Lesson 9 Present Middle Indicative The Middle Voice in Greek has no equivalent in English. The subject is the point of emphasis; the action is not. Middle Voice: the subject acts in such a way so as to participate in the results of the action. The following classification of the uses of the middle voice represents the general idea of the construction:
1. Himself - the reflexive middle: the result of the action is directly referred to the agent. T-NSM N-NSM V-PMI-3S ο ανθρωπος εγειρεται. The man is raising himself up. 2. One another - the reciprocal middle: limited to the use if the plural subject engaged in the interchange of action. T-NPM N-NPM V-PMI-3P οι ονθρωποι διδασκονται. The men are teaching one another. 3. To himself - Indirect middle: the subject is acting with reference to or on behalf of himself (or herself, or course.) V-PMI-3S N-APM λαµβανεται δωρα He is taking gifts for himself. 2. And no other - intensive middle: the agent is producing the action rather than participating in the action. V-PMI-3S T-ASF N-ASF διδασκεται την αληθειαν. he/she/it (himself or and no other) is teaching the
truth.
The Greek forms of the middle voice in the present, imperfect and perfect tenses are the same as the passive. The difference is in the function. The context of the passage will indicate whether the construction is middle or passive in function. When translating, include all relevant forms of the middle voice and the passive. The middle is not used when there is an agent, since that indicates that the verb is passive. It sometimes is appropriate to include the English word “for” in the reflexive middle. For the sake of the homework, do not use this until later lessons.