Prepositional

Infinitives, participles, and verbal adjectives are verbal nouns (358), and hence do not regularly show recessive accent.

a. Infinitives.—The following infinitives accent the penult: all infinitives in -ναι, as λελυκέναι, λυθῆναι, ἱστάναι, στῆναι (except Epic -μεναι, as στήμεναι); in verbs in ω the first aorist active, as λῦσαι, παιδεῦσαι, the second aorist middle, as λιπέσθαι, the perfect (middle) passive, as λελύσθαι, πεπαιδεῦσθαι, πεποιῆσθαι.

From such substantivized adjectives arose many prepositional and adverbial expressions of whose source the Greeks themselves had probably lost sight. Many of these seem to be analogues of phrases once containing ὁδός: τὴν ἄλλως ψηφίζεσθε you vote to no purpose D. 19.181 (i.e. the way leading elsewhere than the goal), ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης at the very beginning T. 7.43, ἀπὸ τῆς ἴσης on an equality 1. 15, ἐξ ἐναντίᾱς from an opposite direction, facing 7. 44.

Substitutions for the Protasis.—For the protasis with εἰ there may be substituted a participle, often in the genitive absolute (2067, 2070), an adverb, a prepositional phrase, a relative clause (2560), or some other single word or phrase. The present participle represents the imperfect, as the perfect represents the pluperfect.

πῶς δῆτα δίκης οὔσης (= εἰ δίκη ἐστίν) ὁ Ζεὺς οὐκ ἀπόλωλεν τὸν πατέρ᾽ αὑτοῦ δήσᾱς; how, pray, if there is any justice, has Zeus not perished since he bound his own father? Ar. Nub. 904, οὐ γὰρ ἦν μοι δήπου βιωτὸν τοῦτο ποιήσαντα (= εἰ ἐποίησα) for of course life had not been worth living if I had done this D. 21.120, οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐβλήθη ἀτρεμίζων καὶ μὴ διατρέχων (= εἰ ἠτρέμιζε καὶ μὴ διέτρεχε) for he would not have been hit if he had been keeping quiet and not running across Ant. 3. β. 5, δικαίως ἂν ἀπέθανον I should justly (i.e. if I had met with my deserts) have been put to death D. 18.209, ἐμοὶ δὲ ἀρκοῦν ἂν ἐδόκει εἶναι for myself (i.e. if I had to decide) it would seem to be sufficient T. 2.35, διά γε ῡ̔μᾶς αὐτοὺς (= εἰ ῡ̔μεῖς αὐτοὶ μόνοι ἦτε) πάλαι ἂν ἀπολώλειτε if you had been left to yourselves, you would have perished long ago D. 18.49, ὀλοῦμαι μὴ μαθών (= ἐᾱ̀ν μὴ μάθω) I shall be undone if I don't learn Ar. Nub. 792, νῑκῶντες (= εἰ νῑκῷεν) μὲν οὐδένα ἂν κατακάνοιεν, ἡττηθέντων (= εἰ ἡττηθεῖεν) οὐδεὶς ἂν λειφθείη should they be victorious they would kill no one, but if defeated no one would be left X. A. 3.1.2, οὕτω (= εἰ οὕτως ἔχοιεν) γὰρ πρὸς τὸ ἐπιέναι τοῖς ἐναντίοις εὐψῡχότατοι ἂν εἶεν for thus they would be most courageous in regard to attacking the enemy T. 2.11, οὐδ᾽ ἂν δικαίως ἐς κακὸν πέσοιμί τι nor should I justly come to any trouble S. Ant. 240.

a. Sometimes the protasis has to be supplied from what precedes (example in 1825); or from a main clause with ἀλλά, which follows: οὐδέ κεν αὐτὸς ὑπέκφυγε κῆρα μέλαιναν· ἀλλ᾽ Ἥφαιστος ἔρυτο (= εἰ μὴ ἔρυτο) nor would he himself have escaped black fate; but Hephaestus guarded him E 23 (cp. X. A. 3.2.24-25).