiac-tive.
διώκω, διώξω pursue, chase, hunt, drive away, banish ἔχω, ἕξω/σχήσω have, hold, possess; (+ infinitive) be able (to) [cf.
cathexis]
ἕξω has imperfective aspect (“I shall possess [for a period of time]”), while σχήσω has aoristic aspect (“I shall get hold of [on a particular occasion]”).
µέλλω, µελλήσω (+ future infinitive) be about (to), intend (to); (+
present infinitive) delay (to), hesitate (to) κόρη, -ης, ἡ maiden, girl, daughter; Κόρη = Maiden (another
name for Persephone, daughter of the goddess Demeter) [cf. hypocorism]
κόρη is an exception to the rule that, in Attic, ᾱ after ρ never changes to η.
40.
From Alpha to Omega 34 •
οἰκίᾱ, -ᾱς, ἡ house, household ἔτι (adverb) still, yet, longer µηκέτι (adverb) no longer, no more οὐκέτι (adverb) no longer, no more
μηκέτι is used wherever μή would be appropriate (e.g., with imperative mood), οὐκέτι wherever οὐ would be appropriate (e.g., with indicative mood).
πάλιν (adverb) back, backwards, again, once more [cf.
palimpsest, palindrome]
ἀλλά (ἀλλ’) (conjunction) but (ἀλλ’ is written before a vowel) A Greek word ending in a short vowel is usually elided (i.e., the final vowel is dropped and no longer pronounced) when it comes before a word starting with a vowel. These elisions are often taken for granted and left unmarked in manuscripts, but in a few common words that are frequently elided, it is conventional to mark the elision with an apostrophe; ἀλλά is one of those words.
Exercises
Greek-to-English Sentences
1. μέλλεις πάλιν θσειν τῇ θεᾷ; φυλάξομεν τὴν σκηνήν.
2. παιδεύσω καὶ κελεύσω, ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἐθελήσεις ἀκούειν.
3. μὴ μέλλε τς θεραπαίνᾱς εἰς τὴν οἰκίᾱν πάλιν πέμπειν.
4. ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ ἔχω γράφειν τς ἐπιστολς, ἀλλὰ θειν οὐκ ἔχω.
5. κελευέτω ἡ δέσποινα ταῖς θεραπαίναις ἔτι φυλάττειν τὴν οἰκίᾱν.
6. ἐπεὶ ὥρᾱ γράφειν τὴν ἐπιστολὴν τῇ κόρῃ, οὐ μελλήσω γράφειν.
7. αἱ θεαὶ ἐκ τῆς χώρᾱς καὶ εἰς τὴν θάλατταν σπεύσουσιν.
8. μέλλει διώξειν τς κόρᾱς; οὐκέτι ἕξομεν τὴν ἡσυχίᾱν.
9. ἄκουε τῆς θεραπαίνης, ὦ δέσποινα, καὶ μηκέτι βλάπτε.
10. ἐκ τῆς ἀγορᾶς πάλιν κλέψειν μέλλετε τς κλνᾱς;
English-to-Greek Sentences
1. Shall we pursue the maids into the market?
2. I intend to educate the girls, mistress, since I still have leisure.
3. They will guard the tents, but they will not write the letters.
4. Will you (sg.) be able to change your destiny in the countryside?
5. It is time to sacrifice to the goddess; let them not hesitate to hasten out of the house.
41.
Lesson 6 • 35 Reading
Old Habits Never Die (Aesop’s Fable 50)
Ἡ Ἀφροδτη γαλῆν εἰς κόρην ἀλλάττει. τὴν κόρην νεᾱνίᾱς γαμεῖ. ἀλλ’ ἡ θε μέλλει τῆς κόρης πειρσειν. τοὺς τρόπους τῆς γαλῆς ἔτι ἕξει ἡ κόρη; ἡ Ἀφροδτη μῦν πέμπει εἰς τὴν οἰκίᾱν τῆς κόρης. τὸν μῦν ἡ κόρη διώξει; μὴ δίωκε, ὦ κόρη· γαλῆ οὐκέτι εἶ.
ἀλλ’ ἡ κόρη τὸν μῦν διώκει. ἡ θε τὴν κόρην εἰς γαλῆν πάλιν ἀλλάττει. οὐκ ἔχει καὶ ἡ Ἀφροδτη ἀλλάττειν τοὺς τρόπους.
Vocabulary Help for the Reading
Ἀφροδτη (line 1) from Ἀφροδτη, -ης, ἡ: Aphrodite, goddess of love γαλῆν (line 1) from γαλῆ (contracted from γαλέη), -ῆς, ἡ: weasel νεᾱνίᾱς (line 1) young man (nominative singular of a first-declension masculine noun)
γαµεῖ (line 2) from γαμέω, γαμῶ (a contract verb): take to wife, marry πειρσειν (line 2) from πειράω, πειρσω (another contract verb) (+
genitive): test, make trial (of)
τοὺς τρόπους (line 2) the habits, character (accusative plural of τρόπος, a second-declension masculine noun, preceded by the definite article)
µῦν (line 3) mouse (accusative singular of μῦς, a third-declension masculine noun; used with the definite article later in the line) εἶ (line 4) you are (second-person singular present active indicative of the irregular verb meaning “be”)
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