The imperfect

An action that went on in the past

John 1:1 uses the same verb three times.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:1

ἦν ("ayn") is the past of εἰμί, which you met two lessons ago, and the panel calls it imperfect. The imperfect describes an action that was going on in the past, or that happened again and again. In English it is "was doing", "used to do" or "kept doing". The present tense gave you "is doing" as it happens now; the imperfect is its past counterpart.

The Gospels are full of imperfects. In Mark, Jesus has just entered the synagogue at Capernaum.

Then Jesus and His companions went to Capernaum, and right away Jesus entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach.

Mark 1:21

The verb at the end is ἐδίδασκεν ("e-DID-as-ken"), "He was teaching". That "began to teach" in some translations is trying to capture the same idea: the teaching went on for a time rather than being a single remark. The verb διδάσκω, "to teach", occurs about 100 times. In John 3:22 we read ἐβάπτιζεν ("e-BAP-tid-zen"), "he was baptizing": Jesus stayed in Judea with His disciples, and the baptizing went on. βαπτίζω "to baptize" occurs about 80 times.

The augment ἐ- and the past endings

Two things mark an imperfect. First, an ε- is added in front of the stem. It is called the augment, and it is a sign of past time. Second, the endings are different from the present: -ον, -ες, -ε(ν), -ομεν, -ετε, -ον. With λέγω "say" it looks like this:

The stem λεγ- is the same as in the present, with ἐ- in front. Notice that -ον serves for both 1st singular and 3rd plural, so the sentence or the panel label must tell them apart. In John 2:21, ἔλεγεν ("EL-eg-en") is 3rd singular: John explains that Jesus "was speaking" about the temple of His body.

The augment shows up in three ways. First, before a stem that begins with a consonant, ἐ- is simply added: ἐδίδασκεν, ἐβάπτιζεν, ἔλεγεν.

Second, if the stem begins with a vowel, the augment merges with it and the first vowel is lengthened. ἀκούω, from the lesson on the present, becomes ἤκουεν ("AY-koo-en") in Luke 10:39, where Mary sits at the Lord's feet and "was listening": the α has become η. The imperfect of εἰμί begins with η in the same way: ἦσαν, "they were", in 1 John 2:19, "they did not belong to us", and the ἦν of John 1:1.

Third, if the verb begins with a prefix such as a preposition, the augment goes between the prefix and the stem. περιεπάτει ("peri-EP-at-ay"), "he was walking about" in John 11:54, is περι- plus ε plus the stem πατ-. περιπατέω "to walk" occurs about 95 times. Its ending is a blend because it is a "contract" verb, which belongs to a later lesson.

One more form: ἔφη ("EH-fay"), in John 1:23, where John the Baptist says he is "a voice of one calling in the wilderness". It is an imperfect of φημί "to say", an irregular verb, so simply learn it as a word. Although it is imperfect in form, it is normally translated simply "he said": not every imperfect needs "was doing" in English. φημί occurs about 70 times. The augment also marks the aorist, which comes in the next lessons, so when the shape alone does not settle it, trust the label in the panel.

John 1:1 and the verb "was"

Back to John 1:1. The imperfect ἦν says that the Word already was there. He did not begin at the beginning; He was already in existence when the beginning came. Do be careful, though: the tense alone does not prove eternity. It tells you that the Word was already existing at that point. Read together with the next verse, the whole opening points firmly in that direction. The tense is a clue and not the whole case.

Summary

The imperfect is an ongoing or repeated action in the past, "was doing" or "used to do". You recognise it by the augment ε- (or a lengthened first vowel, or an ε after a prefix) and the endings -ον, -ες, -ε(ν), -ομεν, -ετε, -ον. ἦν in John 1:1 says the Word already was.

Words in this lesson

• βαπτίζωbaptizōto baptize76 times in the NT
• διδάσκωdidaskōto teach96 times in the NT
• φημίphēmito assert66 times in the NT
• περιπατέωperipateōto walk94 times in the NT

Practice