ήμουν and είχα: the Past of είμαι and έχω
είμαι and έχω are the two verbs with NO aorist: their only past is the imperfect, so the aspect choice this module is built on simply does not arise for them. είμαι → ήμουν, ήσουν, ήταν, ήμασταν, ήσασταν, ήταν (ήταν covers “he/she/it was” and “they were”, exactly as είναι does in the present). έχω → είχα, είχες, είχε, είχαμε, είχατε, είχαν, built on the past stem ειχ- rather than on the present εχ- with the ordinary augment. Both are the everyday way to describe a past state: «Ήταν καλός δάσκαλος», «Δεν είχα νερό».
The rule
είμαι and έχω are the two verbs with no aorist: their only past is the imperfect, so the aspect choice does not arise for them at all - there is one past and you take it. είμαι → ήμουν, ήσουν, ήταν, ήμασταν, ήσασταν, ήταν, with ήταν covering “he/she/it was” and “they were” exactly as είναι does in the present. έχω → είχα, είχες, είχε, είχαμε, είχατε, είχαν, built on the past stem ειχ- rather than on the present εχ- with an ordinary augment, which is why it looks nothing like έγραφα. Both are the everyday way to describe a past state. And είχα has a second life worth noticing: it is the auxiliary of the pluperfect (είχα γράψει), so this one table pays for itself twice.
Paradigm
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | ήμουν† | ήμασταν† |
| 2nd | ήσουν† | ήσασταν† |
| 3rd | ήταν† | ήταν† |
- The ONLY past of είμαι - it has no aorist. VARIANT: ήμουν (drilled) ~ ήμουνα.
- VARIANT: ήμασταν (drilled, unambiguously past) ~ ήμαστε, which collides with the present είμαστε.
- The ONLY past of είμαι - it has no aorist. VARIANT: ήσουν (drilled) ~ ήσουνα.
- VARIANT: ήσασταν (drilled, unambiguously past) ~ ήσαστε.
- ήταν serves BOTH the 3rd singular and the 3rd plural. VARIANT: ήταν (drilled) ~ ήτανε.
- ήταν serves BOTH the 3rd singular and the 3rd plural. VARIANT: ήταν (drilled) ~ ήτανε / ήσαν.
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | είχα† | είχαμε† |
| 2nd | είχες† | είχατε† |
| 3rd | είχε† | είχαν† |
- Past stem ειχ- (not the present εχ- plus the ordinary augment). The ONLY past of έχω - it has no aorist.
- Past stem ειχ-. VARIANT: είχαν (drilled) ~ είχανε.