yes there is. one is past tense - the other is present tense. from what i see anyways...
Well, the aorist tense is punctiliar, and is generally translated as something that is past tense. (There are exceptions, of course.)
So, in the first sentence, I "went" to the store. It was punctiliar action.
In the second sentence, however, "going" is used in the present tense, as an active verb. It is continuous action in the present.
In English, there are three tenses: Past, present, and future. In the Greek, there are six tenses: Present, imperfect, future, aorist, perfect, and pluperfect.
Well, in the Greek, there are also three voices: Active (in which the subject does the action), passive (in which the subject is acted upon), and middle (in which the subject acts with reference to himself).
Active: The priest sacrificed the bull.
Passive: The bull was sacrificed by the priest.
Middle: Jesus sacrificed himself.
There are different moods, etc., all of which make the language specific and therefore simple and straightforward.
Well, a participle is a verb that can be used as a noun, when included with the article; without the article, it's used as an adjective. The participle generally contemplates the action as real.
Running is fun. "Run" is a noun, but in this case, it's used as a noun.
In the case of "believe", it simplifies many things when you look at the grammar. For example, you believe in the aorist tense for spiritual salvation. It's an event. "Believe in the present tense" is required for obedience. When used as a present, active, participle, it's synonymous with the noun "faith". There's more, but it's supper time.
If you want more info on what a participle is, I can point you in the right direction, but this is the condensed version. They used to teach it in schools, but very few people that I find today know. (Much like the rule of casting out nines; they used to teach it in schools, but I've rarely found anyone under 40 who knows what it is.)
