In this article I discuss the (un)augmented third person singular forms from the root KTAKTEIN, namely epsilon kappa tau alpha nu(epsilon)(nu) - kappa tau alpha nu(epsilon), epsilon kappa tau epsilon iota nu(epsilon)(nu) - kappa tau epsilon iota nu(epsilon)(nu) and epsilon kappa tau alpha, 's/he killed' (3rd person singular) in early Greek epic. I first explain why I have chosen this corpus. In a second step I discuss the previous scholarship on the augment in detail with facts and figures. Then, I proceed to the corpus and determine whether the transmitted forms are secured by the metre (which is the case in most of the instances). Finally, I analyse the instances of the corpus based on the distinctions narrative-speech and foreground-background (which cannot be seen in isolation): the augmented forms are used to refer to actions in the recent past and to emphasise the completion of the action, whereas unaugmented forms refer to elements already known and to events in a remote and/or mythical past or in a timeless context. It goes without saying that these are only tendencies and that there are exceptions as well. A discussion on the origin of the augment (as a deictic particle, temporal adverb or pronominal stem) and a comparison with the use of (un)augmented forms in Vedic Sanskrit, Avestan and Old-Persian cannot be undertaken here.