εἰμί is the most common Greek verb. Like the be-verb in English ( "be", "is", "was", "were", "been"), it is completely irregular, and must simply be memorized.
Just as with pronouns, verbs can be first person, second person, or third person.
- First person refers to the person speaking ("I", "we").
- Second person refers to the person being spoken to ("you").
- Third person refers to all others ("he", "she", "it", "they").
A verb agrees with its subject in person and number. Here is the...
Singular Plural 1st person εἰμί I am ἐσμέν We are 2nd person εἶ You are ἐστέ You (all) are 3rd person ἐστί(ν) He/she/it is ἐισίν They are
The two most common past tense forms of εἰμί are:
Singular Plural 3rd person ἦν He/she/it was ἦσαν They were Because Luke is telling the story of things that happened in the past, he is forever saying, "He was (this)" and "They were (that)". Hence, these forms are enormously common in Acts, and you should memorize them now.
Because verb tenses in the NT are often more about aspect than about time, when Luke wants to emphasize continuous action rather than completed action, he may use the present tense verbs ἐστί(ν) (3rd person present singular) ἐισίν (3rd person present plural) to describe continuing action, even if it is in the past.
Consequently, Luke may use ἐισίν and ἦσαν (3rd person present and imperfect tenses) interchangeably. This interchangeable use of the present and imperfect tenses is true not just of εἰμί, but of all verbs.
It is possible that for Luke, the present and imperfect tenses were not entirely interchangeable, but it is difficult for us today to figure out any different connotations in Luke's usage.
Singular Plural 1st person 2nd person 3rd person ἔσται He/she/it will be