Short-cut to the (2nd) Aorist:

 

The older aorist is marked off from other forms by 3 features:

 

1) augment (the initial -) indicates a past tense.

2) ‘2ndary endings’ also distinguish past from present

(- ον, -ες, -ε, ...-ον.....-όμην, -ου, -ετο ...-οντο)

 

(3) a distinctive ‘stem’, and often one that is ‘weak’ or shorter than the present stem

(not always)

 

Present  markers, omitted in aorist:

 

-σκ- as in – ἀπο-θνηί-σκ-ω, ἀπ-ε-θαν-ον

--εὑρι-σκ-ω, ηὗρ-ον

--πα-σχ-ω, ἔ-παθ-ον

 

-αν- or –νε  as in ἀφ-ικ-νε-ομαι, ἀφ-ῑκ-ό-μην

--λα-μ-β-αν-ω, --> ἔ-λαβ-ον

--μα-ν-θ-αν-ω --> ἔ-μαθ-ον

 

reduplication (with –ι-) as in

 

γι – γν-ο-μαι --> ἐ-γεν-ό-μην

πι-πτ-ω --> ἔ-πεσ-ον (from –πετ-)

 

others weaken the stem from diphthong to short vowel:

 

λείπ-ω --> ἔ-λιπ-ον

φεύγω --> ἔ-φυγ-ον

 

Now practice with 'Aorist Warm-Up'