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19.134 Syntax of the Aorist Participle

As you read Croy section 134, keep in mind that his discussion is somewhat confusing because he does not use the word "aspect" to describe the difference between the present participle and the aorist participle. The difference between the aorist participle and the present participle is a difference in aspect, and because English does not have a strong sense of aspect, it is impossible to convey that difference clearly when you try to translate from Greek into English.

With the past tense, every Greek writer has a choice of two past tense verb forms. There is the imperfect past tense, which belongs to the present aspect system (it is built on the present stem of the verb). There is also the aorist past tense, which belongs to the aorist aspect system (it is built on the aorist stem of the verb). Every time you see a past tense verb in Greek, the author has made a choice between using the imperfect past and the aorist past. In order to understand this choice, you need to pay attention when you read Greek and start to understand the difference in aspect. The aorist aspect simply signals that there is verbal action, but the present aspect puts an emphasis on the unfolding of that action.

The same thing is true with participles. Every time a Greek writer needs a participle, there is a choice between using a present participle or an aorist participle.The aorist aspect simply signals that there is verbal action, but the present aspect puts an emphasis on the unfolding of that action. There is no easy way to reflect this difference in an English translation.

Very often, the subject of a participle is the same as the subject of the main verb in a sentence. When the subject of the participle is the same as the subject of the main verb, it is sometimes (but not always!) the case that the present participle denotes action that is occurs simultaneously with the main verb, while the aorist participle can be used to denote action that occured prior to the action of the main verb. Please be aware, however, that this is not a hard and fast rule by any means.

If you have to translate a Greek sentence with a participle in it - whether that is a present participle or an aorist participle - it is best to take a simple approach at first. You can later refine your translation to something more subtle and complex in English, based on the context of the sentence you are translating. You can always start out with a basic translation, however, as follows:

Strategy #1: Translate participle as verb. If the participle serves as the subject of the main verb or is modifying the subject of the main verb, you can translate the participle as if it were a verb, connecting it with the word "and" to the main verb(s) in the sentence. For example:

εἰπὼν ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα ὁ προφήτης ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ.
The prophet said these words and went out of the temple.

This is a simple and straightforward translation. The prophet is the subject of two verbal actions: saying the words and going out of the temple. \

Strategy #2: Translate participle as relative clause. You can always translate a participle in Greek as a relative clause in English. This is an especially good strategy for sentences where the participle is modifying a noun that is not the subject of the main verb of the sentence, although you can actually use this strategy for any participle.

ὀφείλομεν προσεύχεσθαι ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτησάντων εἰς τὸν κύριον.
We should pray on behalf of those people who sinned against the Lord.

εἰπὼν ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα ὁ προφήτης ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ.
The prophet who spoke these words went out of the temple.

Both of these strategies will allow you to translate, at least roughly, any participle that you meet in Greek. Then later on you can try to apply some of the strategies that Croy suggests, which may be appropriate given the context of the sentence you are translating.


Biblical Greek Online. Laura Gibbs, Ph.D. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. You must give the original author credit. You may not use this work for commercial purposes. If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under a license identical to this one. Page last updated: April 9, 2005 8:06 PM


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