Adjectives

Greek adjectives agree with nouns in gender, number and case. They are listed in the dictionary as :-

first	καλος, -η, -ο

'καλος' is used when referring to a masculine noun, καλη to a feminine noun and καλο to a neuter noun.

Adjectives condensed

In brief, when a noun is the subject, the adjective describing the noun often ends in -ο if the noun is masculine, -η if the noun is feminine and -ο if the noun is neuter. In the plural these endings are ούς, ες, α.

Greek Adjectives describes adjectives in more depth.

The Definite Article

The definite article in Greek varies depending on the gender and case of the noun.

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ο	η	το
Accusative	το(ν)	τη(ν)	το

Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	οι	οι	τα
Accusative	τους	τις	τα

τον and την are used before a vowel.

A few examples using the definite article.

ι πληροφορια	the piece of information
οι πληροφοριες	the information (plural)
βλέπώ τον επιβάτη	I see the passenger
Ευχαριστώ για τις πληροφοριες	thanks for the information (plural)

The accusative case is used after 'για' (for) so the phrase 'thanks for the information' uses the definite article in the accusative.

The Indefinite Article

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ενας	μια	ένα
Accusative	ενα(ν)	μια	ένα

Before a vowel the accusative masculine indefinite article is 'εναν'. E.g. 'βλέπώ εναν άχθοφόρο' (I see a porter.)

The indefinite article agrees in gender and case with the noun. So, a hotel 'ένα ξενοδοχείο' uses 'ένα' in the nominative since the word hotel is neuter, but when referring to a masculine noun 'ενας' is used. E.g. 'ενας σταθμός' (a station).

Similarly, the Masculine definite article is 'τον' and feminine definite article is 'την' before a vowel.

The indefinite article is not used in the plural.

Nouns and Gender

Greek nouns decline and can be masculine, feminine or neuter. (See grammatical terms). Nouns in Greek are listed in the nominative case in the dictionary. 'ο άυτρας' (the man), η δραχμή (the drachma) and το δωμάτιο (the room) are masculine, feminine and neuter respectively (in the nominative case).

Masculine nouns commonly end in -ος, -ας and -ης.

Feminine nouns commonly end in -η and -α. Most animate nouns ending in -η are feminine.

Neuter nouns commonly end in -ο and -ι. Most inanimate nouns ending in -η are neuter.

But to be totally sure of the gender of a noun you have to learn it. The nouns from FSI-Greek are listed along with their definite article which gives the gender.

Greek Nouns. Singular

Masculine nouns change their ending depending on the case. The definite article also differs or disappears altogether in the singular depending on case and gender.

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ο άντρας	η δραχμή	το δωμάτιο
Accusative	τον άντρα	τη δραχμή	το δωμάτιο
Vocative	άντρα	δραχμή	δωμάτιο

Greek Nouns. Plural

Some guidelines :-

There is no indefinite article in the plural.

To form the plural of a masculine noun ending -ας or -ης, replace the ending with ες.

To form the plural of a masculine noun ending -ος , replace the ending with -οι.

To form the plural of a feminine noun replace the last letter with -ες.

To form the plural of a neuter noun replace the last letter with -α.

The definite article can either change or be ommitted completely depending on gender and case. See table.

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	οι άυτρας	οι θέσεις	τα εισιτήρια
Accusative	τους άυτρας	τις θέσεις	τα εισιτήρια
Vocative	άυτρας	θέσεις	εισιτήρια

A few examples of plurals in the nominative.

το εισιτήριο (ticket)	τα εισιτήρια' (tickets)
η θέση (the seat)	οι θέσεις (seats)
το τρένο (the train)	τα τρένα (the trains)
ο σταθμός (the station)	οι σταθμοι (the stations)

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns in the nominative. Singular and plural.

I	εχώ	We	εμείς
You	εσύ	You (plural, polite)	εσείς
He (informal)	αυτός	They (masc)	αυτοί
She	αυτή	They (fem)	αυτές
It	αυτό	They (neuter)	αυτά
Personal pronouns are not used as frequently in Greek as in English as the person of the verb (E.g. I, you, etc ) is indicated from the ending. They are used for emphasis or when it is not clear to whom the verb refers from the context. So in the phrase 'αυτός θέλει καφέ' (he wants coffee) it is not necessary to use 'αυτός' (he) as this is clear from the ending of the verb 'θέλει'. The pronouns for he, she, it and they are also used for the this and these. This αυτός, αυτή, αυτό These αυτοί, αυτές, αυτά Examples using this and these: αυτός ο αχθοφόρος this porter (masculine noun) αυτή η βαλίτςα this case (feminine noun) Prepositions In Greek Prepositions come before Nouns and the noun usually takes the Accusative case. χωρίς without χωρίς γάλα without milk με with με γάλα with milk με μπάνιο with bathroom Play με ντους with shower παρά to (time related) Είναι έντεκα παρά τέταρτο It is quarter to eleven Play και and (also past) Είναι τέσσερις και τέταρτο It is quarter past four Play Prepositions. From από from απ εδώ from here απ τήν Αθήνα from Athens Prepositions. For για for Αυτό είναι το τρένο για ..; Is this the train for ..? Play για τήυ Πάτρα for Patras για τήυ Αθήυα for Athens Ένα εισιτήριο για .. a ticket for/to Play Ευχαριστώ για τις πληροφοριες thanks for the information (plural) Prepositions. At, In, On, To The Prepositions 'σε' can mean 'at', 'in', 'on' or 'to' depending on the context. σε at, in, on, to Μπορείτε να μου το δείξετε στο χάρτη Can you show me on the map? Play όλες ο κόσμος πηγαϊνει στό καφενείο Everyone goes to the cafe Verbs Greek verbs are divided into three categories. Category 1 Regular verbs ending in unstressed -ω (in the first person present). These are broadly split into verbs which have two syllables (dissyllabic) in the first person present such as 'πίνω' and 'εχω', and those which have more than two (polysyllabic) such as 'αρχίζω'. An example of a dissyllabic verb The verb εχω 'to have', a dissyllabic verb is conjugated as follows : I have εχ ω You have εχ εις He/she/it has εχ ει We have εχ ονμε You have εχ ετε They have εχ ουν An example of a polysyllabic verb The verb αρχίζω 'to leave', a polysyllabic verb is conjugated as follows : I leave αρχίζ ω You leave αρχίζ εις He/she/it leaves αρχίζ ει We leave αρχίζ ονμε You leave αρχίζ ετε They leave αρχίζ ουν The Verb - can, to be able The verb μπορώ 'to be able' is conjugated as follows : I can μπορώ You can μπορεις He/she/it can μπορει We can μπορούμε You can μπορείτε They can μπορούν The Verb - to be The irregular verb είμαι 'to be' is conjugated as follows : I am είμαι You are είσαι He/she/it is είυαι We are είμαστε You are είστε They are είυαι Verb. Examples Examples of Greek verbs. The ending 'ω' gives the meaning 'I' and ετε 'You' (formal) to the verb. These two endings in particular occur in many of the Greek phrases on SurfaceLanguages. φεύγω για τήυ Πάτρα I leave for Patra φεύγεις για τήυ Πάτρα You leave for Patra όλες ο κόσμος πηγαϊυει στό καφενείο Everyone goes to the cafe πίνω I drink πίνετε You drink δίψω I am thirsty αρχίζω I start αρχίζει It starts αvτός θελει καφέ He wants coffee πίνετε πάντα καφέ You always drink coffee The Greek alphabet αβγδεζηθικλ μνξοπρσςτvφs χψωάέήίϊΐόύ ϋΰώ!;,. ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛ ΜΝΞΟΠΡΣςΤΥΦ ΧΨΩΆΈΉΊΪΐΌΎ ΫΰΏ Greek Grammar Adjectives Definite Article Indefinite Article Nouns and Gender Nouns. Plural Nouns. Singular Personal Pronouns Prepositions Prepositions. At, In, On, To Prepositions. For Prepositions. From Verbs Verbs. Examples Verbs - to be able Verbs - to have   Copyright Moonface. All Rights Reserved