ἐλάλουν

laléō

they were speaking

To speak, to say, to express oneself orally; to articulate words or sounds. The primary sense is the act of speaking, often emphasizing the process or manner of speaking, sometimes with a focus on the act of communicating verbally rather than the content itself. Additional senses include to converse, to talk, to utter, or in some contexts to proclaim or announce aloud.

G2980

Acts 26:31 · Word #3

Lexicon G2980

Lemmaλαλέω
Transliterationlaléō
Strong'sG2980
DefinitionTo speak, to say, to express oneself orally; to articulate words or sounds. The primary sense is the act of speaking, often emphasizing the process or manner of speaking, sometimes with a focus on the act of communicating verbally rather than the content itself. Additional senses include to converse, to talk, to utter, or in some contexts to proclaim or announce aloud.

Morphology V IMPF ACT IND 3P PL All morphology codes

Part of Speech V — Verb — An action or state of being
Tense IMPF — Imperfect — Continuous or repeated past action
Voice ACT — Active — The subject performs the action
Mood IND — Indicative — States a fact or reality
Person 3P — 3rd person — The one spoken about ("he/she/it/they")
Number PL — Plural — More than one

Common Translation

Phrasethey were speaking
Literalthey-were-speaking

Lexical Info

Lemmaλαλέω
Strong'sG2980

SIBI-P1 Translation G2980-09

they were speaking

Morphological NotesVerb; imperfect tense (past ongoing), active voice, indicative mood, third person plural.
Rendering RationaleThe imperfect active indicative, third person plural, denotes ongoing or repeated past action, hence "were speaking." The rendering preserves the root emphasis on the act of vocal expression rather than the content of speech.

View full lexicon entry for G2980 →

SILEX v2

SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)

they were speaking

Same as P1Yes
RationaleP1 'they were speaking' correctly renders the imperfect verb here, matching the ongoing speaking in the context.
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