Participle Overview and Formation
Table of contents
Participles Overview
Participles are verbal adjectives. Note how participles differ from infinitives, which are verbal nouns – a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea, while an adjective is a word that modifies a substantive and agrees with it in gender, case, and number. Both, however, are based on verbal dictionary entries and have some sense of action built into them, and neither can be the main verb of its sentence.
A participle modifies a noun by describing what it’s doing (if active or middle in voice) or what’s being done to it (if passive in voice). The most straightforward appearance of a participle in English often uses the “-ing” (active/middle) or “-ed” (passive) form of a verb, as in the following examples:
- The crying boy sat on the ground.
- We ate the hardboiled eggs.
In these examples, the bolded words are based on verbs. “Crying” is an active participle from the verb “to cry”, and it describes an activity of the boy while he’s sitting on the ground. “Hardboiled” is a passive participle from the verb “to hardboil”, and it describes what happened to the eggs before they were eaten: they got hardboiled. Both participles derive from verbs but modify nouns in their capacity as adjectives.
However, as we will see, participles are extremely versatile in ancient Greek and can (and should) be translated in more interesting ways than simply “[verb]ing” or “[verb]ed”. We can build a participial phrase out into its own dependent clause, depending on how we interpret a participle to be relating to its noun and the main verb of a sentence. Take a look at the following example:
- γράψαντες τὰ ποιήματα, οἱ παῖδες εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν ἦλθον.
The participle in this sentence is γράψαντες, a masculine nominative plural aorist active participle from γράφω, and it modifies the subject of the sentence οἱ παῖδες, the children. Because of the participle’s predicative position, there are a number of ways in which we can interpret and translate the participle that indicate its aoristic aspect (a verbal action that’s completed and done by the time of the action of the main verb). Here are some quick examples:
- After they wrote/had written the poems, the children went into the house.
- When they wrote/had written the poems, the children went into the house.
- Since they wrote/had written the poems, the children went into the house.
- Because they wrote/had written the poems, the children went into the house.
- Although they wrote/had written the poems, the children went into the house.
As you can see, the participle is extremely versatile, and depending on your interpretation, there are many ways in which it can be translated. Of course, some possibilities are more likely than others. Why, for example, would “writing the poems” be set in opposition to “going into the house” as in the last example with “although”? “When” or “after” seems more likely. Note also how the verbal action in γράψαντες can be rendered either with a regular aorist translation (“they wrote”) or what we would term a pluperfect translation (“they had written”); the pluperfect is a tense that indicates that a verbal action occurred before an event that itself occurred in the past (i.e., the action of “going” in ἦλθον).
We will get into the details of the various ways in which you can interpret a participle in the next chapter. For now, though, we have to understand how to form and identify participles.
Participle Formation Guidelines
Like infinitives or conjugated forms of the verb, the formation of a participle is a matter of adding endings to a verb stem. However, unlike infinitives or conjugated forms of the verb, because participles are verbal adjectives, you must then decline the participle to match in gender, case, and number with the noun that it’s describing or replacing (if it’s used as a substantive adjective).
Like infinitives, there are five tense-voice combinations of the participle from the combinations that we’ve met so far:
- present active (1st pp)
- present middle/passive (1st pp)
- aorist active (3rd pp)
- aorist middle (3rd pp)
- aorist passive (6th pp)
Participles fall into the regular declension patterns of the adjectives that we learned about after Exam 2; the key is remembering which pattern of endings each participle uses. Here is a list in summary; we’ll explore each in the following sections.
- present active (1st pp):
- -ω verbs: -ων, -ουσα, -ον (3-1-3, m./n. stem -οντ-)
- -μι verbs: -ς, -σα, -ν (3-1-3, m./n. stem -ντ-)
- present middle/passive (1st pp):
- -ω verbs: -όμενος, -ομένη, -όμενον (2-1-2)
- -μι verbs: -μενος, -μένη, -μενον (2-1-2)
- aorist active (3rd pp):
- 1st aorist: -ας, -ασα, -αν (3-1-3, m./n. stem -αντ-)
- 2nd aorist: -ών, -οῦσα, -όν (3-1-3, m./n. stem -όντ-)
- aorist middle (3rd pp):
- 1st aorist: -άμενος, -αμένη, -άμενον (2-1-2)
- 2nd aorist: -όμενος, -ομένη, -όμενον (2-1-2)
- aorist passive (6th pp): -είς, -εῖσα, -έν (3-1-3, m./n. stem -έντ-)
Present Participles
Present participles, like finite verbs and infinitives, are built on the first principal part and are formed by the combination of the present stem with a set of endings; these endings depend first on whether the verb is an -ω verb or a -μι verb, and then on whether you want your participle to be in the active voice or in the middle or passive voice.
Present Active
Both types of present active participle (-ω or -μι) are three-termination consonant declension adjectives or 3-1-3s. To form the participle, you must get the present stem as usual and then attach the following endings:
- -ω verbs: -ων, -ουσα, -ον (3-1-3, m./n. stem -οντ-)
- -μι verbs: -ς, -σα, -ν (3-1-3, m./n. stem -ντ-)
Both types of present active participle are 3-1-3s, and recall what this means from our discussion of 3-1-3s. The feminine forms of the participle decline according to first-declension short feminine patterns, but the masculine and neuter forms of the participle decline according to third declension patterns.
Because participles are adjectives, their accents are persistent rather than recessive; the accent in present participles persists on the last syllable of the stem. So, in a verb like κελεύω, with a present stem of κελευ-, the accent will remain on the -ευ- unless pulled forward by a long ultima.
Recall also that if the verb in question is an epsilon-contract, you must contract the stem’s epsilon with the vowel or diphthong that follows.
Let’s take a look at the verbs κελεύω, μείγνυμι, and ποιέω as paradigm examples to illustrate the formation of the participles of -ω verbs, -μι verbs, and epsilon contracts respectively.
κελεύω
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Sg. | κελεύων | κελεύουσα | κελεῦον |
| Gen. Sg. | κελεύοντος | κελευούσης | κελεύοντος |
| Dat. Sg. | κελεύοντι | κελευούσῃ | κελεύοντι |
| Acc. Sg. | κελεύοντα | κελεύουσαν | κελεῦον |
| Nom. Pl. | κελεύοντες | κελεύουσαι | κελεύοντα |
| Gen. Pl. | κελευόντων | κελευουσῶν | κελευόντων |
| Dat. Pl. | κελεύουσι(ν)* | κελευούσαις | κελεύουσι(ν)* |
| Acc. Pl. | κελεύοντας | κελεύουσας | κελεύοντα |
* Note that in the masculine and dative plural, the sigma of the ending (-σι(ν)) knocks out the stem’s -ντ-, and the -ο- left behind lengthens to -ου- to compensate.
μείγνυμι
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Sg. | μειγνύς | μειγνῦσα | μειγνύν |
| Gen. Sg. | μειγνῦντος | μειγνύσης | μειγνῦντος |
| Dat. Sg. | μειγνῦντι | μειγνύσῃ | μειγνῦντι |
| Acc. Sg. | μειγνῦντα | μειγνῦσαν | μειγνύν |
| Nom. Pl. | μειγνῦντες | μειγνῦσαι | μειγνῦντα |
| Gen. Pl. | μειγνύντων | μειγνυσῶν | μειγνύντων |
| Dat. Pl. | μειγνῦσι(ν) | μειγνύσαις | μειγνῦσι(ν) |
| Acc. Pl. | μειγνῦντας | μειγνύσας | μειγνῦντα |
ποιεώ
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Sg. | ποιῶν | ποιοῦσα | ποίουν |
| Gen. Sg. | ποιοῦντος | ποιούσης | ποιοῦντος |
| Dat. Sg. | ποιοῦντι | ποιούσῃ | ποιοῦντι |
| Acc. Sg. | ποιοῦντα | ποιοῦσαν | ποίουν |
| Nom. Pl. | ποιοῦντες | ποιοῦσαι | ποιοῦντα |
| Gen. Pl. | ποιούντων | ποιουσῶν | ποιούντων |
| Dat. Pl. | ποιοῦσι(ν) | ποιούσαις | ποιοῦσι(ν) |
| Acc. Pl. | ποιοῦντας | ποιούσας | ποιοῦντα |
Note that in all of these forms, the stem’s -ε- contracts with the vowel or diphthong that follows. So, ποιε- + -ων becomes ποιῶν in the masc. nom. sg.; ποιε- + -οντος becomes ποιοῦντος in the masc. gen. sg.; and so on.
Present Middle/Passive
The declension of the present middle/passive participle in both forms (-ω and -μι) is more straightforward than its active counterpart since both variations are three-termination vowel declension (2-1-2) adjectives. The middle/passive endings are as follows:
- -ω verbs: -όμενος, -ομένη, -όμενον (2-1-2)
- -μι verbs: -μενος, -μένη, -μενον (2-1-2)
Note that the only functional difference between the endings is the thematic vowel -ο- in the -ω verb endings. Note also that epsilon-contracts will combine the stem -ε- with the -ο- of the ending into -ου-.
κελεύω
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Sg. | κελευόμενος | κελευομένη | κελευόμενον |
| Gen. Sg. | κελευομένου | κελευομένης | κελευομένου |
| Dat. Sg. | κελευομένῳ | κελευομένῃ | κελευομένῳ |
| Acc. Sg. | κελευόμενον | κελευομένην | κελευόμενον |
| Nom. Pl. | κελευόμενοι | κελευόμεναι | κελευόμενα |
| Gen. Pl. | κελευομένων | κελευομένων | κελευομένων |
| Dat. Pl. | κελευομένοις | κελευομέναις | κελευομένοις |
| Acc. Pl. | κελευομένους | κελευόμενας | κελευόμενα |
μείγνυμι
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Sg. | μειγνύμενος | μειγνυμένη | μειγνύμενον |
| Gen. Sg. | μειγνυμένου | μειγνυμένης | μειγνυμένου |
| Dat. Sg. | μειγνυμένῳ | μειγνυμένῃ | μειγνυμένῳ |
| Acc. Sg. | μειγνύμενον | μειγνυμένην | μειγνύμενον |
| Nom. Pl. | μειγνυμενοι | μειγνύμεναι | μειγνύμενα |
| Gen. Pl. | μειγνυμένων | μειγνυμένων | μειγνυμένων |
| Dat. Pl. | μειγνυμένοις | μειγνυμέναις | μειγνυμένοις |
| Acc. Pl. | μειγνυμένους | μειγνύμενας | μειγνύμενα |
ποιεώ
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Sg. | ποιούμενος | ποιουμένη | ποίούμενον |
| Gen. Sg. | ποιουμένου | ποιουμένης | ποιουμένου |
| Dat. Sg. | ποιουμένῳ | ποιουμένῃ | ποιουμένῳ |
| Acc. Sg. | ποιούμενον | ποιουμένην | ποίούμενον |
| Nom. Pl. | ποιούμενοι | ποιούμεναι | ποιούμενα |
| Gen. Pl. | ποιουμένων | ποιουμένων | ποιουμένων |
| Dat. Pl. | ποιουμένοις | ποιουμέναις | ποιουμένοις |
| Acc. Pl. | ποιουμένους | ποιούμενας | ποιούμενα |
Core Four -μι Verbs - Present Participles
The core four -μι verbs exhibit relatively irregular forms in the present active participle. Note the following forms:
- δίδωμι > διδούς, διδοῦσα, διδόν (m./n. stem διδόντ-)
Present Active
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Sg. | διδούς | διδοῦσα | διδόν |
| Gen. Sg. | διδόντος | διδούσης | διδόντος |
| Dat. Sg. | διδόντι | διδούσῃ | διδόντι |
| Acc. Sg. | διδόντα | διδοῦσαν | διδόν |
| Nom. Pl. | διδόντες | διδοῦσαι | διδόντα |
| Gen. Pl. | διδόντων | διδούσων | διδόντων |
| Dat. Pl. | διδοῦσι(ν) | διδούσαις | διδοῦσι(ν) |
| Acc. Pl. | διδόντας | διδούσας | διδόντα |
- τίθημι > τιθείς, τιθεῖσα, τιθέν (m./n. stem τιθέντ-)
Present Active
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Sg. | τιθείς | τιθεῖσα | τιθέν |
| Gen. Sg. | τιθέντος | τιθείσης | τιθέντος |
| Dat. Sg. | τιθέντι | τιθείσῃ | τιθέντι |
| Acc. Sg. | τιθέντα | τιθεῖσαν | τιθέν |
| Nom. Pl. | τιθέντες | τιθεῖσαι | τιθέντα |
| Gen. Pl. | τιθέντων | τιθείσων | τιθέντων |
| Dat. Pl. | τιθεῖσι(ν) | τιθείσαις | τιθεῖσι(ν) |
| Acc. Pl. | τιθέντας | τιθείσας | τιθέντα |
- ἵημι > ἱείς, ἱεῖσα, ἱέν (m./n. stem ἱεντ-)
Present Active
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Sg. | ἱείς | ἱεῖσα | ἱέν |
| Gen. Sg. | ἱέντος | ἱείσης | ἱέντος |
| Dat. Sg. | ἱέντι | ἱείσῃ | ἱέντι |
| Acc. Sg. | ἱέντα | ἱεῖσαν | ἱέν |
| Nom. Pl. | ἱέντες | ἱεῖσαι | ἱέντα |
| Gen. Pl. | ἱέντων | ἱείσων | ἱέντων |
| Dat. Pl. | ἱεῖσι(ν) | ἱείσαις | ἱεῖσι(ν) |
| Acc. Pl. | ἱέντας | ἱείσας | ἱέντα |
- ἵστημι > ἱστάς, ἱστᾶσα, ἱστάν (m./n. stem ἱστάντ-)
Present Active
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Sg. | ἱστάς | ἱστᾶσα | ἱστάν |
| Gen. Sg. | ἱστάντος | ἱστάσης | ἱστάντος |
| Dat. Sg. | ἱστάντι | ἱστάσῃ | ἱστάντι |
| Acc. Sg. | ἱστάντα | ἱστᾶσαν | ἱστάν |
| Nom. Pl. | ἱστάντες | ἱστᾶσαι | ἱστάντα |
| Gen. Pl. | ἱστάντων | ἱστάσων | ἱστάντων |
| Dat. Pl. | ἱστᾶσι(ν) | ἱστάσαις | ἱστᾶσι(ν) |
| Acc. Pl. | ἱστάντας | ἱστάσας | ἱστάντα |
Then, note that all the present middle/passive participles use the regular short vowel stem plus the normal athematic middle/passive participle endings (-μενος, -μένη, -μενον). The following paradigm for δίδωμι is a sample; you can swap in any of the short vowel stems (τιθε-, ἱστα-, ἱέ-) in for that of διδώμι (διδο-):
Present Middle/Passive
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Sg. | διδόμενος | διδομένη | διδόμενον |
| Gen. Sg. | διδομένου | διδομένης | διδομένου |
| Dat. Sg. | διδομένῳ | διδομένῃ | διδομένῳ |
| Acc. Sg. | διδόμενον | διδομένην | διδόμενον |
| Nom. Pl. | διδόμενοι | διδόμεναι | διδόμενα |
| Gen. Pl. | διδομένων | διδομένων | διδομένων |
| Dat. Pl. | διδομένοις | διδομέναις | διδομένοις |
| Acc. Pl. | διδομένους | διδομένας | διδόμενα |
Aorist Participles
Aorist participles, like aorist infinitives, are built on un-augmented stems of the 3rd and 6th principal parts. Recall why this is the case: an augment, whether syllabic (ἐ-) or temporal (a lengthening of the initial vowel or diphthong), indicates that a verb form is finite, indicative, and in a past tense. A participle is a verbal adjective and thus not finite or indicative or necessarily occuring in the past, so, we have to remove the augment that comes built into the 3rd or 6th principal part before adding participial endings. (For steps on removing the augment, refer back to the description in the unit on aorist infinitives).
Aorist Active
Once we have the unaugmented stem of the third principal part, we can form the aorist participle based on whether the aorist is a first/weak aorist or a second/strong aorist:
- 1st aorist: -ας, -ᾱσα, -αν (3-1-3, m./n. stem -αντ-)
- 2nd aorist: -ών, -οῦσα, -όν (3-1-3, m./n. stem -όντ-)
Both forms of the aorist active participle, like the present active participles, are 3-1-3s. The endings of the 2nd aorist active participle in particular look exactly like those of the present active -ω participles, except that those of the 2nd aorist are accented persistently over the first syllable of the ending. Note that the accent in 1st aorist active participles persists on the last syllable of the stem.
For paradigm verbs to illustrate the formation of the aorist participles, let’s use γράφω (> ἔγραψα > γραψ-) to illustrate the removal of syllabic augments and the weak aorist pattern and ἄγω (> ἤγαγον > ἀγαγ-) to illustrate the downgrade of temporal augments and the strong aorist pattern.
γράφω (> ἔγραψα > γραψ-)
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Sg. | γράψας | γράψᾱσα | γράψαν |
| Gen. Sg. | γράψαντος | γραψάσης | γράψαντος |
| Dat. Sg. | γράψαντι | γραψάσῃ | γράψαντι |
| Acc. Sg. | γράψαντα | γράψασαν | γράψαν |
| Nom. Pl. | γράψαντες | γράψασαι | γράψαντα |
| Gen. Pl. | γραψάντων | γραψασῶν | γραψάντων |
| Dat. Pl. | γράψᾱσι(ν) | γραψάσαις | γράψᾱσι(ν) |
| Acc. Pl. | γράψαντας | γραψάσας | γράψαντα |
ἄγω (> ἤγαγον > ἀγαγ-)
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Sg. | ἀγαγών | ἀγαγοῦσα | ἀγαγόν |
| Gen. Sg. | ἀγαγόντος | ἀγαγούσης | ἀγαγόντος |
| Dat. Sg. | ἀγαγόντι | ἀγαγούσῃ | ἀγαγόντι |
| Acc. Sg. | ἀγαγόντα | ἀγαγοῦσαν | ἀγαγόν |
| Nom. Pl. | ἀγαγόντες | ἀγαγοῦσαι | ἀγαγόντα |
| Gen. Pl. | ἀγαγόντων | ἀγαγουσῶν | ἀγαγόντων |
| Dat. Pl. | ἀγαγοῦσι(ν) | ἀγαγούσαις | ἀγαγοῦσι(ν) |
| Acc. Pl. | ἀγαγόντας | ἀγαγούσας | ἀγαγόντα |
Aorist Middle
The aorist middle participle is analogous to the present middle/passive in terms of endings; the weak aorist’s endings swap in the usual -α- for the -ο- of the ending, while the strong aorist’s endings are exactly the same as present middle/passive -ω participle endings.
- 1st aorist: -άμενος, -αμένη, -άμενον (2-1-2)
- 2nd aorist: -όμενος, -ομένη, -όμενον (2-1-2)
γράφω (> ἔγραψα > γραψ-)
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Sg. | γραψάμενος | γραψαμένη | γραψάμενον |
| Gen. Sg. | γραψαμένου | γραψαμένης | γραψαμένου |
| Dat. Sg. | γραψαμένῳ | γραψαμένῃ | γραψαμένῳ |
| Acc. Sg. | γραψάμενον | γραψαμένην | γραψάμενον |
| Nom. Pl. | γραψάμενοι | γραψάμεναι | γραψάμενα |
| Gen. Pl. | γραψαμένων | γραψαμένων | γραψαμένων |
| Dat. Pl. | γραψαμένοις | γραψαμέναις | γραψαμένοις |
| Acc. Pl. | γραψαμένους | γραψαμένας | γραψάμενα |
ἄγω (> ἤγαγον > ἀγαγ-)
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Sg. | ἀγαγόμενος | ἀγαγομένη | ἀγαγομένον |
| Gen. Sg. | ἀγαγομένου | ἀγαγομένης | ἀγαγομένου |
| Dat. Sg. | ἀγαγομένῳ | ἀγαγομένῃ | ἀγαγομένῳ |
| Acc. Sg. | ἀγαγόμενον | ἀγαγομένην | ἀγαγομένον |
| Nom. Pl. | ἀγαγόμενοι | ἀγαγόμεναι | ἀγαγόμενα |
| Gen. Pl. | ἀγαγομένων | ἀγαγομένων | ἀγαγομένων |
| Dat. Pl. | ἀγαγομένοις | ἀγαγομέναις | ἀγαγομένοις |
| Acc. Pl. | ἀγαγομένους | ἀγαγομένας | ἀγαγόμενα |
Because the 2nd aorist middle participle uses the exact same endings as the present middle/passive -ω participle, you have to be very careful about which stem is being used to form the participle, since that will be the only way to tell the tense of the participle in some contexts. For example, while ἀγόμενος is the present middle/passive masc. nom. sg. participle, ἀγαγόμενος (> ἤγαγον) is the aorist middle masc. nom. sg. participle.
Core Four -μι Verbs - Aorist Active and Middle Participles
The core four -μι verbs also exhibit irregular-looking forms in their aorist active and middle participles:
- δίδωμι > δούς, δοῦσα, δόν (m./n. stem δόντ-)
- τίθημι > θείς, θεῖσα, θέν (m./n. stem θέντ-)
- ἵημι > -εἷς, -εἷσα, -ἕν (m./n. stem -ἕντ-)
- ἵστημι > στήσας, στήσασα, στῆσαν (m./n. stem στήσαντ-) (transitive)
- ἵστημι > στάς, στᾶσα, στάν (m./n. stem στάντ-) (intransitive)
Aorist Passive
The aorist passive participle, like its finite and infinitive counterparts, is built off the 6th principal part. Recall that there is no meaningful distinction between 1st and 2nd aorist in the passive voice, so all aorist passive participles share the same endings:
- aorist passive: -είς, -εῖσα, -έν (3-1-3, m./n. stem -έντ-)
In aorist passive participles, the accent persists on the first syllable of the ending.
γράφω (> ἐγράφην > γραφ-)
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Sg. | γραφείς | γραφεῖσα | γραφέν |
| Gen. Sg. | γραφέντος | γραφείσης | γραφέντος |
| Dat. Sg. | γραφέντι | γραφείσῃ | γραφέντι |
| Acc. Sg. | γραφέντα | γραφεῖσαν | γραφέν |
| Nom. Pl. | γραφέντες | γραφεῖσαι | γραφέντα |
| Gen. Pl. | γραφέντων | γραφεισῶν | γραφέντων |
| Dat. Pl. | γραφεῖσι(ν)* | γραφείσαις | γραφεῖσι(ν)* |
| Acc. Pl. | γραφέντας | γραφείσας | γραφέντα |
* When the -σ- of the dative plural ending knocks out the -ντ-, the -ε- that is left over lengthens into -ει- to compensate.
ἄγω (> ἤχθην > ἀχθ-)
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. Sg. | ἀχθείς | ἀχθεῖσα | ἀχθέν |
| Gen. Sg. | ἀχθέντος | ἀχθείσης | ἀχθέντος |
| Dat. Sg. | ἀχθέντι | ἀχθείσῃ | ἀχθέντι |
| Acc. Sg. | ἀχθέντα | ἀχθεῖσαν | ἀχθέν |
| Nom. Pl. | ἀχθέντες | ἀχθεῖσαι | ἀχθέντα |
| Gen. Pl. | ἀχθέντων | ἀχθεισῶν | ἀχθέντων |
| Dat. Pl. | ἀχθεῖσι(ν) | ἀχθείσαις | ἀχθεῖσι(ν) |
| Acc. Pl. | ἀχθέντας | ἀχθείσας | ἀχθέντα |