Lesson 7 | Perfect Participles

[3] Examples from the Greek NT

Let’s look through some examples of perfect participles in the Scriptures.
πορεύεσθε ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ οἱ κατηραμένοι εἰς τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον τὸ ἡτοιμασμένον τῷ διαβόλῳ καὶ τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ. (NA28)

Go away from me, cursed ones, into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels.

—Matthew 25:41
There are two perfect participles in this sentence: οἱ κατηραμένοι (cursed ones) and τὸ ἡτοιμασμένον (is prepared). Can you parse them even though you do not know either verb? 

 κατηρα+μεν+οι

  [Stem]
  [Tense Former]
  [Ending]

ητοιμασ+μεν+ον

  [Stem]
  [Tense Former]
  [Ending]

οἱ κατηραμένοι comes from the verb καταράομαι. This is a compound verb (a verb with a preposition attached to the stem: κατα + αράομαι). Remember that stems that begin with a vowel will often lengthen the vowel in the perfect tense-form instead of doubling. Since this is a compound verb, the first vowel of the verbal part of the stem lengthens: καταράομαι becomes κατηραμένοι. We can also see the μεν tense former and the second pattern ending. Therefore, this is a perfect, passive, participle, vocative (direct address), masculine, plural from καταράομαι. It is functioning as a substantival, vocative participle that describes the people the Son of Man is talking to. Do you see how the stative aspect of the perfect participle focuses us on the resulting state of an action? These people are “the cursed ones.”
τὸ ἡτοιμασμένον comes from the verb ἐτοιμάζω. Since this verb begins with a vowel, we see a lengthened vowel in the perfect instead of a double letter: ε becomes η. We also see the μεν tense former and the second pattern ending. So, this is a perfect, passive, participle, accusative, neuter, singular from ἐτοιμάζω. (We know it is accusative and not nominative from the context.) With the article and a case, gender, and number that match the nearby noun τὸ πῦρ, this is an adjectival participle that describes the eternal fire (τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον). Again, the stative aspect focuses us on the resulting state of the verbal action (“prepared”).
Τοῖς δὲ γεγαμηκόσιν παραγγέλλω... (NA28)

Now, I give this command to the married ones...

—1 Corinthians 7:10
τοῖς γεγαμηκόσιν is from the verb γαμέω. Can you parse it? 

γεγαμη+κοτ+σιν

  [Stem]
  [Tense Former]
  [Ending]

We see that the first letter is doubled, the κοτ tense former (scheming σ forces timid τ to drop out: κοτ + σιν = κοσιν), and the third pattern ending. Therefore, τοῖς γεγαμηκόσιν is a perfect, active, participle, dative, masculine, plural. It is a substantival participle that provides the main verb’s indirect object. Again, notice how perfect participles focus our attention on the state that results from the main verb (the “married ones”).

πεποιθὼς αὐτὸ τοῦτο, ὅτι ὁ ἐναρξάμενος ἐν ὑμῖν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἐπιτελέσει ἄχρι ἡμέρας Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ (NA28)

because I am convinced of this very thing, that the One who began a good work in you all will complete it until the Day of Christ Jesus.

—Philippians 1:6
πεποιθὼς is from the verb πείθω. Can you parse it? 

πεποιθ+κοτ+ς

  [Stem]
  [Tense Former]
  [Ending]

The first letter is doubled, which is a clear sign that this is a perfect tense-form. Then, we see the tense former. We would expect a κοτ tense former, but scheming σ shows up in the third pattern ending to cause trouble. Scheming σ forces timid τ to drop out, and then the remaining κο lengthens to κω with the ς. Finally, the κ from the tense former dropped out because of the θ. This is tricky, but with the doubled first letter and the context we can figure it out. So, πεποιθὼς is a perfect, active, participle, nominative, masculine, singular from πείθω. This is an adverbial participle that describes the reason for the main verb. The participle’s stative aspect focuses on the resulting state of the verb’s action: “because I am convinced…”
You should also be able to parse the other participle in this sentence: ὁ ἐναρξάμενος. 

εναρχ+σαμεν+ος

  [Stem]
  [Tense Former]
  [Ending]

We see the σαμεν tense former and the second pattern ending. Therefore, we know this is an aorist, middle, participle, nominative, masculine, singular. It is from the verb: ἐνάρχομαι, and it is a substantival participle: "the one who began."
Your Turn
This quizlet contains perfect participles from a number of different verbs that you already learned in this class. Take time to parse each participle before flipping the card over. Remember, when you make a mistake take time to understand the correct answer. Focus on the three key features!