Meaning of Athematic Presents and Aorists

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21. The presents formed by reduplication, and by the suffixes -νη and -νυ, are nearly always transitive or "causative" in meaning, as ἵστη-μι, σκίδ-νη-μι, ὄρ-νυ-μι: whereas the simpler verbs, whether present or aorist, are usually intransitive as ἔστη-ν, ἔσβη.

Regarding the tense meaning, it is enough to point out here that the difference of the present and aorist is not given by the form of the tense: thus the imperfect ἔ-φη-ν is the same in formation as the aorist ἔ-βη-ν, ἔ-στη-ν.

Suggested Citation

D.B. Monro, A Grammar of the Homeric Dialect. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College Commentaries, 2014. ISBN: 978-1-947822-04-7. https://dcc.dickinson.edu/grammar/monro/meaning-athematic-presents-and-aorists