Greek grammar
Encyclopedia
The grammar of Standard Modern Greek, as spoken in present-day Greece
and Cyprus
, is basically that of Demotic Greek, but it has also assimilated certain elements of Katharevousa
, the archaic, learned variety of Greek imitating Classical Greek
forms, which used to be the official language of Greece through much of the 19th and 20th centuries. Modern Greek grammar has preserved many features of Ancient Greek
, but has also undergone changes in a similar direction as many other modern Indo-European languages
, from more synthetic
to more analytic structures.
, adjectives precede the noun (for example, το μεγάλο σπίτι, [to meˈɣalo ˈspiti], 'the big house'), while possessors follow it (for example, το σπίτι μου, [to ˈspiti mu], 'my house'). The opposite order is possible as a marked
alternative in both cases. Greek is a pro-drop language
, i.e. subject
s are typically not overtly expressed whenever they are inferable from context. Whereas the word order of the major elements within the clause is fairly free, certain grammatical elements attach to the verb as clitic
s and form a rigidly ordered group together with it. This applies particularly to unstressed object pronouns, negation particle
s, the tense particle θα [θa], and the subjunctive particle να [na]. Likewise, possessive pronouns are enclitic to the nouns they modify.
inflectional categories is somewhat greater, and several new analytic constructions have evolved instead.
. Among these characteristics are:
, namely imperfective and perfective, and two tenses
, namely past and non-past (or present). The aspects are expressed by two separate verb stems, while the tenses are marked mainly by different sets of endings. Of the four possible combinations, only three can be used in indicative function: the present (i.e. imperfective non-past), the imperfect (i.e. imperfective past) and the aorist (i.e. perfective past). All four combinations can be used in subjunctive function, where they are typically preceded by the particle να or by one of a set of subordinating conjunctions. There are also two imperatives
, one for each aspect.
In addition to these basic forms, Greek also has several periphrastic verb constructions. There is a perfect, which is expressed by an inflected form of the auxiliary verb
έχω ('have') and an invariant verb form derived from the perfective stem. This occurs both as a past perfect (pluperfect) and as a present perfect.
In addition, all the basic forms can be combined with the future
particle θα (historically derived from the verb θέλω, 'want'). Combined with the non-past forms, this creates an imperfective and a perfective future. Combined with the imperfective past it is used as a conditional
, and with the perfective past as an inferential
.
Modern Greek verbs additionally have three non-finite
forms. There is a form traditionally called "απαρέμφατο" (i.e. 'infinitive', literally the 'invariant form'), which is historically derived from the perfective (aorist) infinitive, but has today lost all syntactical functions typically associated with that category. It is used only to form the periphrastic perfect and pluperfect, and is always formally identical to the 3rd person singular of the perfective non-past. There is also a passive participle, typically ending in -menos (-meni, -meno), which is inflected as a regular adjective. Its use is either as a canonical adjective, or as a part of a second, alternative perfect periphrasis with transitive verbs. Finally, there is another invariant form, formed from the present tense and typically ending in -ontas, which is variably called either a participle or a gerund by modern authors. It is historically derived from an old present participle, and its sole use today is to form non-finite adjunct adverbial clauses of time or manner, roughly corresponding to an -ing participle in English.
The tables below exemplify the range of forms with those of one large inflectional class of verbs, the 1st Conjugation.
† Alternative endings: οδήγει, οδηγείτε. Some verbs use only these types and especially the plural.
, shows some variation and irregularity between verb classes. In regular (demotic) verbs in standard modern Greek, the prefix is used depending on a stress rule, which specifies that each past tense verb form has its stress on the third syllable from the last (the antepenultimate); the prefix is only inserted whenever the verb would otherwise have fewer than three syllables. In these verbs, the augment always appears as e-. A number of frequent verbs have irregular forms involving other vowels, mostly η- (i-), for example, θέλω > ήθελα ('want'). In addition, verbs from the learned tradition partly preserve more complex patterns inherited from ancient Greek. In learned compound verbs with adverbial prefixes such as περι- (peri-) or υπο- (ipo-), the augment is inserted between the prefix and the verb stem (for example, περι-γράφω > περι-έ-γραψα ('describe'). Where the prefix itself ends in a vowel, the vowels in this position may be subject to further assimilation rules, such as in υπο-γράφω > υπ-έ-γραψα ('sign'). In addition, verbs whose stem begins in a vowel may also display vocalic changes instead of a syllabic augment, as in ελπίζω > ήλπιζα ('hope'). The table below presents some further examples of these patterns:
and mediopassive
. The mediopassive has several functions:
There also two other categories of verbs which historically correspond to the ancient contracted verbs.
, as they both lack the aspectual contrast. The forms of both are given below.
for two numbers
(singular
and plural
), three genders
(masculine, feminine and neuter), and four cases
(nominative, genitive, accusative and vocative). As in many other Indo-European languages, the distribution of grammatical gender across nouns is largely arbitrary and need not coincide with natural sex. Case, number and gender are marked on the noun
as well as on articles
and adjective
s modifying it. While there are four cases, there is a great degree of syncretism
between case forms within most paradigms. Only one sub-group of the masculine nouns actually has four distinct forms in the four cases.
in Modern Greek, the definite and the indefinite. They are both inflected by gender and case, and the definite article also for number. The article agrees with the noun it modifies.
The definite article is used more frequently in Greek than in English. It is used:
The indefinite article is not used in Greek as often as in English because it specifically expresses the concept of "one". It is omitted:
s are inflected by case and number. In addition each noun belongs to one of three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. Within each of the three genders, there are several sub-groups (declension classes) with different sets of inflectional endings.
Groups 2 and 3 each have subclasses of so-called anisosyllabic nouns, where the Plural is formed with the addition of a stem extension -αδ- [-að-] and -ηδ- [-ið-], respectively. Examples are for Group 2a: παππάς/παππάδες (/paˈpas/paˈpaðes/, 'priest'), and for Group 3a: μανάβης/μανάβηδες (/maˈnavis/maˈnaviðes/, 'greengrocer'). The endings following the stem extension are the same as in the other words of Groups 2 and 3.
The vast majority of adjectives take forms in -ος in the masculine (same as masculine Group 1 nouns above), -ο in the neuter (same as neuter Group 1 nouns above), and either -η, -α, or -ια in the feminine (same as feminine Group 1/2 nouns above). Again, there are some other, minor groups and sub-classes.
Adjectives agree with the noun in terms of its abstract gender, not in terms of the shapes of the actual endings, since these depend on the individual declension class of both the noun and the adjective. This means that the concrete endings occurring in any pair of noun and adjective may be quite different from each other, depending on the classes involved (e.g. η καλή μέθοδος, [i kaˈli ˈmeθoðos], 'the good method'; τα νέα λάθη, [ta ˈnea ˈlaθi], 'the new errors').
The table below shows the forms for νέος, -α, -ο ([ˈneos] 'new, young'), καλός, -η, -ο ([kaˈlos] 'good'), and γλυκός, -ιά, -ό ([ɣliˈkos] 'sweet').
Other adjective classes include the following:
for expressing comparisons. Similar to English, it can be formed in two ways, as a periphrastic form (as in English beautiful > more beautiful) and as synthetic form using grammatical suffixes, as in English large > larger) . The periphrastic comparative is formed by the particle πιο ([pço], 'more') preceding the adjective. The synthetic forms of the regular adjectives in -ος, -η and -o is created with the suffix -οτερος -οτερη and -οτερο. For those adjectives which end in -ης, -ης and -ες the corresponding suffixes are -εστερος -εστερη and -εστερο.
A superlative
is expressed by combining the comparative, in either its periphrastic or synthetic form, with a preceding definite article. (Thus, Modern Greek does not distinguish between 'the largest house' and 'the larger house'; both are το μεγαλύτερο σπίτι or το πιο μεγάλο σπίτι.)
Besides the superlative proper, sometimes called "relative superlative", there is also an "absolute superlative" or elative
, expressing the meaning 'very …' (for example, ωραιότατος 'very beautiful'). Elatives are formed with the suffixes -οτατος, -οτατη and -οτατο for the regular adjectives, and -εστατος -εστατη and -εστατο for those in -ης.
Accusative pronouns exist both in a weak and a strong form. The weak form is used as a pre-verbal clitic (for example, τον είδα, [ton ˈiða], 'I saw him'); the strong form is used elsewhere in the clause (for example, είδα αυτόν, [ˈiða afˈton], 'I saw him
The strong plural forms of the third person in the genitive and accusative (αυτών, αυτούς etc.) have optional alternative forms extended by an additional syllable [-on-] or [-un-] (αυτωνών, αυτουνούς etc.)
Besides αυτός [afˈtos] as a generic demonstrative, there are also the more specific spatial demonstrative pronouns τούτος, -η, -ο ([tuˈtos], 'this here') and εκείνος, -η, -ο ([eˈcinos], 'that there').
: από (from), για (for), με (with), μετά (after), χωρίς (without), ως (as) and σε (to, in or at). The preposition σε, when followed by a definite article, fuses with it into forms like στο (σε + το) and στη (σε + τη). While there is only a relatively small number of simple prepositions native to Demotic, the two most basic prepositions σε and από can enter into a large number of combinations with preceding adverbs to form new compound prepositions, for example, πάνω σε (on), κάτω από (underneath), πλάι σε (beside) etc.
A few prepositions that take cases other than the accusative have been borrowed into Standard Modern Greek from the learned tradition of Katharevousa
: κατά (against), υπέρ (in favor of, for), αντί (instead of). Other prepositions live on in a fossilised form in certain fixed expressions (for example, εν τω μεταξύ 'in the meantime', dative).
The preposition από (apó, 'from') is also used to express the agent in passive sentences, like English by.
in Greek include:
The word να ([na]) serves as a generic subordinator corresponding roughly to English to (+ infinitive) or that in sentences like προτιμώ να πάω ([protiˈmo na ˈpao], 'I prefer to go', literally 'I prefer that I go') or προτιμώ να πάει ο Γιάννης ([protiˈmo na ˈpai o ˈʝannis], 'I prefer that John go'). It marks the following verb as being in the subjunctive mood. Somewhat similar to the English to-infinitive its use is often associated with meanings of non-factuality, i.e. events that have not (yet) come true, that are expected, wished for etc. In this, it contrasts with ότι [ˈoti] and πως [pos], which correspond to English that when used with a meaning of factuality. The difference can be seen in the contrast between μας είπε να πάμε βόλτα ([mas ˈipe na ˈpame ˈvolta], 'he told us to go for a walk') vs. μας είπε πως πήγε βόλτα ([mas ˈipe pos ˈpiʝe ˈvolta], 'he told us that he went for a walk'). When used on its own with a following verb, να may express a wish or order, as in να πάει! ([na ˈpai], 'let him go' or 'may he go'). Unlike the other subordinating conjunctions, να is always immediately followed by the verb it governs, separated from it only by any clitics that might be attached to the verb, but not by a subject or other clause-initial material.
a distinction between two negator elements, δε(ν) dhe(n) and μη(ν) mi(n), 'not'. The negator δεν is used for simple negation in clauses with indicative mood. The negator μην is used in subjunctive contexts, either after subjunctive-inducing να or as a negative replacement for να. It is often associated with the expression of a wish for an event not to come true, as in: φοβάμαι μη βρέξει ([foˈvame mi ˈvreksi], 'I'm afraid lest it might rain'), or with a negated order or recommendation, as in: μας είπε να μην πάμε βόλτα ([mas ˈipe na min ˈpame ˈvolta], 'he told us not to go for a walk'); να μην πάει! ([na min ˈpai], 'let him not go!'). When used alone with a verb in the second person, it forms the functional equivalent to a negative imperative: μην πας! ([min pas], 'don't go!'). The imperative itself has no negative forms, something which is preserved from Ancient Greek, and the negative is formed by the types of the subjunctive. e.g. παίξε ([ˈpekse], 'play!'), μην παίξεις ([min ˈpeksis], 'don't play!').
For constituent negation, i.e. when negating not a whole clause but a specific constituent of it, Greek uses negative concord, i.e. a combination of the sentence negator (δεν/μην) with a negative-polarity item
on the constituent to be negated, as in: δεν έχω κανένα νέο ([ðen ˈexo kaˈnena ˈneo], 'I don't have any news'). These negative-polarity items, when used in a full clause with a verb, correspond to English words in any- (anything, anybody, anywhere etc.); however, they can also be used on their own when negating a standalone phrase without a verb, in which case they are translatable with English words in no- (nothing, nobody, none, nowhere etc.). This can be seen in the example dialogue:
The κανείς, καμία, κανένα is declined thus (only singular):
που ([pu], 'that', literally 'where'), as in: η γυναίκα που είδα χτες ([i ʝiˈneka pu ˈiða xtes], 'the woman that I saw yesterday'). When the relativized element is a subject, object or adverbial within the relative clause, then – as in English – it has no other overt expression within the relative clause apart from the relativizer. Some other types of relativized elements, however, such as possessors, are represented within the clause by a resumptive pronoun, as in: η γυναίκα που βρήκα την τσάντα της (/i ʝiˈneka pu ˈvrika tin ˈt͡sanda tis/, 'the woman whose handbag I found', literally 'the woman that I found her handbag').
The second, rarer and more formal, form of relative clauses employs complex inflected relative pronoun
s. They are composite elements consisting of the definite article and a following pronominal element that is inflected like an adjective: ο οποίος, η οποία, το οποίο ([o oˈpios, i oˈpia, to oˈpio] etc., literally 'the which'). Both elements are inflected for case, number and gender according to the grammatical properties of the relativized item within the relative clause, as in: η γυναίκα την οποία είδα χτες ([i ʝiˈneka tin oˈpia ˈiða xtes], 'the woman whom I saw yesterday'); η γυναίκα της οποίας βρήκα την τσάντα ([i ʝiˈneka tis oˈpias ˈvrika tin ˈt͡sanda], 'the woman whose handbag I found').
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, is basically that of Demotic Greek, but it has also assimilated certain elements of Katharevousa
Katharevousa
Katharevousa , is a form of the Greek language conceived in the early 19th century as a compromise between Ancient Greek and the Modern Greek of the time, with a vocabulary largely based on ancient forms, but a much-simplified grammar. Originally, it was widely used both for literary and official...
, the archaic, learned variety of Greek imitating Classical Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
forms, which used to be the official language of Greece through much of the 19th and 20th centuries. Modern Greek grammar has preserved many features of Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek grammar
Ancient Greek grammar is morphologically complex and preserves several features of Proto-Indo-European morphology. Nouns, adjectives, pronouns, articles, numerals and especially verbs are all highly inflected. This article is an introduction to this morphological complexity.-Diacritics:The...
, but has also undergone changes in a similar direction as many other modern Indo-European languages
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
, from more synthetic
Synthetic language
In linguistic typology, a synthetic language is a language with a high morpheme-per-word ratio, as opposed to a low morpheme-per-word ratio in what is described as an isolating language...
to more analytic structures.
Syntax
The predominant word order in Greek is SVO (subject–verb–object), but word order is quite freely variable, with VSO and other orders as frequent alternatives. Within the noun phraseNoun phrase
In grammar, a noun phrase, nominal phrase, or nominal group is a phrase based on a noun, pronoun, or other noun-like word optionally accompanied by modifiers such as adjectives....
, adjectives precede the noun (for example, το μεγάλο σπίτι, [to meˈɣalo ˈspiti], 'the big house'), while possessors follow it (for example, το σπίτι μου, [to ˈspiti mu], 'my house'). The opposite order is possible as a marked
Markedness
Markedness is a specific kind of asymmetry relationship between elements of linguistic or conceptual structure. In a marked-unmarked relation, one term of an opposition is the broader, dominant one...
alternative in both cases. Greek is a pro-drop language
Pro-drop language
A pro-drop language is a language in which certain classes of pronouns may be omitted when they are in some sense pragmatically inferable...
, i.e. subject
Subject (grammar)
The subject is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle and that is associated with phrase structure grammars; the other constituent is the predicate. According to another tradition, i.e...
s are typically not overtly expressed whenever they are inferable from context. Whereas the word order of the major elements within the clause is fairly free, certain grammatical elements attach to the verb as clitic
Clitic
In morphology and syntax, a clitic is a morpheme that is grammatically independent, but phonologically dependent on another word or phrase. It is pronounced like an affix, but works at the phrase level...
s and form a rigidly ordered group together with it. This applies particularly to unstressed object pronouns, negation particle
Grammatical particle
In grammar, a particle is a function word that does not belong to any of the inflected grammatical word classes . It is a catch-all term for a heterogeneous set of words and terms that lack a precise lexical definition...
s, the tense particle θα [θa], and the subjunctive particle να [na]. Likewise, possessive pronouns are enclitic to the nouns they modify.
Morphology
Greek is still a strongly inflectional language, although the richness of inflectional categories of Ancient Greek has been reduced over time. Nouns, adjectives and verbs are each divided into several inflectional classes (declension classes and conjugation classes), which have different sets of endings. In the nominals, the ancient inflectional system is well preserved, with the exception of the loss of one case, the dative, and the restructuring of several of the inflectional classes. In the verbal system, the loss of syntheticSynthetic language
In linguistic typology, a synthetic language is a language with a high morpheme-per-word ratio, as opposed to a low morpheme-per-word ratio in what is described as an isolating language...
inflectional categories is somewhat greater, and several new analytic constructions have evolved instead.
Characteristics of the Balkan linguistic union
Several syntactic properties of Greek are characteristics shared with several other Balkan languages, with which Greek forms the so-called Balkan linguistic unionBalkan linguistic union
The Balkan sprachbund or linguistic area is the ensemble of areal features—similarity in grammar, syntax, vocabulary and phonology—among the languages of the Balkans. Several features are found across these languages though not all need apply to every single language...
. Among these characteristics are:
- The lack of an infinitive. In Greek, verbal complementation is typically formed with the help of finite (subjunctive) verb forms, in cases where English would use an infinitive (for example, θέλω να πάω, [ˈθelo na ˈpao], literally 'I-want that I-go', i.e. 'I want to go').
- The merger of the dative and the genitive case. In Greek, indirect objects are expressed partly through genitive forms of nouns or pronouns, and partly through a periphrasis consisting of the preposition σε ([se], 'to') and the accusative.
- The use of a future construction derived from the verb 'want' (θέλει να [ˈθeli na] > θα [θa]).
- A tendency to use pre-verbal clitic object pronouns redundantly (clitic doublingClitic doublingIn linguistics, clitic doubling, or pronominal reduplication is a phenomenon by which clitic pronouns appear in verb phrases together with the full noun phrases that they refer to .Clitic doubling is found in many languages, including Albanian, Arumanian, Macedonian, Bulgarian,...
), doubling an object that is also expressed elsewhere in the clause: for example, το είδα το αυτοκίνητο ([to ˈiða to aftoˈcinito], 'I saw it, the car", literally 'It I-saw the car'). - One prominent feature of the Balkan linguistic union that Greek does not share is the use of a postposed definite article. The Greek article (like the Ancient Greek one) stands before the noun.
Verb
Greek verb morphology is structured around a basic 2-by-2 contrast of two aspectsGrammatical aspect
In linguistics, the grammatical aspect of a verb is a grammatical category that defines the temporal flow in a given action, event, or state, from the point of view of the speaker...
, namely imperfective and perfective, and two tenses
Grammatical tense
A tense is a grammatical category that locates a situation in time, to indicate when the situation takes place.Bernard Comrie, Aspect, 1976:6:...
, namely past and non-past (or present). The aspects are expressed by two separate verb stems, while the tenses are marked mainly by different sets of endings. Of the four possible combinations, only three can be used in indicative function: the present (i.e. imperfective non-past), the imperfect (i.e. imperfective past) and the aorist (i.e. perfective past). All four combinations can be used in subjunctive function, where they are typically preceded by the particle να or by one of a set of subordinating conjunctions. There are also two imperatives
Imperative mood
The imperative mood expresses commands or requests as a grammatical mood. These commands or requests urge the audience to act a certain way. It also may signal a prohibition, permission, or any other kind of exhortation.- Morphology :...
, one for each aspect.
In addition to these basic forms, Greek also has several periphrastic verb constructions. There is a perfect, which is expressed by an inflected form of the auxiliary verb
Auxiliary verb
In linguistics, an auxiliary verb is a verb that gives further semantic or syntactic information about a main or full verb. In English, the extra meaning provided by an auxiliary verb alters the basic meaning of the main verb to make it have one or more of the following functions: passive voice,...
έχω ('have') and an invariant verb form derived from the perfective stem. This occurs both as a past perfect (pluperfect) and as a present perfect.
In addition, all the basic forms can be combined with the future
Future tense
In grammar, a future tense is a verb form that marks the event described by the verb as not having happened yet, but expected to happen in the future , or to happen subsequent to some other event, whether that is past, present, or future .-Expressions of future tense:The concept of the future,...
particle θα (historically derived from the verb θέλω, 'want'). Combined with the non-past forms, this creates an imperfective and a perfective future. Combined with the imperfective past it is used as a conditional
Conditional mood
In linguistics, the conditional mood is the inflectional form of the verb used in the independent clause of a conditional sentence to refer to a hypothetical state of affairs, or an uncertain event, that is contingent on another set of circumstances...
, and with the perfective past as an inferential
Inferential mood
The inferential mood is used to report a nonwitnessed event without confirming it, but the same forms also function as admiratives in the Balkan languages in which they occur. The inferential mood is used in some languages such as Turkish to convey information about events, which were not directly...
.
Modern Greek verbs additionally have three non-finite
Non-finite verb
In linguistics, a non-finite verb is a verb form that is not limited by a subject and, more generally, is not fully inflected by categories that are marked inflectionally in language, such as tense, aspect, mood, number, gender, and person...
forms. There is a form traditionally called "απαρέμφατο" (i.e. 'infinitive', literally the 'invariant form'), which is historically derived from the perfective (aorist) infinitive, but has today lost all syntactical functions typically associated with that category. It is used only to form the periphrastic perfect and pluperfect, and is always formally identical to the 3rd person singular of the perfective non-past. There is also a passive participle, typically ending in -menos (-meni, -meno), which is inflected as a regular adjective. Its use is either as a canonical adjective, or as a part of a second, alternative perfect periphrasis with transitive verbs. Finally, there is another invariant form, formed from the present tense and typically ending in -ontas, which is variably called either a participle or a gerund by modern authors. It is historically derived from an old present participle, and its sole use today is to form non-finite adjunct adverbial clauses of time or manner, roughly corresponding to an -ing participle in English.
- Regular perfect periphrasis, with aparemphato ("invariant form"), for example:
- Έχω γράψει την επιταγή ([ˈexo ˈɣrapsi tin epitaˈʝi], 'I have written the cheque')
- Alternative perfect periphrasis, with passive participle, for example:
- Έχω την επιταγή γραμμένη ([ˈexo tin epitaˈʝi ɣraˈmeni], 'I have written the cheque')
- Adverbial clause with present participle/gerund form, for example:
- Έτρεξε στο δρόμο τραγουδώντας ([ˈetrekse sto ˈðromo traɣuˈðondas], 'he ran along the street singing')
The tables below exemplify the range of forms with those of one large inflectional class of verbs, the 1st Conjugation.
First conjugation
| Aspect | Stem | Past | Non-Past | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperfective | γραφ- | 1.Sg. 2.Sg. 3.Sg. 1.Pl. 2.Pl. 3.Pl. |
Imperfect έγραφα έγραφες έγραφε γράφαμε γράφατε έγραφαν I used to write I was writing |
Present γράφω γράφεις γράφει γράφουμε γράφετε γράφουν I write I am writing |
Imperative Impf. γράφε γράφετε write! (continually) |
| Perfective | γραψ- | 1.Sg. 2.Sg. 3.Sg. 1.Pl. 2.Pl. 3.Pl. |
Aorist έγραψα έγραψες έγραψε γράψαμε γράψατε έγραψαν I wrote |
Subjunctive Pf. γράψω γράψεις γράψει γράψουμε γράψετε γράψουν that I write |
Imperative Pf. γράψε γράψτε write! (once) |
| Perfect | 1.Sg. 2.Sg. 3.Sg. 1.Pl. 2.Pl. 3.Pl. |
Past Perfect είχα γράψει είχες γράψει είχε γράψει είχαμε γράψει είχατε γράψει είχαν γράψει I had written |
Present Perfect έχω γράψει έχεις γράψει έχει γράψει έχουμε γράψει έχετε γράψει έχουν γράψει I have written |
||
| Gerund/Part. γράφοντας writing |
| Past | Non-Past | |
|---|---|---|
| Impf. | θα έγραφα I would write |
θα γράφω I will write (continually) |
| Pf. | θα έγραψα I have probably written |
θα γράψω I will write (once) |
| Perf. | θα είχα γράψει I would have written |
θα έχω γράψει I will have written |
Second conjugation
Below are the corresponding forms of two subtypes of another class, the 2nd Conjugation. Only the basic forms are shown here; the periphrastic combinations are formed as shown above. While the person-number endings are quite regular across all verbs within each of these classes, the formation of the two basic stems for each verb displays a lot of irregularity and can follow any of a large number of idiosyncratic patterns.| μιλάω/μιλώ ('talk') | οδηγώ ('lead') | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past | Non-Past | Imper. | Past | Non-Past | Imper. | |
| Impf. | μιλούσα μιλούσες μιλούσε μιλούσαμε μιλούσατε μιλούσαν |
μιλάω/μιλώ μιλάς μιλάει/μιλά μιλάμε μιλάτε μιλάνε/μιλούν |
μίλα μιλάτε |
οδηγούσα οδηγούσες οδηγούσε οδηγούσαμε οδηγούσατε οδηγούσαν |
οδηγώ οδηγείς οδηγεί οδηγούμε οδηγείτε οδηγούν |
οδήγα† οδηγάτε† |
| Pf. | μίλησα μίλησες μίλησε μιλήσαμε μιλήσατε μίλησαν |
Subjunctive μιλήσω μιλήσεις μιλήσει μιλήσουμε μιλήσετε μιλήσουν |
μίλησε μιλήστε |
οδήγησα οδήγησες οδήγησε οδηγήσαμε οδηγήσατε οδήγησαν |
Subjunctive οδηγήσω οδηγήσεις οδηγήσει οδηγήσουμε οδηγήσετε οδηγήσουν |
οδήγησε οδηγήστε |
| έχω μιλήσει μιλώντας |
έχω οδηγήσει οδηγώντας |
Augment
The use of the past tense prefix e-, the so-called augmentAugment (linguistics)
In linguistics, the augment is a syllable added to the beginning of the word in certain Indo-European languages, most notably Greek, Armenian, and the Indo-Iranian languages such as Sanskrit, to form the past tenses.-Indo-European languages:...
, shows some variation and irregularity between verb classes. In regular (demotic) verbs in standard modern Greek, the prefix is used depending on a stress rule, which specifies that each past tense verb form has its stress on the third syllable from the last (the antepenultimate); the prefix is only inserted whenever the verb would otherwise have fewer than three syllables. In these verbs, the augment always appears as e-. A number of frequent verbs have irregular forms involving other vowels, mostly η- (i-), for example, θέλω > ήθελα ('want'). In addition, verbs from the learned tradition partly preserve more complex patterns inherited from ancient Greek. In learned compound verbs with adverbial prefixes such as περι- (peri-) or υπο- (ipo-), the augment is inserted between the prefix and the verb stem (for example, περι-γράφω > περι-έ-γραψα ('describe'). Where the prefix itself ends in a vowel, the vowels in this position may be subject to further assimilation rules, such as in υπο-γράφω > υπ-έ-γραψα ('sign'). In addition, verbs whose stem begins in a vowel may also display vocalic changes instead of a syllabic augment, as in ελπίζω > ήλπιζα ('hope'). The table below presents some further examples of these patterns:
| Type of verb | Present tense | Past tenses | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perfective | Imperfective | |||||
| Simple | γράφω | [ˈɣrafo] | έγραψα | [ˈeɣrapsa] | έγραφα | [ˈeɣrafa] |
| Composite | περιγράφω < περί + γράφω | [peɾiˈɣrafo] | περιέγραψα | [peɾiˈeɣrapsa] | περιέγραφα | [peɾiˈeɣrafa] |
| υπογράφω < υπό + γράφω | [ipoˈɣrafo] | υπέγραψα | [iˈpeɣrapsa] | υπέγραφα | [iˈpeɣrafa] | |
| διαγράφω < δια + γράφω | [ðiaˈɣrafo] | διέγραψα | [ðiˈeɣrapsa] | διέγραφα | [ðiˈeɣrafa] | |
| Initial vowel | ελπίζω | [elˈpizo] | ήλπισα | [ˈilpisa] | ήλπιζα | [ˈilpiza] |
| Composite and initial vowel | υπάρχω < υπό + άρχω | [iˈparxo] | υπήρξα | [iˈpirksa] | υπήρχα | [iˈpirxa] |
| Irregular augment | είμαι | [ˈime] | —— | —— | ήμουν | [ˈimun] |
| έχω | [ˈexo] | —— | —— | είχα | [ˈixa] | |
| θέλω | [ˈθelo] | θέλησα (no augment) | [ˈθelisa] | ήθελα | [ˈiθela] | |
| ξέρω | [ˈksero] | —— | —— | ήξερα | [ˈiksera] | |
| πίνω | [ˈpino] | ήπια | [ˈipia] | έπινα | [ˈepina] | |
Grammatical voice
Greek is one of the few modern Indo-European languages that still has a morphological contrast between two grammatical voices: activeActive voice
Active voice is a grammatical voice common in many of the world's languages. It is the unmarked voice for clauses featuring a transitive verb in nominative–accusative languages, including English and most other Indo-European languages....
and mediopassive
Mediopassive voice
The mediopassive voice is a grammatical voice which subsumes the meanings of both the middle voice and the passive voice.Languages of the Indo-European family typically have two or three voices of the three: active, middle, and passive. "Mediopassive" may be used to describe a category that covers...
. The mediopassive has several functions:
- Passive function, denoting an action that is performed on the subject by another agent (for example, σκοτώθηκε 'he was killed');
- Reflexive function, denoting an action performed by the subject on him-/herself (for example, ξυρίστηκε 'he shaved himself');
- Reciprocal function, denoting an action performed by several subjects on each other (for example, αγαπιούνται 'they love each other');
- Modal function, denoting the possibility of an action (for example, τρώγεται 'it is eatable');
- Deponential function: verbs that occur only in the mediopassive and lack a corresponding active form. They often have meanings that are rendered as active in other languages: εργάζομαι 'Ι work'; κοιμάμαι 'I sleep'; δέχομαι 'I accept'. There are also many verbs that have both an active and a mediopassive form but where the mediopassive has a special function that may be rendered with a separate verb in other languages: for example, active σηκώνω 'I raise', passive σηκώνομαι 'I get up'; active βαράω 'I strike', passive βαριέμαι 'I am bored'.
| γράφω ('write') | μιλάω ('talk') | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past | Non-Past | Imper. | Past | Non-Past | Imper. | |
| Impf. | γραφόμουν γραφόσουν γραφόταν γραφόμασταν γραφόσασταν γράφονταν |
γράφομαι γράφεσαι γράφεται γραφόμαστε γράφεστε γράφονται |
— — |
μιλιόμουν μιλιόσουν μιλιόταν μιλιόμασταν μιλιόσασταν μιλιούνταν |
μιλιέμαι μιλιέσαι μιλιέται μιλιόμαστε μιλιόσαστε μιλιούνται |
— — |
| Pf. | γράφτηκα γράφτηκες γράφτηκε γραφτήκαμε γραφτήκατε γράφτηκαν |
Subjunctive γραφτώ γραφτείς γραφτεί γραφτούμε γραφτείτε γραφτούν |
γράψου γραφτείτε |
μιλήθηκα μιλήθηκες μιλήθηκε μιληθήκαμε μιληθήκατε μιλήθηκαν |
Subjunctive μιληθώ μιληθείς μιληθεί μιληθούμε μιληθείτε μιληθούν |
μιλήσου μιληθείτε |
| έχω γραφτεί | έχω μιληθεί |
There also two other categories of verbs which historically correspond to the ancient contracted verbs.
| εγγυώμαι ('guarantee') | στερούμαι ('lack') | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past | Non-Past | Imper. | Past | Non-Past | Imper. | |
| Impf. | — — — — — — |
εγγυώμαι εγγυάσαι εγγυάται εγγυόμαστε εγγυάστε εγγυώνται |
— — |
στερούμουν στερούσουν στερούνταν and στερείτο στερούμασταν στερούσασταν στερούνταν |
στερούμαι στερείσαι στερείται στερούμαστε στερείστε στερούνται |
— — |
| Pf. | εγγυήθηκα εγγυήθηκες εγγυήθηκε εγγυηθήκαμε εγγυηθήκατε εγγυήθηκαν |
Subjunctive εγγυηθώ εγγυηθείς εγγυηθεί εγγυηθούμε εγγυηθείτε εγγυηθούν |
εγγυήσου εγγυηθείτε |
στερήθηκα στερήθηκες στερήθηκε στερηθήκαμε στερηθήκατε στερήθηκαν |
Subjunctive στερηθώ στερηθείς στερηθεί στερηθούμε στερηθείτε στερηθούν |
στερήσου στερηθείτε |
| έχω εγγυηθεί | έχω στερηθεί |
- There also more formal suffixes instead of -μασταν, -σασταν: -μαστε, -σαστε. In this case the suffixes of the first person of the plural of present and imperfect are the same.
Be and have
The verbs είμαι ('be') and έχω ('have') are irregular and defectiveDefective verb
In linguistics, a defective verb is a verb which is missing e.g. a past tense, or cannot be used in some other way that normal verbs come. Formally, it is a verb with an incomplete conjugation. Defective verbs cannot be conjugated in certain tenses, aspects, or moods.-Arabic:In Arabic, defective...
, as they both lack the aspectual contrast. The forms of both are given below.
| Present | Past | Participle |
|---|---|---|
| είμαι είσαι είναι είμαστε είστε (είσαστε) είναι |
ήμουν ήσουν ήταν ήμασταν or ήμαστε ήσασταν or ήσαστε ήταν |
όντας |
| Present | Past | Participle |
|---|---|---|
| έχω έχεις έχει έχουμε έχετε έχουν |
είχα είχες είχε είχαμε είχατε είχαν |
έχοντας |
Nouns and adjectives
The Greek nominal system displays inflectionInflection
In grammar, inflection or inflexion is the modification of a word to express different grammatical categories such as tense, grammatical mood, grammatical voice, aspect, person, number, gender and case...
for two numbers
Grammatical number
In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....
(singular
Grammatical number
In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....
and plural
Plural
In linguistics, plurality or [a] plural is a concept of quantity representing a value of more-than-one. Typically applied to nouns, a plural word or marker is used to distinguish a value other than the default quantity of a noun, which is typically one...
), three genders
Grammatical gender
Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be...
(masculine, feminine and neuter), and four cases
Grammatical case
In grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun is an inflectional form that indicates its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. For example, a pronoun may play the role of subject , of direct object , or of possessor...
(nominative, genitive, accusative and vocative). As in many other Indo-European languages, the distribution of grammatical gender across nouns is largely arbitrary and need not coincide with natural sex. Case, number and gender are marked on the noun
Noun
In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...
as well as on articles
Article (grammar)
An article is a word that combines with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun. Articles specify the grammatical definiteness of the noun, in some languages extending to volume or numerical scope. The articles in the English language are the and a/an, and some...
and adjective
Adjective
In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
s modifying it. While there are four cases, there is a great degree of syncretism
Syncretism (linguistics)
In linguistics, syncretism is the identity of form of distinct morphological forms of a word. This phenomenon is typical of fusional languages....
between case forms within most paradigms. Only one sub-group of the masculine nouns actually has four distinct forms in the four cases.
Article
There are two articlesArticle (grammar)
An article is a word that combines with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun. Articles specify the grammatical definiteness of the noun, in some languages extending to volume or numerical scope. The articles in the English language are the and a/an, and some...
in Modern Greek, the definite and the indefinite. They are both inflected by gender and case, and the definite article also for number. The article agrees with the noun it modifies.
Definite article
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Nominative | ο | [o] | η | [i] | το | [to] |
| Genitive | του | [tu] | της | [tis] | του | [tu] | |
| Accusative | το(ν) | [to(n)] | τη(ν) | [ti(n)] | το | [to] | |
| Plural | Nominative | οι | [i] | οι | [i] | τα | [ta] |
| Genitive | των | [ton] | των | [ton] | των | [ton] | |
| Accusative | τους | [tus] | τις | [tis] | τα | [ta] | |
The definite article is used more frequently in Greek than in English. It is used:
- Before nouns used in an abstract or a general sense:
- For example, Μου αρέσει η ειλικρίνεια ([mu aˈresi i iliˈkrinia], 'I like sincerity'; literally 'I like the sincerity').
- Τα κάρβουνα είναι ακριβά φέτος ([ta ˈkarvuna ˈine akriˈva ˈfetos], 'coal is expensive this year'; literally '
the coal is expensive this year').
- Before proper names, including names of persons, placenames, and titles:
- For example, Ο Γιάννης θα έρθει αύριο ([o ˈʝannis θa ˈerθi ˈavrio], 'John will come tomorrow'; literally '
the John will come tomorrow').
- For example, Ο Γιάννης θα έρθει αύριο ([o ˈʝannis θa ˈerθi ˈavrio], 'John will come tomorrow'; literally '
- Before each noun in a series of nouns connected by and:
- For example, Ήρθαν τα βιβλία, τα περιοδικά και οι εφημερίδες που ζήτησα; ([ˈirθan ta viˈvlia, ta perioðiˈka ke i efimeˈriðes pu ˈzitisa], 'Have the books, magazines and newspapers I asked for arrived?'; literally '
the books, the magazines and the newspapers')
- For example, Ήρθαν τα βιβλία, τα περιοδικά και οι εφημερίδες που ζήτησα; ([ˈirθan ta viˈvlia, ta perioðiˈka ke i efimeˈriðes pu ˈzitisa], 'Have the books, magazines and newspapers I asked for arrived?'; literally '
- Before designations of time such as the year, the week and the hour as well as before the names of the seasons, the days of the week except when they follow the verb είμαι (to be):
- For example, Το τρένο φεύγει στις δέκα ([to ˈtreno ˈfevʝi stis ˈðeka], 'the train leaves at ten'; literally 'at the ten').
- Before expressions of measure and weight, where the indefinite article would be used in English:
- For example, Το τυρί κοστίζει πέντε ευρώ το κιλό ([to tiˈri koˈstizi ˈpende evˈro to kiˈlo], 'the cheese costs five euros a kilo'; literally 'five euros the kilo').
- Before a noun which is also modified by a possessor following it:
- For example, Το σπίτι μου είναι εδώ ([to ˈspiti mu ˈine eˈðo], 'My house is here'; literally '
the house my is here').
- For example, Το σπίτι μου είναι εδώ ([to ˈspiti mu ˈine eˈðo], 'My house is here'; literally '
- Before nouns modified by a demonstrative adjective. In this case, the definite article is placed between the demonstrative adjective and the noun:
- For example, Αυτό το κρασί είναι καλό ([afˈto to kraˈsi ˈine kaˈlo], 'this wine is good'; literally 'this the wine is good').
Indefinite article
The indefinite article in Greek is identical with the numeral one. As in English, it exists only in the singular. Indefiniteness in plural nouns is expressed by the bare noun without an article.| Singular | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | ||||
| Nominative | ένας | [ˈenas] | μία | [ˈmia] | ένα | [ˈena] |
| Genitive | ενός | [eˈnos] | μιας | [mɲas] | ενός | [eˈnos] |
| Accusative | ένα(ν) | [ˈena(n)] | μία | [ˈmia] | ένα | [ˈena] |
The indefinite article is not used in Greek as often as in English because it specifically expresses the concept of "one". It is omitted:
- Before predicate nouns:
- Είναι δικηγόρος ([ˈine ðikiˈɣoros], 'he is a lawyer'; literally 'is lawyer').
- Before nouns that have no specific reference:
- Ψάχνω δουλειά ([ˈpsaxno ðuʎˈa], 'I'm looking for a job'; i.e. not a specific job known to the speaker)
- In exclamations with nouns preceded with τι (what):
- Τι καλό παιδί! ([ti kaˈlo peˈði], 'What a good boy!'; literally 'what good boy')
- Before a noun preceded by σαν ([san], 'like'):
- Αυτό το χριστουγεννιάτικο δέντρο φαίνεται σαν αληθινό δέντρο ([afˈto to xristuʝeɲɲˈatiko ˈðendro ˈfenete san aliθiˈno ˈðendro], 'this Christmas tree looks like a real tree'; literally 'like real tree')
- In proverbs:
- Σκυλί που γαβγίζει δε δαγκώνει ([skiˈli pu ɣavˈʝizi ðe ðaŋˈɡoni] 'a dog that barks does not bite'; literally 'dog that barks')
Nouns
Greek nounNoun
In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...
s are inflected by case and number. In addition each noun belongs to one of three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. Within each of the three genders, there are several sub-groups (declension classes) with different sets of inflectional endings.
Masculine nouns
The table shows four of the most frequent declension classes: one with singulars in -ος [-os] and plurals in -οι [-i]; one with singulars in -ας [-as] and plurals in -ες [-es], one with singulars in -ης [-is] and again plurals in -ες [-es] and one with singulars in -εας [-eas] and plurals in -εις [-is]. There are some other, minor ones. Historically, the class in -ος corresponds to the Ancient Greek o-Declension. The other classes represent a conflation of several different sources.| Group 1: -ος/-οι φίλος ([ˈfilos] 'friend') |
Group 2: -ας/-ες άντρας ([ˈandras] 'man') |
Group 3: -ης/-ες χάρτης ([ˈxartis] 'map') |
Group 4: -εας/-εις προβολέας ([provoˈleas] 'searchlight') |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative |
ο [o] του [tu] το(ν) [to(n)] |
φίλος φίλου φίλο φίλε |
[-os] [-u] [-o] [-e] |
άντρας άντρα άντρα άντρα |
[-as] [-a] [-a] [-a] |
χάρτης χάρτη χάρτη χάρτη |
[-is] [-i] [-i] [-i] |
προβολέας προβολέα προβολέα προβολέα |
[-eas] [-ea] [-ea] [-ea] |
| Plural | Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative |
οι [i] των [ton] τους [tus] |
φίλοι φίλων φίλους φίλοι |
[-i] [-on] [-us] [-i] |
άντρες αντρών άντρες άντρες |
[-es] [-on] [-es] [-es] |
χάρτες χαρτών χάρτες χάρτες |
[-es] [-on] [-es] [-es] |
προβολείς προβολέων προβολείς προβολείς |
[-is] [-eon] [-is] [-is] |
Groups 2 and 3 each have subclasses of so-called anisosyllabic nouns, where the Plural is formed with the addition of a stem extension -αδ- [-að-] and -ηδ- [-ið-], respectively. Examples are for Group 2a: παππάς/παππάδες (/paˈpas/paˈpaðes/, 'priest'), and for Group 3a: μανάβης/μανάβηδες (/maˈnavis/maˈnaviðes/, 'greengrocer'). The endings following the stem extension are the same as in the other words of Groups 2 and 3.
Feminine nouns
The two most frequent classes of feminine nouns are those with singulars in -α ([-a]) and in -η ([-i]) respectively, both with plurals in -ες [-es]) (Groups 1 and 2 in the tables below). They both correspond historically to the Ancient Greek a-Declension. There are certain subgroups (not shown in the table) which differ from each other in the placement of the accented syllable. A third group corresponds to Ancient Greek nouns in -ις, such as πόλις ('city'). Its singular forms have been adapted to those of Group 2, while its plural forms have retained the ancient pattern (plurals in -εις [-is]). The ancient forms of the Genitive Singular (πόλεως, [-eos]) are also found as a stylistic variant and they are fully acceptable. Group 4 corresponds to the Ancient Greek feminine o-Declension. Its forms are largely identical to those of the masculines in -ος. Except for Group 4, all classes have identical forms in the nominative, accusative and vocative.| Group 1: -α/-ες ώρα ([ˈora], 'time') |
Group 2: -η/-ες εποχή ([epoˈçi], 'season') |
Group 3: -η/-εις πόλη ([ˈpoli], 'city') |
Group 4: -ος/-οι μέθοδος ([ˈmeθoðos], 'method') |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative |
η [i] της [tis] τη(ν) [ti(n)] |
ώρα ώρας ώρα ώρα |
[-a] [-as] [-a] [-a] |
εποχή εποχής εποχή εποχή |
[-i] [-is] [-i] [-i] |
πόλη πόλης and πόλεως πόλη πόλη |
[-i] [-is] and [-eos] [-i] [-i] |
μέθοδος μεθόδου μέθοδο μέθοδος (-ε) |
[-os] [-u] [-o] [-os (-e)] |
| Plural | Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative |
οι [i] των [ton] τις [tis] |
ώρες ωρών ώρες ώρες |
[-es] [-on] [-es] [-es] |
εποχές εποχών εποχές εποχές |
[-es] [-on] [-es] [-es] |
πόλεις πόλεων πόλεις πόλεις |
[-is] [-eon] [-is] [-is] |
μέθοδοι μεθόδων μεθόδους μέθοδοι |
[-i] [-on] [-us] [-i] |
Neuter nouns
All neuter nouns have identical forms across the nominative, accusative and vocative. The table below therefore shows only two forms, the common form labeled N/A/V, and the genitive. There are two classes that are by far the most frequent ones, one with singulars in -ο and plurals in -α, the other with singulars in -ι and plurals in -ια (Groups 1 and 2 in the table below).| Group 1: -ο/-α βιβλίο ([viˈvlio], 'book') |
Group 2: -ι/-ια παιδί ([peˈði], 'child') |
Group 3: -μα/-ματα πρόβλημα [ˈprovlima] ( 'problem') |
Group 4: -ος/-η λάθος ([ˈlaθos], 'error') |
Group 5: -ας/-ατα κρέας ([ˈkreas], 'meat') |
Unique: -υ/-εα οξύ ([oˈksi], 'acid') |
Unique: -υ/-ατα δόρυ ([ˈðori], 'spear') |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | N/A/V Genitive |
το [to] του [tu] |
βιβλίο βιβλίου |
[-o] [-u] |
παιδί παιδιού |
[-i] [-ju] |
πρόβλημα προβλήματος |
[-ma] [-matos] |
λάθος λάθους |
[-os] [-us] |
κρέας κρέατος |
[-as] [-atos] |
οξύ οξέος |
[-i] [-eos] |
δόρυ δόρατος |
[-i] [-atos] |
| Plural | N/A/V Genitive |
τα [ta] των [ton] |
βιβλία βιβλίων |
[-a] [-on] |
παιδιά παιδιών |
[-ja] [-jon] |
προβλήματα προβλημάτων |
[-mata] [-maton] |
λάθη λαθών |
[-i] [-on] |
κρέατα κρεάτων |
[-ata] [-aton] |
οξέα οξέων |
[-ea] [-eon] |
δόρατα δοράτων |
[-ata] [-aton] |
Adjectives
Adjectives agree with nouns in gender, case and number. Therefore, each adjective has a threefold declension paradigm for the three genders. Adjectives show agreement both when they are used as attributes (ο καλός φίλος, [o kaˈlos ˈfilos], 'the good friend') and when they are used as predicates (ο φίλος είναι καλός, [o ˈfilos ˈine kaˈlos], 'the friend is good').The vast majority of adjectives take forms in -ος in the masculine (same as masculine Group 1 nouns above), -ο in the neuter (same as neuter Group 1 nouns above), and either -η, -α, or -ια in the feminine (same as feminine Group 1/2 nouns above). Again, there are some other, minor groups and sub-classes.
Adjectives agree with the noun in terms of its abstract gender, not in terms of the shapes of the actual endings, since these depend on the individual declension class of both the noun and the adjective. This means that the concrete endings occurring in any pair of noun and adjective may be quite different from each other, depending on the classes involved (e.g. η καλή μέθοδος, [i kaˈli ˈmeθoðos], 'the good method'; τα νέα λάθη, [ta ˈnea ˈlaθi], 'the new errors').
The table below shows the forms for νέος, -α, -ο ([ˈneos] 'new, young'), καλός, -η, -ο ([kaˈlos] 'good'), and γλυκός, -ιά, -ό ([ɣliˈkos] 'sweet').
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | |||||||||
| Singular | Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative |
νέος νέου νέο νέε |
[-os] [-u] [-o] [-e] |
νέα νέας νέα νέα |
[-a] [-as] [-a] [-a] |
καλή καλής καλή καλή |
[-i] [-is] [-i] [-i] |
γλυκιά γλυκιάς γλυκιά γλυκιά |
[-ja] [-jas] [-ja] [-ja] |
νέο νέου νέο νέο |
[-o] [-u] [-o] [-o] |
| Plural | Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative |
νέοι νέων νέους νέοι |
[-i] [-on] [-us] [-i] |
νέες νέων νέες νέες |
[-es] [-on] [-es] [-es] |
καλές καλών καλές καλές |
[-es] [-on] [-es] [-es] |
γλυκές γλυκών γλυκές γλυκές |
[-es] [-on] [-es] [-es] |
νέα νέων νέα νέα |
[-a] [-on] [-a] [-a] |
| Analogous: καλός ... γλυκός ... |
Analogous: καλό ... γλυκό ... |
||||||||||
Other adjective classes include the following:
- Certain adjectives, usually denoting human characteristics, whose masculine and feminine forms decline like nouns of the masculine Group 3a (-ης/-ηδες, /-is/-iðes/) and the feminine Group 1 (-α), while the neuter ends in -ικο [-iko], for example, τεμπέλης, τεμπέλα, τεμπέλικο ([temˈbelis, temˈbela, temˈbeliko], 'lazy').
- Some adjectives of learned origin which lack a separate form for the feminine, using the regular -ος [-os] paradigm both for the masculine and the feminine gender, for example, έγκυος ([ˈeŋɟios], 'pregnant').
- Another class of learned origin, with masculine/feminine in -ης [-is] and neuter in -ες [-es], for example, διεθνής ([ðieθˈnis] 'international').
- A small group of adjectives in -ύς, -ιά, -ύ ([-is, -ia, -i]), for example, βαρύς ([vaˈris], 'heavy'), and the similar but even more irregular single item πολύς, πολλή, πολύ ([poˈlis, polˈli, poˈli], 'much').
- These adjectives are declined this way:
Group 1: -ής, -ές/-είς, -ή
συνεχής
([sineˈçis], 'continual')Group 2: -ης, -ες/-εις, -η
συνήθης
([siˈniθis], 'usual')Group 3: -υς, -υ/-εις, -ια
βαθύς
([vaˈθis], 'deep')Masc. - Fem. Neuter Masc. - Fem. Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter Singular Nominative
Genitive
Accusative
Vocativeσυνεχής
συνεχούς
συνεχή
συνεχής[-is]
[-us]
[-i]
[-is]συνεχές
συνεχούς
συνεχές
συνεχές[-es]
[-us]
[-es]
[-es]συνήθης
συνήθους
συνήθη
συνήθης[-is]
[-us]
[-i]
[-is]σύνηθες
συνήθους
σύνηθες
σύνηθες[-es]
[-us]
[-es]
[-es]βαθύς
βαθέος
βαθύ
βαθύ[-is]
[-eos]
[-i]
[-i]βαθιά
βαθιάς
βαθιά
βαθιά[-ja]
[-jas]
[-ja]
[-ja]βαθύ
βαθέος
βαθύ
βαθύ[-i]
[-eos]
[-i]
[-i]Plural Nominative
Genitive
Accusative
Vocativeσυνεχείς
συνεχών
συνεχείς
συνεχείς[-is]
[-on]
[-is]
[-is]συνεχή
συνεχών
συνεχή
συνεχή[-i]
[-on]
[-i]
[-i]συνήθεις
συνήθων
συνήθεις
συνήθεις[-is]
[-on]
[-is]
[-is]συνήθη
συνήθων
συνήθη
συνήθη[-i]
[-on]
[-i]
[-i]βαθείς or βαθιοί
βαθέων or βαθιών
βαθείς
βαθείς or βαθιοί[-is] or [-ji]
[-eon] or [-jon]
[-is]
[-is] or [-ji]βαθιές
βαθιών
βαθιές
βαθιές[-jes]
[-jon]
[-jes]
[-jes]βαθέα or βαθιά
βαθέων or βαθιών
βαθέα or βαθιά
βαθέα or βαθιά[-ea] or [-ja]
[-eon] or [-jon]
[-ea] or [-ja]
[-ea] or [-ja]
- The adjective πολύς - πολλή - πολύ is declined this way:
Masculine Feminine Neuter Singular Nominative
Genitive
Accusative
Vocativeπολύς
πολλού
πολύ
πολύ[-is]
[-u]
[-i]
[-i]πολλή
πολλής
πολλή
πολλή[-i]
[-is]
[-i]
[-i]πολύ
πολλού
πολύ
πολύ[-i]
[-u]
[-i]
[-i]Plural Nominative
Genitive
Accusative
Vocativeπολλοί
πολλών
πολλούς
πολλοί[-i]
[-on]
[-us]
[-i]πολλές
πολλών
πολλές
πολλές[-es]
[-on]
[-es]
[-es]πολλά
πολλών
πολλά
πολλά[-a]
[-on]
[-a]
[-a]
Comparative and superlative
Adjectives in Modern Greek can form a comparativeComparative
In grammar, the comparative is the form of an adjective or adverb which denotes the degree or grade by which a person, thing, or other entity has a property or quality greater or less in extent than that of another, and is used in this context with a subordinating conjunction, such as than,...
for expressing comparisons. Similar to English, it can be formed in two ways, as a periphrastic form (as in English beautiful > more beautiful) and as synthetic form using grammatical suffixes, as in English large > larger) . The periphrastic comparative is formed by the particle πιο ([pço], 'more') preceding the adjective. The synthetic forms of the regular adjectives in -ος, -η and -o is created with the suffix -οτερος -οτερη and -οτερο. For those adjectives which end in -ης, -ης and -ες the corresponding suffixes are -εστερος -εστερη and -εστερο.
A superlative
Superlative
In grammar, the superlative is the form of an adjective that indicates that the person or thing modified has the quality of the adjective to a degree greater than that of anything it is being compared to in a given context. English superlatives are typically formed with the suffix -est In...
is expressed by combining the comparative, in either its periphrastic or synthetic form, with a preceding definite article. (Thus, Modern Greek does not distinguish between 'the largest house' and 'the larger house'; both are το μεγαλύτερο σπίτι or το πιο μεγάλο σπίτι.)
Besides the superlative proper, sometimes called "relative superlative", there is also an "absolute superlative" or elative
Elative (gradation)
In Semitic linguistics, the elative is a stage of gradation in Arabic that can be used both for a superlative and comparative. The Arabic elative has a special inflection similar to that of colour adjectives, though differing in certain details...
, expressing the meaning 'very …' (for example, ωραιότατος 'very beautiful'). Elatives are formed with the suffixes -οτατος, -οτατη and -οτατο for the regular adjectives, and -εστατος -εστατη and -εστατο for those in -ης.
| Simple form | Comparative form | Superlative form | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relative | Absolute (elative) | ||||||
| Periphrastic | Synthetic | Periphrastic | Synthetic | Periphrastic | Synthetic | ||
| Adjectives | ψηλός | πιο ψηλός | ψηλότερος | ο πιο ψηλός | ο ψηλότερος | πολύ ψηλός | ψηλότατος |
| σοφός | πιο σοφός | σοφότερος | ο πιο σοφός | ο σοφότερος | πολύ σοφός | σοφότατος | |
| ωραίος | πιο ωραίος | ωραιότερος | ο πιο ωραίος | ο ωραιότερος | πολύ ωραίος | ωραιότατος | |
| πλούσιος | πιο πλούσιος | πλουσιότερος | ο πιο πλούσιος | ο πλουσιότερος | πολύ πλούσιος | πλουσιότατος | |
| βαθύς | πιο βαθύς | βαθύτερος | ο πιο βαθύς | ο βαθύτερος | πολύ βαθύς | βαθύτατος | |
| επιεικής | πιο επιεικής | επιεικέστερος | ο πιο επιεικής | ο επιεικέστερος | πολύ επιεικής | επιεικέστατος | |
| Participles | ευτυχισμένος | πιο ευτυχισμένος | — | ο πιο ευτυχισμένος | — | πολύ ευτιχισμένος | — |
| Adverbs | ψηλά | πιο ψηλά | ψηλότερα | — | — | πολύ ψηλά | ψηλότατα |
| επιεικώς | πιο επιεικώς | επιεικέστερα | — | — | πολύ επιεικώς | επιεικέστατα | |
Personal pronouns
There are strong pronouns (stressed, free) and weak pronouns (unstressed, clitic). Nominative pronouns only have the strong form (except in some minor environments) and are used as subjects only when special emphasis is intended, since unstressed subjects recoverable from context are not overtly expressed anyway. Genitive (possessive) pronouns are used in their weak forms as pre-verbal clitics to express indirect objects (for example, του μίλησα, [tu ˈmilisa], 'I talked to him'), and as a post-nominal clitic to express possession (for example, οι φίλοι του, [i ˈfili tu], 'his friends'). The strong genitive forms are relatively rare and used only for special emphasis (for example, αυτού οι φίλοι, [afˈtu i ˈfili], his friends'); often they are doubled by the weak forms (for example, αυτού του μίλησα, [afˈtu tu ˈmilisa], ' him I talked to'). An alternative way of giving emphasis to a possessive pronoun is propping it up with the stressed adjective δικός ([ðiˈkos], 'own'), for example, οι δικοί του φίλοι ([i ðiˈci tu ˈfili], ' his friends').Accusative pronouns exist both in a weak and a strong form. The weak form is used as a pre-verbal clitic (for example, τον είδα, [ton ˈiða], 'I saw him'); the strong form is used elsewhere in the clause (for example, είδα αυτόν, [ˈiða afˈton], 'I saw him
The strong plural forms of the third person in the genitive and accusative (αυτών, αυτούς etc.) have optional alternative forms extended by an additional syllable [-on-] or [-un-] (αυτωνών, αυτουνούς etc.)
| 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | ||||||||||
| Strong | Singular | Nominative | εγώ | [eˈɣo] | εσύ | [eˈsi] | αυτός | [afˈtos] | αυτή | [afˈti] | αυτό | [afˈto] |
| Genitive | εμένα | [eˈmena] | εσένα | [eˈsena] | αυτoύ | [afˈtu] | αυτής | [afˈtis] | αυτού | [afˈtu] | ||
| Accusative | εμένα | [eˈmena] | εσένα | [eˈsena] | αυτόν | [afˈton] | αυτήν | [afˈtin] | αυτό | [afˈto] | ||
| Plural | Nominative | εμείς | [eˈmis] | εσείς | [eˈsis] | αυτοί | [afˈti] | αυτές | [afˈtes] | αυτά | [afˈta] | |
| Genitive | εμάς | [eˈmas] | εσάς | [eˈsas] | αυτών | [afˈton] | αυτών | [afˈton] | αυτών | [afˈton] | ||
| Accusative | εμάς | [eˈmas] | εσάς | [eˈsas] | αυτούς | [afˈtus] | αυτές | [afˈtes] | αυτά | [afˈta] | ||
| Weak | Singular | Nominative | – | – | τος | [tos] | τη | [ti] | το | [to] | ||
| Genitive | μου | [mu] | σου | [su] | του | [tu] | της | [tis] | του | [tu] | ||
| Accusative | με | [me] | σε | [se] | τον | [ton] | τη(ν) | [ti(n)] | το | [to] | ||
| Plural | Nominative | – | – | τοι | [ti] | τες | [tes] | τα | [ta] | |||
| Genitive | μας | [mas] | σας | [sas] | τους | [tus] | τους | [tus] | τους | [tus] | ||
| Accusative | μας | [mas] | σας | [sas] | τους | [tus] | τις | [tis] | τα | [ta] | ||
Besides αυτός [afˈtos] as a generic demonstrative, there are also the more specific spatial demonstrative pronouns τούτος, -η, -ο ([tuˈtos], 'this here') and εκείνος, -η, -ο ([eˈcinos], 'that there').
Numerals
The numerals in Modern Greek are very similar to those of the Ancient Greek. The numerals one, three and four are also declined by using the obsolete types of the third declension of the nouns.| Singular | Plural | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ένας - μία - ένα (1) | τρεις - τρία (3) | τέσσερις - τέσσερα (4) | ||||||||||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masc. - Fem. | Neuter | Masc. - Fem. | Neuter | ||||||||
| Nominative | ένας | [ˈenas] | μία | [ˈmia] | ένα | [ˈena] | τρεις | [tris] | τρία | [ˈtria] | τέσσερις | [ˈtesseris] | τέσσερα | [ˈtessera] |
| Genitive | ενός | [eˈnos] | μιας | [mɲas] | ενός | [eˈnos] | τριών | [triˈon] | τριών | [triˈon] | τεσσάρων | [tesˈsaron] | τεσσάρων | [tesˈsaron] |
| Accusative | ένα(ν) | [ˈena(n)] | μία | [ˈmia] | ένα | [ˈena] | τρεις | [tris] | τρία | [ˈtria] | τέσσερις | [ˈtesseris] | τέσσερα | [ˈtessera] |
Prepositions
In Demotic Greek, prepositions normally require the accusative caseAccusative case
The accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. The same case is used in many languages for the objects of prepositions...
: από (from), για (for), με (with), μετά (after), χωρίς (without), ως (as) and σε (to, in or at). The preposition σε, when followed by a definite article, fuses with it into forms like στο (σε + το) and στη (σε + τη). While there is only a relatively small number of simple prepositions native to Demotic, the two most basic prepositions σε and από can enter into a large number of combinations with preceding adverbs to form new compound prepositions, for example, πάνω σε (on), κάτω από (underneath), πλάι σε (beside) etc.
A few prepositions that take cases other than the accusative have been borrowed into Standard Modern Greek from the learned tradition of Katharevousa
Katharevousa
Katharevousa , is a form of the Greek language conceived in the early 19th century as a compromise between Ancient Greek and the Modern Greek of the time, with a vocabulary largely based on ancient forms, but a much-simplified grammar. Originally, it was widely used both for literary and official...
: κατά (against), υπέρ (in favor of, for), αντί (instead of). Other prepositions live on in a fossilised form in certain fixed expressions (for example, εν τω μεταξύ 'in the meantime', dative).
The preposition από (apó, 'from') is also used to express the agent in passive sentences, like English by.
Conjunctions
Coordinating and subordinating conjunctionsGrammatical conjunction
In grammar, a conjunction is a part of speech that connects two words, sentences, phrases or clauses together. A discourse connective is a conjunction joining sentences. This definition may overlap with that of other parts of speech, so what constitutes a "conjunction" must be defined for each...
in Greek include:
| Kinds | Conjunctions | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Copulative | και (κι), ούτε, μήτε, ουδέ, μηδέ | and, neither |
| Separatist | ή, είτε | or, either |
| Negative | μα, αλλά, παρά, όμως, ωστόσο, ενώ, αν και, μολονότι, μόνο | but, although, however, whereas |
| Inferential | λοιπόν, ώστε, άρα, επομένως, που | so, so as, thus, that |
| Explanatory | δηλαδή | so, in other words |
| Special | ότι, πως, που | that |
| Temporal | όταν, σαν, ενώ, καθώς, αφού, αφότου, πριν (πριν να), μόλις, προτού, ώσπου, ωσότου, όσο που, όποτε | when, while, after, before, just, until |
| Explaining | γιατί, διότι, επειδή, αφού | because |
| Hypothetical | αν, εάν, άμα, σαν | if |
| Final | να, για να | so as, (in order)to |
| Efficacious | ώστε (να), που | so as, in order to |
| Hesitant | μη(ν), μήπως | maybe, perhaps |
| Comparative | παρά | to, than |
The word να ([na]) serves as a generic subordinator corresponding roughly to English to (+ infinitive) or that in sentences like προτιμώ να πάω ([protiˈmo na ˈpao], 'I prefer to go', literally 'I prefer that I go') or προτιμώ να πάει ο Γιάννης ([protiˈmo na ˈpai o ˈʝannis], 'I prefer that John go'). It marks the following verb as being in the subjunctive mood. Somewhat similar to the English to-infinitive its use is often associated with meanings of non-factuality, i.e. events that have not (yet) come true, that are expected, wished for etc. In this, it contrasts with ότι [ˈoti] and πως [pos], which correspond to English that when used with a meaning of factuality. The difference can be seen in the contrast between μας είπε να πάμε βόλτα ([mas ˈipe na ˈpame ˈvolta], 'he told us to go for a walk') vs. μας είπε πως πήγε βόλτα ([mas ˈipe pos ˈpiʝe ˈvolta], 'he told us that he went for a walk'). When used on its own with a following verb, να may express a wish or order, as in να πάει! ([na ˈpai], 'let him go' or 'may he go'). Unlike the other subordinating conjunctions, να is always immediately followed by the verb it governs, separated from it only by any clitics that might be attached to the verb, but not by a subject or other clause-initial material.
Negation
For sentence negation, Greek has preserved from Proto-Indo-EuropeanProto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
a distinction between two negator elements, δε(ν) dhe(n) and μη(ν) mi(n), 'not'. The negator δεν is used for simple negation in clauses with indicative mood. The negator μην is used in subjunctive contexts, either after subjunctive-inducing να or as a negative replacement for να. It is often associated with the expression of a wish for an event not to come true, as in: φοβάμαι μη βρέξει ([foˈvame mi ˈvreksi], 'I'm afraid lest it might rain'), or with a negated order or recommendation, as in: μας είπε να μην πάμε βόλτα ([mas ˈipe na min ˈpame ˈvolta], 'he told us not to go for a walk'); να μην πάει! ([na min ˈpai], 'let him not go!'). When used alone with a verb in the second person, it forms the functional equivalent to a negative imperative: μην πας! ([min pas], 'don't go!'). The imperative itself has no negative forms, something which is preserved from Ancient Greek, and the negative is formed by the types of the subjunctive. e.g. παίξε ([ˈpekse], 'play!'), μην παίξεις ([min ˈpeksis], 'don't play!').
For constituent negation, i.e. when negating not a whole clause but a specific constituent of it, Greek uses negative concord, i.e. a combination of the sentence negator (δεν/μην) with a negative-polarity item
Polarity item
In linguistics, a polarity item is a lexical element that can appear only in the environment of a certain "licensing context." Polarity items are defined as Negative Polarity Items or Positive Polarity items...
on the constituent to be negated, as in: δεν έχω κανένα νέο ([ðen ˈexo kaˈnena ˈneo], 'I don't have any news'). These negative-polarity items, when used in a full clause with a verb, correspond to English words in any- (anything, anybody, anywhere etc.); however, they can also be used on their own when negating a standalone phrase without a verb, in which case they are translatable with English words in no- (nothing, nobody, none, nowhere etc.). This can be seen in the example dialogue:
- Έχεις κανένα νέο; – Όχι, κανένα. ([ˈeçis kaˈnena ˈneo? – ˈoçi kaˈnena] 'Have you got any news? – No, none.')
The κανείς, καμία, κανένα is declined thus (only singular):
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative Genitive Accusative |
κανένας or κανείς κανενός κανένα |
[-enas] or [-is] [-enos] [-ena] |
καμία καμιάς καμία |
[-mia] [-mias] [-mia] |
κανένα κανενός κανένα |
[-ena] [-enos] [-ena] |
- The ουδείς, ουδεμία, ουδείς is generally rare and conservative. It is declined like the κανείς but does not have the forms ουδένας and ουδένα but only ουδείς and ουδέν. When ουδείς is used the double negation cannot be used.
Relative clauses
Greek has two different ways of forming relative clauses. The simpler and by far the more frequent uses the invariable relativizerRelativizer
In linguistics, a relativizer is a grammatical element used to indicate a relative clause. Not all languages use relativizers; most Indo-European languages use relative pronouns instead, and some languages, such as Japanese, rely solely on word order to indicate relative clauses...
που ([pu], 'that', literally 'where'), as in: η γυναίκα που είδα χτες ([i ʝiˈneka pu ˈiða xtes], 'the woman that I saw yesterday'). When the relativized element is a subject, object or adverbial within the relative clause, then – as in English – it has no other overt expression within the relative clause apart from the relativizer. Some other types of relativized elements, however, such as possessors, are represented within the clause by a resumptive pronoun, as in: η γυναίκα που βρήκα την τσάντα της (/i ʝiˈneka pu ˈvrika tin ˈt͡sanda tis/, 'the woman whose handbag I found', literally 'the woman that I found her handbag').
The second, rarer and more formal, form of relative clauses employs complex inflected relative pronoun
Relative pronoun
A relative pronoun is a pronoun that marks a relative clause within a larger sentence. It is called a relative pronoun because it relates the relative clause to the noun that it modifies. In English, the relative pronouns are: who, whom, whose, whosever, whosesoever, which, and, in some...
s. They are composite elements consisting of the definite article and a following pronominal element that is inflected like an adjective: ο οποίος, η οποία, το οποίο ([o oˈpios, i oˈpia, to oˈpio] etc., literally 'the which'). Both elements are inflected for case, number and gender according to the grammatical properties of the relativized item within the relative clause, as in: η γυναίκα την οποία είδα χτες ([i ʝiˈneka tin oˈpia ˈiða xtes], 'the woman whom I saw yesterday'); η γυναίκα της οποίας βρήκα την τσάντα ([i ʝiˈneka tis oˈpias ˈvrika tin ˈt͡sanda], 'the woman whose handbag I found').