# BBG Chapter 17 — Contract Verbs

## Files

### Exercises

Exercise | Description
--- | ---
exercises/ch17-contract-verb-parsing/ | 20-item drill: parse contracted forms, identify uncontracted vowels, and give the lexical form

### Flashcards

File | Description
--- | ---
ch17-vocab-deck.md | Human-readable card list — 11 vocabulary words
ch17-vocab-deck.txt | Anki import file (File → Import)
ch17-vocab-deck-fd.txt | Flashcards Deluxe import file

### Notebooks

Notebook | What it shows
--- | ---
Morphological Distribution | How a verb root's forms spread across tenses and books

Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, Mounce, 4th Edition

## 1. What Are Contract Verbs?

Contract verbs are verbs whose present stem ends in a vowel (α, ε, or ο). When this stem vowel meets the connecting vowel (ο/ε) and personal ending, the two vowels contract (merge) into a single long vowel or diphthong.

The three classes of contract verbs are named for their stem-final vowel:

Class | Stem ending | Lexical form ending | Example
--- | --- | --- | ---
Alpha-contract | -α | -αω | ἀγαπάω ("I love")
Epsilon-contract | -ε | -εω | ποιέω ("I do, make")
Omicron-contract | -ο | -οω | πληρόω ("I fill, fulfill")

> Key principle: Contract verbs in the present and imperfect always contract; all other tenses form from the uncontracted stem (the contraction does not appear). The accent in contracted forms is placed on the contracted syllable.

## 2. Contraction Rules Table

Memorizing these rules lets you reverse-engineer any contracted form.

Vowel 1 (stem) | + Vowel 2 (c.v./ending) | = Result
--- | --- | ---
α + ε | → | α
α + ει | → | ᾳ or α
α + ο | → | ω
α + ου | → | ω
α + ω | → | ω
ε + ε | → | ει
ε + ει | → | ει
ε + ο | → | ου
ε + ου | → | ου
ε + ω | → | ω
ο + ε | → | ου
ο + ει | → | οι
ο + ο | → | ου
ο + ου | → | ου
ο + ω | → | ω

> Tip: The dominant vowel or diphthong usually "wins." For ε+ε → ει (spurious diphthong). For ο-contracts, ο is very strong and often produces ου.

## 3. Alpha-Contract — ἀγαπάω (stem: ἀγαπα-)

### Present Active Indicative

Person | Uncontracted | Contracted | Translation
--- | --- | --- | ---
1sg | ἀγαπά + ω | ἀγαπῶ | I love
2sg | ἀγαπά + εις | ἀγαπᾷς | You love
3sg | ἀγαπά + ει | ἀγαπᾷ | He/she loves
1pl | ἀγαπά + ομεν | ἀγαπῶμεν | We love
2pl | ἀγαπά + ετε | ἀγαπᾶτε | You (pl.) love
3pl | ἀγαπά + ουσι | ἀγαπῶσι(ν) | They love

> Accent note: In contracted forms the accent falls on the contracted syllable. A circumflex (῀) appears on the contracted syllable when it results from two long vowels or a long vowel + short vowel.

## 4. Epsilon-Contract — ποιέω (stem: ποιε-)

### Present Active Indicative

Person | Uncontracted | Contracted | Translation
--- | --- | --- | ---
1sg | ποιέ + ω | ποιῶ | I do/make
2sg | ποιέ + εις | ποιεῖς | You do/make
3sg | ποιέ + ει | ποιεῖ | He/she does/makes
1pl | ποιέ + ομεν | ποιοῦμεν | We do/make
2pl | ποιέ + ετε | ποιεῖτε | You (pl.) do/make
3pl | ποιέ + ουσι | ποιοῦσι(ν) | They do/make

> Note: ε-contracts are the most common contract verbs in the GNT. ε+ε → ει and ε+ο → ου are the two key contractions to memorize.

## 5. Omicron-Contract — πληρόω (stem: πληρο-)

### Present Active Indicative

Person | Uncontracted | Contracted | Translation
--- | --- | --- | ---
1sg | πληρό + ω | πληρῶ | I fill/fulfill
2sg | πληρό + εις | πληροῖς | You fill
3sg | πληρό + ει | πληροῖ | He/she fills
1pl | πληρό + ομεν | πληροῦμεν | We fill
2pl | πληρό + ετε | πληροῦτε | You (pl.) fill
3pl | πληρό + ουσι | πληροῦσι(ν) | They fill

> Diagnostic: ο-contracts almost always produce ου or οι in the present active indicative — very recognizable. The circumflex over ου is characteristic.

## 6. Recognizing Contract Verb Lexical Forms

Contract verbs are listed in the lexicon with their uncontracted lexical form: the 1sg present active indicative before contraction.

Lexical form | Stem class | Contracted 1sg | Root meaning
--- | --- | --- | ---
ἀγαπάω | α-contract | ἀγαπῶ | love
τιμάω | α-contract | τιμῶ | honor
ποιέω | ε-contract | ποιῶ | do, make
λαλέω | ε-contract | λαλῶ | speak
ζητέω | ε-contract | ζητῶ | seek
ἀκολουθέω | ε-contract | ἀκολουθῶ | follow
πληρόω | ο-contract | πληρῶ | fill, fulfill
δηλόω | ο-contract | δηλῶ | show, make clear

> Lexical form tip: Any verb whose lexical form ends in -άω, -έω, or -όω is a contract verb. The ending tells you which class it belongs to, so you can predict the contracted forms.

## 7. Accent in Contracted Forms

The accent of contract verbs follows a special rule: if the accent falls on one of the contracting syllables, the contracted syllable receives a circumflex accent.

- ἀγαπάω → ἀγαπῶ (circumflex on ω from contraction of α+ω)
- ποιέω → ποιῶ (circumflex on contracted ω)
- 1pl ποιέ+ομεν → ποιοῦμεν (circumflex on ου)

## 8. Contract Verbs in the GNT — Examples

> ἀγαπᾷ ὑμᾶς ὁ πατήρ (John 16:27)
> "The Father loves you."
> → ἀγαπᾷ = ἀγαπάω PAI 3sg (α+ει → ᾳ)

> ποιεῖτε ὃ λέγω ὑμῖν; (John 13:17)
> "Are you doing what I tell you?"
> → ποιεῖτε = ποιέω PAI 2pl (ε+ετε → εῖτε)

> τοῦτο ποιεῖ ὁ θεός (adapted)
> "God does this."
> → ποιεῖ = ποιέω PAI 3sg (ε+ει → εῖ)

> ζητεῖτε τὴν βασιλείαν (Matt 6:33)
> "Seek the kingdom."
> → ζητεῖτε = ζητέω PAI 2pl (imperative sense in context; same form)