origin of personal ending

[NateD26]

I've begun going through the pages in Smyth pertaining to the origin of personal ending,
particularly in the 2nd and 3rd singular of the present indicative (and by analogy in the lengthened subjunctive).

It seems that both of these persons have obscure origin in non -μι verbs.
From Hom. ἐσσι (2nd.s. of εἰμί), Smyth shows a probable origin of 2nd person
in λῡ-ε-σι » λῡε-ϊ » λῡει to which ς was added (why was it added and when?)

But the 3rd person, he notes, cannot be derived from λῡ-ε-σι for λῡ-ε-τι, the 3rd.s
ending of -μι verbs.


So I was wondering if any scholar has since been able to trace the exact origin of the 2nd & 3rd person.

Nate.

[modus.irrealis]

Sihler in his "New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin" (which is a great book for these kind of questions) traces λυει back to a t-less third person singular ending in PIE, evidence for which exists in the Baltic and Slavic languages. That way λυει would go directly back to a PIE form and the 2nd person singular would have changed on the analogy of the secondary endings ἔλυες : ἔλυε. He mentions another theory but finds it unlikely -- I don't know, however, which theory is the most popular.

[NateD26]

Thank you, modus.irrealis.
I'll be sure to check this book for further analysis.