Μάθημα πέντε (Mathima Pende)
Lesson 5
In a previous lesson we dealt with the category of verbs which have their accent on the last but one syllable and conjugate like έχω (eho). In this lesson we shall deal with those belonging to the second category, with the accent on the last syllable, which conjugate like αγαπώ (agapo) (I love).
Remember that in Greek the present tense is used to describe both actions taking place now as well as those which are repeated, e.g. I am drinking coffee now (continuous), I drink coffee every day (simple). The same tense expresses both actions in Greek, i.e. πίνω καφέ τώρα (pino kafe tora), πίνω καφέ κάθε πρωί (pino kafe kathe proi).
Singular
Εγώ αγαπώ (ego agapo) I love
Εσύ αγαπάς (esi agapas) You love
Αυτός/αυτή/αυτό αγαπά (aftos/afti/afto agapa) He/she/it loves
Plural
Εμείς αγαπούμε (emis agapume) We love
Εσείς αγαπάτε (esis agapate) You love
Αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά αγαπούν (afti/aftes/afta agapun) They love
The verb ζητώ (zito) (I ask for, I seek) conjugates like αγαπώ (agapo).
Some of the verbs ending in -ώ like αγαπώ conjugate with different endings. One example is μπορώ (boro) (I can).
Singular
Εγώ μπορώ (ego boro) I can
Εσύ μπορείς (esi boris) You can
Αυτός/αυτή/αυτό μπορεί (aftos/afti/afto bori) He/she/it can
Plural
Εμείς μπορούμε (emis borume) We can
Εσείς μπορείτε (esis borite) You can
Αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά μπορούν (afti/aftes/afta borun) They can
Παρακαλώ (parakalo) (I ask, I beg), is another verb that conjugates like μπορώ (boro). It can also be used as the Greek equivalent of "please", or "it's a pleasure" in response to "thank you".
Unfortunately there is no easy way of distinguishing which of the verbs belonging to this category, ending in -ώ, conjugate like αγαπώ and which like μπορώ. You will gradually learn to remember them.
The polite plural
When we speak to people whom we don't know very well or who are much older than us we use the plural out of respect and politeness. For example, when you want to ask someone you don't know well for something "Do you have...?" you will say "Έχετε...; (ehete.... ?)" instead of saying "Έχεις...; (ehis.... ?)". As I said this is used when talking to people you barely know or meet for the first time or to people much older than you. It would be extreme to address an aunt or an uncle (and generally relatives, unless you don't know them well) in the polite plural but it would be natural to address like that the parents of a friend for example.
You may even be addressed in the third person, which is a stage more polite. For example, when you ring the bell of a house, you may be asked from inside:
Ποιός είναι; (pios ine?) (Who is it?, instead of Ποιός είσαι; (pios ise?), Who are you?)
Look at this dialogue for an example of the polite plural:
-Πώς είστε σήμερα; (pos iste simera?) (How are you today?)
-Πολύ καλά, ευχαριστώ. Κι εσείς; (Poli kala, efxaristo. Ki esis?) (Very well, thank you. And you?)
-Έτσι κι έτσι. (etsi ki etsi) (So and so.)
This last phrase is worth remembering. It is widely used in a variety of situations which call for a lukewarm response, like when you are bored... (lol).
Past tenses
When describing events which took place in the past, one of the two past tenses is usually appropriate: these are the imperfect and the past tenses. In this lesson we shall deal with the imperfect tense.
Imperfect tense (Παρατατικός) (paratatikos)
This is used to describe a continuous action in the past or one that occured repeatedly.
Imperfect of έχω (eho) (I have)
Present Imperfect
έχω (exo) είχα (iha)
έχεις (ehis) είχες (ihes)
έχει (ehi) είχε (ixe)
έχουμε (ehume) είχαμε (ihame)
έχετε (ehete) είχατε (ihate)
έχουν (ehun) είχαν (ihan)
Verbs like γράφω (grafo), which have the accent in the penultimate syllable, change in three ways: endings, prefix and accent.
Imperfect
έ-γραφ-α (e-graf-a)
έ-γραφ-ες (eg-raf-es)
έ-γραφ-ε (e-graf-e)
(ε)-γράφ-αμε ([e]-graf-ame)
(ε)-γράφ-ατε ([e]-graf-ate)
έ-γραφ-αν (e-graf-an)
It is advisable to learn the new endings. Note the tendency, as in γράφω-έγραφα, for verbs with less than three syllables to acquire an extra syllable by adding the letter ε. In both the past tenses this is necessary in order to enable the accent to move to the third sylable from the end. Compare the following two-syllable verbs:
Present Imperfect
σπρώχν-ω (sprohn-o) (I push) έ-σπρωχν-α (e-sprohn-a)
φεύγ-ω (fevg-o) (I go away, I leave) έ-φευγ-α (e-fag-a)
κόβ-ω (kov-o) (I cut) έ-κοβ-α (e-kov-a)
With the following 3-syllable ones:
διαβάζ-ω (diavaz-o) (I read) διάβαζ-α (diavaz-a)
φροντίζ-ω (frontiz-o) (I take care of, I look after) φρόντιζ-α (frontiz-a)
αλλάζ-ω (allaz-o) (I change) άλλαζ-α (allaz-a)
κοιτάζ-ω (kitaz-o) (I look) κοίταζ-α (kitaz-a)
θυμών-ω (thimon-o) (I get angry) θύμων-α (thimon-a)
Verbs which have the accent on the last syllable like αγαπώ (agapo) form the imperfect somewhat differently.
αγαπ-ούσα (agap-usa)
αγαπ-ούσες (agap-uses)
αγαπ-ούσε (agap-use)
αγαπ-ούσαμε (agap-usame)
αγαπ-ούσατε (agap-usate)
αγαπ-ούσαν (agap-usan)
There is no lengthening of the verb through addition of a prefix and no movement of the accent. The following are some more examples:
προχωρ-ώ (prohor-o) (I proceed, I walk) προχωρ-ούσα (prohor-usa)
προτιμ-ώ (protim-o) (I prefer) προτιμ-ούσα (protim-usa)
ζητ-ώ (zit-o) (I seek, I ask) ζητούσ-α (zitus-a)
πουλ-ώ (pul-o) (I sell) πουλ-ούσα (pul-usa)
Not all verbs conform with these rules. Some are irregular and must be learnt. Some of the most commonly used verbs will be given in later chapters.
The irregular verb είμαι (ime)
The most important irregular verb is είμαι. Strictly speaking it does not belong in this section of the lessons because it has the passive voice ending, which will be dealt with later. However, because of the frequency with which it is used, it is necessary to deal with it at this point. Like έχω it has only one past tense, the imperfect, which is used as imperfect and past and is as follows:
Present Imperfect
είμαι (ime) ήμουν (imun)
είσαι (ise) ήσουν (isun)
είναι (ine) ήταν (itan)
είμαστε (imaste) ήμαστε (imaste)
είσαστε/είστε (isaste/iste) ήσαστε (isaste)
είναι (ine) ήταν (itan)
Example:
Ήμουν στο σπίτι (imun sto spiti). I was at home.
Punctuation
Punctuation marks are the same in Greek as in English, with a few exceptions.
The most important exception is the question mark, which is exactly the same as the English semicolon (;). Example:
Πώς είσαι; (pos ise?) How are you?
The Greek semicolon is the same as the full stop, but placed higher up beside the end of a phrase. Unfortunately the Greek keyboard layout doesn't have a symbol for the greek semicolon... It looks like ; without the down part or like a : without the down dot.
The quotation marks in Greek look like this <<blah blah blah>>. Again there is no symbol for them in the keyboard so I used the <> symbols... in reality the quotation marks are smaller.
Questions
There are two kinds of questions: those that begin with a question word and those that do not. The following are some question words:
Πού; (pu?) Where?
Πόσο; (poso?) How much?
Πώς; (pos?) How?
Ποιός, ποιά, ποιό; (pios,pia,pio?) Who (masculine), who (feminine), which?
Τι; (ti?) What?
No alteration in the word order is required in a question, although there is a difference in intonation similar to that in English.
Θέλεις ένα παγωτό. (thelis ena pagoto) You want an ice-cream. (It's a statement)
Θέλεις ένα παγωτό; (thelis ena pagoto?) Do you want an ice-cream? (It's a question)
Τι θέλεις; (ti thelis?) What do you want?
Πώς είσαι; (pos ise?) How are you?
Πού πας; (pu pas?) Where are you going?
Ποιόν/Ποιά θέλεις; (pion/pia thelis?) Who do you want?
Of the question words, πώς and πού are accented (remember that usually one-syllable words are not accented) if used in a question, to distinguish them from their use as relative pronouns. (The latter will be dealt with later.) The following two examples will illustrate briefly their different uses:
Πού είναι το δωμάτιο; Pu ine to domatio?) Where is the room?
Το αγόρι που είναι στο δωμάτιο. (to adori pu ine sto domatio) The boy who is in the room.
Here are a few more useful questions:
Πόσο κάνει; (poso kani?) How much is it? (For asking about a price)
Πόσα θέλεις; (posa thelis?) How many do you want?
Πόσο θέλεις; (poso thelis?) How much do you want?
Πού είναι; (pu ine?) Where is he/she/it?
