TOPICS

Accent and Accent-Marking in Ancient Greek

Contonation and Mora

The Last 3 Syllables and the Accents
•acute
•circumflex
•grave
•ultima
•penult
•antepenult
•more examples

Proclitics

Enclitics

Multiple Clitics

Traditional Terminology

Persistent Accentuation
• a- and o-declension
• consonant declension

Recessive Accentuation

Recessive Accentuation (1 of 3)	Previous | Next

Recessive accentuation is seen in the conjugation of finite forms of verbs (indicative, subjunctive, optative, and imperative; NOT in the non-finite forms, the infinitive and participle). In uncontracted forms, recessive accentuation means that the accent falls as far back from the end of the word as is permitted by the length of the ultima.

With a short U, the accent will be an acute on A.

With a long U, the accent will be an acute on P.

Examples:

he entrusts – ἐπιτρέπει (P accented with long U)

he was entrusting – ἐπέτρεπε (A accented with short U)

you were obeying – ἐπείθου (P accented with long U)

I want – βούλομαι (A accented with short U; final αι counts as short)

we want – βουλόμεθα (A accented with short U)

we wanted – ἐβουλόμεθα (A accented with short U)

they have sent – πεπόμφασῐ (A accented with short U)

I appeared – ἐφάνην (P accented with long U)

appear – φάνηθῐ (A accented with short U)

you have deliberated – βεβούλευσθε (A accented with short U)

may I die – ἀποθάνοιμῐ (A accented with short U)

read aloud – ἀνάγνωθῐ (A accented with short U)