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There is no distinction of time between the tenses in the imperative mood. The aorist imperative refers to the action without saying anything about its duration or repetition, while the present imperative refers to it as continuing or as being repeated. Thus X"vQOV means simply loose, while we means continue loosing, or the like. Ordinarily it is impossible to bring out the difference in an English translation. Compare §283.

Examples: C4KOUQaTE robs Xo~yovs pou, hear my words; b gxwv wra &,KO4Tw, let him who has ears hear. It will be observed that the English language has, properly speaking, no imperative of the third person. Hence in translating the Greek imperative of the third person we have to use the helping verb let, so that the noun or pronoun that is the subject of the imperative in Greek becomes the object of the helping verb in English.

Prohibition (the negative of a command) is expressed by the present imperative with pig or by the aorist subjunctive with pig.

Examples: (1) p.j Me or pr) Maps, do not loose (far) XGys or p,,j wcov would be wrong); (2) pr) w&w or pj Mal?, let him not loose; (3) u,) were or pig XUo-qTE, do not loose; (4) p,J AuiTwQav or pr} XuawQiv, let them not loose.

The present imperative of eipf, I am, is as follows: Sing. 2. la&, be (thou). Plur. 2. go-7-e, be (ye).

3. farw, let him be. 3. IQrwQav, let them be.