Rules for accent placement on Greek verbal forms: perispomenon vs. proparoxytone/paroxytone; accent behavior of verbs ending in -ν, -ον, -θα; treatment of aorist and imperatives; Doric dialect influence; illustrative verb examples.
λάβῃσθα, ἔφησθα, οἴδησθα, λέγῃσθα, βάλῃσθα. τὰ μέντοι δισύλλαβα προπερισπᾶται, φῆσθα ἐπὶ δευτέρου ἀορίστου καὶ φῇσθα σὺν τῷ 'ι' ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος, ἦσθα, οἶσθα. Καὶ τὰ εἰς 'θα' πρῶτα πρόσωπα προπαροξύνονται, τυπτόμεθα, νικώμεθα, χρυσούμεθα. Πᾶν ῥῆμα εἰς 'ν' μακροκατάληκτον ὑπὲρ μίαν συλλαβὴν πρὸ μιᾶς τοῦ τέλους ἔχει τὴν ὀξεῖαν, ἐνόουν, ἐδείκνυν, ἔγνων, ἐγεγράφειν, νυγείην, διδοίμην, ἐτυπέτην, ἔστων. τὸ δὲ ἐχρῆν καὶ ἦν περισπᾶται. Πᾶν πρόσωπον ὁριστικὸν εἰς 'ον' εἴτε ἑνικὸν εἴτε πληθυντικὸν ἁπλοῦν ὑπὲρ δύο συλλαβὰς προπαροξύνεται, ἔγραφον ἐγὼ καὶ ἔγραφον ἐκεῖνοι, ἔτυπτον ἐγὼ καὶ ἔτυπτον ἐκεῖνοι, ὑπεσταλμένης τῆς Δωρίδος διαλέκτου, οἱ γὰρ Δωριεῖς τὸ ἐλέγον ἐκεῖνοι παροξύνουσι. τὸ δὲ εἶχον, ἐξ οὗ τὸ κατεῖχον, καὶ ἄλλα περισπᾶται ὡς δισύλλαβον. τὰ γὰρ δισύλλαβα ἢ προπερισπῶνται ἢ παροξύνονται κατὰ τοὺς κανόνας. μακρᾶς γὰρ οὔσης τῆς παραληγούσης προπερισπῶνται, ἦλθον, εὗρον, εἶχον, εἶδον καὶ τἆλλα· βραχείας δὲ τῆς παραληγούσης, παροξύνονται, ἴδον, ἔσχον. Τὰ εἰς 'ον' προστακτικὰ τοῦ πρώτου ἀορίστου ὑπερδισύλλαβα προπαροξύνονται, ἄκουσον, νόησον, φίλησον· δισύλλαβα δὲ ὄντα παροξύνονται ἢ προπερισπῶνται κατὰ τοὺς κανόνας, νεῖμον, κρῖνον, τύψον, λέξον, γράψον, εἶπον ἀντὶ τοῦ εἰπέ ὡς παρὰ Μενάνδρῳ «εἶπον δὲ τί ποιεῖν μέλλετε». ἔστι δὲ δηλονότι ἀορίστου τοῦ εἶπα προστακτικόν· εἰ γὰρ ἦν δευτέρου ἀορίστου Συρακουσίων ἔθει, ὠξύνετο ἂν ὁμοίως τῷ κοινῷ προστακτικῷ τῷ εἰπέ. οἱ γὰρ Συρακούσιοι μεταποιοῦντες εἰς 'ον' τὰ προστακτικὰ τοῦ βʹ ἀορίστου τὸν τόνον φυλάττουσι τῶν κοινῶν προστακτικῶν οἷον λάβε λάβον, νύγε νύγον, ἄνελε ἄνελον. Πᾶν δεύτερον πρόσωπον παρῳχημένου χρόνου ὑπὲρ μίαν συλλαβὴν λήγοντος ἢ εἰς 'ν' ἢ εἰς 'α' ὁμοτονεῖ τῷ πρώτῳ, ἐνύγην ἐνύγης, ἐδάρην
λάβῃσθα, ἔφησθα, οἴδησθα, λέγῃσθα, βάλῃσθα. The disyllables, however, are circumflexed on the antepenult: φῆσθα in the second aorist, and φῇσθα with the ‘ι’ in the present; ἦσθα, οἶσθα. And the first persons in -θα are accented on the preantepenult: τυπτόμεθα, νικώμεθα, χρυσοῦμεθα. Every verb ending in -ν with a long final syllable, when it has more than one syllable, has the acute on the syllable before the last: ἐνόουν, ἐδείκνυν, ἔγνων, ἐγεγράφειν, νυγείην, διδοίμην, ἐτυπέτην, ἔστων. But ἐχρῆν and ἦν are circumflexed. Every indicative person in -ον, whether singular or plural, simple and of more than two syllables, is accented on the preantepenult: ἔγραφον I and ἔγραφον they, ἔτυπτον I and ἔτυπτον they—setting aside the Doric dialect, for the Dorians accent ἐλέγον they on the penult. But εἶχον, from which κατεῖχον, and others are circumflexed as disyllables. For disyllables, according to the rules, are either circumflexed on the antepenult or accented on the penult: when the penult is long they are circumflexed on the antepenult, ἦλθον, εὗρον, εἶχον, εἶδον and the rest; but when the penult is short, they are accented on the penult, ἴδον, ἔσχον. The imperatives in -ον of the first aorist, when longer than two syllables, are accented on the preantepenult: ἄκουσον, νόησον, φίλησον; but when they are disyllabic they are accented on the penult or circumflexed on the antepenult according to the rules: νεῖμον, κρῖνον, τύψον, λέξον, γράψον, εἶπον instead of εἰπέ, as in Menander: «εἶπον δὲ τί ποιεῖν μέλλετε». And it is clearly an imperative of the aorist εἶπα; for if it were of the second aorist, in the Syracusan usage, it would have been accented with an acute, like the common imperative εἰπέ. For the Syracusans, when they remodel the imperatives of the second aorist into -ον, preserve the accent of the common imperatives, e.g. λάβε λάβον, νύγε νύγον, ἄνελε ἄνελον. Every second person of a past tense, ending in more than one syllable either in -ν or in -α, has the same accent as the first: ἐνύγην ἐνύγης, ἐδάρην