Thematic Past Progressive Indicative Middle and Passive

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Introduction

As a reminder, this is how the thematic present progressive indicative middle and passive is formed:

PRESENT PROGRESSIVE MIDDLE AND PASSIVE

BASE

progressive aspect marker

/ομαι        /ομεθα /εσαι*      /εσθε /εται        /ονται

* Intervocalic σ drops from /εσαι, leaving /εαι in Ionic and /ει and /ῃ in Attic after contraction.

To form the past progressive, simply add a past time marker and use thematic personal endings:

PAST PROGRESSIVE ACTIVE

ἐ/ or L/

BASE

progressive aspect marker

/ομην  /ομεθα /εσο*   /εσθε /ετο     /οντο

* Intervocalic σ drops from /εσο leaving uncontracted /εο, contracted /ευ in Ionic, and contracted /ου in Attic.

The past progressive is called the imperfect.

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Intermediate

To mark past time, Greek uses a past time prefix and thematic past time personal markers.

The past time prefix depends on whether the base begins with a consonant or a vowel. If it begins with a consonant, the past time prefix is ἐ/. If it begins with a vowel, the past time prefix is a lengthening (L/) of that vowel. For example:

ἐ/λεγ/ετο > ἐλέγετο	it was being said
L/ἀγ/οντο > ἤγοντο	they were being led

Thematic past time personal markers, included in the conjugation of βουλ/, are these:

	singular	plural
1st person	ἐ/βουλ/ομην > ἐβουλόμην I was wanting	ἐ/βουλ/ομεθα > ἐβουλόμεθα we were wanting
2nd person	ἐ/βουλ/εσο > ἐβούλου you were wanting	ἐ/βουλ/εσθε > ἐβούλεσθε you were wanting
3rd person	ἐ/βουλ/ετο > ἐβούλετο she/he/it was wanting	ἐ/βουλ/οντο > ἐβούλοντο they were wanting

The 1st person plural /ομεθα and the 2nd person plural /εσθε are indistinct from their not-past time counterparts. Otherwise the personal marker clearly marks past time.

For more on personal markers, see here.