LESSON 12
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Unit III — The Verb System
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~50 minutes + drilling
By the End of This Lesson
- Distinguish active, middle, and passive voice
- Recognize that present middle and passive forms are IDENTICAL
- Decline λύομαι (mid/pass) in all six person/number combinations
- Identify deponent verbs (forms middle, meaning active)
- Translate sentences with passive verbs and the agent ὑπό + gen
- Memorize the 14 vocabulary words
The Three Voices
Voice tells you the relationship between the subject and the action.
| Voice | Sense | Example |
|---|
| Active | Subject performs the action | "I loose" / "I love" |
| Middle | Subject performs action with self-interest, or on/for itself | "I loose for myself" / "I am loosed (for my benefit)" |
| Passive | Subject receives the action | "I am loosed (by someone)" |
Why English-speakers find middle weird
English has no morphologically distinct middle voice. We use reflexive pronouns ("he hits himself"), reciprocal phrases, or just rephrase in active. Greek has a dedicated middle, and uses it especially for actions that affect the subject's own sphere.
Examples: λούω active = "I wash (something)." λούομαι middle = "I wash myself" (i.e., I bathe). The middle says the subject is involved beyond just doing — they're personally implicated.
Many "middle" verbs in NT actually shade toward passive in modern translation, because the subject-affectedness is implicit. Recent scholarship has drawn attention to "middle voice as the unmarked form for self-affecting actions."
Middle and Passive Share the Same Forms
In the present tense (and imperfect), middle and passive use IDENTICAL endings. Context tells you which it is.
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|
| 1st | -ομαι | -όμεθα |
| 2nd | -ῃ (-ει) | -εσθε |
| 3rd | -εται | -ονται |
⚠ The 2nd singular has two forms
The 2sg ending is -ῃ (older form) or -ει (later form). NT manuscripts vary; both are accepted. Context distinguishes from other forms.
Full Paradigm — λύομαι
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|
| 1st |
λύομαι — I am loosed / loose for myself |
λυόμεθα — we are loosed / loose for ourselves |
| 2nd |
λύῃ (λύει) — you are loosed |
λύεσθε — you (pl) are loosed |
| 3rd |
λύεται — he/she/it is loosed |
λύονται — they are loosed |
How do you know if it's middle or passive?
Three signals:
1. Presence of an agent (ὑπό + gen): if there's an "by X" phrase, it's passive. βαπτίζεται ὑπὸ Ἰωάννου = "he is baptized BY John" → passive.
2. The verb's lexical character: some verbs are inherently middle (deponents — see below) and never passive.
3. Context: does the sentence make sense with subject acting on self vs subject being acted upon? Often only one reading fits.
The Passive Agent — ὑπό + Genitive
When you want to say "by whom" the passive action is done, Greek uses ὑπό + genitive. This is the standard NT construction.
ὁ Ἰησοῦς βαπτίζεται ὑπὸ Ἰωάννου.
— ho Iēsous baptizetai hypo Iōannou.
"Jesus is baptized by John." Subject = Jesus (nom). Verb = βαπτίζεται (3sg pres mid/pass — passive here). Agent = ὑπὸ Ἰωάννου ("by John," gen).
διδάσκονται οἱ μαθηταὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
— didaskontai hoi mathētai hypo tou Christou.
"The disciples are taught by Christ." 3rd plural mid/pass; the agent phrase makes it passive.
Notice the case-shift signal
ὑπό + acc = "under" (spatial). ὑπό + gen = "by" (passive agent). This is one of the case-shift prepositions from Lesson 9 — and the agent-marking use is overwhelmingly common in NT.
Deponent Verbs
A class of Greek verbs whose form is always middle (or middle/passive) but whose meaning is active. They have no active form — the middle/passive form IS the active form.
| Greek | Form | Meaning |
|---|
| ἔρχομαι | middle/passive only | I come, go (active sense) |
| γίνομαι | middle/passive only | I become, am, happen |
| ἀποκρίνομαι | middle/passive only | I answer |
| πορεύομαι | middle/passive only | I go, proceed |
| δύναμαι | middle/passive only | I am able, can |
| δέχομαι | middle/passive only | I receive, welcome |
So ἔρχεται looks like passive ("he is come" — meaningless in English) but actually means simply "he comes." When you see a deponent, translate as if it were active.
Why does Greek do this? Linguistically, "coming" and "becoming" are inherently subject-affecting actions — your motion changes you. The middle voice's "subject-affectedness" fits perfectly. Some scholars argue we shouldn't even call these "deponent" — they're just middles for actions that necessarily involve the subject.
⚠ Recognizing deponents
Deponents are listed in dictionaries with their middle/passive form: ἔρχομαι (not ἔρχω). The -ομαι ending in the lexical form is the giveaway: this verb is deponent. Translate the form actively.
Sentences with Middle/Passive
ἔρχεται ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν.
— erchetai ho Iēsous eis tēn Galilaian.
"Jesus comes into Galilee." ἔρχεται is deponent — middle in form, active in meaning.
ἀποκρίνονται οἱ μαθηταί.
— apokrinontai hoi mathētai.
"The disciples answer." ἀποκρίνομαι is deponent. 3rd plural form.
ὁ ἀπόστολος πέμπεται ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ.
— ho apostolos pempetai hypo tou theou.
"The apostle is sent by God." True passive: agent phrase ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ confirms it. Active would be πέμπει ("he sends").
δυνάμεθα ποιεῖν τὰ ἔργα τοῦ θεοῦ.
— dynametha poiein ta erga tou theou.
"We can do the works of God." δύναμαι is deponent — "we are able." (ποιεῖν is the infinitive — Lesson 26.)
γίνεται φῶς ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ.
— ginetai phōs en tō kosmō.
"Light comes (becomes) in the world." γίνομαι is deponent — "becomes / comes into being." A common verb of existence/event in John.
Translation Exercises
Translate
- πορευόμεθα εἰς τὴν πόλιν.
- βαπτίζονται οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ὑπὸ Ἰωάννου. [ἁμαρτωλός = "sinner"]
- ὁ θεὸς ἀκούεται ὑπὸ τῶν δικαίων.
- δέχονται οἱ μαθηταὶ τοὺς λόγους τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
- ἔρχομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς.
- γίνονται οἱ τυφλοὶ ἀδελφοὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
- προσευχόμεθα τῷ θεῷ ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ. [προσεύχομαι = "I pray"]
Answers
1. We go into the city. (πορεύομαι deponent.)
2. The sinners are baptized by John. (Passive — agent phrase.)
3. God is heard by the righteous. (Passive — agent phrase.)
4. The disciples receive the words of Christ. (δέχομαι deponent.)
5. I am coming to you. (ἔρχομαι deponent.)
6. The blind become brothers of Christ. (γίνομαι deponent. Substantival τυφλοί = "the blind ones.")
7. We pray to God in the temple. (προσεύχομαι deponent.)
Practice — drill the concepts
Six drill sets for the middle/passive voice — voice concepts, the m/p endings, the λύομαι paradigm, deponent verbs (ἔρχομαι, γίνομαι, etc.), distinguishing middle from passive (especially with the ὑπό + gen agent), and translation.
Vocabulary — Lesson 12
14 deponents and middle/passive verbs
| Greek | Translit. | Meaning |
|---|
| ἀποκρίνομαι | apokrinomai | I answer (deponent) |
| ἄρχω / ἄρχομαι | archō | I rule (active); I begin (mid.) |
| βαπτίζω | baptizō | I baptize (active); be baptized (passive) |
| γίνομαι | ginomai | I become, am, happen (deponent) |
| δέχομαι | dechomai | I receive, welcome (deponent) |
| δύναμαι | dynamai | I am able, can (deponent) |
| ἔρχομαι | erchomai | I come, go (deponent) |
| πορεύομαι | poreuomai | I go, proceed (deponent) |
| προσεύχομαι | proseuchomai | I pray (deponent) |
| προσέρχομαι | proserchomai | I come/go to (+ dat) (deponent) |
| ἐκπορεύομαι | ekporeuomai | I go out, proceed (deponent) |
| ἐργάζομαι | ergazomai | I work, do (deponent) |
| κάθημαι | kathēmai | I sit (deponent) |
| ὑπάρχω | hyparchō | I am, exist |