Lesson 5 | Future Indicatives
[3] Future Passive Indicatives
Future passive indicatives are also non-past in time and perfective in aspect. Like future middle indicatives, future passive indicatives lack an augment, use a future stem, and their endings follow the present middle or passive verb pattern. However, the future passive indicative uses a different tense former:
| λύω in the future indicative | |||||||||
| Active | Middle | Passive | |||||||
| Singular | First | λύσω | λύσομαι | λυθήσομαι | |||||
| Second | λύσεις | λύσῃ | λυθήσῃ | ||||||
| Third | λύσει | λύσεται | λυθήσεται | ||||||
| Plural | First | λύσομεν | λυσόμεθα | λυθησόμεθα | |||||
| Second | λύσετε | λύσεσθε | λυθήσεσθε | ||||||
| Third | λύσουσι(ν) | λύσονται | λυθήσονται | ||||||
Rather than the σ tense former, future passive indicatives take a θησ tense former. Note how this differs by one letter from the aorist passive tense former: θη.
Examples from the Greek NT
ὁ δὲ ἀγαπῶν με ἀγαπηθήσεται ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρός μου, κἀγὼ ἀγαπήσω αὐτὸν… Now the one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him... —John 14:21
In this verse, we see three different forms of the same verb: ἀγαπάω. ὁ ἀγαπῶν is a present, active, participle, nominative, masculine, singular. Notice how the article turns this participle into a noun: “the one who loves me.” Now, let’s compare the four key features for ἀγαπηθήσεται and ἀγαπήσω:
Passive
αγαπα+θης+εται
[Augment]
[Stem]
[Tense Former]
[Ending]
Active
αγαπα+σ+ω
[Augment]
[Stem]
[Tense Former]
[Ending]
Before we move on to the next example, note how each verb’s voice affects the action. As a passive voice verb, the subject of ἀγαπηθήσεται receives the action of the main verb: the one who loves Jesus “will be loved.” We only know who does the action of this passive voice verb because of the prepositional phrase: ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρός μου: “by my Father.” On the other hand, as an active voice verb, the subject of ἀγαπήσω does the action of the main verb to the direct object: Jesus “will love” him.
ὑμεῖς δὲ βαπτισθήσεσθε ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ. Now you will be baptized by the Holy Spirit. —Acts 11:16
Let’s parse βαπτισθήσεσθε by identifying its four key features:
βαπτιζ+θης+εσθε
[Augment]
[Stem]
[Tense Former]
[Ending]
From these four key features, we can parse βαπτισθήσεσθε as a future, passive, indicative, second person, plural from βαπτίζω: “You will be baptized.” Notice how the non-past time and perfective aspect puts this action into the future. The speaker summarizes the whole action from beginning to end: not “you are being baptized” or “you are baptized” but “you will be baptized.” Also, note how the passive voice of the verb means that the subject (you/ὑμεῖς) receives the verb’s action.
Quizlet
Use the quizlet below to practice parsing future passive indicatives by identifying each verb’s four key features. Before you do, note that some future passive verbs use -ης as their tense former rather than the full -θης tense former. Be on the look out for such verbs as you practice: