Lesson 1 | Present Indicatives
[3] Present Middle/Passive Indicatives
In this step, we will learn about present middle or passive indicatives.
Remember, a verb’s voice tells us how the subject relates to the verb’s action. With a change in the verb’s voice, he punched becomes he was punched. Such a change in voice can make a world of difference.
Like present middle or passive participles and infinitives, present middle and passive indicatives take the same form. Context and the verb's lexical form allow us to determine whether a particular present indicative verb is middle or passive in voice.
A Couple of Examples
ῥήξει ὁ οἶνος τοὺς ἀσκούς, καὶ ὁ οἶνος ἀπόλλυται. The wine will burst the wineskins, and the wine is destroyed. —Mark 2:22
In this sentence, the subject (wine) is receiving the action of the verb, it is being destroyed. So, the verb is passive voice.
Διδάσκαλε, οὐ μέλει σοι ὅτι ἀπολλύμεθα; Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? —Mark 4:38
In this case, the disciples’ plea highlights their internal experience or participation in the action of the verb, so this is a middle voice.
The Four Key Features
Let’s add Present Middle or Passive to our chart.
Take some time to compare the four key features of present active indicatives with the four key features of present middle-passive indicatives.
Present middle or passive indicatives are quite similar to present active indicatives. When it comes to the four key features, the only difference between these is the ending. Whereas present active indicatives use the primary active ending pattern, present middle or passive indicatives use the primary middle-passive ending pattern. Let’s learn that pattern now, adding on to our second chart.
Again, you will need to memorize these verb patterns. This will serve you greatly not only as you learn present indicatives but also as you learn other non-past tense forms since they use the same ending patterns.
Practice
Examples from the Greek NT
Ιδοὺ ἔρχεται μετὰ τῶν νεφελῶν, Behold! He is coming with the clouds, —Revelation 1:7
Let’s analyze the four key features for ἔρχεται:
ερχ+εται
[Augment]
[Stem]
[Tense-Former]
[Ending]
So, we have a present stem, no augment or tense-former, and a primary middle-passive ending. Thus, we can parse this verb as a present, middle, indicative, third person, singular from ἔρχομαι. Notice that I parsed this verb as a middle voice verb and not a passive. ἔρχομαι naturally occurs in the middle voice. We know this because ἔρχομαι (with the –ομαι ending) is the lexical form learned in the vocabulary. So, we know that ἔρχεται is a present middle indicative and not passive.
Translate this sentence: "You (singular) are coming."
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ ἀστέρος λέγεται ὁ Ἄψινθος, And the name of the star is called “Wormwood.” —Revelation 8:11
Here are the four key features of λέγεται:
λεγ+εται
[Augment]
[Stem]
[Tense-Former]
[Ending]
Again, we have a present stem, no augment or tense-former, and a non-past middle-passive ending.
So, we can parse λέγεται as present, passive, indicative, third person, singular from λέγω. Context allows us to parse this verb as a passive voice verb. The verb’s action (calling) is done to the subject: “the name of the star is called.”
Translate this phrase: "We are called..."
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
Translate this phrase: "We call..."
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν οὐ κρίνεται· The one who believes in him is not judged; —John 3:18
To begin, note the substantival participles that serves as the verb’s subject. Can you parse ὁ πιστεύων?
Parse ὁ πιστεύων: (tense-form), (voice), participle, (case), (gender), (number) from
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
Now, let’s focus in on κρίνεται:
κριν+εται
[Augment]
[Stem]
[Tense-Former]
[Ending]
Here too we have a present stem, no augment or tense-former, and a primary middle-passive ending. So, we can parse κρινεται as a present, middle or passive, indicative, third person, singular from κρίνω. But we need to go one step further. Since the subject clearly receives the verb’s action, we must parse this verb as a passive voice verb: "The one who believes is not judged."
Parsing Practice: Present Middle/Passive Indicatives
Now that we walked through some examples from the Greek NT, let’s practice parsing present indicatives. While most of the verbs in this quizlet are middle or passive, keep your eyes open for active voice verbs.