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Greek grammar A1: beginner

The past

Contents · A1
  1. The present tense
  2. The past
    1. Saying how things were: the past of είμαι and έχω, ήμουν, είχα
    2. Telling what happened: the simple past (past simple) of regular verbs, έκανα, μίλησα
    3. Telling what happened: irregular verbs in the simple past (past simple), πήγα, είδα, ήρθα
  3. The future and the να-form
  4. The imperative
  5. Nouns and articles
  6. The cases
  7. Adjectives
  8. Pronouns and possessives
  9. Numbers and the time
  10. Questions and negation
  11. Linking words and word order
  12. Writing Greek

In this part, you will learn to talk about the past: where you were, what you had, what you did.

  1. Saying how things were: the past of είμαι and έχω, ήμουν, είχα
  2. Telling what happened: the simple past (past simple) of regular verbs, έκανα, μίλησα
  3. Telling what happened: irregular verbs in the simple past (past simple), πήγα, είδα, ήρθα

Saying how things were: the past of είμαι and έχω, ήμουν, είχα#

Είμαι and έχω each have one past, learnt whole: ήμουν (I was) and είχα (I had).

  • Χθες ήμουν πολύ κουρασμένη.I was very tired yesterday.
  • Πού ήσασταν το Σαββατοκύριακο;Where were you at the weekend?
  • Η ταινία ήταν βαρετή.The film was boring.
  • Πέρσι είχαμε ένα μικρό αυτοκίνητο.Last year we had a small car.

Formation

  • The past of είμαι has its own forms, learnt one by one.
  • The past of έχω takes the endings of every Greek past: είχα, είχες, είχε.
  • Longer forms are also correct: ήμουνα, ήσουνα, ήτανε, είχανε.
  • The shorter ήμαστε and ήσαστε are as correct as ήμασταν and ήσασταν.
Personείμαιέχω
εγώήμουνείχα
εσύήσουνείχες
αυτός/αυτή/αυτόήτανείχε
εμείςήμαστανείχαμε
εσείςήσαστανείχατε
αυτοί/αυτές/αυτάήτανείχαν

Difference from English

  • English has two forms, was and were. Greek has five: ήμουν, ήσουν, ήμασταν, ήσασταν, and ήταν for both he, she, it and they.

Common mistakes

  • Κύριε Παππά, πού ήσουν χθες; → Κύριε Παππά, πού ήσασταν χθες;To one person addressed politely, the past of είμαι is in the εσείς form.
  • Εμείς ήταν στο σπίτι. → Εμείς ήμασταν στο σπίτι.Each person has its own past of είμαι; ήταν is only for he, she, it and they.

Remember

  • Learn the past of είμαι whole: Ήμουν στο σπίτι. (“I was at home.”)
  • The past of έχω has the endings of every past: Είχαμε ένα σκύλο. (“We had a dog.”)
  • Use ήσασταν to several people, or to one person politely: Πού ήσασταν, κύριε; (“Where were you, sir?”)

You now know the past of είμαι and έχω: ήμουν and είχα.

Practise

“The past”, Was, were: ήμουν, ήσουν, ήταν “The past”, The persons of the past: -α, -ες, -ε and είχα

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Telling what happened: the simple past (past simple) of regular verbs, έκανα, μίλησα#

The simple past (past simple) is formed from the perfective stem with the endings -α, -ες, -ε, -αμε, -ατε, -αν.

  • Χθες αγόρασα ένα καινούργιο παντελόνι.I bought a new pair of trousers yesterday.
  • Ποιος έκλεισε το παράθυρο;Who closed the window?
  • Το Σάββατο μαγειρέψαμε ψάρι.On Saturday we cooked fish.
  • Τηλεφώνησες στον γιατρό;Did you phone the doctor?
  • Δεν ταξίδεψαν πέρσι.They didn't travel last year.
  • Τα παιδιά έπαιξαν μπάσκετ στο πάρκο.The children played basketball in the park.

Formation

  • The perfective stem is a second stem of the verb, often different from the first: γράφω, έγραψα.
  • In every form of three syllables or more, the stress falls on the third syllable from the end.
  • A form that would have two syllables takes a stressed έ- in front, the augment: κάνω → έκανα. The augment carries the stress on the third syllable from the end.
  • In -αμε and -ατε, the form has one more syllable, so the stress moves forward. The έ- is then dropped: κάναμε, κάνατε.
PersonEndingδιαβάζωκάνωγράφω
εγώ-αδιάβασαέκαναέγραψα
εσύ-εςδιάβασεςέκανεςέγραψες
αυτός/αυτή/αυτό-εδιάβασεέκανεέγραψε
εμείς-αμεδιαβάσαμεκάναμεγράψαμε
εσείς-ατεδιαβάσατεκάνατεγράψατε
αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά-ανδιάβασανέκανανέγραψαν

The perfective stem

  • The perfective stem of most verbs is formed with -σ-, which merges with the last consonant of the stem.
  • Μένω and φτάνω take έ- as κάνω does: έμεινα, μείναμε; έφτασα, φτάσαμε.
  • The past of a few type B verbs is formed in -εσα: καλώ, κάλεσα; μπορώ, μπόρεσα.
PatternPresentPast
-σα: many verbs in -ζω, -νω, and ακούωαγοράζω, πληρώνω, τελειώνω, κλείνω, ακούωαγόρασα, πλήρωσα, τελείωσα, έκλεισα, άκουσα
-ψα: stems in -φ-, -β-, -π-, verbs in -εύωγράφω, δουλεύω, μαγειρεύω, ταξιδεύωέγραψα, δούλεψα, μαγείρεψα, ταξίδεψα
-ξα: stems in -γ-, -χν-, some verbs in -ζωανοίγω, ψάχνω, παίζωάνοιξα, έψαξα, έπαιξα
-ησα: type Bμιλάω, ρωτάω, τηλεφωνώ, οδηγώμίλησα, ρώτησα, τηλεφώνησα, οδήγησα

Use

  • The simple past is used for an action that took place and is over. The action may have happened once, at a given moment, or over a period seen as a whole.
  • The negative is formed with δεν before the verb. A question is marked by intonation alone, with the Greek question mark (;) in writing.

Time expressions

  • Time expressions of the past include χθες, προχθές, πέρσι, and πριν από with a length of time.

→ See also: Where, when, how much: adverbs of place, time and quantity (A1)

Difference from English

  • A finished action may be expressed with “have” in English, in a question or a statement. In Greek, such an action is in the simple past: Τελείωσες; (“Have you finished?”), Έφαγες; (“Have you eaten?”)

Common mistakes

  • Χθες διαβάσα ένα βιβλίο. → Χθες διάβασα ένα βιβλίο.The stress of the past falls on the third syllable from the end.
  • Έκαναμε μπάνιο στη θάλασσα. → Κάναμε μπάνιο στη θάλασσα.In -αμε the form is long enough, and the έ- is dropped.
  • Μίλασα με την Άννα. → Μίλησα με την Άννα.The past of most type B verbs, μιλάω among them, ends in -ησα.
  • Δεν γράφω το γράμμα χθες. → Δεν έγραψα το γράμμα χθες.After δεν, the verb itself is in the past, with no auxiliary like English did: Δεν έγραψα. (“I didn't write.”)

Remember

  • Build the simple past on the perfective stem: Αγόρασα ψωμί. (“I bought bread.”)
  • Put the stress on the third syllable from the end: Διάβασα ένα βιβλίο. (“I read a book.”)
  • Add έ- only when the form would have two syllables: Έγραψα ένα γράμμα. (“I wrote a letter.”)
  • Put δεν before the past for a negative: Δεν τηλεφώνησα. (“I didn't phone.”)

You now know how to tell what happened with regular verbs in the simple past.

Going further
  • The third person plural also has a form in -ανε, stressed like -αμε: διαβάσανε, γράψανε.
  • In Greek grammars, this tense is named αόριστος, the aorist.

Practise

“The past”, The past in -σα: διάβασα, αγόρασα “The past”, The persons of the past: -α, -ες, -ε and είχα “The past”, Short verbs take έ-: έκανα, κάναμε

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Telling what happened: irregular verbs in the simple past (past simple), πήγα, είδα, ήρθα#

The simple past (past simple) of some of the commonest verbs has its own stem and the usual endings.

  • Το καλοκαίρι πήγαμε στην Ισπανία.In the summer we went to Spain.
  • Είδες τη Μαρία στο πάρτι;Did you see Maria at the party?
  • Η Σοφία ήρθε με το τρένο.Sofia came by train.
  • Τι φάγατε το μεσημέρι;What did you eat at lunchtime?
  • Βρήκα το κλειδί κάτω από το κρεβάτι.I found the key under the bed.
  • Η Σοφία έφυγε για το Λονδίνο πριν από μία εβδομάδα.Sofia left for London a week ago.

Formation

  • An irregular stem takes the endings of regular verbs: -α, -ες, -ε, -αμε, -ατε, -αν.
  • In είπα, είδα, ήρθα, ήπια, πήγα, πήρα and βρήκα, the first syllable is part of the stem. It is never dropped and keeps the stress in every person (είπαμε, ήρθαμε).
  • In έφαγα, έδωσα, έμαθα, έβαλα, έφυγα, the έ- is dropped in -αμε and -ατε, as in regular verbs: φάγαμε, δώσατε.
  • Έρχομαι ends in -μαι, but its simple past takes the endings of every other verb: ήρθα, ήρθες, ήρθε.
PresentPastεμείς
πάω, πηγαίνωπήγαπήγαμε
λέωείπαείπαμε
βλέπωείδαείδαμε
έρχομαιήρθαήρθαμε
τρώωέφαγαφάγαμε
πίνωήπιαήπιαμε
παίρνωπήραπήραμε
βρίσκωβρήκαβρήκαμε
δίνωέδωσαδώσαμε
μαθαίνωέμαθαμάθαμε
βάζωέβαλαβάλαμε
φεύγωέφυγαφύγαμε

Difference from English

  • Apart from was and were, an English irregular past has one form for every person (went). A Greek one takes a different ending in each person: πήγα, πήγες, πήγαμε.

Common mistakes

  • Έφαγαμε στο εστιατόριο. → Φάγαμε στο εστιατόριο.In -αμε, the έ- of έφαγα is dropped.
  • Χθες πηγαίνω στον σταθμό. → Χθες πήγα στον σταθμό.With Χθες (yesterday), the simple past πήγα is used, never πηγαίνω.
  • Έβλεψα τη Μαρία. → Είδα τη Μαρία.The simple past of βλέπω is formed on a stem of its own: είδα.

Remember

  • Learn the simple past of a common verb with the verb itself: Πήγαμε στη θάλασσα. (“We went to the sea.”)
  • Keep the stress on the first syllable of ήρθα or είπα: Ήρθαμε με το λεωφορείο. (“We came by bus.”)
  • In the forms in -αμε and -ατε, drop the έ- of έφυγα: Φύγαμε νωρίς. (“We left early.”)

In short

PointFormationExample
είμαι, έχωlearnt wholeήμουν, ήταν; είχα
endings-α, -ες, -ε, -αμε, -ατε, -αναγόρασες
stressthird syllable from the endδιάβασα, διαβάσαμε
έ-where the form would have two syllablesέκανα, but κάναμε
stems-σα, -ψα, -ξα, -ησαπλήρωσα, έγραψα, άνοιξα, μίλησα
irregular verbsa stem of their ownπήγα, είπα, είδα, ήρθα, έφαγα, ήπια
negative, questionδεν + past; the voice and « ; »Δεν ήρθε. Ήρθε;

You now know the simple past of the commonest irregular verbs, from πήγα to έφυγα.

Going further
  • A formal simple past of έρχομαι, ήλθα, is also found.

Practise

“The past”, πήγα, είπα, είδα, ήρθα, έφαγα, ήπια “The past”, πήρα, βρήκα, έδωσα, έμαθα, έβαλα, έφυγα

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