BBG Chapter 17 — Contract Verbs¶
Files¶
Exercises¶
| Exercise | Description |
|---|---|
| exercises/ch17-contract-verb-parsing/ | 20-item drill: parse contracted forms, identify uncontracted vowels, and give the lexical form |
Flashcards¶
| 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 |
Notebooks¶
| 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
1. What Are Contract Verbs?¶
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.
2. Contraction Rules Table¶
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.
3. Alpha-Contract — ἀγαπάω (stem: ἀγαπα-)¶
Present Active Indicative¶
| 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.
4. Epsilon-Contract — ποιέω (stem: ποιε-)¶
Present Active Indicative¶
| 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.
5. Omicron-Contract — πληρόω (stem: πληρο-)¶
Present Active Indicative¶
| 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.
6. Recognizing Contract Verb Lexical Forms¶
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.
7. Accent in 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.
- ἀγαπάω → ἀγαπῶ (circumflex on ω from contraction of α+ω)
- ποιέω → ποιῶ (circumflex on contracted ω)
- 1pl ποιέ+ομεν → ποιοῦμεν (circumflex on ου)
8. Contract Verbs in the GNT — Examples¶
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)