Collins Greek Phrasebook and Dictionary Gem Edition by Collins Dictionaries

Author:Collins Dictionaries
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2016-02-16T16:00:00+00:00

their τους toos

my key το κλειδί μου (to kleethee moo)

your room το δωμάτιό σας (to dhomateeo sas)

Verbs

A verb is a word used to describe an action (e.g. to sing), a state (e.g. to become) or an occurrence (e.g. to happen). Unlike verbs in English, Greek verbs have a different ending depending on the person (I, you, they, etc.) and form (singular, plural). The most essential verbs in Greek are the verbs είμαι ‘I am’ and έχω ‘I have’.

to be

είμαι I am eeme

είσαι you are eese

είναι he/she/it is eene

είμαστε we are eemaste

είστε you are eeste*

είναι they are eene

* This form is also used when addressing someone you do not know very well; it is generally referred to as the polite plural (like the French ‘vous’).

Note: While in English it is necessary to use the personal pronoun, i.e. we, you, etc., in order to distinguish between ‘we are’, ‘you are’, etc., in Greek this function is carried out by the different endings of the verb itself. Thus, in Greek, ‘we are’ and ‘they are’ can be simply είμαστε (eemaste), είναι (eene).

to have

έχω I have ekho

έχεις you have ekhees

έχει he/she/it has ekhee

έχουμε we have ekhoome

έχετε you have ekhete

έχουν they have ekhoon

Note: As above, ‘I have’ can be expressed in Greek with simply the verb έχω; each ending is particular to a specific person.

Verbs in Greek, in the active voice, end in -ω (o) or -ώ (o). This is the ending with which they generally appear in dictionaries. Note that in everyday speech a more usual ending for -ώ (o) is -άω (ao). If a verb does not have an active voice form, in a dictionary it will appear with the ending -μαι (-me), e.g.

λυπάμαι (leepame) to be sad or sorry

θυμάμαι (theemame) to remember

In the present tense conjugation, the verb αγαπώ (aghapo) ‘to love’ has typical endings for verbs ending in -ώ (-o), while those ending in -ω (-o) follow the pattern of έχω (ekho) above.

αγαπώ/άω (aghapo/ao) I love

αγαπάς (aghapas) you love

αγαπά (aghapa) he/she/it loves

αγαπούμε (aghapoome) we love

αγαπάτε (aghapate) you love

αγαπούν (aghapoon) they love

Negative

In order to make a sentence negative, you just add δεν (dhen) so that it immediately precedes the verb, e.g.:

I don’t know δεν ξέρω

dhen ksero

I have no… δεν έχω…

dhen ekho

Future

Similar to the technique of negating a sentence, the future tense is made by adding θα (tha) immediately before the verb, e.g.:

θα πάω tha pao I shall go

δε θα πάω dhe tha pao I shall not go

Forms of address

In Greek, there are two ways of addressing people, depending on their age, social or professional status, and how formal or informal the relationship is. For example, an older person is likely to address a much younger person in the singular (informal) form but the younger person would respond using the plural (formal) unless the two are very well acquainted. Two friends will speak to each other using the informal singular:

Tι κάνεις; (tee kanees?) How are you?

Kαλά, εσύ; (kala esee?) Fine, and you?

But two acquaintances will address each other in a more formal way,

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