The
grammar of Standard Modern Greek, as spoken in present-day
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and
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, is basically that of Demotic Greek, but it has also assimilated certain elements of
KatharevousaKatharevousa , is a form of the Greek language conceived in the early 19th century by Greek intellectual and revolutionary leader Adamantios Korais . A graduate of the University of Montpellier in 1788, Korais spent most of his life as an expatriate in Paris...
, the archaic, learned variety of Greek imitating
Classical GreekAncient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is 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 GreekAncient 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.-Accents:The Classical...
, but has also undergone changes in a similar direction as many other modern
Indo-European languagesThe Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major languages of Europe, Iran, and northern India, and historically also predominant in Anatolia and Central Asia...
, from more
syntheticA synthetic language, in linguistic typology, is a language with a high morpheme-per-word ratio. This linguistic classification is largely independent of morpheme-usage classifications , although there is a common tendency for agglutinative languages to exhibit synthetic properties.-Synthetic and...
to more analytic structures.
Syntax
The predominant word order in Greek is SVO (Subject-Verb-Object), but word order is quite freely variable, with
VSOVerb Subject Object is a term in linguistic typology. It represents one type of languages when classifying languages according to the sequence of these constituents in neutral expressions: Ate Sam oranges....
and other orders as frequent alternatives. Within the
noun phraseIn grammar, a noun phrase is a phrase whose head is a noun or a pronoun, optionally accompanied by a set of modifiers.Noun phrases are very common cross-linguistically, but some languages like Tuscarora and Cayuga have been argued to lack this category.- Form :Noun phrases normally consist of a...
, adjectives precede the noun (e.g. το μεγάλο σπίτι, , 'the big house'), while possessors follow it (e.g. το σπίτι μου, , 'my house'). The opposite order is possible as a
markedMarkedness is a linguistic concept that developed out of the Prague School. A marked form is a non-basic or less natural form. An unmarked form is a basic, default form. For example, lion is the unmarked choice in English — it could refer to a male or female lion. But lioness is marked because it...
alternative in both cases. Greek is a
pro-drop languageA 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.
subjectThe subject is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle. The other constituent is the predicate...
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
cliticIn morphology, a clitic is a grammatically independent and phonologically dependent morpheme. 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
particleA particle, in grammar, is a function word that is not assignable to any of the traditional grammatical word classes . The term is a catch-all term for a heterogeneous set of elements and lacks a precise universal definition...
s, the tense particle θα , and the subjunctive particle να . 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
syntheticA synthetic language, in linguistic typology, is a language with a high morpheme-per-word ratio. This linguistic classification is largely independent of morpheme-usage classifications , although there is a common tendency for agglutinative languages to exhibit synthetic properties.-Synthetic and...
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 unionThe Balkan sprachbund or linguistic area is the ensemble of areal features—similarity in grammar, syntax, vocabulary and phonology—among languages of the Balkans, which belong to various branches of Indo-European, such as Slavic, Greek, Romance and Albanian...
. 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 (e.g. θέλω να πάω, , 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 and the accusative.
- The use of a future construction derived from the verb 'want' (θέλει να > θα ).
- A tendency to use pre-verbal clitic object pronouns redundantly (clitic doubling
Clitic doubling, or pronominal reduplication, in linguistics, 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: e.g. το είδα το αυτοκίνητο .
- 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.
The verb
Greek verb morphology is structured around a basic 2-by-2 contrast of two aspects, 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
imperativeImperative can mean:*Imperative mood, a grammatical mood expressing commands, direct requests, and prohibitions * A morphological item expressing commands, direct requests, and prohibitions...
s, one for each aspect.
In addition to these basic forms, Greek also has several periphrastic verb constructions. There is a
perfectIn linguistics, the perfect aspect is variously considered either an aspect or tense that calls a listener's attention to the consequences generated by an action, rather than just the action itself...
, which is expressed by an inflected form of the
auxiliary verbIn linguistics, an auxiliary is a verb functioning to give further semantic or syntactic information about the main or full verb following it...
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
futureIn grammar, the 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:Languages can employ various...
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
conditionalThe conditional mood is the form of the verb used in conditional sentences 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
inferentialGrammatical mood is one of a set of distinctive verb forms that are used to signal modality.It is distinct from grammatical tense or grammatical aspect, although these concepts are conflated to some degree in many languages, including English and most other modern Indo-European languages, insofar...
.
Modern Greek verbs additionally have three
non-finiteIn 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"), e.g.:
- Alternative perfect periphrasis, with passive participle, e.g.:
- Adverbial clause with present participle/gerund form, e.g.:
- Έτρεξε στο δρόμο τραγουδώντας
The tables below exemplify the range of forms with those of one large inflectional class of verbs, the 1st Conjugation.
1st 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 |
2nd 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 |
|
† Alternative endings: οδήγ
ει, οδηγ
είτε. Some verbs use only these types and especially the plural.
The augment
The use of the past tense prefix
e-, the so-called
augmentIn 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 perfect, preterite, or aorist tenses.For example, in Greek, the verb λέγω légo, “I say”, forms...
, 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-), e.g. 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 (e.g. 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 |
| έγραψα |
| έγραφα |
|
| Composite |
περιγράφω < περί + γράφω |
| περιέγραψα |
| περιέγραφα |
|
| υπογράφω < υπό + γράφω |
| υπέγραψα |
| υπέγραφα |
|
| διαγράφω < δια + γράφω |
| διέγραψα |
| διέγραφα |
|
| Initial vowel |
ελπίζω |
| ήλπισα |
| ήλπιζα |
|
| Composite and initial vowel |
υπάρχω < υπό + άρχω |
| υπήρξα |
| υπήρχα |
|
| Irregular augment |
είμαι |
| —— |
—— |
ήμουν |
|
| έχω |
| —— |
—— |
είχα |
|
| θέλω |
| θέλησα (no augment) |
| ήθελα |
|
| ξέρω |
| —— |
—— |
ήξερα |
|
| πίνω |
| ήπια |
| έπινα |
|
Grammatical voice
Greek has a morphological contrast between two grammatical voices: active and
mediopassiveThe 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 (e.g. σκοτώθηκε 'he was killed');
- Reflexive function, denoting an action performed by the subject on him-/herself (e.g. ξυρίστηκε 'he shaved himself');
- Reciprocal function, denoting an action performed by several subjects on each other (e.g. αγαπιούνται 'they love each other');
- Modal function, denoting the possibility of an action (e.g. 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: e.g. active σηκώνω 'I raise', passive σηκώνομαι 'I get up'; active βαράω 'I strike', passive βαριέμαι 'I am bored'.
| |
γράφω ('write') |
μιλάω ('talk') |
οδηγώ ('lead') |
| | Past | Non-Past | Imper. | 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 |
— — |
οδηγόμουν οδηγόσουν οδηγόταν οδηγόμασταν οδηγόσασταν οδηγούνταν |
οδηγούμαι οδηγείσαι οδηγείται οδηγούμαστε οδηγείστε οδηγούνται |
— — |
| 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 |
οδηγήθηκα οδηγήθηκες οδηγήθηκε οδηγηθήκαμε οδηγηθήκατε οδηγήθηκαν |
Subjunctive οδηγηθώ οδηγηθείς οδηγηθεί οδηγηθούμε οδηγηθείτε οδηγηθούν |
οδηγήσου οδηγηθείτε |
| |
|
έχω γραφτεί |
|
|
έχω μιληθεί |
|
|
έχω οδηγηθεί |
|
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
defectiveIn linguistics, a defective verb is a verb with an incomplete conjugation. Defective verbs cannot be conjugated in certain tenses, aspects, or moods.- Defective verbs in English :...
, as they both lack the aspectual contrast. The forms of
είμαι are given below; for those of
έχω see the table of the Perfect forms above.
| 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 |
The nominal system
The Greek nominal system displays
inflectionIn grammar, inflection or inflexion is the way language modifies word forms to handle grammatical relations and relational categories such as tense, mood, voice, aspect , person, number , gender, case . Beside conjugation and declension there is comparison with its maximum category number of two In...
for two
numbersIn linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....
(
singularSingular may refer to:* A grammatical number denoting a unit quantity * SINGULAR, a computer algebra system* gravitational singularity* technological singularity...
and
pluralPlural, commonly abbreviated pl., is a grammatical number, typically referring to more than one of the referent in the real world. In the English language, singular and plural are the only grammatical numbers.-English:...
), three
gendersIn linguistics, grammatical genders, sometimes also called noun classes, are classes of nouns reflected in the behavior of associated words; every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be very few which belong to several classes at once....
(masculine, feminine and neuter), and four
casesIn grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun indicates its grammatical function in a greater phrase or clause; such as the role of subject, of direct object, or of possessor. Usually a language is said to "have cases" only if nouns change their form to reflect their case. Others indicate cases in...
(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
nounIn 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....
as well as on
articlesAn article is a word that combines with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun, and may also specify the volume or numerical scope of that reference. there are only three articles, a, an and and. The articles in the English language are the and a...
and
adjectiveIn grammar, an adjective is a word whose main syntactic role is to modify a noun or pronoun, giving more information about the noun or pronoun's referent...
s modifying it. While there are four cases, there is a great degree of
syncretismIn linguistics, syncretism is the identity of form of distinct morphological forms of a word.For example, in English, the nominative and accusative forms of you and it are the same, whereas he/him, she/her, etc., have different forms depending on grammatical case. In Latin, the nominative and...
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
articlesAn article is a word that combines with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun, and may also specify the volume or numerical scope of that reference. there are only three articles, a, an and and. The articles in the English language are the and a...
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
| |
Masculine |
Feminine |
Neuter |
| Singular |
Nominative |
ο |
| η |
| το |
|
| Genitive |
του |
| της |
| του |
|
| Accusative |
το(ν) |
| τη(ν) |
| το |
|
| Plural |
Nominative |
οι |
| οι |
| τα |
|
| Genitive |
των |
| των |
| των |
|
| Accusative |
τους |
| τις |
| τα |
|
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:
- E.g. Μου αρέσει η ειλικρίνεια .
- Τα κάρβουνα είναι ακριβά φέτος .
- Before proper names, including names of persons, placenames, and titles:
- E.g. Ο Γιάννης θα έρθει αύριο .
- Before each noun in a series of nouns connected by and:
- E.g. Ήρθαν τα βιβλία, τα περιοδικά και οι εφημερίδες που ζήτησα;
- 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):
- E.g. Το τρένο φεύγει στις δέκα .
- Before expressions of measure and weight, where the indefinite article would be used in English:
- E.g. Το τυρί κοστίζει πέντε ευρώ το κιλό .
- Before a noun which is also modified by a possessor following it:
- E.g. Το σπίτι μου είναι εδώ .
- Before nouns modified by a demonstrative adjective. In this case, the definite article is placed between the demonstrative adjective and the noun:
- E.g. Αυτό το κρασί είναι καλό .
The 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 |
| μία |
| ένα |
|
| Genitive |
ενός |
| μιας |
| ενός |
|
| Accusative |
|
| μία |
| ένα |
|
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:
- Before nouns that have no specific reference:
- In exclamations with nouns preceded with τι (what):
- Before a noun preceded by σαν :
- Αυτό το χριστουγεννιάτικο δέντρο φαίνεται σαν αληθινό δέντρο
- In proverbs:
- Σκυλί που γαβγίζει δε δαγκώνει ( 'a dog that barks does not bite'; literally 'dog that barks')
Nouns
Greek
nounIn 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....
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 three of the most frequent declension classes: one with singulars in -ος and plurals in -οι ; one with singulars in -ας and plurals in -ες , one with singulars in -ης and again plurals in -ες and one with singulars in -εας and plurals in -εις . 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 ( 'friend') |
Group 2: -ας/-ες άντρας ( 'man') |
Group 3: -ης/-ες χάρτης ( 'map') |
Group 4: -εας/-εις προβολέας ( 'searchlight') |
| Singular |
Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative |
| του
το(ν)
φίλος φίλου φίλο φίλε |
|
άντρας άντρα άντρα άντρα |
|
χάρτης χάρτη χάρτη χάρτη |
|
προβολέας προβολέα προβολέα προβολέα |
|
| Plural |
Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative |
| των
τους
φίλοι φίλων φίλους φίλοι |
|
άντρες αντρών άντρες άντρες |
|
χάρτες χαρτών χάρτες χάρτες |
|
προβολείς προβολέων προβολείς προβολείς |
|
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- and -ηδ- , respectively. Examples are for Group 2a: παππάς/παππάδες , and for Group 3a: μανάβης/μανάβηδες . 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 and in -η respectively, both with plurals in -ες ) (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 ). The ancient forms of the Genitive Singular (πόλεως, ) 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
|
Group 2: -η/-ες εποχή
|
Group 3: -η/-εις πόλη
|
Group 4: -ος/-οι μέθοδος
|
| Singular |
Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative |
| της
τη(ν)
ώρα ώρας ώρα ώρα |
|
εποχή εποχής εποχή εποχή |
|
πόλη πόλης and πόλεως πόλη πόλη |
| and
μέθοδος μεθόδου μέθοδο μέθοδος (-ε) |
|
| Plural |
Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative |
| των
τις
ώρες ωρών ώρες ώρες |
|
εποχές εποχών εποχές εποχές |
|
πόλεις πόλεων πόλεις πόλεις |
|
μέθοδοι μεθόδων μεθόδους μέθοδοι |
|
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
|
Group 2: -ι/-ια παιδί
|
Group 3: -μα/-ματα πρόβλημα ( 'problem') |
Group 4: -ος/-η λάθος
|
Group 5: -ας/-ατα κρέας
|
Unique: -υ/-εα οξύ
|
Unique: -υ/-ατα δόρυ
|
| Singular |
N/A/V Genitive |
| του
βιβλίο βιβλίου |
|
παιδί παιδιού |
|
πρόβλημα προβλήματος |
|
λάθος λάθους |
|
κρέας κρέατος |
|
οξύ οξέος |
|
δόρυ δόρατος |
|
| Plural |
N/A/V Genitive |
| των
βιβλία βιβλίων |
|
παιδιά παιδιών |
|
προβλήματα προβλημάτων |
|
λάθη λαθών |
|
κρέατα κρεάτων |
|
οξέα οξέων |
|
δόρατα δοράτων |
|
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, , 'the good friend') and when they are used as predicates (ο φίλος είναι καλός, , '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, , 'the good method'; τα νέα λάθη, , 'the new errors').
The table below shows the forms for νέος, -α, -ο ( 'new'), καλός, -η, -ο ( 'good'), and γλυκός, -ιά, -ό ( 'sweet').
| |
Masculine |
Feminine |
Neuter |
| Group 1 |
Group 2 |
Group 3 |
| Singular |
Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative |
νέος νέου νέο νέε |
|
νέα νέας νέα νέα |
|
καλή καλής καλή καλή |
|
γλυκιά γλυκιάς γλυκιά γλυκιά |
|
νέο νέου νέο νέο |
|
| Plural |
Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative |
νέοι νέων νέους νέοι |
|
νέες νέων νέες νέες |
|
καλές καλών καλές καλές |
|
γλυκές γλυκών γλυκές γλυκές |
|
νέα νέων νέα νέα |
|
| |
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, ) and the feminine Group 1 (-α), while the neuter ends in -ικο , e.g. τεμπέλης, τεμπέλα, τεμπέλικο .
- Some adjectives of learned origin which lack a separate form for the feminine, using the regular -ος paradigm both for the masculine and the feminine gender, e.g. έγκυος .
- Another class of learned origin, with masculine/feminine in -ης and neuter in -ες , e.g. διεθνής ( 'international').
- A small group of adjectives in -ύς, -ιά, -ύ , e.g. βαρύς , and the similar but even more irregular single item πολύς, πολλή, πολύ .
- These adjectives are declined this way:
| |
Group 1: -ής, -ές/-είς, -ή συνεχής
|
Group 2: -ης, -ες/-εις, -η συνήθης
|
Group 3: -υς, -υ/-εις, -ια βαθύς
|
| Masc. - Fem. |
Neuter |
Masc. - Fem. |
Neuter |
Masculine |
Feminine |
Neuter |
| Singular |
Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative |
συνεχής συνεχούς συνεχή συνεχής |
|
συνεχές συνεχούς συνεχές συνεχές |
|
συνήθης συνήθους συνήθη συνήθης |
|
σύνηθες συνήθους σύνηθες σύνηθες |
|
βαθύς βαθέος βαθύ βαθύ |
|
βαθιά βαθιάς βαθιά βαθιά |
|
βαθύ βαθέος βαθύ βαθύ |
|
| Plural |
Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative |
συνεχείς συνεχών συνεχείς συνεχείς |
|
συνεχή συνεχών συνεχή συνεχή |
|
συνήθεις συνήθων συνήθεις συνήθεις |
|
συνήθη συνήθων συνήθη συνήθη |
|
βαθείς or βαθιοί βαθέων or βαθιών βαθείς βαθείς or βαθιοί |
or or
or |
βαθιές βαθιών βαθιές βαθιές |
|
βαθέα or βαθιά βαθέων or βαθιών βαθέα or βαθιά βαθέα or βαθιά |
or or or or |
- The adjective πολύς - πολλή - πολύ is declined this way:
| |
Masculine |
Feminine |
Neuter |
| Singular |
Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative |
πολύς πολλού πολύ πολύ |
|
πολλή πολλής πολλή πολλή |
|
πολύ πολλού πολύ πολύ |
|
| Plural |
Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative |
πολλοί πολλών πολλούς πολλοί |
|
πολλές πολλών πολλές πολλές |
|
πολλά πολλών πολλά πολλά |
|
Comparative
Adjectives in Modern Greek can form a
comparativeIn 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 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
superlativeIn grammar the superlative of an adjective or adverb is the greatest form of adjective or adverb which indicates that something has some feature to a greater degree than anything it is being compared to in a given context...
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
elativeIn 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 color adjectives, though differing in certain details...
, expressing the meaning 'very …' (e.g.
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 (e.g. του μίλησα, , 'I talked to him'), and as a post-nominal clitic to express possession (e.g. οι φίλοι του, , 'his friends'). The strong genitive forms are relatively rare and used only for special emphasis (e.g. αυτού οι φίλοι, , '
his friends'); often they are doubled by the weak forms (e.g. αυτού του μίλησα, , '
him I talked to'). An alternative way of giving emphasis to a possessive pronoun is propping it up with the stressed adjective δικός , e.g. οι δικοί του φίλοι .
Accusative pronouns exist both in a weak and a strong form. The weak form is used as a pre-verbal clitic (e.g. τον είδα, , 'I saw him'); the strong form is used elsewhere in the clause (e.g. είδα αυτόν, , 'I saw
him'). Third-person pronouns have separate forms for the three genders; those of the first and second Person do not. The weak third-person forms are similar to the corresponding forms of the definite article. The strong third-person forms function simultaneously as generic demonstratives ('this, that').
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 or (αυτωνών, αυτουνούς etc.)
| |
1st person |
2nd person |
3rd person |
| Masc. |
Fem. |
Neut. |
| Strong |
Singular |
Nominative |
εγώ |
| εσύ |
| αυτός |
| αυτή |
| αυτό |
|
| Genitive |
εμένα |
| εσένα |
| αυτoύ |
| αυτής |
| αυτού |
|
| Accusative |
εμένα |
| εσένα |
| αυτόν |
| αυτήν |
| αυτό |
|
| Plural |
Nominative |
εμείς |
| εσείς |
| αυτοί |
| αυτές |
| αυτά |
|
| Genitive |
εμάς |
| εσάς |
| αυτών |
| αυτών |
| αυτών |
|
| Accusative |
εμάς |
| εσάς |
| αυτούς |
| αυτές |
| αυτά |
|
| Weak |
Singular |
Nominative |
– |
|
– |
|
τος |
| τη |
| το |
|
| Genitive |
μου |
| σου |
| του |
| της |
| του |
|
| Accusative |
με |
| σε |
| τον |
| τη(ν) |
| το |
|
| Plural |
Nominative |
– |
|
– |
|
τοι |
| τες |
| τα |
|
| Genitive |
μας |
| σας |
| τους |
| τους |
| τους |
|
| Accusative |
μας |
| σας |
| τους |
| τις |
| τα |
|
Besides αυτός as a generic demonstrative, there are also the more specific spatial demonstrative pronouns τούτος, -η, -ο and εκείνος, -η, -ο .
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 |
| μία |
| ένα |
| τρεις |
| τρία |
| τέσσερις |
| τέσσερα |
|
| Genitive |
ενός |
| μιας |
| ενός |
| τριών |
| τριών |
| τεσσάρων |
| τεσσάρων |
|
| Accusative |
|
| μία |
| ένα |
| τρεις |
| τρία |
| τέσσερις |
| τέσσερα |
|
Prepositions
In Demotic Greek, prepositions normally require the accusative case: 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, e.g. 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 (e.g. 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
conjunctionsIn grammar, a conjunction is a part of speech that connects two words, phrases or clauses together. This definition may overlap with that of other parts of speech, so what constitutes a "conjunction" should be defined for each language...
in Greek include:
| Kinds |
Conjunctions |
Meaning |
| Copulative |
και (κι), ούτε, μήτε, ουδέ, μηδέ |
and, neither |
| Separatist |
ή, είτε |
or |
| Negative |
μα, αλλά, παρά, όμως, ωστόσο, ενώ, αν και, μολονότι, μόνο |
but |
| Inferential |
λοιπόν, ώστε, άρα, επομένως, που |
so, so as |
| Explanatory |
δηλαδή |
so |
| 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 |
| Efficacious |
ώστε (να), που |
so as |
| Hesitant |
μη(ν), μήπως |
maybe, perhaps |
| Comparative |
παρά |
The word να serves as a generic subordinator corresponding roughly to English
to (+ infinitive) or
that in sentences like προτιμώ να πάω or προτιμώ να πάει ο Γιάννης . 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 and πως , 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 vs. μας είπε πως πήγε βόλτα . When used on its own with a following verb, να may express a wish or order, as in να πάει! . 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 may refer to:*Proto-Indo-European language, the hypothetical common ancestor of the Indo-European languages.*Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language....
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 , or with a negated order or recommendation, as in: μας είπε να μην πάμε βόλτα ; να μην πάει! . When used alone with a verb in the second person, it forms the functional equivalent to a negative imperative: μην πας! . 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 , μην παίξεις .
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 itemIn linguistics a polarity item is an expression which is sensitive to the presence, in the same sentence, of certain other expressions, known as "licensing" expressions....
on the constituent to be negated, as in: δεν έχω κανένα νέο . 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. ( '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 |
or
|
καμία καμιάς καμία |
|
κανένα κανενός κανένα |
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- 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
relativizerIn 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 , as in: η γυναίκα που είδα χτες . 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 .
The second, rarer and more formal, form of relative clauses employs complex inflected
relative pronounA relative pronoun is a pronoun that marks a relative clause within a larger sentence. It is called a relative pronoun because it relates to the word that it modifies. In English, relative pronouns are who, whom, which, whose, and that....
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 ( 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 ; η γυναίκα της οποίας βρήκα την τσάντα .