Greek Present Tense Verb Question

Frank Dornik
Frank Dornik Member Posts: 76 ✭✭
edited November 2024 in English Forum

I don't know if I'm allowed to ask this question in the Logos Forums, but I'd really appreciate an answer:

In Greek, do all present tense verbs indicate a continual/habitual action OR just the present-participle verbs?

Comments

  • Bruce Dunning
    Bruce Dunning MVP Posts: 11,163

    The context of verbs determines meaning. Generally the present tense refers to action in progress. Here are a couple of resources that speak of this:

    Syntax of the Moods and Tenses in the Greek New Testament

    THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE. "The Present Participle most frequently denotes an action in progress"

    THE PRESENT INDICATIVE - "The Present Indicative is used of action in progress in present time."

    A Short Syntax of New Testament Greek

    "The use of the Present Indicative in Greek generally denotes action in progress or customary or repeated action in present time."

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  • Jonathan Pitts
    Jonathan Pitts Member Posts: 670 ✭✭

    [I'm not an expert. I've just read a few books.]

    I have the following notes about imperfective verbs (imperfect and present tenses) from lectures given by Logos's Steve Runge:

    [quote]Imperfective aspect (imperfect, present): action represented as ongoing or incomplete

        Narrative: Imperfect: offline material, scene setting
                         Historical present: discrete events on mainline

        Non-narrative: Imperfect: offline material, scene setting
                                Present: default aspect ongoing action on main line

    So, yes, the present tense represents ongoing or incomplete action, but in specific types of material it has other meanings. Particularly, in narratives, it may be the historical present, without the action necessarily being ongoing/incomplete/durative.

  • Danny Parker
    Danny Parker Member Posts: 438 ✭✭

    From the end of book summaries of Daniel Wallace's Greek Grammar: Beyond the Basics (used at DTS in intermediate Greek class). Highly recommended Logos book.

    Syntax provides the range of possibilities, but context drives the specific meaning. A mistake often made is to force a simplistic single meaning based on syntax alone.

    Present Tense:(513–39)

    Portrays the action as an internal or progressive event, without regard for beginning or end; in indicative, present time (generally)

    I.Narrow-Band Presents (516–19)

    A.Instantaneous Present (a.k.a. Aoristic or Punctiliar Present): action occurs at the moment of speaking; usually a performative statement (e.g., "I tell you the truth, the Rams won the game"); indicative only (517–18)

    B.Progressive Present (a.k.a. Descriptive Present): at this present time, right now (describes a scene in progress, esp. in narrative literature) (518–19)

    II.Broad-Band Presents (519–25)

    A. Extending-From-Past Present: describes an action which, begun in the past, continues in the present; translate like an English present perfect (519–20)

    B.Iterative Present: repeatedly, continuously (describes an event that repeatedly happens [indicative if in present time]); includes distributive present (individual acts distributed to more than one object) (520–21)

    C.Customary (Habitual or General) Present: signals either an action that regularly occurs or an ongoing state (broader, more regular than iterative) (521–22)

    D.Gnomic Present: does happen (rather than is happening); states a general, timeless fact, often proverbial in character (523–25)

    III.Special Uses of the Present (526–39)

    A.Historical Present (Dramatic Present): describes a past event in narrative literature (only indicative, third person; used for vividness; λέγει most common; εἰμί does not occur; aspectually equivalent of aorist) (526–32)

    B. Perfective Present: used to emphasize that the results of a past action are still continuing (lexical type [e.g., ἥκω] and contextual type [to introduce OT quotations]) (532–33)

    C. Conative (Tendential, Voluntative) Present: portrays subject as desiring to do something (voluntative), attempting to do something (conative), or at the point of almost doing something (tendential) (534–35)

    1. In Progress, but Not Complete (True Conative): is attempting (unsuccessfully) (attempt is being made in the present time [indicative mood]) (534–35)

    2. Not Begun, but About/Desired to be Attempted (Voluntative/Tendential): about to (an attempt is about to be made or is desired to be made in the present time [or, very near future time]) (535)

    D.Futuristic Present: describes a future event, typically adding the connotations of immediacy and certainty (usually with verbs whose lexical nuance includes anticipation) (535–37)

    1.Completely Futuristic: is soon going to, is certainly going to, will (536)

    2.Mostly Futuristic (Ingressive-Futuristic?): describes an event begun in the present time, but completed in the future (such as is coming, is going) (537)

    E.Present Retained in Indirect Discourse: after verb of perception; tense retained from the direct discourse when the saying is put in indirect discourse; translate as though imperfect when main verb is past tense ("they heard that he was at home") (537–39)

  • Keep Smiling 4 Jesus :)
    Keep Smiling 4 Jesus :) MVP Posts: 23,165

    Many base packages include => https://www.logos.com/product/198/greek-new-testament-insert

    Eight example uses of the Present tense in the Indicative mood are discussed:

    My favorite Logos feature is visual filter highlighting so can "see" range of Greek verbal expression in context:

     

    Wiki has => http://wiki.logos.com/Extended_Tips_for_Highlighting_and_Visual_Filters#Examples_of_visual_filters

    Keep Smiling [:)]

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