Lessons I to V

§501. I. PHONOLOGY

The Greek alphabet has twenty-six letters:

FORM         SOUND                                      NAME
Α      α     a as in father (when short as in aha)      ᾰ́λφα               alpha
Β      β     b as in bite                               βῆτα               beta
Γ      γ     g as in get (never soft as in oblige)      γάμμα              gamma
Δ      δ     d as in deal                               δέλτα              delta
Ε      ε     e as in red                                εἶ, ἔ (ἔ ψῑλόν)    epsilon
Ϝ      ϝ     w as in wine                               ϝαῦ                vau (digamma)
Ζ      ζ     zd as in Ahura Mazda                       ζῆτα               zeta
Η      η     ê as in Fr. fête (open e)                  ἦτα                eta
Θ      θ     th as in thick (originally t + h)          θῆτα               theta
Ι      ι     i as in machine (when short as i in hit)   ἰῶτα               iota
Κ      κ     k as in kill                               κάππα              kappa
Λ      λ     l as in English, but with a trill          λάμβδα             lambda
Μ      μ     m as in met                                μῦ                 mu
Ν      ν     n as in net                                νῦ                 nu
Ξ      ξ     x as in wax                                ξεῖ (ξῖ)           xi
Ο      ο     o as in rose (Fr.), (closed o)             οὖ, ὄ (ὁ μῑκρόν)   omicron
Π      π     p as in pie                                πεῖ (πῖ)           pi
Ϙ      ϙ     k as in kale                               ϙόππα              koppa
Ρ      ρ     Fr. or Ger. trilled r                      ῥῶ                 rho
Σ      σ ς   s as in sit                                σίγμα              sigma
Τ      τ     t as in tie                                ταῦ                tau
Υ      υ     u as in prune (better as Fr. ou, sou)      ὖ (ὖ ψῑλόν)        upsilon
Φ      φ     ph as in sophomore (originally p + h)      φεῖ (φῖ)           phi
Χ      χ     ch as in loch or doch (originally c + h)   χεῖ (χῖ)           chi
Ψ      ψ     ps as in lips                              ψεῖ (ψῖ)           psi
Ω      ω     o as in Fr. or (open o)                    ὦ (ὦ μέγα)         omega
ϝ and ϙ are not ordinarily printed in Greek texts to-day, but both were common in the earlier period of the language; and a knowledge of the use of vau (or digamma, as it is sometimes called) is necessary in order to understand the metre of Homer, as well as to explain many irregular forms.
ς at the end of a word; elsewhere σ, as σαώσεις you will save.
υ: As French u, or German ü, in later, classical Greek. For this sound, round the lips as though to pronounce oo in spoon, and with them in this position pronounce long e in me.

§502. Only the capitals were used in antiquity, the small letters being introduced by mediæval copyists of Greek manuscripts.

§503. The vowels are: α, ε, η, ο, ω, pure vowels, and ι, υ, ϝ, semi-vowels.

§504. The diphthongs are:

αι   pronounced as ai in aisle.
αυ   “ “ ou in house (or rather as au in Ger. Haus).
ει   “ “ ei in freight (or better still, pronounce both vowels, ε + ι, but fuse them into a single syllable ĕi, with the accent on the first part).
ευ   “ “ eh + oo in spoon, but fused into one syllable, somewhat as eu in Fr. fleur.
ηυ   “ “ ê + ou in sou, but fused into one syllable.
οι   “ “ o + ι “ “ “ “ “
ου   “ “ o + υ “ “ “ , “ “
υι   “ “ we in we (or rather as oui in Fr. Louise).
ωυ   “ “ ō + ou in sou, but fused into one syllable.

§505. The improper diphthongs are ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ. These consist of a long vowel (ᾱ, η, ω) with an iota (ι), called iota subscript, written beneath, unless the first of these vowels is a capital, in which case the iota is written in the line, as ᾦχετο = Ὠιχετο = ΩΙΧΕΤΟ went.

NOTE. Whenever by inflection (626) or otherwise an iota follows immediately after ᾱ, η, or ω, it regularly becomes iota subscript (505), thus producing an improper diphthong.

§506. These diphthongs are usually pronounced the same as ᾱ, η, and ω respectively, although in Homeric times the iota was probably sounded to some extent.

§507. θ, φ, and χ may be pronounced as indicated above. In Homeric times they were pronounced somewhat as t-h in fat-head, p-h in sap-head, and ck-h in thick-head, respectively, but without the break noticeable in English between the two syllables.

§508. The remaining consonants may be pronounced as specified in the list, but γ before μ, ν, γ, χ, κ, ξ is called gamma-nasal, and is pronounced as n in song, as κλαγγή uproar, pronounced clahngáy.

§519. Quantity. The vowels η and ω are always long; ε and ο are always short, while α, ι, and υ are sometimes long and sometimes short, and hence are called doubtful vowels.

§520. When the doubtful vowels are long in this text, it will be indicated (except in the direct quotations from Homer) by their having the mark (¯) placed over them, as θεᾱ́ goddess. This mark will not be placed over vowels having the circumflex accent (534), as they are always long (537).

§527. Breathings. Every vowel at the beginning of a word must have either the smooth breathing (’) or the rough breathing (‘), written over it if it is a small letter, and before it if it is an initial capital followed by small letters. If the entire word is written in capitals, the breathing is omitted.

§528. The rough breathing, called aspiration, shows that h was sounded before the vowel, as ἱστός loom, mast (pronounced histŏs).

§529. Initial ρ always has the rough breathing; initial υ usually has it.

§530. The smooth breathing denotes that the vowel was sounded without the h, as ἐμός my, mine (pronounced emŏs).

§531. A diphthong, except an improper one (505) at the beginning of a word takes the breathing over its second vowel, as Αὐτός (αὐτός) self (pronounced owtŏs), Υἱός (υἱός) son (pronounced hwēŏs).

§532. Improper diphthongs take the breathing over the first vowel when it is a small letter, and before it when it is an initial capital followed by small letters (505).

§533. In compounds no word is written with a breathing unless it be initial, even though it originally had it, as ξυνίημι (ξὺν + ἵημι) bring together, hearken to. In such cases the rough breathing should be pronounced.

§626. Inflection, including declension (nouns, adjectives, pronouns), comparison (adjectives, adverbs), and conjugation, is the fusion of a so-called stem (630), and certain elements which express relationship to other words.

§627. A root is the essential part of a word which remains after it has been analyzed into its various parts, and all prefixes, suffixes, and formative elements have been removed.

§628. A stem often has more than one form, its different forms usually standing in ablaut (593-595) relation to each other. It is ordinarily derived from a root, by the addition of various formative elements, prefixes, and suffixes.

§629. Some roots are also stems, and are combined directly with inflectional elements.

§630. An inflected word is in general made up of two parts:

1) The fundamental part, or stem.
2) The inflectional element (usually an ending, commonly called a suffix; sometimes a prefix, as in the case of the augment, 830), which combines with the stem to form case, number, tense, person, etc.

§631. The last letter of the stem is called the stem characteristic, and from this last letter stems are classified as vowel stems, mute (509) stems, liquid (516) stems, etc.

§632. Nouns, pronouns, and adjectives are declined.

§633. Number. There are three numbers in Greek, the singular denoting one, the dual denoting two (usually referring to a pair of objects closely associated, or belonging together by nature and forming a closely related, unified group, as χεῖρε, ὀφθαλμώ, ἵππω the two hands, eyes, horses. Compare yoke, team, pair in English), and the plural denoting more than two.

NOTE. The plural is often used interchangeably with the dual to denote only two.

§634. Gender. There are three genders, the masculine, feminine, and neuter.

§635. The gender must usually be learned by observation, but in general:

1) The names of males are masculine.
2) The names of females are feminine.
3) The names of rivers, winds, and months are usually masculine.
4) The names of countries, towns, trees, and islands are usually feminine.
5) Most nouns denoting qualities and conditions are feminine.

§636. A few nouns are used either as masculine or feminine, as παῖς child, which may be of either gender, and may mean either boy or girl, as may be required by occasion. Such words are said to be of common gender.

§637. The demonstrative (often relative, or personal) pronoun most extensively used in the Homeric poems is ὁ, ἡ, τό, the first form being masculine, the second feminine, and the third neuter.

§638. The form of the noun which appears in the vocabulary is the nominative singular, unless otherwise indicated. This is followed by the ending of the genitive singular, which denotes to which declension the noun belongs. After the ending of the genitive singular is placed the appropriate form of this pronoun, to indicate the gender. Thus θεός, οὗ, ὁ god is second declension masculine; βουλή, ῆς, ἡ wish, will, plan is first declension feminine, and ἄλγος, εος, τό pain, woe is third declension neuter.

§639. Cases. There are five cases in Greek, the nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, and vocative, together with remnants of three lost cases, the locative, instrumental, and ablative (657).

§640. All these cases except the nominative and vocative are called oblique cases.

§641. Accent of Nouns. The accent of a noun usually remains in all the forms on the same syllable as in the nominative singular, or at least as near that syllable as the general rules of accent will allow. Thus ἥρως hero (nominative singular), but ἡρώων of heroes (genitive plural). See 544 ff.

§642. Words monosyllabic in the nominative singular, when becoming dissyllabic by declension, regularly have the accent on the final syllable in all the dissyllabic forms of the genitive and dative of all numbers, and on the penult of the dual (trisyllabic), but keep the accent on the first syllable in all other cases.

§643. An accented ultima in general takes the acute, but in the genitive and dative of all numbers a long ultima, if accented, takes the circumflex, as ψῡχή soul (nom. sing.), but ψῡχῆς of a soul (gen. sing.), ψῡχῇ to, for a soul (dat. sing.), etc.

§644. Declensions. Nouns are declined in two general ways:

1) The vowel declension, for stems (630) ending in the pure vowels, ᾱ, ο.
2) The consonant declension, for stems ending in a consonant, or the semi-vowels, ι, υ.

§645. The vowel declension has two forms, according as the noun stem ends in ᾱ or ο. Hence we have:

1) The α declension, commonly called the first declension;
2) The ο declension, commonly called the second declension.

§646. The consonant declension, for stems ending in a semi-vowel (ι, υ, which were at times semi-consonantal) or a consonant, is commonly called the third declension.

§647. Words of the first declension have stems ending in ᾱ, which either becomes shortened in the nominative singular to ᾰ, or else becomes η (621), except in the one word θεᾱ́ goddess, and a very few proper names. Nouns of the first declension are either masculine or feminine.

§648. Case Endings. To form the various cases, numbers, and genders, the following case endings were fused with the stems of substantives and adjectives:

Case Endings, Singular
       Vowel Declension                               Consonant Declension
       First                     Second
       Masc.              Fem.   M. and F.   Neut.    M. and F.              Neut.
Nom.   s (none)           none   s           ν        s (none)               none
Gen.   ο (ιο?)            ς      ο (ιο)      ο (ιο)   ος                     ος
Dat.   ι                  ι      ι           ι        ι                      ι
Acc.   ν                  ν      ν           ν        ν, α (ν)               none
Voc.   none               none   none        ν        s (none)               none
ν, α (ν): See §597, §598, 4 in Pharr's grammar, on the Shelf.
none: But with ablaut of the final vowel of the stem ο: ε (595).

Case Endings, Dual
           Vowel Declension                              Consonant Declension
           First                     Second
           Masc.              Fem.   M. and F.   Neut.   M. and F.              Neut.
N. A. V.   none               none   none        none    ε                      ε
G. D.      ιιν                ιιν    ιιν         ιιν     οιιν                   οιιν

Case Endings, Plural
        Vowel Declension                                       Consonant Declension
        First                          Second
        Masc.              Fem.        M. and F.   Neut.       M. and F.              Neut.
N. V.   ι                  ι           ι           ᾰ           ες                     ᾰ
Gen.    ων                 ων          ων          ων          ων                     ων
Dat.    (ι)σι, ις          (ι)σι, ις   (ι)σι, ις   (ι)σι, ις   σ(σ)ι, εσ(σ)ι          σ(σ)ι, εσ(σ)ι
Acc.    νς                 νς          νς          ᾰ           νς, ᾰς                 ᾰ
Dat. (ι)σι, ις: Usually ισι; rarely the shorter form ις.
σ(σ)ι, εσ(σ)ι: -εσι unusually rare.
νς: See §613 in Pharr's grammar, on the Shelf.

§649. When these suffixes combined with the stem of a word, the following endings were produced:

First Declension, Singular
     Masc.         Fem.
N.   ης, [α, ᾱς]   η, α, ᾱ
G.   ᾱο, [εω, ω]   ης, ᾱς
D.   ῃ, [ᾳ]        ῃ, ᾳ
A.   ην, [ᾱν]      ην, αν, ᾱν
V.   η, α, [ᾱ]     η, α, ᾱ
ης, [α, ᾱς]: Forms in square brackets [ ] are rare and need not be memorized; those in parentheses ( ) are contracted.
ᾱο, [εω, ω]: -εω, -εων regularly pronounced as one syllable by synizesis, 586; -εω usually contracted to -ω after a vowel.

Second Declension, Singular
     Masc. and Fem.          Neut.
N.   ος, [(ως, ους)]         ον
G.   οιο, ου, [οο, ωο (ω)]
D.   ῳ                       ῳ
A.   ον, [(ων)]              ον
V.   ε [ος]                  ον

§650. Observe that the dative singular of all declensions ends in ι, which always becomes iota subscript (505) after long vowels (584, 1, note).

§651. The dative plural regularly ends in σι, to which may be added nu-movable (561, 1).

§652. -ησι and -οισι are the regular forms for the ending of the dative plural in the first two declensions. Occasionally the shorter forms, -ης, -οις, are found, but this is almost always before vowels, and it is possible that in that case they should be treated as examples of elision (575) and written -ησ’ and -οισ’.

§653. The genitive plural of all forms ends in -ων.

§654. There are but two forms of the dual in each declension, one (masc. only) for the nominative, accusative, and vocative; the other for the genitive and dative.

NOTE. The form of the gen. and dat. dual of the first declension is uncertain. Instead of -ηιν, some read -αιιν (-αιν)

§655. As in Latin, the vocative singular is often like the nominative, and the vocative plural of all forms is always like the nominative plural.

§656. The nominative, accusative, and vocative of all neuters are alike, and in the plural end in short -a.

§657. In an earlier stage of the language there were three other cases: the instrumental, denoting instrument, means, manner, etc., the locative, denoting the place where, and the ablative, denoting separation, source, etc. There are only remnants of these left in Greek, as the dative became fused with the instrumental and locative, taking over most of their uses, while the genitive absorbed most of the functions of the ablative.

§658. In addition to the endings given in the tables (648–649), two other suffixes, -φι(ν) and -θεν, were sometimes used. For their uses, see 712, 715.

§659. PARADIGMS

Nouns

FIRST DECLENSION FEMININE

βουλή, ῆς, ἡ (a, the) desire, will, plan, counsel, council.
(βουλᾱ-)
In the paradigms the stem of the word will be indicated each time in parentheses; it will not be accented, and will be followed by a dash, as (βουλᾱ-) above.

SINGULAR
N.   βουλή    (a, the) plan (as subject).
G.   βουλῆς   of; off, from (a, the) plan.
D.   βουλῇ    to, for; with, by; in, at, on (a, the) plan.
A.   βουλήν   (a, the) plan (as object).
V.   βουλή    O plan!

DUAL
N. A. V.   βουλᾱ́     (the) two plans (as subject, or object); O two plans!
G. D.      βουλῆιν   of; off, from; to, for; with, by; in, at, on (the) two plans.

PLURAL
N. V.   βουλαί               (the) plans (as subject); O plans!
G.      βουλᾱ́ων [έων, -ῶν]   of; off, from (the) plans.
D.      βουλῇσι, ῇς          to, for; with, by; in, at, on (the) plans.
A.      βουλᾱ́ς               (the) plans (as object).

§660. Use of Article. Observe that there are no words used regularly in Homeric Greek with the meaning of the English article, either definite (the) or indefinite (a, an). One decides from the context whether or not the English article is to be employed in translation.

§661. Meanings of Cases. The variety of meaning found in the genitive and dative is due to the fact that each represents the fusion of two or more earlier cases (657). An attempt is made to represent this above by the use of semicolons to separate meanings which once belonged to different cases.

§662. κᾱλὴ βουλή (a, the) good plan.
(κᾱλᾱ- βουλᾱ-)

SINGULAR
N.   κᾱλὴ βουλή     (a, the) good plan (as subject).
G.   κᾱλῆς βουλῆς   of; off, from (a, the) good plan.
D.   κᾱλῇ βουλῇ     to, for; with, by; in, at, on (a, the) good plan.
A.   κᾱλὴν βουλήν   (a, the) good plan (as object).
V.   κᾱλὴ βουλή     O good plan!

DUAL
N. A. V.   κᾱλᾱ̀ βουλᾱ́       (the) two good plans (as subject, or object); O two good plans!
G. D.      κᾱλῆιν βουλῆιν   of; off, from; to, for; with, by; in, at, on (the) two good plans.

PLURAL
N. V.   κᾱλαὶ βουλαί               (the) good plans (as subject); O good plans!
G.      κᾱλᾱ́ων βουλᾱ́ων [έων, ῶν]   of; off, from (the) good plans.
D.      κᾱλῇσι βουλῇσι, ῇς         to, for; with, by; in, at, on (the) good plans.
A.      κᾱλᾱ̀ς βουλᾱ́ς               (the) good plans (as object).

§970. The subject of a finite verb is in the nominative case, as ὀλέκοντο δὲ λᾱοί and the people kept perishing, ἔδεισεν δ’ ὁ γέρων and that old man feared.

§1011. Accusative Case

The direct object of a transitive verb is in the accusative case, as νοῦσον ὦρσε he roused a plague, Χρύσην ἠτίμασεν he dishonored Chryses, λῡσόμενος θύγατρα to ransom his own daughter, φέρων ἄποινα bearing ransoms, στέμματ’ ἔχων having fillets, ἐλίσσετο Ἀχαιούς he kept entreating the Achaeans.

§1025. An adjective agrees with its noun in gender, number, and case, but not always in form, since they may belong to different declensions, as νοῦσος κακή an evil plague, where νοῦσος, although feminine, is of the second declension and ends in -ος. This rule applies also to adjective pronouns and participles, as μῡρί’ ἄλγεα countless woes, πολλὰς δ’ ἰφθῑ́μους ψῡχὰς Ἄιδι προίαψεν and sent many valiant souls to Hades, διαστήτην ἐρίσαντε these two separated after they had quarreled, δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς godlike Achilles, ἦλθε θοὰς ἐπὶ νῆας he came to the swift ships, θεοὶ Ὀλύμπια δώματ’ ἔχοντες the gods who have Olympian homes.

§663.    θεᾱ́, ᾶς, ἡ   θάλασσα, ης, ἡ   γαῖα, ης, ἡ
   (θεᾱ-)       (θαλασσᾱ-)       (γαιᾱ-)
   goddess      sea              land, country, earth

SINGULAR
N. V.   θεᾱ́    θάλασσα    γαῖα
G.      θεᾶς   θαλάσσης   γαίης
D.      θεᾷ    θαλάσσῃ    γαίῃ
A.      θεᾱ́ν   θάλασσαν   γαῖαν

DUAL
N. A. V.   θεᾱ́     θαλάσσᾱ     γαίᾱ
G. D.      θεῆιν   θαλάσσηιν   γαίηιν

PLURAL
N. V.   θεαί                θάλασσαι              γαῖαι
G.      θεᾱ́ων [ῶν]          θαλασσᾱ́ων [έων, ῶν]   γαιᾱ́ων [έων, ῶν]
D.      θεῆσι, ῆς [θεαῖς]   θαλάσσῃσι, ῃς         γαίῃσι, ῃς
A.      θεᾱ́ς                θαλάσσᾱς              γαίᾱς

§789. Verbs

Verbs, as well as all other inflected (626-630) forms, consist of two principal elements:

1) the stem;
2) the ending, or suffix.

§790. Often more than one suffix is fused with a verb stem, to indicate its various relations of mode, tense, voice, person, number, etc., as λύ-ο-μεν, λύ-ε-τε (from λύ-ω loose), where the primary stem of the verb is λυ-, to which the suffixes are attached.

§791. The forms of a Greek verb fall into two main classes:

1) Finite (indicative, subjunctive, optative, and imperative).
2) Infinite (infinitive and participle).

§792. The characteristics of the finite forms are the personal endings, augment, reduplication, voice, mode, and tense signs, etc.

§793. The participle is a verbal adjective, and is used as other adjectives.

§794. The infinitive is a verbal noun, formerly used in several cases, but restricted in Greek to old case-forms of the dative and locative.

§795. Thematic and Athematic forms. With respect to form Greek verbs fall into two main classes:

1) -ω verbs, i.e. those ending in -ω in the first person singular, present active indicative, sometimes called thematic verbs (796).
2) -μι verbs, i.e. those ending in -μι in the first person singular, present active indicative, sometimes called athematic verbs (797).

§796. The thematic verbs are so named because in a majority of their forms the personal ending (819-821) is preceded by ο/ε (ο before μ or ν, or in the optative mode, otherwise ε), which is called the thematic vowel. Thus, λυο/ε (λύω) is called the theme, to which the personal endings (819-821) are attached.

§797. Athematic verbs do not have this connecting vowel, but the personal endings are attached directly to the stem of the verb.

§798. Many verbs which are regularly thematic may have athematic forms, as δέχθαι, δέκτο (δέχομαι); λύμην, λύτο (λύω); ἆλτο (ἄλλομαι), etc.

§799. In the subjunctive these thematic vowels, ο/ε, are regularly long, being ω/η respectively.

§800. In some cases the thematic vowel is short in the subjunctive, particularly in the dual and plural of the present and second aorist of -μι verbs, the first aorist and second perfect of all verbs, and the second aorist of all verbs having athematic second aorists in the indicative.

§801. Strictly speaking no Greek verb is thematic or athematic throughout; but certain of their forms are inflected thematically and others athematically.

§802. Those inflected thematically are: all futures; all presents and imperfects of -ω verbs (thematic presents); all second aorists having the thematic vowel (ending in -ον in the first person singular, active indicative, 865); all subjunctives.

§803. The athematic forms are: the presents and imperfects in all voices of -μι (athematic) verbs; all aorists passive (except the subjunctive forms); all middle and passive perfects and pluperfects; all second aorists whose tense stem does not end in the thematic vowel (796); a few verbs (as ἵστημι) in the second perfect and pluperfect, active; all first aorists, active and middle. The perfects and pluperfects active are primarily athematic in their inflection.

§804. In the thematic inflection the tense stem varies, ο/ε, as indicated above.

§805. In the athematic inflection the final vowel of the tense stem is usually long (lengthened grade) in the singular, and commonly (but not always) is short (standing in ablaut relation (593-595), weakened or disappearing grade) in the dual and plural. This is particularly true of athematic presents and imperfects, second aorists, perfects, and pluperfects active.

§806. Voices and Modes. The Greek verb has three voices: active, middle, and passive. Each voice has six modes: the indicative, subjunctive, optative, imperative, infinitive, and participial.

§904. Conjugation of λῡ́-ω I loose
Observe that the υ of λύω is long only when followed by σ; otherwise it is short.

Active

Indicative

Present
        Greek    English
S. 1    λύω      I loose, am loosing, do loose
2       λύεις    you loose, are loosing, do loose
3       λύει     he looses, is loosing, does loose
Du. 2   λύετον   you two loose, etc.
3       λύετον   they two loose, etc.
Pl. 1   λύομεν   we loose, etc.
2       λύετε    you loose, etc.
3       λύουσι   they loose, etc.

Imperfect
        Greek     English
S. 1    ἔλυον     I was loosing; I loosed, did loose
2       ἔλυες     you were loosing, you loosed, did loose
3       ἔλυε      he was loosing, he loosed, did loose
Du. 2   ἐλύετον   you two were loosing, etc.
3       ἐλυέτην   they two were loosing, etc.
Pl. 1   ἐλύομεν   we were loosing, etc.
2       ἐλύετε    you were loosing, etc.
3       ἔλυον     they were loosing, etc.

Future
        Greek     English
S. 1    λῡ́σω      I shall (will) loose
2       λῡ́σεις    you will (shall) loose
3       λῡ́σει     he will (shall) loose
Du. 2   λῡ́σετον   you two will (shall) loose
3       λῡ́σετον   they two will (shall) loose
Pl. 1   λῡ́σομεν   we shall (will) loose
2       λῡ́σετε    you will (shall) loose
3       λῡ́σουσι   they will (shall) loose

Aorist
        Greek      English
S. 1    ἔλῡσα      I loosed, did loose
2       ἔλῡσας     you loosed, did loose
3       ἔλῡσε      he loosed, did loose
Du. 2   ἐλῡ́σατον   you two loosed, did loose
3       ἐλῡσάτην   they two loosed, did loose
Pl. 1   ἐλῡ́σαμεν   we loosed, did loose
2       ἐλῡ́σατε    you loosed, did loose
3       ἔλῡσαν     they loosed, did loose

Perfect
        Greek       English
S. 1    λέλυκα      I have loosed
2       λέλυκας     you have loosed
3       λέλυκε      he has loosed
Du. 2   λελύκατον   you two have loosed
3       λελύκατον   they two have loosed
Pl. 1   λελύκαμεν   we have loosed
2       λελύκατε    you have loosed
3       λελύκᾱσι    they have loosed
The perfect of λύω is not found in Homer, but these are the ordinary forms in Attic Greek. For the Homeric perfect system see 922-924, 966.

Pluperfect
        Greek             English
S. 1    ἐλελύκη (-εα)     I had loosed
2       ἐλελύκης (-εας)   you had loosed
3       ἐλελύκει (-εε)    he had loosed
Du. 2   ἐλελύκετον        you two had loosed
3       ἐλελυκέτην        they two had loosed
Pl. 1   ἐλελύκεμεν        we had loosed
2       ἐλελύκετε         you had loosed
3       ἐλελύκεσαν        they had loosed