42.14 Advanced vocabulary lists and lexica give six PRINCIPAL PARTS for Greek verbs. We have already encountered the FIRST THREE principal parts: PRESENT, FUTURE, and AORIST. Mastering these first three principal parts is sufficient for most reading purposes at the beginning and intermediate levels.
- The FOURTH PRINCIPAL PART is the PERFECT ACTIVE.
- The FIFTH PRINCIPAL PART is the PERFECT MIDDLE.
- The SIXTH PRINCIPAL PART we have already met: the AORIST PASSIVE.
These principal parts are given because these tense and voice stems can exhibit minor, but complex, variations (S 369-370, G 311). Be aware, too, that many verbs never occur (or are extremely rare) in perfect tenses, and so do not even have a fourth or fifth principal part. If you understand the principles of building perfect stems, however, you should be able to recognize them when they appear.