Modern Greek Learning Method

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Modern Greek

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The Greek language is one of the oldest written languages in the world, and Greek literary culture extends back in time even past the invention of writing, to the time of Homer. Greek is a language distinguished by an extraordinarily rich vocabulary. The vast majority of Modern Greek vocabulary is directly inherited from ancient Greek, like άνθρωπος (anthropos - man) or θάλασσα (thalassa - sea). Words of foreign origin have entered the language mainly from Latin, Italian and Ottoman Turkish. During older periods of the Greek language, loan words into Greek acquired Greek inflections, leaving thus only a foreign root word. Modern borrowings (from the 20th century on), especially from French and English, are typically not inflected.

Up until the twentieth century, the archaic (καθαρεύουσα, "katharevousa," "purist") form of the language was the only one with cultural prestige, and was the formal language of government. Over the course of the twentieth century, however, the written language was changed to resemble the modern spoken language, becoming the modern demotic language (δηµοτική, "of the people"), which is now the official language of the Greek and Cypriot state. The last change became effective as late as 1981, with the abolition of the polytonic system. This book is about the modern language, not classical or biblical Greek.

Introduction to the writing system

Fortunately, Greek is spelled mostly phonetically and the Greek alphabet is very easy to learn. You have probably already seen quite a few of the letters before, since they're used in maths, physics and chemistry. Others, particularly the capital letters, are often identical or very similar to Latin letters (the letters most of the western European languages, including English, use). Here are some letters that you can immediately recognise, in their upper and lowercase forms:

Α α Ι ι Κ κ Ο ο Τ τ

These are called alpha, iota, kappa, omikron and tau. The capital letters are all exactly the same as in the Latin alphabet. The small letters show some subtle differences:

• The small alpha looks similar to how most people write their small As, not like a computer a though.

• The i-dot is missing on the small iota. • Small kappa and small tau look exactly like a miniature version of the capital

letter, when at least some people would write them a little differently in the Latin alphabet.

• The small tau is also a miniature version of the capital one, whereas the Latin lowercase "t" is written as a cross.

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Knowing these few letters, you can already understand when a cartoon shows people shouting "α!" or "ο!". ο also happens to be the masculine article. το is the one for neuter.

Here's how to pronounce the letters you just learned:

• Α α is pronounced as the a in father, the IPA symbol is [a] • Ι ι is pronounced as the ee in meet, the IPA symbol is [i] • Κ κ is pronounced as a regular English k • Ο ο is pronounced as in obey, the IPA symbol is [o] • Τ τ is pronounced as a plain t (without the extra air at the end that native

English speakers like to add), [t]

Let's practice reading some more. For example, do you know the American band whose greatest hit was "Africa"? It's Τότο. (All solutions can be found at the bottom of this page)

Wait!!! Why is there an accent on the omikron? This accent indicates that the word stress should be on the ο. It's pronounced TOto, not toTO. Every Greek word of at least two syllables gets one accent indicating which syllable is stressed. This is a great feature for learners, since - unlike in English or German for example - you don't have to memorise the stress.

Here's another word for practise: κακάο. This is what the Greeks call cocoa. And κότα means "hen" in Greek.

I'd like to introduce you to one more letter in this lesson:

Ρ ρ

This is the letter Rho. It looks like P, but it's actually the Greek equivalent of R. Be careful not to confuse it. Its pronunciation is closer to a Spanish R than an English one.

Knowing this letter and the ones introduced above, you can read quite a few new words. For example, do you recognise the following country names: Ιράκ, Κροατία, Κατάρ? The city Κάιρο? And κάρτα, which means "card" in Greek?

The next letter you should learn is Nu:

Ν ν

Again the capital letter looks the same as in the Latin alphabet. The small letter looks similar to a lowercase V. It's still pronounced like a regular N (IPA [n]) though. This letter appears in the prefix νανο- for example. It also appears in the following names that you should be able to read now:

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ΝΑΤΟ (very difficult ;-) ) Άννα (a girl's name) Ιράν (a country in the Middle East) Κίνα (a country in the Far East) Τίρανα (capital city of Albania) Ανόι (capital city of Vietnam)

Next letter is Mu:

Μ µ

While the capital letter is identical again, the lower letter is decidedly different from the Latin one this time. It's very commonly used as a special symbol in various academic fields though. The pronunciation is just like a regular M (IPA [m]). Here are words with Mu:

µαµά (every child's call) Μαρόκο (African country south of Spain) Οµάν (Arabic country) Αµµάν (capital of Jordan) Μαρκ Μαρία Μόνικα αρµονία άτοµο µονοτονία

I'd also like you to meet the letter Epsilon:

Ε ε

Capital letter as in the Latin alphabet, small letter a variation on the capital letter. You have probably seen it before. Epsilon is pronounced approximately as in bet (IPA [ε]). German "Bett" and French "mère" are exactly the same as this Greek sound. Practise reading some more words:

Αρµενία Κορέα Κάρµεν Κατερίνα κέικ κρέµα κάµερα

Finally, here's the letter Lambda:

Λ λ

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This is the equivalent of the letter L. It looks quite different, but you will probably be able to memorise it quickly anyway (anyone familiar with the Cyrillic alphabet will immediately notice its similarity with the letter Л). Be careful not to confuse a capital alpha with a capital lambda! Here are a few more words to practise, and of course this letter and all the others will frequently appear in the following lessons, too.

αλκοόλ κιλό Ιταλία καραµέλα

The next letter you should learn is Pi:

Π π

Both the capital and the small letter look different from the Latin alphabet, but they should be familiar to anybody with a high school education in maths. Pi is pronounced as a regular P (IPA [p]). Here are some sample words that you should be able to read now:

Πεκίνο (old European name for Beijing) Πιέρ (French name) ρεπόρτερ πακέτο Πάολο Νεπάλ

Now you're probably wondering how to write B. The answer is not Beta, because Beta is pronounced in Modern Greek as an English V. In order to represent the sound of a regular B, Greeks need two letters: Mu and Pi (µπ). Sometimes at the middle of a word µπ may sound like [mb], but this detail is not very strict for the pronunciation. Here are some examples:

µπαρ µπικίνι µπετόν µπανάνα Καµπέρα Μπενίν

Now you're going to learn an extremely important letter, which is very common in Greek: Sigma.

Σ σ ς

Sigma has three forms, rather than just two like the other letters. There's one capital sigma (Σ), which is also used in science, e.g. as the mathematical symbol for sums, and there are two versions of small sigma. The first one (σ), which looks like a circle

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with an added line is used at the start or the middle of a word. The second small sigma (ς), looking similar to an ill-proportioned small S is only used at the end of a word. Sigma is pronounced as an English S (IPA [s]). Knowing this letter (and the ones taught before), you can read lots of new words:

παπάς (not "dad" but the Greek word for "priest") µπαµπάς (this is the correct word for "dad") Πέτρος (common Greek name) Ισπανία (important country in Europe) Κόστα Ρίκα Πακιστάν Σρι Λάνκα Λάος Παρίσι (capital of France) Όσλο Σαν ... (common start for city names) Μπρισµπέιν (city in Australia) Καράκας Σάο Πάολο Ελσίνκι ιστορία

Now it's time for another letter combination, similar to µπ. When they mean the sound of D, Greeks don't write Delta but Nu and Tau combined: ντ. Sometimes at the middle of a word ντ may sound like [nd], but this is not very strict for right pronunciation. Generally, it's used to mean [d] especially in foreign words. Example words:

Σαντάµ Μόντρεαλ Τορόντο Ντολόρες Αντόνιο Μαντόννα ντισκοτέκ

Delta, the letter you might expect to sound like D, actually sounds like th in "this" (IPA: [ð]). The capital form closely resembles the Cyrillic letter Д. Here's the letter, the last one for this lesson:

∆ δ

Delta appears in lots of words, so take this opportunity for a major revision:

Ιρλανδία Καναδάς Ολλανδία Ανδόρρα ∆ανία (country north of Germany)

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Ινδία Ιορδανία Ισλανδία διαµάντι διάλεκτος Ανδρέας δισκέτα Λονδίνο (capital of the UK) Τολέδο Ρόδος

Let's start with Eta:

Η η

Even though the capital letter looks like an H and the small letter looks somewhat like a small N, this is actually a vowel. In Hellenistic, Medieval, and Modern Greek, it is pronounced like the Spanish "i" (IPA [i]), same as the letter Iota. In Ancient Greek, it used to be pronounced like a long "e", as in the word "pain". That's why words which got derived in the past from Greek and are spelled with an Eta are actually spelled with an E in English, which is also a different sound from the original eta. An example: δηµοκρατία became "democracy" and not "dimocracy" in English. In Attic Greek it must have sounded different from both. Fortunately, this reference to those English words is a way to know whether a Modern Greek word is spelled with Eta or Iota. In standard transliteration this letter is rendered as ī (the dash is used in order to distinguish it from Iota), while in names and toponyms it is transcribed simply as i(with the disadvantage of being unable to distinguish it from Iota). Sometimes h is used just because of the similarity of the respective capital letters, providing though a weird and wrong spelling. Practice your reading now:

ακαδηµία Κρήτη Αµερική ηλεκτρονικά Ισραήλ Ινδονησία Μαδρίτη Τρίπολη Άρης Σπάρτη Ταϊλάνδη

There is yet another letter that sounds like i: upsilon.

Υ υ

The shape of this Greek letter seems to refer us to both Y and U, and that's correct: when English words derive from Greek ones, most of times this letter is rendered as Y in English and vice versa. Also, in very ancient Greek this letter was pronounced like

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the u in "rule" (IPA [u]) but later it transformed to the French U sound (German Ü, IPA [y], sound which doesn't exist in English). In medieval Greek the letter started sounding just like Iota and Eta. Example words:

δυναµική ανάλυση Σύδνεϋ Τόκυο Συρία Υεµένη

Now you're probably wondering how to write the u sound as in "rule" in Modern Greek. Greeks need two letters for this: Omikron and Upsilon (ου). This probably sounds familiar to those who have studied French, because French also spells [u] as "ou". Here are a lot of sample words with this letter combination, for practise:

Ουκρανία Ρουµανία Τουρκία µουσική Καµπούλ Καλκούτα Ιερουσαλήµ Σεούλ Περού Ρουάντα

Now you're going to learn another very important Greek letter: Omega.

Ω ω

This is the second variety of O in Greek. The O that you already learned is called Omikron, which translates to "small O". This one is called Omega, which translates to "big O". They are both pronounced the same, as o in obey. In standard transliteration, this letter is rendered as ō because in ancient Greek it had the sound of a long [o], which made it essentially a different vowel. Transcription in names and toponyms is usually just o. Sometimes unofficially it is rendered as w(inspired by the shape of the small letter), but this leads to weird and incorrect spelling, as in some pretty weird-looking transliterations, like "egw agapw". Knowing this letter (and the ones taught before), you can read some new words:

Ιαπωνία Ρωσία ωροσκόπιο ερωτικός άρωµα Κώστας Κως

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Πορτ-ω-Πρενς Ρώµη Πολωνία

The last letter I'd like to introduce to you in this lesson is Beta.

Β β

As I mentioned earlier, this letter sounds like an English V (IPA [v]), not like a B. That's why it is often used for English words that contain V or W. In older times it was used also for B though, cause of the common origin of the two letters, but it was again pronounced as a V. Compare the sound of Beta to the sound of the Spanish 'B', which has a V sound unless it's found in the beginning of a word. Beta is generally very often used and there are lots of example words that you can use for practice:

ασβέστης αµβροσία Βιετνάµ Βολιβία Λίβανος Ιβάν Οττάβα Κούβα Κουβέιτ Αλβανία Λίβερπουλ Βρετανία Βανκούβερ Μελβούρνη Βιέννη Βατικανό Βουδαπέστη Ελ Σαλβαδόρ Βέρνη Βοµβάη Ρέυκιαβικ Κολοµβία Βαρσοβία Λισαβόνα ∆ουβλίνο Ταϊβάν

The first new letter you'll learn is Phi:

Φ φ

Both letters have no resemblance to English letters. The pronunciation is familiar though: it's just like an English F (IPA [f]). If English derived a word containing Phi

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from Greek, it is typically spelled with ph instead of simply f - just like in the letter name "Phi" itself. Practise using the following Greek words:

φιλοσοφία φιλµ φεµινισµός φαρµακείο ελέφαντας Φίλιπ Αφρική Σαν Φρανσίσκο

The next letter is easier again. This is Zeta:

Ζ ζ

The capital Zeta looks like a Z and the small Zeta looks like a more curvy version of it. It's pronounced as an English Z (IPA [z]), too. Easy, isn't it? Example words:

ντίζελ Βραζιλία Τερέζα Βενεζουέλα Ζάµπια Ζιµπάµπουε Καζακστάν Νέα Ζηλανδία

An interesting combination in Greek is Tau-Zeta:

Τζ τζ

This is pronounced as a combination of the sounds of Tau and Zeta (IPA [dz]). Although "j" is a letter in the English alphabet, there is τζ is not a letter in the Greek alphabet. It is what the previous statement says, just a sound coming from a combination of letters. In words derived from English, this combination is sometimes used to replace the j sound as in "journalist" or the g sound as in "general", because there is no sound [dʒ] in Greek. Practise reading the following words:

ατζέντα έιτζ Φίτζι Τζορτζ Μπους Αζερµπαϊτζάν Ρίο ντε Τζανέιρο Τζακάρτα Καµπότζη

Now you're going to learn another very important Greek letter: Gamma.

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Γ γ

This is equivalent of G in Greek, except that it isn't pronounced as a regular English G. When Gamma is followed by a 'light' vowel sound such as E or I, it is pronounced

like the English Y in "year" (IPA [ȭ]). When it is followed by a 'dark' vowel sound such as A, O or U, it is pronounced in a way that doesn't exist in English, kind of like the ch in "Bach" or the lake "Loch Ness" in Scotland, with the difference that vocal chords should be vibrated when pronouncing it. (Listen to a sound sample.) This letter comes up very often in Greek, so you'll have lots of opportunities to practise.

Πορτογαλία φιγούρα Γερµανία Βουλγαρία βιολογία Βέλγιο γεωλογία πρόγραµµα γραφικά Αργεντινή Πράγα Νορβηγία Αλγερία Αφγανιστάν Γεωργία Γουατεµάλα Γουινέα Γρενάδα Μαδαγασκάρη

A variation occurs when there are two Gammas in a row:

γγ

This combination is pronounced like the ng in the English word "ring" (IPA: [ŋg]). Examples:

Ουγγαρία Αγγλία Μογγολία άγγελος

Finally, how to spell the actual [g] sound as in "garden"? For that, you need two letters again: Gamma and Kappa.

Γκ γκ

Sometimes when this combination is at the middle of words then it represents the sound ng in the English word "ring" (like γγ), but when the word is a foreign

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loanword and the intention is to have a [g] sound, then it is pronounced as [g]. Though, this detail is not very significant for the pronunciation and it is not wrong to always pronounce γκ as a [g] sound. Greek words you already know that include this combination are:

γκαράζ γκέτο Γκάνα Αγκόλα γκάλοπ γκαλερί Σανγκάη Κογκό Μπανγκλαντές

The next letter you should learn is Theta:

Θ θ

Both the capital and the small letter look different from the Latin alphabet. This letter is pronounced as the th in thumb and coincidentally the IPA symbol for this sound is a small Theta: [θ]. Here are some sample words that you should be able to read now:

µαθηµατικά κιθάρα (a musical instrument) Θεσσαλονίκη θεραπεία απαθής αθλητής αµφιθέατρο ανθολoγία ανθρωπολογία αντιπαθητικός

Now for a letter that looks somewhat familiar again:

Χ χ

This is the letter Chi. The capital letter looks exactly like an X and the small letter looks maybe like an x drawn by a first-grader. The pronunciation is not like X though. It's either of two sounds that don't exist in English. When Chi is followed by a 'light' vowel sound such as e or i, it sounds like the ch in the German word ich (IPA [ç]). When it is followed by any other vowel sound or by a consonant, it is pronounced like the ch in the Scottish word loch or the German word Bach (IPA [x]).

Some words for practise:

τεχνολογία Χιλή

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συγχρονίζω Χουάν (Spanish name) Χοσέ (another Spanish name) Κοπεγχάγη Ζυρίχη Νέο ∆ελχί Στοκχόλµη αραχνοφοβία

Now you're probably wondering how to write the x (ks) sound that is rather common in Greek. The answer is the letter Xi:

Ξ ξ

This letter looks unfamiliar, but it sounds exactly like the English x as in axe (IPA [ks]). Here are some examples:

ξενοφοβία Μεξικό Βρυξέλλες εξάγωνο Λουξεµβούργο Αλέξανδρος ορθόδοξος λεξικό οξυγόνο

The very last Greek letter to learn is Psi.

Ψ ψ

Psi is pronounced like ps as in apse (IPA [ps]). There are not that many English words with this letter combination, but in Greek it is more common. Practise reading:

ψυχολογία ψυχίατρος αποκάλυψη αυτοψία

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Greek phrases

Translation Phrase IPA Pronunciation

Greek ελληνικά /ǫlini'ka/ eh-lee-nee-KAH

hello γειά σας γειά σου

/ja sas/

/ja su/

YA suss (formal/plural) YA soo (informal/singular)

please παρακαλώ /paraka'lǤ/ pah-rah-kah-LOH

thank you ευχαριστώ /ǫfxari'stǤ/ ef-khah-ree-SSTOH

that one εκείνο /e'kinǤ/ eh-KEE-noh

how much? πόσο κάνει; /'pǤsǤ 'kani/ POH-soh KAH-nee

English αγγλικά /aŋgli'ka/ ung-glee-KAH

yes ναι /nǫ/ neh (this is a faux ami for many speakers of other European languages)

no όχι /'Ǥçi/ OH-hee

sorry συγ(γ)νώµη /sig'nǤmi/ sigg-NOH-mee

I don’t understand

δεν καταλαβαίνω

/'ðǫŋ

katala'vǫnǤ/ dheng kah-tah-lah-VEH-noh

where's the bathroom?

πού είναι οι τουαλέτες;

/'pu 'inǫ i

tua'lǫtǫs/ poo EE-neh ee too-ah-LEH-tess

generic toast γειά µας /'ja mas/ YAH muss

Do you speak English?

µιλάτε αγγλικά; /mi'latǫ

aŋgli'ka/ mee-LAH-teh ung-glee-KAH

— Πώς είσαι;

Goal

In this lesson, you will learn to greet people and ask how they are. The verb 'to be' is discussed and the formation of yes/no questions is introduced. You do not need any prior knowledge of Greek. But you do need to be able to read it.

Dialogue

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Αντώνης: Γεια σου! Ανθή: Γεια σου! Αντώνης: Πώς είσαι; Ανθή: Καλά είµαι! Εσύ πώς είσαι; Αντώνης Καλά. Ανθή: Γεια σου! Αντώνης Γεια σου!

Hello!

Αγγλικά Ελληνικά Hi! Γεια!

Hello! Γεια σου!

Hello! (formal) Γεια σας!

Good morning! Καληµέρα!

Good evening! Καλησπέρα!

Good night! Καληνύχτα!

Goodbye Αντίο

Notes

• Remember that Γεια σου can be used to say hello and goodbye. • The most formal way to greet is χαίρετε!

Examples

• Γεια σας! Πώς είστε;

How are you?

Αγγλικά Ελληνικά Πώς είσαι;

Πώς είστε;

Τι κάνεις; How are you?

Τι κάνετε;

Very well! πολύ καλά!

Well! καλά!

ΟΚ. Εντάξει

So so. Έτσι κι έτσι.

Fairly well. Αρκετά καλά.

And you? ..., εσύ;

Thank you! Ευχαριστώ

Notes

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• The answer to Πώς είσαι; could be είµαι καλά or it could simply be καλά. • Τι κάνεις; can be used instead of Πώς είσαι; and in this case, the longer form

of the answer would be again είµαι καλά. • The most formal way to greet is χαίρετε!

Examples

Example 1 (informal)

• Α: Γεια! Τι κάνεις; • Β: Πολύ καλά, εσύ; • Α: Καλά!

Example 2 (informal)

• Α: Γεια σου! Eίσαι καλά;

Hello! Are you well?

• Β: Ναι, είµαι καλά, εσύ;

Yes, I'm well and you?

• Α: Είµαι πολύ καλά!

I'm very well!

Example 3 (formal)

• Α: Γεια σας! Πώς είστε; • Β: Είµαι αρκετά καλά, εσείς; • Α: Καλά, ευχαριστώ!

Explanations

• You have probably already noticed, that the words είµαι, είσαι and είστε. These are three forms of 'to be', corresponding to I am; you are (singular) ; and you are (plural). The είµαι needs to be changed into different forms to reflect different meanings. The verb είµαι is an irregular verb so the way it changes to mean something slightly different, is conjugate, does not follow any pattern. So it needs to be learn off by heart. But for the moment, all we need are these three forms.

• If we look at the second mini dialog in the above examples, we notice the είσαι καλά; question. This illustrates how yes-no question are formed in Greek. They are formed simply by intonation with no word order change. When we talk about yes-no question, we talk about questions of the form 'Are you' or 'Do you ' e.g. Are you hungry? or Do you like apples?. Further yes-no questions can be formed like this. For example: 'Είσαι εντάξει;'

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• In this lesson, you might have noticed that other questions are formed with the words τι and πώς. These two words are used to form questions. They correspond to what and how in English. In Greek, simple questions involving these two words are formed by placing the question word at the beginning of the sentence. For example, 'Πώς είστε;' and 'Τι κάνεις;'.

• You definitely must have noticed that in Greek the question mark is replaced by a semicolon.

Summary

• We have learnt the ways to say hello. (Γεια σου! Γεια!) • We now know how to ask how someone is. (Πώς είστε; Τι κάνεις;) • We are able to answer how we are and ask in return. (καλά! Είµαι εντάξει.) • We have introduced how to form yes-no questions. (Eίσαι καλά;) • We can form simply questions with τι and πώς. (Τι κάνεις; Πώς είστε;)

Χαίρω πολύ!

Dialog

Αντώνης: Γεια σου! Ανθή: Γεια σου! Αντώνης: Πώς είσαι; Ανθή: Είµαι καλά, εσύ πώς είσαι; Αντώνης: Είµαι καλά. Ανθή: Πώς σε λένε (or "Ποιο είναι το όνοµά σου" (not used)); Αντώνης: Με λένε Αντώνη (answers the first question) (or "Το όνοµα µου είναι Αντώνης" (answers the second question)). Ανθή: (Εµένα) µε λένε Ανθή (or "Το όνοµα µου είναι Ανθή"). Χαίρω πολύ! Αντώνης: Χαίρω πολύ επίσης. Ανθή: Γεια σου! Αντώνης: Γεια σου!

What is your name?

Αγγλικά Ελληνικά Ποιο είναι το όνοµά σου;

What is your name? Πώς σε λένε;

Το όνοµα µου είναι ... My name is ...

Με λένε ...

Notes

• Note 'τ'όνοµά µου είναι' might also be said. Where syllables are dropped.

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Examples

• Το ονοµά µου είναι Μάριος. • Με λένε Μάριο. (Note that in this case in Greek male names we drop the final

-ς)

I'm Greek.

Αγγλικά Ελληνικά English ο Άγγλος, η Αγγλίδα

American o Αµερικανός, Αµερικανίδα

French ο Γάλλος, η Γαλλίδα

German ο Γερµανός, η Γερµανίδα

Chinese ο Κινέζος η Κινέζα

Spanish ο Ισπανός, η Ισπανίδα

Greek ο Έλληνας, η Ελληνίδα

Turkish ο Τούρκος, η Τουρκάλα

Notes

• Note that every one of these words has ο or η in front of it this tells us that these are nouns. The ο or η also tells us the gender, ο is for masculine and η is for feminine.

• This table also illustrates a pattern if the masculine ends in ος the feminine is most often formed by adding ίδα after dropping the ος. But this is not always the case if we look at the words for Chinese.

Examples

• Είµαι Άγγλος. • Είσαι Ελληνίδα; • Είµαι Γερµανίδα.

I'm a teacher

Αγγλικά Ελληνικά teacher o δάσκαλος η δασκάλα

dentist ο οδοντίατρος /ο οδοντογιατρός

lawyer o δικηγόρος

engineer o µηχανικός

doctor ο,η γιατρός

actor o ηθοποιός

musician ο,η µουσικός

Notes

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• The each of the words introduced in the above table have two forms. One for males and another for females. This roughly corresponds to the actor and actress that is present in English. But in Greek, this is case for every noun. It is wrong to use the masculine form to describe yourself if you are female.

Examples

Α: Ποιο είναι το επάγγελµα σου; Β: Είµαι δάσκαλος. Ποιο είναι το επάγγελµα σου; Α: Είµαι δικηγόρος.

He's handsome

Αγγλικά Ελληνικά Big µεγάλος, -η, -ο

Small µικρός, µικρή, µικρό

Pretty or Handsome όµορφος, όµορφη, όµορφο

Clever έξυπνος, έξυπνη, έξυπνο

Good καλός, καλή, καλό

Bad κακός, κακή, κακό

Examples

• Η Μάρια είναι όµορφη. • Ο Στέλιος είναι µεγάλος. • Το όνοµα σου είναι όµορφο. • O γιατρός είναι καλός. • O Αντώνης είναι έξυπνος.

Explanations

• Notice how there is agreement with the definite articles and the noun that is present before. In summary, 'Η', 'Ο' and 'Το' are the definite articles for feminine, masculine and neuter nouns. They all correspond to 'the' in English. In Greek, definite articles are always placed before Peoples names. This means that Η Μάρια means Maria in English. You'll find definite articles listed after nouns in Dictionaries. This tells us the gender of the word.

• You have probably noticed that there are three forms of each of the adjectives listed in the table above. If the adjective ends with ος it is masculine. Feminine if it ends with η. Finally if it ends with ο it is neuter. This is important because adjectives have to agree with the nouns that they describe. So if the noun is masculine then the adjective must also be masculine. This is called agreement. We can see this illustrated in the examples above, numbers 2, 4 and 5. 'O γιατρός' is masculine so 'καλός' must also be masculine. The same applies for feminine nouns look at the first example. Η Μάρια is feminine so the form must be όµορφη to agree with it. The same is true of neuter nouns look at the third example.

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• If we look at the I'm Greek section, the second example is a question simply because of its semicolon. Recall that in speak what makes it a question is the rising intonation towards the end of the sentence. In the same way, we can form questions asking whether someone is a doctor (Είσαι γιατρός/γιατρά.)

Summary

• We are able to ask someone's name and give our own name. (Τι είναι το όνοµα σου? Με λένε Μάριος.)

• We have learnt the ways to what nationality you are. (Είµαι Άγγλος.) • We can inquire if someone is a certain nationality. (Είσαι Ελληνίδα;) • We now know how to ask what profession someone has. (Ποιο είναι το

επάγγελµα σου;) • We can tell people what we do. (Είµαι δάσκαλος)

professions and nationalities. Το

επάγγελµα Αγγλικά Ελληνικά

accountant λογιστής

baker αρτοποιός

beginner αρχάριος

businessman επιχειρηµατίας

carpenter ξυλουργός

cook ο µάγειρας

garbage man σκουπιδιάρης

general στρατηγός

hairdresser κοµµωτής

housewife νοικοκυρά

journalist δηµοσιογράφος

explorer εξερευνητής

farmer αγρότης

fireman πυροσβέστης

florist ανθοκόµος

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librarian βιβλιοθηκάριος

manager ο διευθυντής

mailman ταχυδρόµος

mechanic µηχανικός

musician µουσικός

nurse νοσοκόµα

painter ζωγράφος

pilot πιλότος

philosopher φιλόσοφος

photographer φωτογράφος

physicist φυσικός

plumber υδραυλικός

politician πολιτικός

policeman αστυνοµικός

salesman πωλητής

secretary γραµµατέας

scientist επιστήµονας

soldier στρατιώτης

student ο φοιτητής η φοιτήτρια

surgeon χειρούργος

thief κλέφτης

tourist τουρίστας

volunteer εθελοντής

waiter το γκαρσόνι

writer συγγραφέας

Η υπηκοότητα Αγγλικά Ελληνικά

American Αµερικανός/Αµερικάνος

Argentinian Αργεντινός

Belgian Βέλγος

Brazilian Βραζιλιάνος

Canadian Καναδός

Chinese Κινέζος

Cypriot Κύπριος

Czech Τσέχος

Dutchman Ολλανδός

Englishman Άγγλος

French Γάλλος

Finnish Φινλανδός

German Γερµανός

Indian Ινδός

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Italian Ιταλός

Japanese Ιάπωνας

Mexican Μεξικάνος

Moroccan Μαροκινός

Norwegian Νορβηγός

Portuguese Πορτογάλος

Russian Ρώσος

Slovenian Σλοβένος

South African Νοτιοαφρικάνος

Spaniard Ισπανός

Swede Σουηδός

Swiss Ελβετός

Turk Τούρκος

reading and pronunciation, subject pronouns, and verbs

Vowels

Greek has five vowel sounds, all vowels are pronounced nearer the English long rather than short:

α approximately as in ball (closer to father in a Boston accent)

ε approximately as in bet

ι as in beet

ο approximately as in boat

ου as in boot

Throughout this book, tables highlighted in this color have (or will eventually have) audio recordings to go with them.

As you can see from these examples, many letters in the Greek alphabet look like their counterparts in English. There are multiple spellings for some of these sounds:

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ι, η, υ, οι, ει, and υι all sound alike.

ε and αι sound like EH as in "kettle".

ο and ω sound like OH as in "over".

Consonants

The following letters sound like the English letters they resemble:

κ, τ

Note: If you're a native English speaker, try to pronounce a plain τ, that is without the "h" sound in the end.

Reading practice:

τα, τι, η, τη, το, του, τω, κάτω, κότα, άκου

Most Greek words have a stressed syllable which in words of more than one syllable is shown with an accent over the stressed vowel.

Vocabulary:

κακό bad

κατά against, according to, toward

The following Greek consonants sound like familiar sounds from English, but look different from their English counterparts:

• β vee

• λ elle

• π pee

• δ the

• µ emm

• σ,ς ess

• ζ zee

• ν enn

• φ fee

• θ theh

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• ξ eks

• ψ eeps

Vocabulary and reading practice:

ναι yes

καλό good

πού where

µε with

από from

σε in

αλλά but

The following Greek consonants have sounds not found in English:

γ a soft, gargling g sound, except before the sounds ε and ι, where it sounds like y

ρ like Spanish r

χ like the ch in Scottish loch

Vocabulary and reading practice:

γράφω I write

για for

γιατί why?, because

προς to, toward

όχι no

παρακαλώ please

The following combinations of letters have sounds that have to be learned:

ου oo

αυ av before vowel or voiced consonant, else af

ευ ev before vowel or voiced consonant, else ef ηυ iv before vowel or voiced consonant, else if

µπ b at the beginning of a word, mb elsewhere

ντ d at the beginning of a word, nd elsewhere

χε, χαι heh

κε, και keh

Vocabulary and reading practice:

και and

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ή or

αυτός he

αύριο tomorrow

ευχαριστώ I give thanks, thank you (~"Eucharist")

γυρεύω I look for

µπορώ I can

χαίρετε Rejoice! (a greeting and leave-taking)

καλοκαίρι summer

One of the big obstacles for an English speaker trying to learn Greek is that so few common usage words are related to English ones (although an estimated 10% to 20% of the total English vocabulary has Greek roots, most of it though of scientific/technical nature). However, sometimes there is a relationship that would help you to remember the Greek word, but the relationship isn't obvious, as with ευχαριστώ and Eucharist. When this happens, we'll note it as in the example above, with ~. This may mean that the English word is derived from the Greek one, or merely that both the English word and the Greek one come from a common root.

Names of the letters:

α άλφα ι γιώτα (or ιώτα) ρ ρω (or ρο)

β βήτα κ κάππα (or κάπα) σ σίγµα

γ γάµµα λ λάµδα (or λάµβδα) τ ταυ

δ δέλτα µ µι υ ύψιλον

ε έψιλον ν νι φ φι

ζ ζήτα ξ ξι χ χι

η ήτα ο όµικρον ψ ψι

θ θήτα π πι ω ωµέγα

Personal subject pronouns

Greek has three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Here are the personal subject pronouns:

εγώ I εµείς we

εσύ you, singular εσείς you, plural

αυτός he αυτοί they (masculine)

αυτή she αυτές they (feminine)

αυτό it αυτά they (neuter)

The second-person plural is also used as the formal form of address, even when speaking to a single person.

Verbs

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First conjugation

The subject pronouns are usually omitted, because the form of the verb indicates the subject. For example:

γράφω I write

γράφεις you (singular) write

γράφει he/she/it writes

γράφουµε we write

γράφετε you (plural) write

γράφουν they write

There is no infinitive in modern Greek. For naming a verb, the first-person singular of the present tense is used as a generic term. For example, we refer to the verb γράφω, to write.

To summarize the conjugation of a verb, we write it in a table like this:

γράφω γράφουµε

γράφεις γράφετε

γράφει γράφουν

Audio recording: This recording was made by a non-native speaker of Greek. We would be grateful to any native speaker who could redo it.

Γράφω is an example of a verb belonging to the first conjugation. Verbs in this conjugation can be recognized because their accent falls before the final ω.

The following verbs belong to the first conjugation:

δίνω give (~"donate")

αλλάζω change

διαβάζω read

κοιτάζω look at

βλέπω see

ακούω hear

φτάνω arrive

φεύγω leave

παίρνω take

αγοράζω buy

ξέρω know

νοµίζω think

βάζω put

πίνω drink

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Conjugations of some of these verbs: Audio recording: listen (help·info) This recording was made by a non-native speaker of Greek. We would be grateful to any native speaker who could redo it.

The verbs έχω, to have, and είµαι, to be

Two important verbs are έχω, to have, and είµαι, to be. The first-conjugation verb έχω is regular in the present tense, so it has the same endings as γράφω.

έχω έχουµε

έχεις έχετε

έχει έχουν

To be in English is expressed in the active voice, but the Greek είµαι is passive, and doesn't have an active form. The ending -µαι is a typical, regular ending for passive verbs. Although we won't be concerned with passive constructions until later, είµαι is so important that you need to get it under your belt right away.

είµαι είµαστε

είσαι είστε

είναι είναι

Capital letters

Now that we're ready to handle complete sentences, we need capital letters. Most of the capital letters of the Greek alphabet are similar in form either to the lowercase letters, or to their counterparts in the Latin alphabet:

α Α ι Ι ρ Ρ

β Β κ Κ σ Σ

γ Γ λ Λ τ Τ

δ ∆ µ Μ υ Υ

ε Ε ν Ν φ Φ

ζ Ζ ξ Ξ χ Χ

η Η ο Ο ψ Ψ

θ Θ π Π ω Ω

Sentences

The order of words in a Greek sentence is much more free than in English, but you can correctly construct a sentence using the familiar English syntax of subject+verb, or subject+verb+object. The subject is usually omitted when it is a pronoun.

Sentences:

Είναι καλό. It is good.

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Είναι κακό. It is bad.

In Greek, adjectives change their endings to agree with the gender and number of the nouns they describe (declension). The following vocabulary list introduces some nouns that happen to be neuter, and some adjectives, which are given in neuter form. The word το is the definite article, like English "the," used with singular neuter nouns.

Vocabulary:

νερό water

κρασί wine

τσάι tea

καυτό hot

κρύο cold

άσπρο white

κόκκινο red

θέλω to want

Sentences:

Το νερό είναι κρύο. The water is cold

Το κρασί είναι κρύο. The wine is cold.

Το τσάι είναι καυτό. The tea is hot.

Το άσπρο κρασί είναι κρύο. The white wine is cold.

Negatives are formed by placing δεν before the verb. The question mark in Greek is the semicolon.

Sentences:

Το κόκκινο κρασί δεν είναι κρύο. The red wine is not cold

Το νερό δεν είναι καυτό. The water is not hot.

Dialog:

Χαίρετε. Hello.

Χαίρετε. Hello.

Έχετε τσάι; Do you have tea?

Οχι, δεν έχουµε τσάι. Θέλετε νερό; No, we don't have tea. Do you want water?

Ναι, ευχαριστώ. Yes, thank you.

Dialogue 1

Greeting others

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Mark: Γειά σας. Anna: Kαληµέρα. Mark: Τι κάνετε; Anna: Πολύ καλά και εσείς; Mark: Πολύ καλά.

Vocabulary Γειά σας Hello!

Kαληµέρα Good morning

Τι κάνετε How are you?

Πολύ καλά Very well

Και εσείς And you?

Dialogue 2

Introducing yourself

Mark: Πως σε λέvε; Anna: Mε λέvε Άvvα.

Vocabulary Πως How

σε λένε they call you

µε λένε they call me

Summary of the alphabet and pronunciation

Alphabet / Αλφάβητο

The Greek Language was one of the first written languages in all world. The script used had some peculiarities not observed today: for instance, the vowels were not written, and one needed to guess or to know their specific place inside the word. This alphabet has been evolving, through contact with other cultures and through the simple action of the time, until it became what it is today. Amongst the Greek alphabet, we can spot some (or even many) similarities with the Latin (or Roman) one. The alphabet used nowadays has 24 letters: 7 vowels and 17 consonants.

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Letter English Name Greek Name A a alpha άλφα Β β beta βήτα Γ γ gamma γάµµα ∆ δ delta δέλτα Ε ε epsilon έψιλον Ζ ζ zeta ζήτα Η η eta ήτα Θ θ theta θήτα Ι ι iota ιώτα Κ κ kappa κάπα Λ λ lambda λάµδα Μ µ mu µι Ν ν nu νι Ξ ξ ksi ξι Ο ο omicron όµικρον Π π pi πι Ρ ρ rho ρω Σ σ* sigma σίγµα Τ τ tau ταυ Υ υ ypsilon ύψιλον Φ φ phi φι Χ χ chi χι Ψ ψ psi ψι Ω ω omega ωµέγα

* The sigma has a special lowercase form, used only at the end of words. Both lowercase sigmas have the same value.

Pronunciation of the Alphabet

Greek sounds are, in general, soft. As a major rule, each letter carries a single sound (this is not universal, but almost, as we'll see later in this page). As in the previous chapter, we see here a table with the various letters. This time, the columns represent not the name, but the approximate sound of the letters.

Letter How to say it IPA XSAMPA A α arc [a] a

Β β vacuum [v] v

Γ γ yes before certain vowels,

otherwise like Spanish agua

[ȭ] before [ǫ] or [i]; [dz] otherwise

G

∆ δ this [ð] D

Ε ε bed [ǫ] E

Ζ ζ zoo [z] z

Η η see [i] i

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Θ θ thin [θ] T

Ι ι see [i] i

Κ κ cute before certain vowels, else knock [c] before [ǫ] or [i]; [k]otherwise

c, k

Λ λ clock [l] l

Μ µ mine [m] m

Ν ν nine [n] n

Ξ ξ excellent [ks] k_s

Ο ο oh [Ǥ] O

Π π ape [p] p

Ρ ρ like Spanish pero [Ȏ] 4

Σ σ soup [s] s

Τ τ hate [t] t

Υ υ see [i] i

Φ φ photo [f] f

Χ χ like German ich before certain vowels,

else like German Loch [ç] before [ǫ] or [i];

[x] otherwise C, x

Ψ ψ maps [ps] p_s

Ω ω oh [Ǥ] O

Note: The letter Γγ is the most difficult to pronounce for an English speaker: it is like a stronger h, simultaneous with the vibration of the vocal cords; in other words, it is the voiced counterpart of the χ. Before e and i vowels, it is pronounced as a y like in Diphthongs

Diphthongs are combinations of two vowels that function as a unique sound. Note that in Modern Greek, the word Diphthong (δίφθογγος) is also used for combination of vowels that sound like a simple vowel. There are eight diphthongs in Modern Greek. There are also some similar combinations of consonants:

Tabela II - Diphthongs Diphthong How to say it IPA XSAMPA

αι bed [ǫ] E

αυ have before certain letters, after before others [av], [af] av, af

ει see [i] i

ευ ever before certain letters, effect before others [ǫv], [ǫf] Ev, Ef

ηυ evening before certain letters, beef before others [iv], [if] iv, if

οι see [i] i

ου soon [u] u

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υι see [i] i

γγ finger [ŋg] Ng

γκ good at the beginning of words, finger anywhere

else [g], [ŋg] g, Ng

µπ banana at the beginning of words, thumb

anywhere else [b], [mb] b, mb

ντ day at the beginning of words, sand anywhere

else [d], [nd] d, nd

Accent and Diaeresis

Most Greek words have a stressed syllable which is the syllable said with more strength: for instance, in the English words comfort and peculiarity, the stressed syllables are com and ar, respectively.

Greek marks the stressed syllable with an accent mark ( ) over the vowel. In one-syllable words, the accent is usually omitted. When the stress falls on a syllable that has a diphthong, the accent is used above the last letter of this diphthong. Thus, words like Παύλος (Paul) ou γυναίκα (woman), are correctly accented.

If the accent is put on the first vowel of a diphthong, it is not read as a diphthong but read as two independent vowels, as in the word ρολόι (watch or clock), which has three syllables, not two. On the other hand, if one wishes to separate the diphthong, but the accent falls on other syllable, the diaeresis ( ¨ ) is used, as in the word Εβραϊκός (Hebrew).

There are, however, some words that aren't stressed (usually monosyllabic grammatical words), and these don't have an accent. Words like these are read as affixes added to the main word. Examples:

• ο (the masc.) "Ο πατέρας" (The father) is read as a single word - aw-pah-TE-ras;

• µου (my), "Ο πατέρας µου" (My father) is also read as a single word - aw-pa-TE-raz-mu.

Every stressed word with more than one syllable carries an accent. However, there are monosyllabic words that also have accent, like ή (or) and πού (where). This accent has a double function:

• It distinguishes words that, otherwise, would be equal - η (the fem.) and που (that, which);

• It marks words as strong, unlike their weak comparing counterparts.

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Irregular verbs, the genitive, family, the body, prepositions

Irregular verbs The following three verbs have simplified forms that are used in the present tense, but the other tenses are actually formed from their longer forms.

Λέγω/λέω, to say:

λέω λέµε

λες λέτε

λέει λένε

Τρώγω/Τρώω, to eat:

τρώω τρώµε

τρως τρώτε

τρώει τρώνε

Πηγαίνω/πάω, to go:

πάω πάµε

πας πάτε

πάει πάνε

Ακούω, to hear (regular form are also used occasionally):

ακούω ακούµε

ακούς ακούτε

ακούει ακούν(ε)

The body

34

το κεφάλι

35

το σώµα

Vocabulary:

το σώµα the body (~"somatic")

το κεφάλι the head (~"decapitate")

ο εγκέφαλος the brain (~"encephalitis", literally "in-the-head")

το µάτι the eye

το φρύδι the eyebrow

τα µαλλιά the hair

το στόµα the mouth (cognate with "stomach," but means mouth!)

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τα δόντια the teeth (~"dentist")

το αυτί the ear (~"audio")

η µύτη the nose

τα χείλη the lips

τα µάγουλα the cheeks

το σαγόνι the jaw

ο λαιµός the neck

το στήθος the chest (~"stethoscope")

η κοιλιά the belly

το χέρι the arm AND the hand (the whole upper limb)

η παλάµη the palm (cognate with the English word)

το πόδι the foot AND the leg (the whole lower limb) (~"podiatry")

η πατούσα (colloquial)/ το πέλµα (formal)

the sole of the foot

το γόνατο the knee (~"genuflect")

γυµνός naked (~"gymnasium")

χτενίζω to comb (~"ctenophore," comb jelly)

κάνω µπάνιο to take a bath

ο θάνατος death

η ζωή life (~"zoo")

γεννώ to give birth, give birth to (~"genesis")

η υγεία the health (~"hygiene")

ο πόνος the pain (cognate with the English word)

πονώ to hurt

η καρδιά the heart (~"cardiac")

Example:

Η µητέρα χτενίζει το παιδί. The mother combs the child's hair.

Πονάνε τα πόδια µου. My feet hurt.

Γαργαλάς την κοιλιά µου! You're tickling my belly!

Clothing/Τα ρούχα τα ρούχα the clothing

φορώ to wear

βάζω to put, put on (clothes)

βγάζω to take out, take off (clothes)

το πουκάµισο the shirt

το παντελόνι (singular!) the pants/trousers

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η φούστα the skirt

το σακάκι the jacket

το παλτό the coat

τα παπούτσια the shoes

οι κάλτσες the socks or stockings

το καπέλο the hat

η ζώνη the belt (~ "zone")

η γραβάτα the tie (~"cravat")

Examples:

Βάζω τα ρούχα µου. I put on my clothes.

Βγάζω το παλτό µου. I take off my coat.

∆ε φοράµε παπούτσια. We aren't wearing shoes.

The genitive What English expresses using possessives or the presposition "of," Greek expresses using the genitive case. The following example shows the noun σκύλος in all the subject, genitive, and object cases.

ο σκύλος the dog (subject form) οι σκύλοι the dogs (subject form)

του σκύλου of the dog (genitive form) των σκύλων of the dogs (genitive form)

τον σκύλο the dog (object form) τους σκύλους the dogs (object form)

Example:

το πόδι του σκύλου the dog's foot (literally, the foot of the dog)

The genitive plural is easy, because it's always formed with -ων, and the article is always των.

τα πόδια των σκύλων the dogs' feet

The genitive singular is formed according to a greater variety of patterns, of which three of the most important are shown here:

ο σκύλος του σκύλου

η ώρα της ώρας

το βιβλίο του βιβλίου

το παιδί του παιδιού

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Accentuation

In some nouns, when the antepenult is accented, the genitive is accented at the penult and when the penult is accented the genitive is accented at the ultimate. There is a set of rules to distinguish in which cases this happens. Most of the rules derive from Ancient Greek and have to do with either long and short vowels or Ancient Greek declensions. This is an issue with Modern Greek itself, since most of the nuances of Ancient Greek are lost in Modern Greek. People in most cases put the accent intuitively and at some instances even native speakers have great difficulty in accentuating correctly. This is why it is often said that in order to properly speak Modern Greek, one has to have at least a basic level of Ancient Greek.

τα πόδια των ανθρώπων (άνθρωπος/ανθρώπων) the men's feet (genitive plural)

τα πόδια του ανθρώπου (άνθρωπος/ανθρώπου) the man's feet (genitive singular)

τα πόδια των ανδρών (άνδρας/ανδρών) the men's feet (genitive plural)

but

τα πόδια των πατέρων (πατέρας/πατέρων) the fathers' feet

τα πόδια του άνδρα (άνδρας/άνδρα) the man's feet (genitive singular)

The accent can also advance two positions, from antepenult to ultimate between nominative plural and genitive plural. The noun το χάδι (the caress) presents the following declensions:

το χάδι τα χάδια

του χαδιού των χαδιών

το χάδι τα χάδια

Genitive indefinite article

The following list shows the indefinite article in all three of the cases covered so far:

ένας one, masculine subject

ενός of one, masculine genitive

έναν one, masculine object

µία or µια one, feminine subject

µίας or µιας of one, feminine genitive

µία or µια one, feminine object

ένα one, neuter subject

ενός of one, neuter genitive

ένα one, neuter object

Genitive pronouns

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µου µας

σου σας

του, της, του τους

When indicating possession, the genitive pronoun follows the noun it modifies.

Στην υγειά σας! To your health (Cheers!)

το βιβλίο µου my book

Το κεφάλι του είναι µεγάλο. His head is big.

When greeting a person you either say Γεια σας (the polite plural) or Γεια σου (friendly address, more often than not the σου is omitted). Γεια is a short form for υγεία (health → "hygiene"). For a group of people except the abovementioned Γεια σας, the salutation Χαίρετε (rejoice) is also utilized.

When a noun followed by a possessive pronoun has the accent on the third syllable from the end, it gets a second accent on the final syllable:

το γόνατό µου my knee

In Greek, rather than saying that you like something, you say that it is pleasing to you, using the verb αρέσω:

Μού αρέσει το αυτοκίνητο. I like the car (lit. "The car is pleasing to me.")

This form is a remnant of the ancient dative case (δοτική πτώση). Something similar happens with certain prepositions (see below).

Prepositions The following are some common prepositions:

µε with, by means of

µαζί µε together with

χωρίς without

για for

από from (moving away from)

σε, εις in, at, on, moving to

µέσα σε into

πάνω σε on

πάνω από above, over

κάτω από below, under

ύστερα από after

πρίν before (~"pre-")

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πρό before, in front of (~"proactive")

ενάντια σε against

εναντίον against

εκ, εξ from, out of (~"ex-wife")

Examples:

Το κλειδί της Άννας είναι κάτω από το τραπέζι. Anna's key is under the table.

Είµαι από την Αµερική. I'm from America.

If the preposition σε is followed by a definite article, the joint form στο(ν)/στη(ν)/στο (σε plus το(ν)/τη(ν)/το) is used:

Το κλειδί της Άννας είναι στο τραπέζι. Anna's key is on the table.

Ο Παύλος είναι στο θεάτρο. Paul is at the theater.

As a remnant of ancient Greek's more complex case system, certain prepositions (πρό, εναντίον, εκ/εξ) are supposed to take the genitive case rather than the object (accusative) case. In these constructions, the genitive is really being used as the dative (indirect object) case, as in the use of the genitive with the verb αρέσω. This is a usage that is dying out, and a beginner doesn't need to worry about it too much. There are, however, certain fixed phrases that will seem inexplicable otherwise:

πρό Χριστού, π.Χ. before Christ

εν τάξει OK

Prepositions used as prefixes

It is extremely common for Greek verbs to be formed by adding a preposition as a prefix to a simpler verb. However, the preposition may be in a different form than the ones given above, e.g., εις rather than σε. A common prefix is συν-/συµ-, from the ancient Greek preposition συν, with, together. Two other suffixes based on ancient Greek prepositions are δια, for, because of, relating to, and υπό, under (~"hypodermic").

βάλλω to shoot; in ancient Greek, to throw

εισβάλλω to invade: σε (modern εις)+βάλλω, 'throw in'

συµβάλλω σε to contribute to: συν+βάλλω σε, 'throw together'

εκβάλλω to debouch

αποβάλλω to expel

καταβάλλω to pay, put down money, buckle to

διαβάλλω to slander someone, put someone down

υποβάλλω to submit something, subject to, suggest

πνέω to blow (~"pneumatic")

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εισπνέω to inhale something

εκπνέω to exhale, die, expire, terminate something

διαπνέω to run through

λείπω to be away, to be lacking

καταλείπω to leave something behind

εκλείπω to vanish, be in eclipse (~"eclipse")

διαλείπω to be intermittent (also διάλειψη = lapse of memory)

υπολείποµαι (passive) to fall short of (also υπόλοιπο = the rest, residual)

Family Vocabulary:

ο πατέρας the father

η µητέρα the mother

ο άντρας the man, the husband

η γυναίκα the woman, the wife

ο γιος the son

η κόρη the girl, daughter

ο αδελφός the brother (~"Philadelphia")

η αδελφή the sister

ο παππούς the grandfather

η γιαγιά the grandmother

ο θείος the uncle

η θεία the aunt

ο ανιψιός the nephew (~"nepotism")

η ανιψιά the niece

Examples:

ο πατέρας µου my father

ο γιος σας your son

Η Ελένη είναι η κόρη µου. Helen is my daughter.

Είναι η µητέρα της Αννας. She's Anna's mother.

Είναι το σπίτι των αδελφών. It's the brothers' house.

Note that in Greek, a definite article is used with a person's name.

Grimm's law

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The words πατέρας and µητέρα are actually closely related to the English words mother and father. When English and Greek words are derived from the same root in their common ancestral language, Indo-European, the consonants are related as follows:

π τ κ β δ γ φ θ χ

f th h p t k b d g

This is known as Grimm's law (after a linguist from the same family that collected the Grimm's fairy tales). Sometimes it can help you to learn words in Greek.

Examples:

δύο τρία πόδι

two three foot

In some cases, the Greek word that's cognate to the English one is ancient rather than modern. For example, brother corresponds to the ancient φρατήρ (e.g. "fraternity"), not the modern αδελφός, and door to the ancient θύρα rather than modern πόρτα (which is a loan from italian).

Nouns in -ας and -ης

ο αστροναύτης

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Other than -ος, the most common endings for masculine nouns are -ας and -ης.

Ο πατέρας, the father:

subject ο πατέρας οι πατέρες

genitive του πατέρα των πατέρων

object τον πατέρα τους πατέρες

Ο µαθητής, the student, pupil:

subject ο µαθητής οι µαθητές

genitive του µαθητή των µαθητών

object το µαθητή τους µαθητές

These endings are particularly common in nouns referring to professions, e.g., ο αστροναύτης, the astronaut.

People Vocabulary:

οι ιερέες ο εργάτης the worker

ο γιατρός the doctor (~"psychiatrist")

ο ιερέας (formal) and in plural οι ιερείς and not οι ιερέες as is noted by the picture, ο παπάς (coll.)

the priest (~"hieroglyph")

ο στρατιώτης the soldier

ο ράφτης the tailor

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ο ναυτικός the sailor

ο ναύτης the sailor (military)

ο κλέφτης the thief, guerrilla

ο αγρότης the farmer

ο οδηγός the driver

ο δάσκαλος the teacher

ο φοιτητής the student (university)

ο σπουδαστής the student (technical school)

ο µαθητής the student (elementary school)

ο υπάλληλος the clerk, the employee

o αστυνοµικός the police officer

ο φίλος the friend

ο γείτονας the neighbor

το µωρό (coll.), το βρέφος (formal) the baby

ο νέος (also νεαρός, but rarely) the young person (~"new")

ο γέρος the old man (~"geriatrics")

γερός strong

πλούσιος rich

φτωχός poor

ο βασιλιάς the king

η βασίλισσα the queen

Examples:

Ο γιος του φίλου µου είναι ιερέας. My friend's son is a priest.

Ο βασιλιάς είναι πλούσιος. The king is rich.

Ο δάσκαλος έχει τριάντα µαθητές The teacher has 30 students.

The letter ν at the end of a word You might have noticed above that while both ο πατέρας and ο µαθητής are masculine nouns, the definite article at the accusative (object) case is different:

τον πατέρα

το µαθητή

There is a general rule that applies to not only the definite article but most words ending with a ν. According to this rule if the next word does not start with a vowel or any of the voiceless plosives (κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ) then the ν is often omitted.

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Thus, the avoidance of complex consonant combinations helps in keeping the smooth flow of the speech.

Reading Vocabulary:

καµιά δεκαριά lit. "around ten," used loosely the same way "a dozen" is used in English

Παραγγέλνω ένα κουστούµι. I'm ordering a suit.

Ευτυχώς υπάρχει ενα κατάστηµα που πουλάει πολύ καλά υφάσµατα, κι έχει και µεγάλη ποικιλία υφασµάτων -- µάλλινα, βαµβακερά, νάυλον κλπ.

Fortunately, there's a store that sells very good material, and it has a large variety of fabrics -- wool, cotton, nylon, etc.

Οι Έλληνες δε θέλουν ν' αγοράζουν έτοιµα κουστούµια.

The Greeks don't like to buy ready-made suits.

Συνηθίζουν να πηγαίνουν στο ράφτη. They usually go to the tailor.

Ο ράφτης σας παίρνει τα µέτρα και χρησιµοποιεί όλη την επιτηδειότητά του, για να κάνει το κουστούµι σας τέλειο.

The tailor takes your measurements, and uses all his skill to make your suit perfect.

Απ' το ίδιο κατάστηµα αγοράζω και καµιά δεκαριά άσπρα πουκάµισα

At the same store, I'm also buying a a bunch of white shirts.

Έχουν επίσης και πολύ καλές µεταξωτές γραβάτες σε όλα τα χρώµατα.

They also have very good silk ties in all colors.

Object pronouns, the vocative, more numbers, food, past tenses in first

conjugation

Object pronouns We've already seen the personal subject pronouns in lesson 1, and the genitives in lesson 3. Here are the object forms:

µε me µας us

σε you, singular σας you, plural

τον him τους them (masculine)

την her τους them (feminine)

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το it τα them (neuter)

The object pronouns come before the verb:

Με βλέπουν. They see me.

The vocative The vocative case is used when the noun is a person (or, conceivably, a thing) being addressed. The following are some examples of nouns in all four cases.

Masculine nouns

Σκύλος, dog, is a masculine noun. Note the different forms of the definite article.

ο σκύλος the dog (subject, singular) οι σκύλοι the dogs (subject, plural)

του σκύλου of the dog (genitive singular) των σκύλων of the dogs (genitive plural)

το(ν) σκύλο the dog (object, singular) τους σκύλους the dogs (object, plural)

σκύλε! dog! (vocative singular) σκύλοι! dogs! (vocative plural)

The ending -ος is the most common one for masculine nouns, and σκύλος demonstrates their regular pattern. Another noun in -oς is άνθρωπος, human/man

Examples:

Ο σκύλος δαγκώνει τον άνθρωπο. The dog bites the man.

Ο άνθρωπος δαγκώνει το σκύλο. The man bites the dog.

Feminine nouns

The noun Η ώρα (the hour, the time) is shown below:

η ώρα the hour (subject, singular) οι ώρες the hours (subject, plural)

της ώρας of the hour (genitive singular) των ωρών of the hours (genitive plural)

την ώρα the hour (object, singular) τις ώρες the hours (object, plural)

ώρα! hour! (vocative singular) ώρες! hours! (vocative plural)

Neuter nouns

Το παιδί (the child) is an example of a neuter noun.

το παιδί the child (subject, singular) τα παιδιά the children (subject, plural)

του παιδιού

of the child (genitive singular)

των παιδιών

of the children (genitive plural)

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το παιδί the child (object, singular) τα παιδιά the children (object, plural)

παιδί! child! (vocative singular) παιδιά! children! (vocative plural)

More numbers Multiples of 10:

είκοσι 20

τριάντα 30

σαράντα 40

πενήντα 50

εξήντα 60

εβδοµήντα 70

ογδόντα 80

ενενήντα 90

εκατό 100

Most numbers from 1 to 100 are formed by giving a multiple of 10 following by the second digit of the number. (The numbers from 13 to 19 are written as single words, and the ones above 20 as two words.)

δεκατρία 13

εξήντα οκτώ 68

The numbers 11 and 12 are exceptions:

έντεκα (or ένδεκα) 11

δώδεκα 12

Past tenses

Imperfect tense in first conjugation

The imperfect tense is used to describe an action in the past that was continuous or repeated. For verbs in the first conjugation, it is formed from the progressive stem by moving the accent to the third syllable from the end, and adding endings that differ from those used in the present. The following example illustrates this with the verb διαβάζω:

Present:

διαβάζω διαβάζουµε

διαβάζεις διαβάζετε

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διαβάζει διαβάζουν

Imperfect:

διάβαζα διαβάζαµε

διάβαζες διαβάζατε

διάβαζε διάβαζαν

Example:

Η γιαγιά µου διάβαζε. My grandmother used to read.

If the stem of the verb is too short to allow an accent on the third syllable from the end, the prefix ε- is added:

έγραφα γράφαµε

έγραφες γράφατε

έγραφε έγραφαν

Past tense in first conjugation

The past tense is used to indicate an action that occurred at one time in the past, or that has been completed. It is formed in the same was as the imperfect, but from the aorist stem.

Past:

διάβασα διαβάσαµε

διάβασες διαβάσατε

διάβασε διάβασαν

Example:

Χτες, διάβασε την εφηµερίδα. Yesterday, he read the newspaper.

Past tenses of είµαι and έχω

The verbs είµαι and έχω have only a single past tense, rather than separate imperfect and past tenses.

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Ο Αχιλλέας

Past tense of είµαι:

ήµουν ήµαστε

ήσουν ήσαστε

ήταν ήταν

Past tense of έχω:

είχα είχαµε

είχες έιχατε

είχε είχαν

Example:

Ο Αχιλλέας ήταν γιός του Πηλέα, βασιλιά των Μυρµιδόνων, και της Νηρηίδας Θέτιδας.[1]

Achilles was the son of Peleus, king of the Myrmidons, and the nymph Thetis.

Formation of the aorist stem in the first conjugation

We have already seen that aorist stems are often formed by adding an "s" sound. The following list shows more of the common patterns:

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Ο Ευκλείδης λύνω λύσω loosen

θέτω θέσω put, place

ακούω ακούσω hear

νιώθω νιώσω feel

διαβάζω διαβάσω read

αλλάζω αλλάξω change

υπάρχω υπάρξω exist

ανοίγω ανοίξω open

επιδιώκω επιδιώξω aim

σπρώχνω σπρώξω push

διδάσκω διδάξω teach

γράφω γράψω write

λείπω λείψω lack

σκύβω σκύψω lean, bend over

Examples:

Έλυσαν τις ζώνες τους. They loosened their belts.

Μπορούµε να ακούσουµε τους σκύλους. We can hear the dogs.

Ο Ευκλείδης ήταν Έλληνας µαθηµατικός, που δίδαξε στην Αλεξάνδρεια της Αιγύπτου. Στις µέρες µας είναι γνωστός ως ο πατέρας της γεωµετρίας.[2]

Euclid was a greek mathematician who taught in Alexandria, Egypt. Today (lit. "in our days") he is known as the father of geometry.

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The colors/τα χρώµατα

τα χρώµατα µαύρο black

άσπρο white

κόκκινο red

κίτρινο yellow

πράσινο green

γαλανό/γαλάζιο azure, light blue

µπλε (transliteration from french: bleu) blue

πορτοκαλί (from the fruit) orange

καφέ (from coffee) brown

µωβ/µοβ (transliteration) mauve

γκρι (transliteration from french: gris) grey

Examples:

Το λουλούδι είναι κόκκινο. The flower is red.

Τα λουλούδια είναι άσπρα. The flowers are white.

Since το χρώµα (the color) is a neuter noun, we use the neuter gender to refer to itself, although we use the masculine or feminine gender to refer to it as a characteristic of a masculine or feminine noun:

το µαύρο χρώµα

ο µαύρος σκύλος

η µαύρη γάτα

τα µαύρα µάτια

Foreign words like µπλέ do not change to show case or number:

το µπλε κασκόλ (french: cache-col) the blue scarf

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τα µπλε κασκόλ (french: cache-col) the blue scarfs

Food and restaurants

τα σταφύλια

το κρέας

ο ελληνικός καφές

η σαλάτα

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το φαγητό/το φαΐ the food

η ταβέρνα the traditional restaurant (~"tavern")

το εστιατόριο the modern restaurant

ο καφές the coffee

το καφενείο the traditional coffee-house

η καφετέρια/το καφέ the modern coffee-house

το µενού the menu

ο σερβιτόρος the waiter

ο λογαριασµός the bill (lit. the account)

το ψωµί the bread

ο φούρνος (colloquial)/το αρτοποιείο (formal) the bakery

η σαλάτα the salad

η µπύρα the beer

το γάλα the milk

το γιαούρτι the yoghurt

το ψάρι the fish

το κρέας the meat (~"pancreas")

η ντοµάτα the tomato

η ελιά the olive

το φρούτο the fruit

το µέλι the honey (~"mellifluous")

η ζάχαρη the sugar

το αλάτι the salt

το πιάτο the dish, plate

το πρωινό (colloquial)/το πρόγευµα (formal) the breakfast

γλυκός sweet

το γλυκό (colloquial)/ το επιδόρπιο (formal) the sweet, the dessert

το κουτάλι the spoon

το µαχαίρι the knife

το πηρούνι the fork

η χαρτοπετσέτα (when not from paper, η πετσέτα)

the napkin

το ποτήρι the drinking glass

τα σταφύλια the grapes

το κώνειο the hemlock

Example:

Τον παλιό καιρό δεν αφήναν τις γυναίκες να κάθονται στα καφενεία.

A long time ago, women weren't supposed to sit in traditional coffee houses.

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The verbs τρώγω, to eat, and πίνω, to drink, are irregular.

The verb τρώ(γ)ω, to eat

Ο Αδάµ και η Εύα έφαγαν το φρούτο.

Present tense:

τρώω τρώµε

τρως τρώτε

τρώει τρώνε

Imperfect:

έτρωγα τρώγαµε

έτρωγες τρώγατε

έτρωγε έτρωγαν

Past (The aorist stem is φαγ-):

έφαγα φάγαµε

έφαγες φάγατε

έφαγε έφαγαν

Notice the έ- prefix on the past tense of all persons except first and second person plural. Example:

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Ο Αδάµ και η Εύα έφαγαν το φρούτο. Adam and Eve ate the fruit.

The verb πίνω, to drink

Ο Σωκράτης ήπιε το κώνειο.

Present tense:

πίνω πίνουµε

πίνεις πίνετε

πίνει πίνουν

Imperfect:

έπινα πίναµε

έπινες πίνατε

έπινε έπιναν

Past:

ήπια ήπιαµε

ήπιες ήπιατε

ήπιε ήπιαν

Example:

Ο Σωκράτης ήπιε το κώνειο. Socrates drank the hemlock.

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(The scientific name for hemlock is conium maculatum, which is Latin for "poison hemlock." A very popular rock band in Greece during the sixties and seventies bore the name "Socrates drank the conium.")

Dialog -Πεινώ. Πού µπορώ να φάω; -I'm hungry. Where can I eat?

-Αυτή η ταβέρνα έχει πολύ καλή κουζίνα. Πάµε εκεί.

-That tavern has very good food. Let's go there.

-Γκαρσόν, το µενού παρακαλώ. -Waiter, the menu, please. -Ξέρω ότι εδώ έχουν φρέσκα ψάρια, καλά κοτόπουλα και πολύ νόστιµο κρέας. Αλλά τί µπορούµε να πιούµε;

-I know they have fresh fish here, and good chicken and very tasty meat. But what can we drink?

-Στήν Ελλάδα όλος ο κόσµος πίνει ούζο, αλλά εµείς µποροµε να πιούµε µπίρα ή ρετσίνα.

-Everybody in Greece drinks ouzo, but we can drink beer or retsina.

-∆ηλαδή θέλετε να πείτε ότι το ούζο είναι το εθνικό τους ποτό; Και µήπως είναι το αρνάκι το εθνικό τους φαΐ;

-In other words, you're trying to tell me that ouzo is the national drink? And isn't lamb their national food?

-Βεβαίως, όπως επίσης τα σουβλάκια, ο µουσακάς και τα λοιπά.

-Of course, as well as souvlaki, moussaka, etc.

-Τότε θα δοκιµάσουµε αµέσως τα περίφηµα φαγητά τους. Καλή όρεξη.

-Then we'll taste their famous food right away. Bon apetit!

Song: Γερακίνα Γερακίνα is a very well known folk song.

Review of old vocabulary:

φέρνω (aorist φέρ-) to carry

πέφτω (aorist πέσ-) to fall

ρίχνω to throw

βγάζω (aorist βγάλ-) to take out

παίρνω to take

πιάνω to grab, here to hitch

New vocabulary:

κινώ to move

βραχιόλι bracelet

βροντώ to rumble, thunder

φωνή voice

καηµός sorrow

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καηµένος lit. "sorrowful," used in expressions meaning poor me, poor you, etc.

χρυσός golden

το κορδόνι cord, rope

Γερακίνα

Κίνησε η Γερακίνα για νερό κρύο να φέρει ντρουµπου-ντρουµπου-ντρουµπου-ντρουµ

τα βραχιόλια της βροντούν τα βραχιόλια της βροντούν ντρουµπου...

Κι έπεσε µες στο πηγάδι κι έβγαλε φωνή µεγάλη ντρουµπου...

Κι έτρεξε ο κόσµος όλος κι έτρεξα κι εγώ καηµένος. ντρουµπου...

Έριξα χρυσό κορδόνη και την έπιασα απ τη ζώνη ντρουµπου...

Γερακίνα θα σε βγάλω και γυναίκα θα σε πάρω ντρουµπου...

Translation: Yerakina moved to fetch cold water...her bracelets thunder (present). She fell into the well, and she shouted with a big voice (lit. brought a big voice out of her mouth). And everyone came running, and I came running, too, poor me. Threw down a golden rope, and hitched it to her belt. Yerakina, I'll pull you out, and take you for my wife.

The countryside, more about second-conjugation verbs

Vocabulary

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ο ταύρος

το αγρόκτηµα

τα δέντρα η ύπαιθρος the countryside ("open air", ~"ether")

το χωριό the village

η φύση the nature (~"physics")

το αγρόκτηµα the farm (~"agriculture")

ο αγρότης the farmer

το ζώο the animal (~"zoo")

το φυτό the plant

το δέντρο the tree (~"dendrite")

το δάσος the forest

ο γάïδαρος the donkey

το άλογο the horse

η αγελάδα the cow

ο ταύρος the bull (~"taurus")

η κατσίκα the goat

το πουλί the bird

το κοτόπουλο the chicken

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πετώ to fly

η µύγα the fly

η µέλισσα the bee (~"mellifluous", honeyed)

το µυρµήγκι the ant

το µονοπάτι the path, trail

στενός narrow (~"stenographer")

το στενό the mountain pass

πάω περίπατο/πάω βόλτα to go for a walk (~"peripatetic")

το βουνό the mountain

ο λόφος the hill

η κοιλάδα the valley

ο ποταµός/το ποτάµι the river (~"hippopotamus")

το ρυάκι the stream, creek

ο βράχος the rock

το έδαφος the soil

ο βορράς; βόρειος the north; northern (~"aurora borealis")

ο νότος; νότιος the south; southern

η ανατολή; ανατολικός the east; eastern (~"Anatolia")

η δύση; δυτικός the west; west

ο ήλιος the sun (~"helium," which was first detected in the sun)

η σελήνη the moon

ο ουρανός the sky (~"Uranus," the sky god)

η σκιά the shadow

το αστέρι/το άστρο the star (~"astronaut")

η Γη the Earth

Examples:

Πού είναι το µονοπάτι; Where is the path?

Το µονοπάτι είναι στενό. The trail is narrow.

το άλογο του αγρότη the farmer's horse

η κοιλάδα της σκιάς του θανάτου the valley of the shadow of death

The verb υπάρχω, to exist The verb υπάρχω, to exist, is used where we would say there is or there are in English.

Υπάρχουν αγελάδες στην ύπαιθρο.

There are cows in the countryside.

Υπάρχει κανένα πουλί στο δέντρο;

Is there any bird οn the tree? (lit. Is there no bird on the tree?)

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Σκέπτοµαι, άρα υπάρχω. I think, therefore I am.

The verb πηγαίνω, to go The common verb πηγαίνω has the aorist forms πήγα and να πάω.

Πηγαίνουµε στην ύπαιθρο. We're going to the country.

Πήγαµε στην ύπαιθρο. We went to the country.

Θέλετε να πάτε στην ύπαιθρο; Do you want to go to the country?

More about second-second-conjugation verbs

Imperfect tense

The Imperfect is the Past Continuous in English.

Both first order verbs like αγαπώ (to love) and second order verbs like καλώ (to call), use the suffix -ούσ-:

καλούσα καλούσαµε

καλούσες καλούσατε

καλούσε καλούσαν

Examples:

Η µητέρα καλούσε το παιδί της. The mother was calling her child.

Το παιδί αγαπούσε τη µητέρα του. The child loved his mother.

Aorist

The aorist is the simple past in English.

Verbs use one of the suffixes -ασ-, -ησ, -εσ-. The accent also goes to the previous syllable:

The verb αγαπώ (to love) becomes αγάπησα

αγάπησα αγαπήσαµε

αγάπησες αγαπήσατε

αγάπησε αγάπησαν

The verb διψώ (to go thirsty) becomes δίψασα

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δίψασα διψάσαµε

δίψασες διψάσατε

δίψασε δίψασαν

The verb καλώ (to call, to invite) becomes κάλεσα

κάλεσα καλέσαµε

κάλεσες καλέσατε

κάλεσε κάλεσαν

Examples:

Η µητέρα κάλεσε το παιδί της. The mother called her child.

Τα παιδιά δίψασαν. The children went thirsty.

Subjunctive

The subjunctive has two forms according to the aspect being perfective or imperfective:

Perfective Aspect:

να καλέσω να καλέσουµε

να καλέσεις να καλέσετε

να καλέσει να καλέσουν

The perfective aspect uses the aorist stem, which can be one of -ησ-,-ασ-,-εσ.

Imperfective Aspect:

να καλώ να καλούµε

να καλείς να καλείτε

να καλεί να καλούν

The imperfective subjunctive is conjugated exactly like the present tense (with the addition of να)

Examples:

Θέλω να σε καλέσω στα γενέθλιά µου φέτος

I want to invite you to my birthday (party) this year. (perfective)

Πρέπει να µε καλείς κάθε χρόνο, όχι µόνο φέτος

You should invite me every year, not only this year. (imperfective)

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The seasons το καλοκαίρι the summer

το φθινόπωρο the fall; the autumn

ο χειµώνας the winter

η άνοιξη the spring

The weather Vocabulary:

ο καιρός the weather

η λιακάδα the sunshine

το σύννεφο the cloud

η βροχή the rain

η µπόρα the (rain) shower

η καταιγίδα the storm

η βροντή the thunder

η αστραπή the lightning (from cloud to cloud)

ο κεραυνός the lightning (if reaching the ground)

βρέχω to moisten

βρέχει it rains

το χιόνι the snow

χιονίζει it snows

το χιονόνερο the sleet

η οµίχλη the fog

η καταχνιά the mist

η πάχνη the dew

το χαλάζι the hail

ο παγετός the frost

Examples:

Θέλετε να πάµε για περίπατο στο µονοπάτι για το χωριό; ∆ε βρέχει.

Do you want to go for a walk on the path to the village? It isn't raining.

Ηταν καλοκαίρι, αλλά έβρεχε. It was summer, but it was raining.

Κάνει ζέστη σήµερα. It's hot today.

Κάνει κρύο στο βουνό. It's cold on the mountain.

∆ε θέλουµε νά πάµε µε τα πόδια, γιατί βρέχει.

We don't want to go on foot, because it's raining.

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Ο ∆ίας είναι ο γιος του Κρόνου και της Ρέας. Είναι θεός του ουρανού και της βροντής.[1]

Zeus is the son of Kronos and Rhea. He is the god of the sky and the thunder.

Future tenses The future tense is formed by adding the word θα before the verb:

Θα κάνει ζέστη αύριο. It will be hot tomorrow.

Combining θα with the present tense gives the future continuous (εξακολουθητικός µέλλοντας, exakolouthitikos melondas, "future imperfect"), which implies that the action will continue, perhaps indefinitely:

Θα καθαρίζω το σπίτι. I will be cleaning the house.

If we instead use the aorist stem, we have the future simple (στιγµιαίος µέλλοντας, stigmieos melondas, "future instantaneous"), which implies that the action will only happen once:

Θα καθαρίσω το σπίτι. I will clean the house (at a certain time).

Dialog -Χαίρετε, κυρία. -Hello, ma'am.

-Χαίρετε, κύριε. -Hello, sir.

-Αυτό το αγρόκτηµα, είναι δικό σας; -This farm, is it yours?

-Ναι. Πού πάτε γιά περίπατο; -Yes. Where are you going on your walk?

-Στο χωριό. Η ύπαιθρος είναι πολύ όµορφη. Πόσες αγελάδες έχετε;

-To the village. The country is very beautiful. How many cows do you have?

-∆ώδεκα, και έναν ταύρο. -Twelve, and a bull.

Song: Τα κλεφτόπουλα

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A scene from the Greek War of Independence.

This song dates to the Greek War of Independence, 1821-1827.

κλέφτης thief, guerrilla, resistance fighter

κλεφτόπουλο young resistance fighter

τουφέκι, ντουφέκι long gun (rifle, musket, or shot gun)

Μάνα µου τα, µάνα µου τα κλεφτόπουλα τρώνε και τραγουδάνε, άιντε πίνουν και γλεντάνε

Μα ένα µικρό, µα ένα µικρό κλεφτόπουλο δεν τρώει, δεν τραγουδάει, βάι δεν πίνει, δεν γλεντάει

Μόν' τ' άρµαντα, µόν' τ' άρµαντά του κοίταζε Του ντουφεκιού του λέει: «Γεια σου Κίτσο µου λεβέντη!»

Ντουφέκι µου, ντουφέκι µου περήφανο σπαθί ξεγυµνωµένο, µια χαρά είσαι το καηµένο

Πολλές φορές, πολλές φορές µε γλύτωσες απ' του εχθρού τα χέρια µε κυνήγαν νύχτα µέρα

Και τώρα µε, και τώρα µε λησµόνησες σαν καλαµιά στον κάµπο. ∆εν µου λέεις τι να κάνω

(Note: The words above are transcribed from the recording. In the second-to-last verse, the traditional words are actually "απ' του εχθρού τα χέρια κι απ' των Τούρκων τα µαχαίρια.")

Translation:

Mother, mother, the warriors, they eat and sing, they drink and make merry.

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But one young warrior, he doesn't eat, he doesn't sing, doesn't drink or make merry. He only looks at his weapons, and says to his musket, "Hello Kitso, my brave man!" My musket, my proud musket, my sword unsheathed, a joy you are, my dear. Many times, many times you saved me from the hands of my enemies who chased me day and night. And now, and now you forget me like a reed in the field. You don't tell me what to do.

Passive voice, perfect tenses, the verbs βλέπω and λέω, numbers to 1000

Passive voice Certain verbs have both active and passive forms:

Παντρεύω. I marry (i.e. perform a wedding in the capacity of a priest, mayor and/or best man/woman).

Παντρεύοµαι. I am getting married.

Just as the first-person singular present-tense form, παντρεύω, is used to refer to the active verb in general, so the first-person singular present tense of the passive voice, παντρεύοµαι, refers to the passive form in general.

Example:

Το κρασί µε ζαλίζει. The wine makes me dizzy.

Ζαλίζοµαι. I get dizzy.

Sometimes the passive voice is used to express the idea of doing something to oneself, or to describe someone's own physical or mental state:

Κρύβω τα λεφτά. I hide the money.

Κρύβοµαι. I hide (myself)

Η µητέρα χτενίζει το παιδί. The mother combs the child's hair.

Η µητέρα χτενίζεται. The mother combs her (own) hair.

Χτενίζω τα µαλλιά µου to comb one's own hair (a lyrical construction)

Πού χτενίζεσαι; Where do you get your hair done?

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In many cases, the passive form has a meaning that can't be guessed simply by taking the same concept and making the subject of the verb the recipient of the action. The following are some passive verbs:

βρίσκοµαι be, sit, stand

γυµνάζοµαι drill, train (sports)

διαλύνοµαι break apart

ετοιµάζοµαι get ready

γεννιέµαι be born

Some verbs only exist in the passive voice, for example:

έρχοµαι arrive, come

φαίνοµαι appear (~"phenomenon")

χρειάζοµαι need, require

θυµάµαι remember (~"thymus")

φοβάµαι be afraid (~"phobia")

αισθάνοµαι feel (~"aesthetics")

κοιµάµαι sleep

αποκοιµάµαι fall asleep

σκέπτοµαι to reflect, to ponder something (~"skeptic")

συλλογιέµαι to think (~"syllogism")

κάθοµαι sit

γίνοµαι become

δέχοµαι receive, accept

The present tense of the passive is conjugated like this:

κοιµάµαι κοιµόµαστε

κοιµάσαι κοιµάστε

κοιµάται κοιµούνται

Example:

Η µητέρα αποκοιµίζει το µωρό. The mother puts the baby to sleep.

Το µωρό αποκοιµάται. The baby falls asleep.

Το µωρό και η µητέρα αποκοιµούνται. The baby and the mother fall asleep.

Perfect and Pluperfect As in English, the perfect tenses are formed using the helping verb to have.

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The Perfect tense (same as Present Perfect in English) is called Παρακείµενος (parakeimenos, "being close") is formed by the verb έχω in present tense followed by the third person singular of the past subjunctive of the verb. The past subjunctive is formed by the aorist stem plus the suffix -ει.

Έχω γραψει. I have written.

Έχουµε γραψει. We have written.

The Pluperfect tense (same as Past Perfect in English) is called Υπερσυντέλικος (hypersyndelikos, "hyper-perfect") is formed by the verb έχω in past tense followed by the third person singular of the past subjunctive of the verb

Είχα γραψει. I had written.

Είχαµε γραψει. We had written.

Είχε αποχαιρετήσει τη γυναικα του. He had said goodbye to his wife.

Future Perfect Future Perfect is another future tense, which is formed with the word θα preceding the Perfect tense and signifies that in a moment in the future, an action will be a thing of the past. Its Greek name is συντελεσµένος µέλλοντας (syndelesmenos melondas) and it is equivalent to the Future Perfect in English.

Θα έχω γράψει. I will have written.

Note that in Greek there is no equivalent to the Future Perfect Continuous tense. Both meanings are expressed with Future Perfect and usually the actual nuance is derived from the neighboring words.

Θα έχω γράψει. I will have written.

Θα έχω γράψει. I will have been writing.

Due to the lack of Future Perfect Continuous, very often the phrase is changed to Future Continuous.

No Greek equivalent. I will have been waiting for two hours when the plane arrives.

The phrase changes to

Θα περιµένω δύο ώρες µέχρι να έρθει το αεροπλάνο.

I will be waiting for two hours until the plane arrives.

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The irregular verb βλέπω, to see The present tense is regular:

βλέπω βλέπουµε

βλέπεις βλέπετε

βλέπει βλέπουν

The aorist uses a stem that is related to the English word "kaleidoscope:"

είδα είδαµε

είδες είδατε

είδε είδαν

The irregular verb λέω, to say Present:

λέω λέµε

λες λέτε

λέει λένε

Aorist past:

είπα είπαµε

είπες είπατε

είπε είπαν

Numbers to 1000 εκατό 100

διακόσια 200

τριακόσια 300

τετρακόσια 400

πεντακόσια 500

εξακόσια 600

επτακόσια (coll. εφτακόσια) 700

οκτακόσια (coll. οχτακόσια) 800

εννιακόσια 900

χίλια 1000

δυο χιλιάδες 2000

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The battle of Thermopylae/Η µάχη των Θερµοπυλών

Η µάχη των Θερµοπυλών

Vocabulary

η µάχη the battle

ο πόλεµος the war (~"polemic")

πολεµώ to fight

η ειρήνη the peace (~"Irene," "irenic")

προ Χριστού, π.Χ. before Christ

βάλλω to shoot (in ancient Greek, 'to throw')

εισβάλλω to invade (from εις + βάλλω, 'throw in')

η Περσία Persia

ο Πέρσης the Persian

η Σπάρτη Sparta

ο Σπαρτιάτης the Spartan

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ο στρατός the army (~"strategy")

το βέλος the arrow

το τόξο the bow

το σπαθί the sword

κρύβω hide

εναντίον (+genitive) against

ενάντια σε (+accusative)

κρατώ γερά stand fast (lit. "hold strong")

επιβραδύνω to slow down (επί+βραδύς)

Reading

Much of the following reading was adapted from the Wikipedia article Μάχη των Θερµοπυλών (Battle of Thermopylae).

Το 484 π.Χ., ο βασιλιάς ∆αρείος της Περσίας εισέβαλε στην Ελλάδα. Ενάντια σε 200.000 Πέρσες, υπήρχαν 4.000 Έλληνες υπό το βασιλιά Λεωνίδα της Σπάρτης.

In 484 B.C., King Darius of Persia invaded Greece. Against 200,000 Persians, there were 4,000 Greeks under King Leonidas of Sparta.

Ο Λεωνίδας αποχαιρετούσε τη γυναίκα του, τη Γοργώ. Η Γοργώ τον ρώτησε τι πρέπει να κάνει τώρα που αυτός φεύγει. Της απάντησε ότι πρέπει να βρει ένα καλό άνδρα να συνεχίσει τη ζωή της.

Leonidas was saying farewell to his wife, Gorgo. Gorgo asked him what she should do now that he was leaving. He replied that she should find a good man and continue her life.

Στο Στενό των Θερµοπυλών οι Έλληνες περίµεναν τους Πέρσες. Οι Πέρσες τους είδαν: ∆εν καταλάβαιναν γιατί χτενίζαν τα µαλλιά τους και γυµνάζονταν. Ήταν γιατί περίµεναν το θάνατο.

At the Pass of Thermopylae, the Greeks were waiting for the Persians. The Persians saw them: They couldn't understand why they were combing their hair and taking exercise. It was because they were expecting death.

∆εν υπήρχε φόβος. Έκαναν το µοναδικό πράγµα που ήξεραν. Να πολεµάνε. Είχε γίνει η ζωή τους. Οταν κάποιος είπε πως είχε δεί τον περσικό στρατό και τα βέλη τους έκρυβαν τον ήλιο, ένας Σπαρτιάτης είπε: Ωραία, τότε θα πολεµήσουµε υπό σκιά.

There was no fear. They were doing the only thing they knew. To fight. It had become their life. When someone said he had seen the Persian army and their arrows were hiding the sun, a Spartan said: Nice, then we will fight in the shade.

Οι Έλληνες κράτησαν για πεντε µέρες. Όταν τα σπαθιά τους διαλύθηκαν, πολέµησαν µε τα χέρια και τα δόντια. Η µάχη των Θερµοπυλών επιβράδυνε τους Πέρσες, και η Ελλάδα µπόρεσε να ετοιµαστεί για να πολεµήσει. Το 479 π.Χ., οι Πέρσες έφυγαν από την Ελλάδα.

The Greeks held out for five days. When their swords broke, they fought with their hands and teeth. The battle of Thermopylae slowed down the Persians, and Greece was able to get ready to fight. In 479 B.C., the Persians retreated from Greece.

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Passive imperfect, comparisons, expressions of time

Passive imperfect tense Review of the present passive; εµπιστεύοµαι, to trust:

εµπιστεύοµαι εµπιστευόµαστε

εµπιστεύεσαι εµπιστεύεστε εµπιστεύεται εµπιστεύονται

The passive imperfect, like the active imperfect, indicates an action in the past that was ongoing:

εµπιστευόµουν εµπιστευόµασταν

εµπιστευόσουν εµπιστευόσασταν

εµπιστευόταν εµπιστεύονταν

Comparisons Comparisons of adjectives like -er and -est in English are expressed using the endings -τερος and -τατος:

πλούσιος rich

πλουσιότερος richer

ο πλουσιότατος the richest

ένας πλούσιος πολιτικός a rich politician

ένας πλουσιότερος πολιτικός a richer politician

ο πλουσιότατος πολιτικός the richest politician

η πλουσιότατη βασίλισσα the richest queen

Note the shift in the accent toward the end of the word. The common word µεγάλος, big, has the irregular form µεγαλύτερος.

The word πιο can be used instead:

Αυτός ο πολιτικός είναι πιο πλούσιος. That politician is richer.

Αυτός ο πολιτικός είναι ο πιο πλούσιος. That politician is the richest.

Vocabulary:

πολύ much

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πολλοί many

πόσος how much

πόσοι how many

περισσότερος more

ελάχιστος least

λίγο a little

λίγοι a few

τόσο ... όσο ... as ... as ...

κοντά almost (used with numbers and amounts)

αρκετά enough

πάρα πολύ very much

Expressions of time

Reading

Ένας γέρος

Στου καφενείου του βοερού το µέσα µέρος σκυµένος στο τραπέζι κάθετ' ένας γέρος· µε µίαν εφηµερίδα εµπρός του, χωρίς συντροφιά.

Και µες στων άθλιων γηρατειών την καταφρόνεια σκέπτεται πόσο λίγο χάρηκε τα χρόνια που είχε και δύναµη, και λόγο, κι οµορφιά.

Ξέρει πως γέρασε πολύ· το νοιώθει, το κοιτάζει. Κ' εν τούτοις ο καιρός που ήταν νέος µοιάζει σαν χθες. Τι διάστηµα µικρό, τι διάστηµα µικρό.

Και συλλογιέται η Φρόνηση πώς τον εγέλα· και πώς την εµπιστευόταν πάντα -- τι τρέλλα! -- την ψεύτρα που έλεγε· «Αύριο. Έχεις πολύ καιρό».

Θυµάται ορµές που βάσταγε· και πόση χαρά θυσίαζε. Την άµυαλή του γνώση καθ' ευκαιρία χαµένη τώρα την εµπαίζει.

....Μα απ' το πολύ να σκέπτεται και να θυµάται ο γέρος εζαλίστηκε. Κι αποκοιµάται στο καφενείο ακουµπισµένος στο τραπέζι.

Κωνσταντίνος Π. Καβάφης (1897)

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An old man is sitting, bent over the table in the back of the noisy coffeehouse, a newspaper in front of him, companionless.

And in the despair of miserable old age, he thinks how little he enjoyed the years when he was strong and beautiful, and had a say in things.

He knows he's very old; he can feel it and see it. Still the time when he was young seems like yesterday. What a short time, what a short time.

And he thinks what a trick Prudence has played on him; how he trusted her -- what folly! -- and how she lied when she said, "Tomorrow. There's always tomorrow."

He remembers the passions he controlled, and the joys he passed by. Now those lost opportunities mock his foolish wisdom.

But all that thinking and remembering makes him dizzy, and he falls asleep in the coffeehouse, bent over the table.