Athonite Grammar II

Verbs

Verb Classes

• The Athonite verb has been influenced by Turkish to the extent that the many tenses present in Classical and Demotic Greek have been reduced to six.
• The six tenses are the present, the past, and the future, and their perfect counterparts.
• There is no longer an indefinite form. All forms are based on the present stem.
• Athonite verbs are divided into two classes, those in which the personal ending is not accented (I) and those in which the personal ending is accented (II).
• The endings on the verbs are changed to denote person and number.

The Auxiliary Verbs

• The auxiliary verbs are two of the few remaining irregular verbs.
• ého, I have

	present	past	future
1s	éh-o, I have	íh-a, I had	þa éh-o, I shall have
2s	éh-is, you have	íh-es, you had	þa éh-is, you will have
3s	éh-i, he, she, it has	íh-e, he, she, it had	þa éh-i, he, she, it will have
1p	éh-øme, we have	íh-ame, we had	þa éh-øme, we shall have
2p	éh-ete, you have	íh-ate, you had	þa éh-ete, you will have
3p	éh-un, they have	íh-an, they had	þa éh-un, they will have

• íme, I am

	present	past	future
1s	í-me, I am	í-mun, I was	þa ím-e, I shall be
2s	í-se, you are	í-sun, you were	þa ís-e, you will be
3s	í-ne, he, she, it is	í-tan, he, she, it was	þa ín-e, he, she, it will be
1p	í-maste, we are	í-maste, we were	þa í-maste, we shall be
2p	í-ste, you are	í-saste, you were	þa í-ste, you will be
3p	í-ne, they are	í-tan, they were	þa í-ne, they will be

The Active Voice

• The active voice denotes that the agent is doing the action of the verb.

The Present Tense

• Class I

	singular	plural
1.	vlép-o, I see	vlép-ume, we see
2.	vlép-is, you see	vlép-ete, you see
3.	vlép-i, he, she, it sees	vlép-un, they see

• Class II

	singular	plural
1.	ägäp-ó, I love	ägäp-áme, we love
2.	ägäp-ás, you love	ägäp-áte, you love
3.	ägäp-á, he, she, it loves	ägäp-án, they love

The Past Tense

• The past tense is formed using endings different from the present and by removing the accent to the third syllable from the end.
• When there is no third syllable, the augment e- is added.
• Class I

	singular	plural
1.	évlep-sä, I saw, was seeing	vlép-säme, we saw, were seeing
2.	évlep-ses, you we saw, were seeing	vlép-säte, you we saw, were seeing
3.	évlep-se, he, she, it we saw, was seeing	évlep-sän, they we saw, were seeing

• Class II

	singular	plural
1.	ágäp-sä, I loved, was loving	ägáp-säme, we loved, were loving
2.	ágäp-ses, you loved, were loving	ägáp-säte, you loved, were loving
3.	ágäp-se, he, she, it loved, was loving	ágäp-sän, they loved, were loving

The Future Tense

• The future tense is formed by putting the particle þa before the present tense.
• Class I

	singular	plural
1.1	þa vlép-o, I shall love	þa vlép-ume, we shall love
2.	þa vlép-is, you will love	þa vlép-ete, you will love
3.	þa vlép-i, he, she, it will love	þa vlép-un, they will love

• Class II

	singular	plural
1.	þ' ägäp-ó, I answer	þ' ägäp-áme, we answer
2.	þ' ägäp-ás, you answer	þ' ägäp-áte, you answer
3.	þ' ägäp-á, he, she, it answers	þ' ägäp-án, they answer

The Present Perfect Tense

• The perfect tenses are not as commonly used in Athonite as they are in English, the past tense usually being used.
• The present perfect tense is formed by the present tense of the auxiliary verb ého, I have, and the passive participle.

	singular	plural
1.	ého vlepømén, I have seen	éhume vlepømén, we have seen
2.	éhis vlepømén, you have seen	éhete vlepømén, you have seen
3.	éhi vlepømén, he, she, it has seen	éhun vlepømén, they have seen

• The present perfect tense is used to denote an event of the past which has a bearing on the present.

The Past Perfect Tense

• The past perfect tense is formed by the past tense of the auxiliary verb ého and the passive participle.

	singular	plural
1.	íha vlepømén, I had seen	íhame vlepømén, we had seen
2.	íhes vlepømén, you had seen	íhate vlepømén, you had seen
3.	íhe vlepømén, he, she, it had seen	íhan vlepømén, they had seen

• The past perfect tense is more frequent than the present perfect. It is used to denote an event of the past which occurred before another event of the past.

The Future Perfect Tense

• The future perfect tense is formed by the future tense of the auxiliary verb ého and the passive participle.

	singular	plural
1.	þa ého vlepømén, I shall have seen	þa éhume vlepømén, we shall have seen
2.	þa éhis vlepømén, you will have seen	þa éhete vlepømén, you will have seen
3.	þa éhi vlepømén, he, she, it will have seen	þa éhun vlepømén, they will have seen

• The future perfect tense is used to denote an event in the future which will have occurred before another event in the future.

The Indefinite Form

• The indefinite form corresponds closely to what is called the infinitive in other languages.
• The indefinite form is found only in the present tense.
• Most verbs in Athonite form the indefinite by adding -so to the present form minus the -o.
• Class I

	singular	plural
1.	vlép-so, I want	vlép-sume, we want
2.	vlép-sis, you want	vlép-sete, you want
3.	vlép-si, he, she, it wants	vlép-sun, they want

• Class II

	singular	plural
1.	ägäp-só, I love	ägäp-sáme, we love
2.	ägäp-sás, you love	ägäp-sáte, you love
3.	ägäp-sá, he, she, it love	ägäp-sán, they love

• There are a few verbs that form the indefinite irregularly:
  • légo, po
  • ðíno, ðǿso
  • pijéno, páo.
• The indefinite form is preceded by na and follows the main verb.
  • Þélo na vlépso, I want to see.
  • Þélo na ägäpsá, I want him to love.

The Imperative

• The formation of the imperative is greatly simplified in Athonite. There are only two forms.
• To form the present imperative, -e for the singular and -(e)te for the plural replace the -o of the indefinite.

singular	plural
vlépse, see	vlépsete, see
ägäpáse, love	ägäpás(e)te, love

• To form the continuous imperative, -e for the singular and -(e)te for the plural replace the -o of the present.

singular	plural
vlépe, keep on seeing	vlép(e)te, keep on seeing
ägäpá, keep on loving	ägäpáte, keep on loving

• A negative command is expressed by mi and the indefinite or present depending on whether the action if fixed or continuous.
  • Mi ton ägäpáse, Do not love him.

The Active Participle

• A participle is an adjective derived from a verb. It modifies a noun, but may take an object like a verb.
• The active participle indicates that the subject of the sentence is doing something.
• It is formed by adding an ending to the present stem.
• Class I
  • vlépo > vlepǿnt, seeting
• Class II
  • ägäpó > ägäpónt, loving
• The active participle is used with the appropriate tense of íme to form progressive tenses.

present	íme vlépont, I am seeing, etc.
past	ímun vlépont, I was seeing, etc.
future	þa íme vlépont, I shall be seeing, etc.
present perfect	ého ímen vlépont, I have been seeing, etc.
past perfect	íha ímen vlépont, I had been seeing, etc.
future perfect	þa ého ímen vlépont, I will have been seeing, etc.

The Passive Voice

• The passive voice denotes that the agent is being acted upon.
• The many forms of the passive in Modern Greek have been abandoned in favor of periphrastic expressions using the verb 'to be' the passive participle.
• The passive participle is formed by adding an ending to the present stem.
• Class I
  • þélo > þélømen, wanted
• Class II
  • jeló > jelómen, laughed

The Present Tense and Indefinite Form

	singular	plural
1.	íme þélomen, I am wanted	ímaste þelomen, we are wanted
2.	íse þélomen, you are wanted	íste þélomen, you are wanted
3.	íne þélomen, he, she, it is wanted	íne þélomen, they are wanted

The Past Tense

	singular	plural
1.	ímun þélomen, I was wanted	ímästän þelomen, we were wanted
2.	ísun þélomen, you were wanted	ísästän þélomen, you were wanted
3.	ítän þélomen, he, she, it was wanted	ítän þélomen, they were wanted

The Future Tense

	singular	plural
1.	þa íme þélomen, I am wanted	þa ímaste þelomen, we are wanted
2.	þa íse þélomen, you are wanted	þa íste þélomen, you are wanted
3.	þa íne þélomen, he, she, it is wanted	þa íne þélomen, they are wanted

The Perfect Tenses

The perfect tenses are formed by using the appropriate tense of éhø with the third person singular present tense of the passive.

present	éhø ímen þélomen, I have been wanted, etc.
past	íha ímen þélomen, I had been wanted, etc.
future	þa éhø ímen þélomen, I shall have been wanted, etc.

The Verb 'to be'

• This verb is uniquely in the passive.
• Present and Indefinite

	singular	plural
1.	íme, I am	ímäste, we are
2.	íse, you are	íste, you are
3.	íne, he, she, it is	íne, they are

• Past

	singular	plural
1.	ímun, I was	ímästän, we were
2.	ísun, you were	ísästän, you were
3.	ítän, he, she, it was	ítän, they were

Word Order

Due to Turkish influence, Athonite has become an SOV language, with the verb at the end.

The Use of na

• Intention, hope, desire and the like are expressed by using the particle na.
  • With the present tense, na expresses a continuous intention, etc.
    • Þélo na ðulévo éksi ors tin imér, I want to be working six hours a day.
    • Árhise na träguðá, He started singing.
  • With the indefinite, na expresses a non-continuous future intention, etc.
    • Élpidzo na ftáso stin Aþín stis tris m.m., I hope to arrive at Athens at 3 p.m.
    • Børó na páro énä tsigár, May I take a cigarette?
  • With the past tense, na expresses a past intention, etc. This construction always follows a past tense.
    • Htes tø vráðy íþelsä na píjenä stø þéätr alá ðen bóresä, Last night I wanted to go to the theater, but I did not manage to.
• Certain verbs commonly used only in the third person are also followed by ná.
  • prépi, it is necessary; axédzi, it is worthwhile, etc.
    • Prépi na pijéno tórä, I must be going now.

Adverbs

• Adverbs are words used to modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
  • Some common adverbs:
    • edó here
    • ekí there
    • píso behind
    • brostá in front
    • tóra now
    • ǘster after, later
    • norís early
    • ávri tomorrow
    • hþes yesterday
    • polǘ a lot, very
    • kiøl already
    • pøt never
    • páli again
    • ísos perhaps
    • pántø always
    • äkóm yet
    • ésti thus
• Adverbs may be formed from adjectives by adding -a to the adjective.
  • ísüh, quiet; ísüha, quietly
  • kal, good; kála, well
  • ärkét, sufficient; ärketá, sufficiently, rather
• The comparative and superlative of adverbs is formed in the same way as with adjectives.
  • éfkøl, easy; éfkøla, easily
  • piø éfkøl, easier; piø éfkøla, more easily
  • ø piø éfkøl, easiest; ø piø éfkøla, most easily

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