| Exercise | Description |
|---|---|
| exercises/ch17-contract-verb-parsing/ | 20-item drill: parse contracted forms, identify uncontracted vowels, and give the lexical form |
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| ch17-vocab-deck.md | Human-readable card list — 11 vocabulary words |
| ch17-vocab-deck.txt | Anki import file (File → Import) |
| ch17-vocab-deck-fd.txt | Flashcards Deluxe import file |
| Notebook | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Morphological Distribution | How a verb root's forms spread across tenses and books |
Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, Mounce, 4th Edition
Contract verbs are verbs whose present stem ends in a vowel (α, ε, or ο). When this stem vowel meets the connecting vowel (ο/ε) and personal ending, the two vowels contract (merge) into a single long vowel or diphthong.
The three classes of contract verbs are named for their stem-final vowel:
| Class | Stem ending | Lexical form ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha-contract | -α | -αω | ἀγαπάω ("I love") |
| Epsilon-contract | -ε | -εω | ποιέω ("I do, make") |
| Omicron-contract | -ο | -οω | πληρόω ("I fill, fulfill") |
Key principle: Contract verbs in the present and imperfect always contract; all other tenses form from the uncontracted stem (the contraction does not appear). The accent in contracted forms is placed on the contracted syllable.
Memorizing these rules lets you reverse-engineer any contracted form.
| Vowel 1 (stem) | + Vowel 2 (c.v./ending) | = Result |
|---|---|---|
| α + ε | → | α |
| α + ει | → | ᾳ or α |
| α + ο | → | ω |
| α + ου | → | ω |
| α + ω | → | ω |
| ε + ε | → | ει |
| ε + ει | → | ει |
| ε + ο | → | ου |
| ε + ου | → | ου |
| ε + ω | → | ω |
| ο + ε | → | ου |
| ο + ει | → | οι |
| ο + ο | → | ου |
| ο + ου | → | ου |
| ο + ω | → | ω |
Tip: The dominant vowel or diphthong usually "wins." For ε+ε → ει (spurious diphthong). For ο-contracts, ο is very strong and often produces ου.
| Person | Uncontracted | Contracted | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | ἀγαπά + ω | ἀγαπῶ | I love |
| 2sg | ἀγαπά + εις | ἀγαπᾷς | You love |
| 3sg | ἀγαπά + ει | ἀγαπᾷ | He/she loves |
| 1pl | ἀγαπά + ομεν | ἀγαπῶμεν | We love |
| 2pl | ἀγαπά + ετε | ἀγαπᾶτε | You (pl.) love |
| 3pl | ἀγαπά + ουσι | ἀγαπῶσι(ν) | They love |
Accent note: In contracted forms the accent falls on the contracted syllable. A circumflex (῀) appears on the contracted syllable when it results from two long vowels or a long vowel + short vowel.
| Person | Uncontracted | Contracted | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | ποιέ + ω | ποιῶ | I do/make |
| 2sg | ποιέ + εις | ποιεῖς | You do/make |
| 3sg | ποιέ + ει | ποιεῖ | He/she does/makes |
| 1pl | ποιέ + ομεν | ποιοῦμεν | We do/make |
| 2pl | ποιέ + ετε | ποιεῖτε | You (pl.) do/make |
| 3pl | ποιέ + ουσι | ποιοῦσι(ν) | They do/make |
Note: ε-contracts are the most common contract verbs in the GNT. ε+ε → ει and ε+ο → ου are the two key contractions to memorize.
| Person | Uncontracted | Contracted | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | πληρό + ω | πληρῶ | I fill/fulfill |
| 2sg | πληρό + εις | πληροῖς | You fill |
| 3sg | πληρό + ει | πληροῖ | He/she fills |
| 1pl | πληρό + ομεν | πληροῦμεν | We fill |
| 2pl | πληρό + ετε | πληροῦτε | You (pl.) fill |
| 3pl | πληρό + ουσι | πληροῦσι(ν) | They fill |
Diagnostic: ο-contracts almost always produce ου or οι in the present active indicative — very recognizable. The circumflex over ου is characteristic.
Contract verbs are listed in the lexicon with their uncontracted lexical form: the 1sg present active indicative before contraction.
| Lexical form | Stem class | Contracted 1sg | Root meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ἀγαπάω | α-contract | ἀγαπῶ | love |
| τιμάω | α-contract | τιμῶ | honor |
| ποιέω | ε-contract | ποιῶ | do, make |
| λαλέω | ε-contract | λαλῶ | speak |
| ζητέω | ε-contract | ζητῶ | seek |
| ἀκολουθέω | ε-contract | ἀκολουθῶ | follow |
| πληρόω | ο-contract | πληρῶ | fill, fulfill |
| δηλόω | ο-contract | δηλῶ | show, make clear |
Lexical form tip: Any verb whose lexical form ends in -άω, -έω, or -όω is a contract verb. The ending tells you which class it belongs to, so you can predict the contracted forms.
The accent of contract verbs follows a special rule: if the accent falls on one of the contracting syllables, the contracted syllable receives a circumflex accent.
ἀγαπᾷ ὑμᾶς ὁ πατήρ (John 16:27)
"The Father loves you."
→ ἀγαπᾷ = ἀγαπάω PAI 3sg (α+ει → ᾳ)ποιεῖτε ὃ λέγω ὑμῖν; (John 13:17)
"Are you doing what I tell you?"
→ ποιεῖτε = ποιέω PAI 2pl (ε+ετε → εῖτε)τοῦτο ποιεῖ ὁ θεός (adapted)
"God does this."
→ ποιεῖ = ποιέω PAI 3sg (ε+ει → εῖ)ζητεῖτε τὴν βασιλείαν (Matt 6:33)
"Seek the kingdom."
→ ζητεῖτε = ζητέω PAI 2pl (imperative sense in context; same form)