Welcome to chapter 12! So far, you we have learnt the conjugation of the present, the imperfect and the aorist in the active voice. This lesson introduces the conjugation of middle-passive verbs, that is, verbs in either the middle voice or the passive voice. Take a look at the examples below, and think about the differences in meaning that verbs conjugated this way can have:
- α: Η κοπέλα χτενίζεται. (“The girl brushes her hair.”)
- β: Ο Γιώργος και η Θάλεια αγαπιούνται. (“George and Thalia love each other.”)
- γ: Η Γη φωτίζεται από τον ήλιο. (“The earth is lit by the sun.”)
- δ: Τα λουλούδια συχνά ποτίζονται από τη βροχή. (“The flowers are frequently watered by the rain.”)
In the first two examples α and β, the verbs χτενίζεται (“she brushes”) and αγαπιούνται (“they love”) show actions where the subject both performs and receives the action. The girl acts by brushing her hair, and this action is “returned” to her. George and Thalia both act by loving each other, and this action returns to both of them. In the second two examples γ and δ, however, the subjects of the verbs φωτίζεται (“is lit”) and ποτίζονται (“are watered”) receive the action through another agent.
The examples α and β are verbs of the middle voice. The examples γ and δ are verbs of the passive voice. In Modern Greek, the forms of the verbs for the middle and the passive voice are the same. Which voice is being used can instead be told from context. This is similar to Ancient Greek: the forms of the middle and the passive voices are identical in all tenses except for the future and the aorist. In these two tenses in Ancient Greek, the forms are different.
Groups A, B1, B2, and Γ
Just like the active verbs, middle-passive verbs in Modern Greek are also divided into different groups, depending on their endings. These endings are listed below for the 1st person singular:
| Middle/Passive Voice |
| Type | Ending | Example |
| A | -ομαι | λύν-ομαι, γράφ-ομαι |
| B1 | -ιέμαι | αγαπ-ιέμαι |
| Β2 | -ούμαι | θεωρούμαι |
| Γ (unique category in the passive voice) | -άμαι (4 verbs) | θυμ-άμαι, κοιμ-άμαι, λυπ-άμαι, φοβ-άμαι |
Verbs in group A take the ending -ομαι, e.g. λύν-ομαι, γράφ-ομαι, just like λύ-ομαι and γράφ-ομαι in Ancient Greek. Verbs in Group B1 take the ending -ιεμαι, e.g. αγαπ-ιέμαι. There is no comparable ending in Ancient Greek. Verbs in group B2 take the ending -ούμαι, which is similar to the endings -εομαι/-οῦμαι for contract verbs in Ancient Greek. The four verbs of group Γ end in -άμαι.
What about the seven verbs of group AB in the active voice, how are they conjugated in the middle and passive voices? Out of these seven verbs, only five of them have middle-passive forms:
λέω (“speak”), ακούω (“hear”), τρώω (“eat”), κλαίω (“cry”), and καίω (“burn”).
| Active | Passive |
| λέω → | λέγομαι |
| ακούω → | ακούγομαι |
| τρώω → | τρώγομαι |
| κλαίω → | κλαίγομαι |
| καίω → | καίγομαι |
What can you observe? For all of these verbs, a -γ- has developed between the stem and the ending. Otherwise, verbs of group Γ have the ending -ομαι after this -γ-.
Middle-Passive Endings
Now that you have seen all the different conjugation groups in the middle-passive voice, how are they conjugated in full? Look first at the table below to see the endings for the different persons in both the singular and plural: these remain similar across all conjugations, so try to memorize them!
| Middle-Passive Endings | Singular | Plural |
| 1st person | -μαι | -μαστε |
| 2nd person | -σαι | -σαστε/-στε |
| 3rd person | -ται | νται |
Group A: λύνομαι
The tables that follow display the conjugations of the four different middle-passive conjugations in Modern Greek. In the table below for group A, compare the conjugations of the verbs λύομαι in Ancient Greek and λύνομαι in Modern Greek, from λύω and λύνω. Where are they similar, and where are they different?
| Group A |
| Ancient Greek | Modern Greek |
| λύ-ομαι → | λύν-ομαι |
| λύ-ει/-ῃ → | λύν-εσαι |
| λύ-εται → | λύν-εται |
| λυ-όμεθα → | λυν-όμαστε |
| λύ-εσθε → | λυν-όσαστε/λύν-εστε |
| λύ-ονται → | λύν-ονται |
The only differences in the endings between Ancient Greek and Modern Greek for verbs in group A occur in the 2nd person singular, the 1st person plural, and the 2nd person plural. Otherwise, the endings are all identical!
- In the 2nd person singular, the endings –ει/-ῃ have been replaced with -εσαι.
- In the 1st person plural, the ending -όμεθα in Ancient Greek is now -όμαστε.
- In the 2nd person plural, the ending -εσθε in Ancient Greek is now either -όσαστε or -εστε.
Group B1: αγαπιέμαι
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb αγαπιέμαι, from αγαπάω.
| αγαπ-ιέμαι | αγαπ-ιόμαστε |
| αγαπ-ιέσαι | αγαπ-ιόσαστε/ αγαπ-ιέστε |
| αγαπ-ιέται | αγαπ-ιούνται |
Here we can spot the characteristic -ι- in the ending. The endings resemble those of group A, but there are some small differences. There are no similar endings in Ancient Greek. Usually, though not in all cases, verbs in -ιεμαι in Modern Greek were originally -αομαι/-ῶμαι contract verbs in Ancient Greek. This means, for instance, that αγαπ-άομαι/αγαπ-ῶμαι became αγαπ-ιέμαι, while νικ-άομαι/νικ-ῶμαι became νικ-ιέμαι.
There are a few verbs that are closer to the Ancient Greek endings in -ωμαι, -ασαι, -αται, etc. Consider some of the following examples below:
- τιμώμαι, τιμάσαι, τιμάται, τιμώμαστε, τιμάστε, τιμώνται (“I am honored”)
- εξαρτώμαι, εξαρτάσαι, εξαρτάται κλπ. (“I depend on”)
- εγγυώμαι, εγγυάσαι, εγγυάται κλπ. (“I guarantee”)
Group B2
Verbs in group B2 might look a bit more familiar: their middle-passive endings closely resemble those of the -έομαι/-οῦμαι contract verbs. Look at the table below and see what similarities and differences you can see: it compares the Ancient Greek verb θεωροῦμαι (“I am looked at”) with the Modern Greek verb οδηγούμαι (“I am driven”).
| Ancient Greek | Modern Greek |
| θεωρ-οῦμαι → | οδηγ-ούμαι |
| θεωρ-εῖ → | οδηγ-είσαι |
| θεωρ-εῖται → | οδηγ-είται |
| θεωρ-ούμεθα → | οδηγ-ούμαστε |
| θεωρ-εῖσθε → | οδηγ-είστε |
| θεωρ-οῦνται → | οδηγ-ούνται |
Once again, the endings are identical except for the 2nd person singular, the 1st person plural, and the 2nd person plural.
Group Γ
Group Γ, once again, only consists of four unique verbs. There are a variety of different endings which they all share. Look at the table below: some of these verb endings strongly resemble endings present in Ancient Greek, while others do not.
| Group Γ | Similar Ancient Greek Forms |
| θυμ-άμαι | – |
| θυμ-άσαι | – |
| θυμ-άται → | τιμᾶται |
| θυμ-όμαστε | – |
| θυμ-όσαστε/θυμ-άστε → | τιμᾶσθε |
| θυμ-ούνται → | ποιοῦνται |
The form θυμάται may remind you of the Ancient Greek τιμᾶται; θυμάστε recalls the Ancient Greek τιμᾶσθε, and θυμούνται the Ancient Greek ποιοῦνται. The forms θυμόμαστε and the θυμόσαστε, likewise, may remind you of the 1st and 2nd persons in group A, λυνόμαστε and λυνόσαστε.
-σθ- to -στ-
For the conjugation of the middle-passive voice, it is helpful to remember that, in the transition between Ancient Greek and Modern Greek, the phoneme -σθ- in becomes -στ-. Compare some of the following verbs, both of which are in the 2nd person plural, first in Ancient Greek, then in Modern Greek:
- λύεσθε → λύνεστε
- θεωρεῖσθε → θεωρείστε
Deponent Verbs
Just as there were in Ancient Greek, there are deponent verbs in Modern Greek. These verbs have “set aside” (from Latin deponere) their active endings, although they still have an active meaning. Put in a simpler way, these verbs have middle-passive endings but active meanings. Several very common verbs are deponent verbs, like those listed below:
- θυμάμαι (“to remember”)
- εργάζομαι (“to work”)
- κοιμάμαι (“to sleep”)
- αρνούμαι (“to deny”)
- αφηγούμαι (“to narrate”)
- αισθάνομαι (“to feel”)
- υπόσχομαι (“to promise”)