ACCENT
[*] 423. Simple or compound verbs usually throw the accent as far back as the quantity of the last syllable permits (recessive accent,
159).
λύ_ω, λύ_ομεν, ἐλυ_όμην; παιδεύω, παιδεύουσι, ἐπαιδευέτην; ἀποβάλλω, ἀπόβαλλε; ἀπολύ_ω, ἀπέλυ_ον; ἄπειμι, σύνεσμεν, σύμφημι, πάρεστι.
[*] 424. To this general rule there are exceptions.
a. Enclitics.—All the forms of
φημί say, and
εἰμί am, except
φῄς and
εἶ.
b. Imperatives.—(1) The second person sing. of the second aorist active imperative of five verbs is oxytone:
εἰπέ say,
ἐλθέ come,
εὑρέ find,
ἰδέ see,
λαβέ take. Their plurals are accented
εἰπέτε, ἐλθέτε, etc.; compounds have recessive accent:
κάτειπε, ἄπελθε, ἔφευρε, παράλαβε.
(2) The second aorist middle (2 sing.) is perispomenon, as
λαβοῦ, παραβαλοῦ, καθελοῦ.
c. Contracted verbs are only apparent exceptions: thus, e.g.,
τι_μᾷ for
τι_μάει, δηλοῦσι for
δηλόουσι, φιλεῖν for
φιλέειν. So the subjunctive of the first and second aorist passive
λυθῶ for
λυθέω, φανῶ for
φανέω; the optatives
λυθεῖμεν from
λυθέ-ι_-μεν, διδοῖμεν from
διδό-ι_-μεν; the futures
φανῶ for
φανέω, φανοῖμι for
φανέοιμι, φανεῖν for
φανέειν, φανῶν for
φανέων; λιπεῖν for
λιπέεν; and the present and second aorist active and middle subjunctive of most
μι-verbs, as
τιθῶ for
τιθέω, ἱστῶμαι, θῶμαι, perf.
κεκτῶμαι. On
διδοῦσι, τιθεῖσι, see 463 d.
N. 1.—In athematic optatives the accent does not recede beyond the diphthong containing
-ι_-, the sign of the optative mood:
ἱσταῖο, ἱσταῖμεν, ἱσταῖτο, διδοῖτο; and so in
λυθεῖμεν, λυθεῖεν.
N. 2.—
δύναμαι am able,
ἐπίσταμαι understand,
κρέμαμαι hang,
ὀνίνημι profit, and
ἐπριάμην bought (749 b,
750 b, 757 a) have recessive accent in the subjunctive and optative (
δύνωμαι, ἐπίστωμαι, δύναιτο, κρέμαιτο).
d. Poetic forms sometimes fail to follow the rule, as
ἐών being.
[*] 425. Infinitives, participles, and verbal adjectives are verbal nouns (
358), and hence do not regularly show recessive accent.
a. Infinitives.—The following infinitives accent the penult: all infinitives in
-ναι, as
λελυκέναι, λυθῆναι, ἱστάναι, στῆναι (except Epic
-μεναι, as
στήμεναι); in verbs in
ω the first aorist active, as
λῦσαι, παιδεῦσαι, the second aorist middle, as
λιπέσθαι, the perfect (middle) passive, as
λελύσθαι, πεπαιδεῦσθαι, πεποιῆσθαι.
[*] 425 a. D. The 2. aor. mid. inf. in Hom. is recessive in
ἀγέρεσθαι (
ἀγείρω assemble); so the perf.
ἀλάλησθαι (
ἀλάομαι wander),
ἀκάχησθαι (
ἄχνυμαι am distressed).
N.—The present inf. of contracted verbs and the second aorist active inf. of
ω-verbs have the perispomenon by 424 c.
b. Participles.—(1) Oxytone: the masculine and neuter sing. of the second aorist active, as
λιπών, λιπόν; and of all participles of the third declension ending in
-ς in the masculine (except the first aorist active), as
λυθείς λυθέν, λελυκώς λελυκός, ἑστώς ἑστός, τιθείς τιθέν, διδούς διδόν, ἱστά_ς ἱστάν, δεικνύ_ς δεικνύν (but
λύ_σα_ς, ποιήσα_ς). Also
ἰών going from
εἶμι.
(2) Paroxytone: the perfect middle (passive):
λελυμένος.
N.—Participles are accented like adjectives, not like verbs. The fem. and neuter nom. accent the same syllable as the masc. nom. if the quantity of the ultima permits, thus
παιδεύων, παιδεύουσα, παιδεῦον (not
παίδευον);
ποιήσα_ς, ποιήσα_σα, ποιῆσαν (not
ποίησαν);
φιλῶν, φιλοῦσα, φιλοῦν (from
φιλέον).
[*] 425 b (2) D. But Hom. has
ἀλαλήμενος (
ἀλάομαι wander),
ἀκαχήμενος or
ἀκηχέμενος (
ἄχνυμαι am distressed),
ἐσσύμενος (
σεύω drive).
c. Verbal Adjectives.—The verbal adjective in
-τος is accented on the ultima (
λυτός); that in
-τεος on the penult (
λυτέος).
N.—Prepositional compounds in
-τος denoting possibility generally accent the last syllable and have three endings (
286), as
διαλυτός dissoluble,
ἐξαιρετός removable. Such compounds as have the force of a perfect passive participle accent the antepenult and have two endings, as
διάλυτος dissolved,
ἐξαίρετος chosen. All other compounds in
-τος accent the antepenult and have two endings, as
ἄβατος impassable,
χειροποίητος artificial.
[*] 426.
Exceptions to the recessive accent of compound verbs.—a. The accent cannot precede the augment or reduplication:
ἄπειμι am absent,
ἀπῆν was absent,
εἰσ-ῆλθον they entered,
ἀπ-ῆσαν they were absent; ἀφ-ῖκται arrived (cp.
ἷκται).
N.—A long vowel or diphthong not changed by the augment receives the accent:
ὑπ-εῖκε was yielding (indic.
ὑπ-είκω, imper.
ὕπ-εικε).
b. The accent cannot precede the last syllable of the preposition before the simple verb nor move back to the first of two prepositions:
περίθες put around,
συνέκδος give up together (not
σύνεκδος),
συγκάθες put down together (not
σύγκαθες). Compounds of the second aorist active imperatives
δός, ἕς, θές, and
σχές are thus paroxytone:
ἐπίθες set on,
περίθες put around,
ἐπίσχες hold on.
c. When compounded with a monosyllabic preposition, monosyllabic second aorist middle imperatives in
-οῦ from
μι-verbs retain the circumflex:
προδοῦ betray,
ἐνθοῦ put in. But the accent recedes when these imperatives prefix a dissyllabic preposition:
ἀπόδου sell,
κατάθου put down. The open forms always have recessive accent, as
ἔνθεο, κατάθεο.
d. The accent of uncompounded infinitives, participles, aorist passive, perfect passive, and of the second aorist middle imperative (2. p. sing., but see
426 c) is retained in composition.
e. ἀπέσται will be far from,
ἐπέσται will be upon do not have recessive accent.
f. Compound subjunctives are differently accentuated in the Mss.:
ἀποδῶμαι and
ἀπόδωμαι, ἐπιθῆται and
ἐπίθηται; the aorist of
ἵ_ημι has
προῶμαι and
πρόωμαι. ἀπέχω has
ἀπόσχωμαι. Compound optatives retain the accent of the primitives:
ἀποδοῖτο, as
δοῖτο. For
συνθοῖτο, προσθοῖσθε (746 c) the Mss. occasionally have
σύνθοιτο, πρόσθοισθε; and so
πρόοιτο.
[*] 427. Final
-αι (and
-οι) are regarded as long in the optative (
169), elsewhere as short. Hence distinguish the forms of the first aorist.