Greek Grammar

Subject pronouns: εγώ, εσύ, αυτός/αυτή/αυτό, εμείς, εσείς, αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά. Often omitted as verbs show person.

Greek has three genders: masculine (ο άντρας), feminine (η γυναίκα), neuter (το παιδί). Gender shown by articles and noun endings.

Definite articles decline: ο/η/το (nom), του/της/του (gen), τον/την/το (acc). Plural: οι/οι/τα, των, τους/τις/τα.

Indefinite articles: ένας/μία (μια)/ένα. Decline like adjectives. Used for 'a/an' and the number 'one'.

Modern Greek has 4 cases: nominative (subject), genitive (possession), accusative (object), vocative (address). Vocative often = nominative.

The verb 'είμαι' (to be): είμαι, είσαι, είναι, είμαστε, είστε, είναι. Essential for identity and descriptions.

The verb 'έχω' (to have): έχω, έχεις, έχει, έχουμε, έχετε, έχουν. Used for possession and as auxiliary.

First conjugation (-ω): -ω, -εις, -ει, -ουμε, -ετε, -ουν. Common verbs: γράφω (write), διαβάζω (read), μένω (stay).

Second conjugation (-ώ/-άω): -ώ/-άω, -άς, -ά/-άει, -άμε/-ούμε, -άτε, -ούν/-άν(ε). Common verbs: μιλάω (speak), αγαπώ (love).

Adjectives agree in gender, number, case: καλός/καλή/καλό, μεγάλος/μεγάλη/μεγάλο. Placed before or after noun.

Negation with δεν (don't/doesn't) before verb. Past/future: δεν. Subjunctive: μην. Double negation possible.

Yes/no questions by intonation. Question words: τι (what), ποιος (who), πού (where), πότε (when), πώς (how), γιατί (why).

Weak possessives (μου, σου, του/της/του, μας, σας, τους) follow the noun. Strong forms for emphasis.

Common prepositions: σε (in/to/at), από (from), με (with), για (for), χωρίς (without). σε + article contracts.

Cardinals 0-100, ordinals. Some numbers decline (1-4). Telling time: τι ώρα είναι; Days, months, seasons.

Masculine noun endings: -ος (ο δρόμος), -ας (ο πατέρας), -ης (ο μαθητής). Decline in all four cases, singular and plural.

Feminine noun endings: -α (η μέρα), -η (η τέχνη), -ος (η οδός). Each group has distinct declension patterns.

Neuter noun endings: -ο (το βιβλίο), -ι (το παιδί), -μα (το γράμμα). Nominative = accusative. Genitive adds -ου or changes.

μπορώ (can), θέλω (want), πρέπει (must) + να + subjunctive. πρέπει is impersonal (doesn't conjugate for person).

Common conjunctions: και (and), αλλά (but), ή (or), γιατί (because), επειδή (because), όταν (when), αν (if).

αυτός/αυτή/αυτό (this) and εκείνος/εκείνη/εκείνο (that). Decline for gender, number, case. Placed before article+noun.

Location adverbs: εδώ (here), εκεί (there), πάνω (up/on), κάτω (down), μέσα (inside), έξω (outside), δεξιά (right), αριστερά (left).

Time adverbs: τώρα (now), σήμερα (today), χθες (yesterday), αύριο (tomorrow), πάντα (always), ποτέ (never), συχνά (often).

Essential phrases: γεια σου/σας (hello/goodbye), καλημέρα (good morning), ευχαριστώ (thank you), παρακαλώ (please/you're welcome).

Plural formation varies by gender/ending: -ος→-οι, -ης→-ες, -α→-ες, -η→-ες, -ο→-α, -ι→-ια, -μα→-ματα. Irregular plurals exist.

μου αρέσει (I like, lit. 'it pleases me'). Subject is the thing liked, indirect object pronoun for the person. Plural: μου αρέσουν.

υπάρχει (there is) / υπάρχουν (there are). Used for existence and availability. Different from είναι for descriptions.

Key motion verbs: πάω/πηγαίνω (go), έρχομαι (come), φεύγω (leave), φτάνω (arrive). Many are irregular or deponent.

σε contracts with definite articles: σε+τον=στον, σε+την=στην, σε+το=στο, σε+τους=στους, σε+τις=στις, σε+τα=στα.

Basic quantity adverbs: πολύ (very/a lot), λίγο (a little), αρκετά (quite/enough), πάρα πολύ (too much). Modify verbs and adjectives.

Simple past (aorist) for completed actions. Two types: sigmatic (-σα) and non-sigmatic. Irregular verbs common.

Imperfect for ongoing/habitual past actions. Built from present stem + past endings: έγραφα, έγραφες, έγραφε...

Subjunctive with να + verb: να γράψω (to write/that I write). Used after θέλω, μπορώ, πρέπει, and for wishes/purposes.

Weak object pronouns: με/μου, σε/σου, τον-την-το/του-της-του, μας, σας, τους-τις-τα/τους. Placed before verb.

Comparative: πιο + adjective or -ότερος/-ύτερος. Superlative: ο πιο + adj or -ότατος. Irregular: καλός→καλύτερος.

Aorist for completed single actions, imperfect for ongoing/habitual past. Distinction essential for narrating past events.

Temporal conjunctions: όταν (when), ενώ (while), πριν (before), αφού (after), μόλις (as soon as), μέχρι (until).

Indefinites: κάποιος (someone), κάτι (something), κανένας/κανείς (no one), τίποτα (nothing), κάθε (every), όλοι (all).

Combining indirect + direct object pronouns before verb: μου το (it to me), σου τον (him to you). Indirect always precedes direct.

Verbs with passive form but active meaning: έρχομαι (come), κοιμάμαι (sleep), φοβάμαι (fear), σκέφτομαι (think).

Quantity words: πολύ/πολύς (much/many), λίγο/λίγος (little/few), αρκετός (enough), μερικοί (some). Agree in gender/number.

Reflexive expressed via passive/mediopassive forms: ντύνομαι (I dress myself), πλένομαι (I wash myself). Also τον εαυτό μου (myself).

Simple future: θα + subjunctive stem. Continuous future: θα + present stem. θα γράψω (will write once), θα γράφω (will be writing).

Perfect: έχω + past participle (passive/nonfinite). Expresses completed actions with present relevance.

Commands from aorist stem (perfective) or present stem (imperfective). γράψε! (write once), γράφε! (keep writing). Negative: μην.

Passive/mediopassive endings: -μαι, -σαι, -ται, -μαστε, -στε, -νται. Many verbs are deponent (passive form, active meaning).

Relative pronoun που (who/which/that) is invariable. Formal: ο οποίος/η οποία/το οποίο (declines).

Future perfect: θα + έχω + past participle. Actions completed before a future point: θα έχω γράψει (I will have written).

να-clauses as complements after verbs of wishing, commanding, allowing, feeling. Replace infinitive (which Greek lacks).

Impersonal verbs and constructions: πρέπει (must), φαίνεται (it seems), αξίζει (it's worth), χρειάζεται (it's needed), βρέχει (it rains).

Real conditionals: αν + present/future, θα + future. Express likely or possible situations.

Compound prepositions: μαζί με (together with), εκτός από (except for), μπροστά σε (in front of), πίσω από (behind), κοντά σε (near).

Beyond basic: ούτε...ούτε (neither...nor), είτε...είτε (either...or), ωστόσο (however), παρόλο που (although), ώστε (so that).

Adverbs formed from adjectives: -α ending. καλός→καλά, γρήγορος→γρήγορα. Also irregular: πολύ, λίγο, τέλεια.

Complex comparisons: τόσο...όσο (as...as), ίδιος/ίδια/ίδιο (same), όσο...τόσο (the more...the more), υπερθετικός (superlative).

Subjunctive used in future-referring time clauses: πριν να (before), μέχρι να (until), μόλις (as soon as with future reference).

Past perfect: είχα + past participle. Actions completed before another past action.

Real (αν + indicative), unreal present (αν + imperfect, θα + imperfect), unreal past (αν + past perfect, θα + past perfect).

Reported speech with ότι/πως (that), αν (if/whether). Greek often keeps original tense in indirect speech.

Present participle (-οντας/-ώντας): γράφοντας (writing). Past participle (-μένος): γραμμένος (written). Used adverbially and adjectivally.

Causal: επειδή, αφού, μια και (because/since). Purpose: για να + subjunctive (in order to), ώστε να (so that).

Passive past: -θηκα endings. γράφτηκα (I was written), χτίστηκε (it was built). Irregular stems frequent.

Concession: αν και, παρόλο που, μολονότι (although/even though), ακόμα κι αν (even if). Express contrast.

Third conditional: αν + υπερσυντέλικος, θα + είχα + past participle. Express regret about past impossibilities.

Genitive of time/cause (της νύχτας, at night), accusative of extent (μια ώρα, for one hour), stylistic case choices.

Expressing causation: βάζω κάποιον να (make someone), κάνω κάποιον να (cause someone to), αφήνω να (let). No morphological causative.

Katharevousa influences in formal Greek: ancient vocabulary, participle constructions, dative case remnants.

Prefixes modify verb meaning: ξανα- (re-), παρα- (over-/mis-), απο- (away), συν- (with), προ- (before).

Greek word formation: prefixes (ξε-, αντι-), suffixes (-τής, -ισμός, -ικός), compounding (ηλεκτρ-ικός, αντι-πρόεδρος).

Tense agreement in complex sentences. Greek is more flexible than English but formal writing follows sequence rules, especially with να-clauses.

Complex idioms involving verbs, prepositions, and fixed phrases. Body parts, animals, and nature idioms. Metaphorical language.

Formal written Greek: academic vocabulary, complex sentence structures, passive constructions, impersonal style common in essays and news.

Result clauses: τόσο...ώστε (so...that), τόσο...που (so...that), με αποτέλεσμα να (with the result that).

Fixed expressions and vocabulary from Ancient Greek still used: εν τάξει, εκ νέου, εν πάση περιπτώσει. Dative and ancient forms in set phrases.

Informal Greek features: contractions, discourse particles (ρε, μωρέ), regional variations, slang, youth language.

Greek proverbs and idioms: χτυπάω δύο μύγες με μια πέτρα, βρέχει καρεκλοπόδαρα, έχω κουκούλα.

Dialectal features: Cretan, Cypriot, Pontic, island dialects. Pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar differences from standard Modern Greek.

Administrative Greek: heavy katharevousa influence, complex passive, nominalized verbs, formal vocabulary used in government, law, contracts.

Non-standard word order for emphasis or style: fronting (topicalization), cleft sentences, right dislocation, anacoluthon.

Literary Greek features: archaic verb forms, poetic vocabulary, rhetorical devices, references to ancient mythology and literature.