Lesson 2 | Imperfect Indicatives
[3] εἰμί in the Imperfect Indicative
In the last lesson, we learned that εἰμί is a bit strange in the present indicative. It is also a bit strange in the imperfect indicative. Since εἰμί is such an important verb (it occurs over 450 times as an imperfect indicative in the Greek NT), you ought to take the time to review and memorize its forms in the imperfect indicative.
Before you begin memorizing these forms, note that the imperfect indicative forms of εἰμί should look somewhat familiar. The first person singular form uses the same ending as the secondary middle-passive pattern. The other forms largely follow the secondary active endings:
| εἰμί in the indicative |
|
|
|
Present |
|
Imperfect |
| Singular |
First |
εἰμί I am |
ἤμην I was |
| Second |
εἶ you are |
ἦς you were |
| Third |
ἐστίν he/she/it is |
ἦν he/she/it was |
| Plural |
First |
ἐσμέν we are |
ἦμεν we were |
| Second |
ἐστέ you (pl.) are |
ἦτε you (pl.) were |
| Third |
εἰσίν they are |
ἦσαν they were |
Practice