The Participle

What is a Participle

A Participle is a Verbal AdjectiveWhat does that mean?Participles have characteristics of adjectives (they can modify nouns, etc).

Participles have characteristics of verbs (they have tense and voice, and contain a verbal idea).

English Participles

Two Main Functions

Participles can behave like adjectives:The man reading by the window dropped his book.

I picked up the dropped book only to discover that it was the latest Dan Brown 'thriller'.

Or they can behave like adverbs:While waiting for the train the train I decided to read the inconceivably popular novel.

After reading "Almost inconceivably, the gun into which she was now staring was clutched in the pale hand of an enormous albino with long white hair," I dropped the terribly written book into the garbage.

The Verbal side of the Greek Participle

The verbal component of a Greek Participle is expressed by:Tense (Aspect)

Voice

Thus, to translate the verbal component of the participle, pay attention to the aspect of the participle and to the relationship between the action described and the word the participle is modifying (the voice).

Also, the participle is part of a verbal (participial) clause, which can have direct objects, indirect objects, prepositional phrases, and anything else a verbal clause can have.

The Adjectival Side of the Greek Participle

The adjectival component of the Greek Participle is expressed by:Case

Gender

Number

The adjectival component of a participle will be translated by paying attention to the word the participle is modifying and the position of the participle relative to that word (predicate, attributive, substantival).

In this way, participles behave like adjectives: they will agree with their head noun in case, number, and gender.

Forming the Participle

The Ending column refers to your noun declensions. 3-1-3 means that the masc. and ntr. follow the Third declension noun, and the feminine the First.

Memorize this one. It can double as your ending guide for the 3rd Declension and your endings for the progressive participle.

Parsing the Participle

When parsing, give meTense, Voice, Mood (use participle, though this is technically not a mood), Case, Gender, Number, Lexical Form, Inflected Meaning

For Tense: Get in the habit of using Progressive instead of Present. This will help you avoid mistaking time for aspect.

For Inflected Meaning: Use either (1) the lexical definition, (2) an adverbial phrase (while sleeping for the progressive, after sleeping for the aorist) (3) a relative clause (the one sleeping), or (4) an english gerund (sleeping, having slept, being read).Its your choicedo whichever is most helpful to you.

Participles and Aspect

In translating the verbal component of the participle it is extremely important to have a nuanced understanding of Aspect.

Outside of the Indicative mood (i.e. participles, subjunctives, imperatives, etc.) tense bears no relation to time (and even in the indicative time is a secondary function of tense). Aspect is primary.

Participles and Aspect

Do not assume that a present tense participle occurs in the present time.

Better, don't think of them as present at all. Think of them as progressive.Translate progressive participles as a progressive action.

Use while for adverbial participles. While sleeping, While he was reading, etc.

The aorist participle is perfective, not past.

This distinction will make more since when we get the aorist and when we get more functions for the participle.

How to Translate in Seven Steps

Let's translate the following:

Step 1. Find and ignore the participle (find and translate your main clause)!

Translate as normal

Step 2. Identify the Participle

Step 2. Parse the Participle. Present M/P Participle Nominative Masculine Plural from , being persecuted.

Step 3: Identify its Head NounIt is in the nominative, so it modifies either(1) another nominative or

(2) an implied subject

No other Nominative, so...

we

We-being-persecuted

Step 4. Determine the function of the participle.We only know adverbial participles.

But: the lack of the article tells us its probably Adverbial.

we-while-being-persecuted = While we are being persecuted

Step 5. Refine your translation. Pay attention to voice and aspect.Progressive Middle/Passive

Is it deponent?

So we stick with our inflected meaning: we-while-being-persecuted

Step 6. Translate the rest of the participial phrase.Are there any objects, indirect objects, prepositional phrase, etc. that go with the participle?

Yes:

Translate the whole phraseWhile we were being persecuted by the rulers.

Step 7. Translate the rest of the sentence and put it all together.Our main clause reads We are praying to God.

Adding our adverbial participial clause we get:We are praying to God while we are being persecuted by the rulers.

And, cleaning it up:While we are being persecuted by the Rules, we pray to God.

More Practice

John 6:59. .

Jesus said these things in a synagogue while teaching in Capernaum.

Mark 1:14

Jesus went into Galillee while preaching the gospel of God.

Romans 3:21

Now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, being witnessed but the law and the prophets.

Progressive Active ParticipleStemTense FormativeTheme VowelMorphemeEndingFirst Forms

Present-3-1-3, , , ,

Progressive Middle/Passive ParticipleStemTense FormativeTheme VowelMorphemeEndingFirst Forms

Present-2-1-2, ,