Object Pronouns in Greek

In Brief

Greek weak object pronouns are short, unstressed words such as με (“me”), τον (“him”), and σου (“to you”). In an ordinary statement, they go before the verb: Τον βλέπω (“I see him”) and Σου μιλάω (“I am talking to you”). Use an accusative form for a direct object and a genitive form for an indirect object.

Overview

An object is a person or thing affected by an action. In “Maria sees Nikos,” Maria is the subject—the person doing the seeing—and Nikos is the direct object—the person being seen. Instead of repeating “Nikos,” English can say “Maria sees him.” Modern Greek does the same job with an object pronoun: Η Μαρία βλέπει τον Νίκο becomes Η Μαρία τον βλέπει.

Greek has weak object pronouns, also called clitic pronouns. A clitic is a short, unstressed word that stays closely attached to a verb. This matters because Greek normally puts these pronouns before a finite verb, while English puts words such as “me,” “him,” and “them” after it: Με ξέρει literally has the order “me knows,” but naturally means “He/She knows me.”

At A2, the main task is to choose between a direct object (the person or thing directly affected) and an indirect object (usually the recipient or person addressed), then place the pronoun correctly. You already know the personal pronouns used as subjects; object pronouns are a separate set and cannot simply be substituted for them.

How It Works

Direct object pronouns

Direct object pronouns use the accusative case—a form that marks the direct object. In the third person, the form agrees with the gender and number of the noun it replaces.

Person	Singular	Plural
first person	με — me	μας — us
second person	σε — you	σας — you (plural or polite)
third person masculine	τον — him/it	τους — them
third person feminine	την — her/it	τις — them
third person neuter	το — it	τα — them

The third-person choice follows the Greek noun’s grammatical gender, not whether the object is naturally male or female:

• Βλέπω τον Γιώργο. → Τον βλέπω. — “I see George.”
• Αγοράζω την εφημερίδα. → Την αγοράζω. — “I buy the newspaper.”
• Θέλω το εισιτήριο. → Το θέλω. — “I want the ticket.”
• Πλένω τα ποτήρια. → Τα πλένω. — “I wash the glasses.”

English “it” and “them” therefore have several possible Greek equivalents. To choose correctly, remember the gender and number of the noun being replaced: ο καφές → τον, η τσάντα → την, το κλειδί → το.

Indirect object pronouns

Indirect object pronouns normally use the genitive case. In plain terms, these forms commonly mean “to me,” “to you,” “to him,” and so on. They occur with verbs of giving, saying, showing, sending, and speaking, among others.

Person	Singular	Plural
first person	μου — to me	μας — to us
second person	σου — to you	σας — to you (plural or polite)
third person masculine	του — to him	τους — to them
third person feminine	της — to her	τους — to them
third person neuter	του — to it	τους — to them

Compare the object’s role:

• Με βλέπει. — “He/She sees me.” Here με is direct: I am the person seen.
• Μου μιλάει. — “He/She speaks to me.” Here μου is indirect: I am the person addressed.
• Σε άκουσα. — “I heard you.”
• Σου είπα την αλήθεια. — “I told you the truth.”

The pairs με/μου and σε/σου deserve special practice because English does not always signal the difference clearly. Ask what the verb means: does the action directly affect someone, or is something said, given, or shown to that person?

The forms μας and σας look identical in the direct and indirect roles. Their meaning comes from the verb and the rest of the sentence:

• Μας είδε. — “He/She saw us.” (direct)
• Μας έδωσε νερό. — “He/She gave us water.” (indirect)

Likewise, τους can mean masculine “them” as a direct object or “to them” as an indirect object: Τους είδα (“I saw them”) versus Τους μίλησα (“I spoke to them”).

Basic word order

In statements and most questions, put the weak pronoun immediately before the finite verb—the verb carrying tense and person:

subject + object pronoun + verb

• Η Ελένη τον ξέρει. — “Eleni knows him.”
• Με θυμάσαι; — “Do you remember me?”
• Δεν μου απάντησε. — “He/She did not answer me.”

The same position is used with θα for the future, να for the subjunctive (the common Greek structure after wanting, needing, or being able), and negative μη(ν). The pronoun stands after these particles but before the verb:

• Θα σε πάρω αύριο. — “I will call you tomorrow.”
• Θέλω να του μιλήσω. — “I want to speak to him.”
• Μην την ενοχλείς. — “Don’t bother her.”

In a compound tense, the pronoun comes before the auxiliary—the helping verb έχω—rather than beside the participle: Τον έχω δει (“I have seen him”).

A beginner exception: positive commands

With a positive imperative (a direct command), the weak pronoun follows the verb:

• Άκουσέ με! — “Listen to me!”
• Πάρε το! — “Take it!”
• Πες του! — “Tell him!”

The written accent may change because the verb and pronoun are pronounced as one rhythmic group: άκου becomes άκουσέ με. Do not try to master every accent adjustment at once; first remember the contrast: ordinary sentence before, positive command after.

Examples in Context

Greek	English	Note
Με βλέπει κάθε πρωί.	He/She sees me every morning.	με is a direct object.
Σου δίνω το βιβλίο.	I am giving you the book.	σου marks the recipient.
Τον αγαπάω πολύ.	I love him very much.	Masculine singular direct object.
Τους είπα τα νέα.	I told them the news.	τους means “to them.”
Την περιμένουμε έξω.	We are waiting for her outside.	Feminine singular direct object.
Τα χρειάζεσαι σήμερα;	Do you need them today?	τα replaces neuter plural things.
Δεν μας άκουσαν.	They did not hear us.	μας is direct.
Ο γιατρός σάς εξηγεί το πρόβλημα.	The doctor is explaining the problem to you.	Polite or plural σας; the accent may be written to avoid ambiguity.
Θα σε πάρω μετά τη δουλειά.	I’ll call you after work.	Pronoun after θα, before the verb.
Θέλω να της μιλήσω.	I want to speak to her.	Pronoun after να, before the verb.
Τον έχεις γνωρίσει;	Have you met him?	Before the auxiliary έχεις.
Πάρε το μαζί σου.	Take it with you.	After a positive command.
Μην το ανοίξεις ακόμα.	Don’t open it yet.	Before the verb in a negative command.
Τις βλέπω συχνά στο λεωφορείο.	I often see them on the bus.	τις replaces feminine plural people.

Common Mistakes

Putting the pronoun after an ordinary verb

• Wrong: Βλέπω τον.
• Right: Τον βλέπω.
• Why: A weak object pronoun goes before the verb in an ordinary statement. The post-verbal position belongs to positive commands such as Δες τον! (“Look at him!”), not to βλέπω.

Using a direct form for an indirect recipient

• Wrong: Σε δίνω το βιβλίο.
• Right: Σου δίνω το βιβλίο.
• Why: The book is what is given directly; “you” is the recipient. Greek therefore uses indirect σου, meaning “to you.”

Choosing every “it” as το

• Wrong: Το αγοράζω when referring to η εφημερίδα (“the newspaper”).
• Right: Την αγοράζω.
• Why: Greek pronouns agree with the replaced noun. Since εφημερίδα is feminine singular, use την, even though English uses gender-neutral “it.”

Confusing a subject with an object

• Wrong: Αυτός βλέπω. for “I see him.”
• Right: Τον βλέπω.
• Why: αυτός is normally a strong subject or demonstrative form (“he/this one”). The weak direct-object form is τον.

Forgetting the command pattern

• Wrong: Με άκου! as a positive command.
• Right: Άκουσέ με!
• Why: Positive commands place the weak pronoun after the imperative. Negative commands return to the before-verb pattern: Μη με ακούς! (“Don’t listen to me!”).

Treating τους as having only one meaning

• Wrong assumption: τους always means direct “them.”
• Right interpretation: Use the verb and context: Τους είδα is “I saw them,” but Τους τηλεφώνησα is “I phoned them/to them.”
• Why: τους serves both as masculine plural accusative and as plural genitive.

Usage Notes

Weak pronouns are extremely common in both speech and writing. Greek normally prefers them when the person or thing is already known from context. Repeating a full noun can sound unnecessarily heavy, just as repeatedly saying “the ticket” instead of “it” would in English.

Modern Greek often uses an indirect genitive pronoun where English has a direct-looking object. Learn the pattern together with the verb: μου λέει (“tells me”), μου μιλάει (“speaks to me”), μου τηλεφωνεί (“phones me”), and μου απαντάει (“answers me”). A word-for-word English test is less reliable than remembering the Greek verb with its usual object form.

In careful writing, μου, σου, του and similar forms are normally unstressed. An accent can be added where needed to prevent a misleading reading, especially when a pronoun could be mistaken for a possessive after a noun. You may therefore see forms such as μού or σάς in disambiguating contexts. This does not create a new pronoun or change its role.

The second-person plural σας is also the polite singular form. The grammar does not change: Σας ευχαριστώ can mean “I thank you all” or polite “Thank you.” Context identifies the intended meaning.

Beyond the Basics: Strong Forms and Pronoun Combinations

You do not need to master everything in this section at A2, but these patterns explain forms you will soon encounter.

Greek also has strong pronouns, used after prepositions or for emphasis and contrast: εμένα, εσένα, αυτόν, αυτήν, εμάς, εσάς, αυτούς. They are pronounced with their own stress. A weak pronoun cannot normally stand alone as the answer to “Who?”:

• Ποιον περιμένεις; — Εσένα. — “Who are you waiting for? — You.”
• Εμένα με ξέρει, αλλά εσένα όχι. — “He/She knows me, but not you.”

The second example contains clitic doubling: the strong form εμένα adds contrast, while weak με still marks the object next to the verb. English usually expresses this contrast through stress; Greek often makes it explicit with both forms.

Two weak object pronouns can appear together when a verb has both a recipient and a thing transferred. The indirect pronoun comes first and the direct pronoun second:

• Μου το δίνει. — “He/She gives it to me.”
• Σου τον στέλνω. — “I am sending him to you.”
• Της τα έδειξα. — “I showed them to her.”

This is the separate topic of double object pronouns. For now, notice that the whole group remains before an ordinary verb. With a positive command, it follows: Δώσ’ μου το (“Give it to me”).

With the modern Greek adverbial participle in -οντας/-ώντας—a form meaning roughly “while doing”—the pronoun follows it: βλέποντάς τον (“on seeing him/while seeing him”). An extra accent can appear for pronunciation. This is a later-level pattern, but it follows the same broad principle as positive imperatives: non-finite or command-like forms can host the pronoun after them.

Finally, a full prepositional phrase may be clearer or more emphatic than an indirect weak pronoun: Έδωσα το βιβλίο σε αυτόν (“I gave the book to him”). In everyday Greek, the shorter Του έδωσα το βιβλίο is often more natural when “him” is already known.

Practice Tips

1. Learn nouns with their article. Make three small groups—ο nouns, η nouns, and το nouns—then replace each noun with τον, την, or το. Repeat in the plural with τους, τις, and τα.
2. Build contrast pairs. Say Με βλέπει / Μου μιλάει, Σε ακούω / Σου απαντάω, and Τους ξέρω / Τους τηλεφωνώ. The repeated contrast trains you to hear direct versus indirect roles.
3. Move the pronoun around one verb. Compare Το παίρνω (“I take it”), Θα το πάρω (“I will take it”), Να το πάρεις (“You should take it”), and Πάρε το! (“Take it!”). This makes the positive-command exception memorable.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Personal Pronouns — introduces person, number, and the basic distinction between subject and object forms.
• Next step: Double Object Pronouns — combines an indirect and a direct pronoun, as in μου το and σου τον.