Contract Verbs

§3141

Two vowels or a vowel and a diphthong are often united into a single long vowel or diphthong. The process by which they are united is called contraction.

that which is given in White, Beginner’s Greek Book, 1895, pp. 75f. It has been used here by kind permission of Messrs. Ginn and Company.

§315

It must not be supposed, however, that contraction always takes place when two vowels or a vowel and a diphthong (even in the combinations set forth in the following rules) come together within a word.

§316

The rules of contraction are as follows:

1. An open and a close vowel, when the open vowel comes first, are united in the diphthong which is composed of the two vowels in question.

Example: ε-ι makes ει. It must be observed, however, that when the close vowel comes before the open vowel, a diphthong is never formed. Thus ι-ε (for example, in ἱερόν), is always two syllables, never a diphthong.

2. Two like vowels form the common long. Examples: α-α makes long α; ε-η makes η; ο-ω makes ω.

3. But ε-ε makes ει and ο-ο makes ου. This rule forms an exception to rule 2.

4. An o- sound (ο or ω) overcomes α, ε, or η (whether the o- sound comes first or second), and forms ω. Examples: α-ο makes ω ; ε-ω makes ω.

6. When α and ε or η come together, whichever one comes first overcomes the other, and forms its own long. Examples: α-ε and α-η make long α; ε-α makes η.

1. A vowel disappears by absorption before a diphthong that begins with the same vowel. Examples: ε-ει makes ει ; ο-ου makes ου.

2. When a vowel comes before a diphthong that does not begin with the same vowel, it is contracted with the diphthong’s first vowel. The diphthong’s second vowel disappears, unless it is ι, in which case it becomes subscript.

Examples: α-ει makes ᾳ (α is first contracted with ε in accordance with I 6, and then the ι becomes subscript); α-ου makes ω (α is contracted with ο by I 4, and the υ disappears); ε-ου makes ου (ε is contracted with ο by I 5, and υ disappears).

1. If either of the contracted syllables had an accent, the resulting syllable receives an accent. If the resulting syllable is a penult or an antepenult, the general rules of accent (see §11) will always tell which kind of accent it has. If the resulting syllable is an ultima it has a circumflex.

Examples: (1) φιλέομεν makes φιλουμεν, in accordance with I 5. Since one of the two syllables that united to make ου had an accent, ου must have an accent. The general rules of accent declare that if the ultima is short, a long penult, if accented at all, must have the circumflex. Hence φιλοῦμεν is correct. (2) τιμαόμεθα makes τιμωμεθα in accordance with I 4. Since one of the two syllables that united to make ω had an accent, ω must have an accent. But in accordance with the general rules of accent only an acute can stand on an antepenult. Therefore τιμώμεθα is correct. (3) δηλόεις makes δηλοῖς in accordance with II 3. Since one of the two syllables that united to make οι had an accent, οι must have an accent. The general rules of accent will permit either an acute or a circumflex to stand on a long ultima. But the present rule gives special guidance. Therefore δηλοῖς is correct.

2. If neither of the contracted syllables had an accent, the resulting syllable receives none.

Example: ἐφίλεε makes ἐφίλει in accordance with I 3. Since neither of the two syllables that unite to make εἰ is accented, εἰ receives no accent, and ἐφίλει is correct.

A table appears here in the book.

§317

The student should write out in the uncontracted forms the present system (present tense in all moods studied thus far, and imperfect tense) of τιμάω, I honor, φιλέω, I love, and δηλόω, I make manifest, and should then write the contract form opposite to each uncontracted form, applying the rules of contraction. The results can be tested by the conjugation of these verbs which is given in §§590-592.

§318

It should be observed that there are two exceptions to the rules: (1) the present active infinitive of verbs in -άω is contracted from -άειν to -ᾶν instead of to -ᾷν, and (2) the present active infinitive of verbs in -όω is contracted from -όειν to -οῦν instead of to -οῖν.

§319

Contraction is carried out in all the forms of the declension of the participles.

§320

In general, the uncontracted forms of these verbs in -άω, -έω and -όω do not occur in the New Testament. The reason why the uncontracted forms, and not the contract forms, of the present active indicative first person singular are given in the lexicons is that the uncontracted forms must be known before the verb can be conjugated, since it makes a great difference for the conjugation whether τιμῶ, for example, is contracted from τιμάω, Timéw, or

§321

Verbs whose stems end in a vowel regularly lengthen that vowel (α as well as ε being lengthened to η) before the tense suffixes (e.g. the -σο/ε of the future system, the -σα of the first aorist system, and the -θε of the aorist passive system). Thus the principal parts of τιμάω, so far as we have learned them, are τιμάω, τιμήσω, ἐτίμησα, —, —, ἐτιμήθην (not τιμάω, τιμάσω, etc.); the principal parts of φιλέω are φιλέω, φιλήσω, etc.; and the principal parts of δηλόω are δηλόω, δηλώσω, etc. It should be observed that this lengthening of the final vowel of the stem of these “‘contract” verbs has nothing to do with contraction. The contraction appears only in the present system.

§322

It is very important that the student should learn to reverse the process involved in this rule. Thus, if a form φανερωθείς be found in the Greek-English exercises, the student should first say to himself that the -θε in φανερωθείς is evidently the sign of the aorist passive system. The verb stem without the tense suffix would be φανερω-. But since the final vowel of the verb stem is lengthened before the tense suffix -θε, the verb stem was φανερο- and the verb was φανερόω. Or if a form ἠρωτήθη be found, the student should first say to himself that the -θη is evidently the ending of the aorist passive indicative, third person singular, like ἐλύθη. But the aorist passive indicative has the augment, which if the verb begins with a vowel consists in the lengthening of that vowel. Therefore, to get the verb, the ἡ at the beginning of ἠρωτήθη must be shortened. But η is the long of either α or ε. It cannot be determined, therefore, whether the verb began with α or ε. Again, the η just before the -θη in ἠρωτήθη was the lengthened form of the verb stem. The verb stem therefore ended in either α or ε. Accordingly there are four possibilities as to the verb from which ἠρωτήθη may be found to have come; ἠρωτήθη may be found to have come from ἀρωτέω, ἀρωτάω, ἐρωτέω, or ἐρωτάω. Trying each of these in the lexicon we discover that the last is correct.

καλέω is an exception to the rule just given. It does not lengthen the final ε of the stem before the σ of the future and aorist systems. The aorist passive, moreover, is irregularly formed.