Participles

**Participles** are verbal adjectives. They are formed from verbs and are used to modify or give more information about other words.

The bad news is, because they are formed from verbs and behave as adjectives, they have the characteristics of both:

* like verbs, they have tense (fortunately only 3) and voice (thankfully no person)
* like adjectives, they agree with the word they modify in number, gender and case

Only in the indicative verb system do the verbs convey time. In a sentence, the time is derived from the main verb.
Participles convey only aspect. Three aspects are carried by participles:

* imperfective participles - describe the verbal idea as an ongoing process. These are formed from the Present tense stem of the verb
* perfective participles - describe the verbal idea as an event seen as a whole. These are formed from the Aorist tense stem of the verb.
* combinative participles - describe a completed action which has ongoing consequences. These are formed from the Perfect tense stem.

## Example paradigms

### Present Active Participle

* present active = present tense stem + connecting vowel + active participle morpheme + case ending
* look out for **ντ** - that's the usual active participle morpheme for the masculine and neuter. Visible is all forms except the singular.
* Masculine and neuter forms follow 3rd declension case endings
* look out for **ουσα** - that's the usual active participle morpheme for the feminine, almost always visible.
* Feminine forms follow 1st declension case endings

### Present Middle/Passive Participle

* present active = present tense stem + connecting vowel + middle/passive participle morpheme + case ending
* **-μενο**/**-μενη** is the middle/passive participle morpheme and is highly visible
* case endings are straightforward 1st or 2nd declension as appropriate

### Aorist Passive Participle

* built on the 6th principle part
* there isn't the characteristic θη of the indicative mood
* instead look out for the θε.

### Perfect Active Participle

* built on the 4th principal part
* reduplication
* similar to present active but only -κ formative instead of -κα
* for masc. and neut. same morpheme and endings as present active but without the ν in the οντ, just οτ
* for fem. the morpheme is υί which comes before the regular 1st declension endings, except that the α persists in the singular genitive and dative
* accenting:
	+ for masc. and neut. the accent is always on the connecting vowel, i.e. the -ό of the -ότ morpheme even in the plural genitive -ότων where in the indictive the ω would have a circumflex
	+ for fem. the accent is always on the penult (2nd last syllable) except plural genitive -ῶν where it looks like a regular indicative, with the circumflex over the ω

### Perfect Middle/Passive Participle

* Built on the **5th principal part**.
* Same for middle and passive.
* Unlike the indicative, the characteristic -κ formative (4th principal part) is not there.
* Reduplication is there.
* Like the present middle/passive, the characteristic morpheme is -μεν. Endings look like the present middle/passive.
* Accenting: seems like it is always the έ in the -μένο. The second last syllable.