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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.

3. Sing. Opt. Act.Infin. Act.2. Sing. Imper. Mid.
λύ_ωλύ_σαιλῦσαιλῦσαι
ἀπολύ_ωἀπολύ_σαιἀπολῦσαιἀπόλυ_σαι
παιδεύωπαιδεύσαιπαιδεῦσαιπαίδευσαι

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