Conjugation of Some Coptic Tenses
“Person” is a grammatical category referring to the number and gender of the participants in a situation. Speakers use the 1 st person pronouns when referring to themselves or a group including themselves; as “I and We”. The 2 nd person pronoun refers to a person(s) being addressed. A 3 rd person pronoun refers to other people, animals, things etc. The following demonstrates the grammatical “Persons” both singular and plural.
1st person singular 1st person plural
I, Me We, Us
2nd person singular 2nd person plural
3rd person singular 3rd person plural
He, She, It, Him, Her They, Them, It
Coptic (ancient Egyptian) has a more sophisticated and extensive use of the three persons of speech, that permeate the entire language. In fact the three persons in Coptic speech is the blue print for the grammar throughout the language. Each persons of speech in Coptic has a distinct alphabetic representation used in grammatical modification throughout the language as follows;
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The “Three Persons” of the Personal Pronouns in Coptic are represented by the Coptic letters;
1st person singular 1st person plural
I, Me We, Us
Coptic Coptic i + nnn
2nd person singular 2nd person plural
You (Thou) You (Thou)
Coptic Coptic k = you (thou) feminine tetN = you (thou) ttt = you (thou) masculine
3rd person singular 3rd person plural
He, She, It, Him, Her They, Them
Coptic Coptic f = he, him ououou,ou ,,, se = they, them sss = she, her
2 The blue print for grammatical conjugation of verbs and formation of the tenses are based on additions to the basic Coptic letters representing the three persons in the parts of speech; I, me, you, he, she it, they, or them ( i, +, n, k, t, tetN, f, s, ou, se) .
For example if we have a Coptic verb “to see” ( nau ), certain letters of the Coptic “Three Persons” would be prefixed to the verb to conjugate the verb as follows;
+ -“see” = I-“see” = +. nau f-“see” = he-“sees” = f. nau s-“see” = she-“sees” = s. nau
Even the Coptic personal pronouns will have corresponding Coptic letters designating one of the three grammatical “Persons” attached to them.
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Coptic Personal Pronouns of the Three “Persons”
1st single 1st plural anok , anog , anK , ano nnn, We anG , I naiaiai , to Me nan , to Us
2nd single 2nd plural
Nto kkk, Nt KKK, to Thee (you NtwtN , N tetN , ,masc.) To Ye (you)
Nto , to Thee (you fem.) nak , to Thee (you masc,) Thnou , thutN , To Ye or To You ne , to Thee (you fem.)
3rd single 3rd plural
Nto fff, He Nto ououou , They, Them Nto sss, She Nauauau , To them Na fff, To Him Na sss, To Her
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Examples of Coptic conjugation using “ nnnaunauauau = to see, look at” as an example
1st Present
1st person singular 1st person plural
+ nau tN nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural k nau tetN nau te nau tR nau
3rd person singular 3rd person plural f nau se nau s nau sou nau
I am seeing, I see
These are pronoun prefixes. The First Present usually describes action, activity, or process in progress at the time of speaking. In this case it is equivalent to the English progressive present (I am…verb). The exception is those English verbs that do not use this form, such as; think, know, see, hear, understand, wish, hope, believe. These words use the simple present as;
+.nau = I see, +.eime = I understand
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Relative of the Present I
1st person singular 1st person plural e+ nau etN nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural etK nau etetN nau ete
3rd person singular 3rd person plural etF nau etou nau etS nau
Who/which
The relative form of the First Present uses the relative pronoun et, ete (who/which).
tpolis etou ouwx NxhtS = the city in which they are settling Nšaje e+e+e+ sxai Mmoou = the words which I am writing pšhre etF nakaaf Nswf = the child whom he will leave behind nentolh etF nataau nan = the commandments which he will give to us prwme etK šine Nswf = the man whom you are seeking
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The relative pronoun et, ete (who/which) can stand alone when it is the subject of a relative clause as follows; prwme etetet rine = the man who is weeping net swtM eee našaje = those who hear my words
Matoi etetet naamaxte Mmof = the soldiers who will seize him
Nrwme etetet naeine M pxat = the men who will bring the silver
7 Second Present = Circumstantial
1st person singular 1st person plural ei nau eN nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural ek nau etetN nau er
3rd person singular 3rd person plural ef nau eu nau es nau
It is that I am seeing
The circumstantial is found only in subordinate clauses. eieiei axerat xaxtM perpe, ainau eunoqx M mhhše standing near the temple, I saw a great crowd auxe e prwme efefef xmoos xN tagora they found the man sitting in the marketplace annau eroou eueueu mooše xi texih we saw them walking on the road
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Perfect Tense I
1st person singular 1st person plural ai nau an nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural ak nau aretN nau are nau atetN nau ar nau
3rd person singular 3rd person plural af nau au nau a nau are nau as nau ars nau are nau a nau
I saw
The Coptic 1 st Perfect corresponds to the English, preterit (simple past tense; I went, I came, I ran, I wept, I sat down, etc.). If the Coptic context requires it, the English perfect, i.e. “I have written” suffices. 1 aiaiai nau eunoqx M mhhše = I saw a great crowd aaa.prwme bwk = the man went, prwme afafaf bwk = the man went, tesxime asasas bwk = the woman went
Used with pronoun subject Nqi , afafaf bwk Nqi prwme = the man went asasas bwk Nqi tesxime = the woman went.
1 Lambdin, T.O, Introduction to Sahidic Coptic, Mercer University Press, 1998 Macon Ga 31207
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Used with e, afafaf bwk e pekro = he went to the shore auauau pwt e tekklhsia = they ran to the church auauau ale e pjoi = they got on (into) the ship
Negative Perfect
Mpi MpN Mpek MpetN Mpe (r) Mpef Mpou Mpes
Use; af.ouom.f Mpef .ouom.f he ate it he did not eat it
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Perfect Tense II
1st person singular 1st person plural
Ntai nau Ntan nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural
Ntak nau NtatetN nau Ntare nau Ntar nau
3rd person singular 3rd person plural
Ntaf nau Ntas nau Ntau nau Ntare nau
Which I saw
The Relative of the First Perfect is the Perfect II with or without “e”. Also note the following eeentaientai .swtM which I heard, entan .swtM eeentakentak .swtM entatetN .swtM eeentareentare .swtM eeentafentaf .swtM entau .swtM eeentasentas .swtM
11 Imperfect
1st person singular 1st person plural nei nau nen nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural nG nau neretN nau nere nnnaunauauau nereten nau
3rd person singular 3rd person plural nf nau neu nau nef nere neef nau nes nau nere nau
I was seeing
The Imperfect is used to describe an action, activity, or process as in progress in past time. It also conveys habitual or recurring activity in the past as; “they used to…, they would…” The Imperfect may take pe , after the verb. prwme ete nef mooše xi texih the man who was walking on the road phi ete neu kwt Mmof the house which they were building phi e neu kwt Mmof the house which they were building
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Pluperfect… Tattam 84
1st person singular 1st person plural ne ai nau …. pe ne an nau …. pe
2nd person singular 2nd person plural ne ak nau …. pe ne aretN nau …. pe ne are nau …. pe ne atetN nau …. pe ne ar nau …. pe
3rd person singular 3rd person plural ne af nau …. pe ne au nau …. pe ne a nau …. pe ne are nau …. pe ne as nau …. pe ne a nau …. pe ne are
I had seen… Formed by adding the auxiliary verb ne …pe , to the prefix of the Perfect definite. Translates “I had...seen” (Tattam 63)
13 Future Imperfect (Tattam 64) Future Imperfect
1st person singular 1st person plural nei na nau …. pe nen na nau …. pe
2nd person singular 2nd person plural nek na nau …. pe neretN nau …. na pe nG na nau …. pe
3rd person singular 3rd person plural nef na nau …. pe neu na nau …. pe nes na nau …. pe nere na nau …. pe nere na nau …. pe
I would or should have seen.
This is formed by the prefixes of the imperfect tense and the signs of the future definite.
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Future Tense Indefinite
1st person singular 1st person plural
+na nau tNna nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural kna nau tetna nau tena nau tera nau
3rd person singular 3rd person plural fna nau sena nau sna nau
I will see, I’m going to see, I shall see sena moux N raše Nqi nen2uyh you will fill with joy visa vi our souls (our souls will fill with joy)
+na xwp xM pjaeie I will hide in the desert
Ntetna eime an e nefparabolh You (pl) will know not his parables
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1st person singular 1st person plural eina nau enna nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural ekna nau etetna nau erena nau
3rd person singular 3rd person plural efna nau euna nau esna nau
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Future Tense
1st person singular 1st person plural eie nau ene nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural eke nau eretene nau
3rd person singular 3rd person plural efe nau eue nau ese nau ere nau
I will see,
Negative Future III
Nna Nnen Nnek NnetN Nne Nnef Nnes
Use; efeouomf Nnef ouom he will eat it he will not eat it
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Second Future Indefinite (Tattam 77)
1st person singular 1st person plural ta nau tarN nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural tare nau taretN nau tarek nau tera
3rd person singular 3rd person plural taref nau tarou nau tares nau
I shall see/ So as to see
According to Lambdin the future conjunctive is basically a result clause, especially after an imperative; swteM eroi tarek R.sabe Listen to me and you will become wise (so as to be wise) nim pentafnau erof taref šaje erof Who has seen him so as to be able to describe him. eftwn pekson tarN šaje nMmaf Where is your brother that we may speak with him
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Subjunctive (Tattam 78)
1st person singular 1st person plural
Nteri nau Nteren nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural
Nterek nau Ntereten nau Ntere nau
3rd person singular 3rd person plural
Nteref nau Nterou nau Nteres nau Ntere nau When I saw
Nteri ep.pxat, aaitaafitaaf nau When I counted the silver I gave it to them
Nteref jwk ebol N neišaje, When he finished these words aftwm N nefbal afmou he closed his eyes and died
Nteres .tM.xe e tesšeere Mmau, asrime When she did not find her daughter there she wept
The negative Subjunctive (Temporal) has .tM prefixed to the infinitive as;
Nteri .tM.qine Mmof When I did not find him
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Opative (Injunctive)
1st person singular 1st person plural mari nau marN nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural marek nau marten nau mare nau
3rd person singular 3rd person plural maref nau marou nau mares nau mare nau
Let me see
In standard Sahidic this tense only occurs in the 1st and 3 rd person. This tense is a tripartite and is only used with the infinitive. The negative is expressed with the prefix MpR. As;
MpR .tref.bwk = don’t let him go MpR .treu.mooutf = don’t let them kill him
The free form maron is used alone in a sentence and means “let’s go” Maref swtM MpRtref swtM Let him hear let him not hear (may he hear) (may he not hear)
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Habitual
1st person singular 1st person plural
šai nau šan nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural
šak nau šaretN nau šare nau šatetN nau šar nau
3rd person singular 3rd person plural
šaf nau šau nau ša nau šare nau šas nau ša nau šes nau šare nau
I am accustomed to see
Negative Habitual mei men mek metetN mere mef meu mes
Use; šafbwk mef bwk he is accustomed to go he does not go
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Inflected Infinitive (Causative)
1st person singular 1st person plural tra nau trN nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural tre nau tretN nau trek nau
3rd person singular 3rd person plural tref nau treu nau tres nau
Caused me to see/ that I see
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Conditional
1st person singular 1st person plural eišan nau enšan nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural ekšan nau etetNšan nau erešan nau
3rd person singular 3rd person plural efšan nau eušan nau esšan nau
If/When I see efefefšanef šan qNt fnamouout mmoi if he finds me he will kill me ekšan kaat e bwk +naktoi e šiht if you let me go I will return to Shaet (Scetis)
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Conjunctive
1st person singular 1st person plural
Nta nau NtN nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural
Ng nau NtetN nau nG nau Nte nau
3rd person singular 3rd person plural
Nf nau Nse nau nF Ns nau nS
And I see
+nabwk Nta šaje nMmaf I shall go and speak with him xmoos Nf swtM e tasbw sit down and listen to my teaching ani.Njwwmw NtetN aau naf bring the books and give them to me
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“Not Yet”
1st person singular 1st person plural
Mpa+ nau MpatN nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural
MpatK nau MpatetN nau Mpate nau
3rd person singular 3rd person plural
MpatF nau Mpatou nau MpatS nau
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Until
1st person singular 1st person plural
šan+ nau šantN nau šanta
2nd person singular 2nd person plural
šantK nau šantetN nau šante nau
3rd person singular 3rd person plural
šantF nau šantS nau šantou nau
šantes jpo mpešhre until she bore a son (Matt 1:25) šant joos nak until I shall tell you (Matt 2:13) šante xhrwdhs mou until Herod dies (Matt 2:15) šant ounau etmNtRro mpnoute until they see the kingdom of God (Lk 9:27)
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pjin.nau = seeing pajin.nau = my seeing pekjin.nau = thy (you) seeing pefin.nau = his seeing
pjin.ta. nau = seeing pjin.tek. nau = thy (you) seeing pjin.tef. nau = his seeing pjin.ten. nau = our seeing pjin.teten. nau = y our seeing pjin.tou. nau = their seeing
tre , to do, to make (to cause a thing to be) Perfect Tense form 1st person singular 1st person plural ai.tre nau an.tre nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural ak.tre nau atetN.tre nau
3rd person singular 3rd person plural af.tre nau au.tre nau as.tre nau
I have caused to see
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tre , to do, to make (to cause a thing to be) Imperfect Tense form 1st person singular 1st person plural nei.tre nau nen.tre nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural nG.tre nau neretN.tre nau
3rd person singular 3rd person plural nef.tre nau neu.tre nau nes.tre nau
I caused to see tre , to do, to make (to cause a thing to be) Future Tense III form 1st person singular 1st person plural eie.tre nau ene.tre nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural eke.tre nau eretene.tre nau
3rd person singular 3rd person plural efe.tre nau eue.tre nau ese.tre nau
I will cause to see
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tre , to do, to make (to cause a thing to be) Future Tense Indefinite form 1st person singular 1st person plural
+na.tre nau tNna.tre nau
2nd person singular 2nd person plural kna.tre nau tetna.tre nau tena.tre nau tera.tre nau
3rd person singular 3rd person plural fna.tre nau sena.tre nau sna.tre nau
I will cause to see
Before I have fulfilled, Imperfect 1st person singular 1st person plural
Mpa+.jwk.ebol Mpaten.jwk.ebol
2nd person singular 2nd person plural
Mpatek.jwk.ebol Mpateten.jwk.ebol
3rd person singular 3rd person plural
Mpatefjwk.ebol Mpatou.jwk.ebol Mpates.jwk.ebol Mpate.jwk.ebol Mpate.jwk.ebol
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Until I shall fulfill, Future 1st person singular 1st person plural
ša+.jwk.ebol šaten.jwk.ebol
2nd person singular 2nd person plural
šatek.jwk.ebol šateten.jwk.ebol
3rd person singular 3rd person plural
šatef.jwk.ebol šatou.jwk.ebol šates.jwk.ebol šate.jwk.ebol šate.jwk.ebol
Some Suffix Verbs;
I said 1st person singular 1st person plural peja.i peja.n
2nd person singular 2nd person plural peja.k pejh.tN
3rd person singular 3rd person plural peja.f peja.u peja.s
Use; peje p.rwme = the man said
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I have 1st person singular 1st person plural ouNta.i ouNta.n
2nd person singular 2nd person plural ounta.k ouNta.tN
3rd person singular 3rd person plural ouNta.f ouNta.u ouNta.s
Use; ouNte p.rwme = the man has
I don’t have 1st person singular 1st person plural mNta.i mNta.n
2nd person singular 2nd person plural mNta.k mNta.tN
3rd person singular 3rd person plural mNta.f mNta.u mNta.s
Use; mNte p.rwme = the man does not (doesn’t) have
© James Kwasi Milton, free use granted with credit to copywriter.
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