50 Eric R. Naizer present tense indicates the author’s intention to highlight the landowner giving direction to the manager by portraying the action as unfolding. The imperfective aspect is then followed by supporting background infor- mation in the perfective aspect which gives the contents of the direction as summarized commands and forms the basis of the laborers’ reaction in vv.11-12. The author uses four present tense verbs in vv. 13-15 to highlight the landowner’s response to the laborers grumbling (v. 12). The landowner rebukes the claim of injustice by the laborers who were hired first using a present tense verb in the statement ἑταῖρε, οὐκ ἀδικῶ σε (v. 13). The author chooses to use a present tense verb to foreground the landowner’s response to the laborers. The command by the landowner to go away (ὕπαγε in v. 14) is also foregrounded and recalls the previous commands given in vv. 4.7 (however, here the command is in the singular because it is addressing only one of the laborers). The present tense verb θέλω is used twice in vv. 14-15 to give promi- nence to the reason why the landowner pays the amount he does to each group of laborers. The two uses of θέλω coupled with aorist infinitives (δοῦναι in v. 14b and ποιῆσαι in v. 15a) suggests that the author is intending to draw more attention to the will of the landowner as determi- ning what each group of laborers is paid rather than the act of giving (v. 14b) or doing (v. 15a). The imperfect tense is only used once in this parable. According to Porter the imperfect tense is a more heavily marked verbal form than the aorist and functions as the foreground narrative tense.30 The verb ἐγόγγυζον in v. 11 highlights the action of the laborers who worked the entire day against the background of the summarizing function of the aorist participle λαβόντες. The reaction of the laborers “grumbling” due to their sense of feeling devalued is a foregrounded narrative feature indicated by the imperfective aspect used to designate a sense of “re- moteness,” making the imperfect tense less prominent than the present tense.31 The author decides to use the imperfect tense for the “grumbling” of the laborers due to its importance in the story as the reason why the landowner responds in vv. 13-15. The imperfect tense is thus used to provide a piece of background information that is more central to the story than the information given in the perfective aspect. cf. Porter, Verbal Aspect, 95-96.207. 30 Nolland, Matthew, 810. Porter claims the action described by the imperfect is more 31 remote than the action described by the present. For Porter’s view on the imperfect tense as portraying a sense of remoteness from the perspective of the author, cf. Porter, Verbal Aspect, 95-96.207.