Essential Modern Greek Grammar DOUGLAS Q. ADAMS College of Letters and Science, University of Idaho DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC., NEW YORK Copyright © 1987 by Dover Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Essential Modern Greek Grammar is a new work, first published by Dover Publications, Inc., in 1987. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Adams, Douglas Q Essential modern Greek grammar. Includes index. 1. Greek language, Modern—Grammar—1950–. 1. Title. PA1058.A33 1986 498′.382421 85-29281 eISBN 13: 978-0-486-11343-2 Manufactured in the United States by Courier Corporation 25133013 www.doverpublications.com CONTENTS Introduction How to Study Essential Modern Greek Grammar A Word About Katharevusa Suggestions for Vocabulary Building The Alphabet, Spelling and Accents The Alphabet Spelling Accents Breathing Marks Enclitics Word Order How to Form Questions Interrogative Words Negation Nouns and Articles Cases Direct Address Genders The Definite Article The Indefinite Article Noun Groups Feminine Nouns in -α and -η Masculine and Neuter Nouns Whose Final Vowel Is ο Masculine Nouns in -ας and -ης Neuters Ending in -ι Neuter Nouns in -ος Nouns with One More Syllable in the Plural Than in the Singular Other Neuter Nouns Irregular Nouns Katharevusa Nouns Adjectives Agreement of Adjectives with Nouns Forms of Adjectives Adjectives in -ος Adjectives in -υς or -ης Other Varieties of Adjectives Adjectives Ending in Masculine / Feminine -ης Adjectives Ending in Masculine / Feminine -ων Adjectives Ending in Masculine -ων, Feminine -ο σα and Neuter -ον Πολύς Use of Adjectives Comparison of Adjectives: The Comparative Irregular Comparatives Use of the Comparative The Superlative of Adjectives Use of the Superlative The Intensive Use of the Intensive Comparisons of Equality Less Adverbs Adverbs Derived from Adjectives Comparison of Adverbs Other Adverbs Pronouns Personal Pronouns Subject Pronouns Nonsubject Pronouns Use of Personal Pronouns Possessive Pronouns Relative Pronouns Demonstrative Pronouns and Adjectives Demonstratives as Pronouns Demonstratives as Adjectives Other Pronouns Prepositions Simple Prepositions: The Basic Four Other Simple Prepositions Compound Prepositions Conjunctions Verbs Comparison of English and Modern Greek Verbs The Second Person in Modern Greek The Verb Stems The Two Conjugations The Present Tense The Present Tense of Some Commonly Used Irregular Verbs The Imperfect Past “To Be” and “To Have” The Aorist Past Aorist and Imperfect Pasts Contrasted The Passive Voice The Present Passive Deponent Verbs The Imperfect Passive and Deponent The Aorist Passive The Aorist Deponent The Future Tenses The Indefinite Future The Definite Future Irregular Definite Futures The Subjunctive The Use of the Subjunctive Commands First Person Plural and Third Person Commands Polite Commands Negative Commands Word Order After Imperatives Participles Present Participles Aorist Participles Compound Tenses Active Compound Tenses Passive Compound Tenses The Conditional Principal Parts of Some Irregular Modern Greek Verbs Defective and Impersonal Verbs Defective Verbs Impersonal Verbs Telling Time A Glossary of Grammatical Terms The Parts of Speech Words About Verbs Words About Nouns Miscellaneous Terms The Parts of the Sentence Index INTRODUCTION Essential Modern Greek Grammar assumes that you have a limited amount of time at your disposal to study Modern Greek and that your objective is simple everyday communication, both spoken and written. This book, therefore, does not attempt to offer a complete outline of all aspects of Modern Greek grammar, even in a highly condensed version. It does, however, offer a series of aids to help you use more effectively phrases and words that you have already learned. The book will introduce you to the most common structures and forms of Modern Greek and a selected number of the most useful rules. How to Study Essential Modern Greek Grammar If you have already studied Modern Greek in a conventional manner, this book will serve as a review, and you can use it by glancing through all of it quickly and then selecting those areas on which you wish to concentrate. If, however, this is your first acquaintance with Modern Greek grammar, the following suggestions may be of help: 1. Before beginning to work your way through this book, master several hundred useful phrases and expressions such as you will find in any good phrase book or in the Listen & Learn Modern Greek course. The material in this book will be much more easily understood after you have achieved some simple working knowledge of the language. This book’s purpose is to enable you to gain greater fluency once you have learned phrases and expressions, not to teach you to construct sentences from rules and vocabulary. 2. Read through Essential Modern Greek Grammar at least once in its entirety. Do not be concerned if some of the material is not immediately clear; what appears to be discouragingly complex on first reading will become much simpler as you progress in your study. The first reading is necessary to acquaint you with terms and concepts used from the beginning. Learning these will help you improve your comprehension of Modern Greek and use more freely the expressions and words you already know. As you use Modern Greek and hear it spoken, many of its grammatical patterns will become familiar to you. Essential Modern Greek Grammar helps you discover these patterns, and it will be helpful to you as you develop your vocabulary and improve your comprehension. 3. Go back to this book periodically. Sections that at first seem difficult or of doubtful benefit may prove extremely helpful as you progress further. 4. For the most part, Essential Modern Greek Grammar follows a logical order, taking up the major divisions of grammar in sequence. You will do best to follow this order. However, you may be one of those who learn best when they study to answer an immediate question or need (e.g., how to form the comparative of adjectives; how to conjugate “to be,” etc.). If you are such a student, turn to the section that interests you at the moment, but read through the entire section and not just an isolated part. Individual remarks, taken out of context, are easily misunderstood and may seriously mislead you. 5. Examples are given for every rule. It will be helpful if you memorize them. If you learn all of the examples in Essential Modern Greek Grammar, you will have encountered the basic difficulties of Modern Greek and studied models for their solution. 6. You cannot study Modern Greek or any other language systematically without an understanding of grammar, and the use and understanding of grammatical terms is as essential as a knowledge of certain mechanical terms when you learn to drive a car. If your knowledge of grammatical terms is a little hazy, read the Glossary of Grammatical Terms (p. 78) and refer to it whenever necessary. In Modern Greek, as in any language, there are potentially many ways to express a single idea. Some involve simple constructions, others more difficult ones. Some of the more difficult constructions may well be more sophisticated ways of conveying the thought and ones that you will ultimately wish to master, but during your first experiments in communication in Modern Greek, you can achieve your aim by using a simple construction. Be satisfied at first with the simplest. You should not, however, be afraid of making mistakes. The purpose of this book is not to teach you to speak like a native but to allow you to communicate and be understood. If you pay attention to what you’re doing, you will find that eventually you make fewer and fewer errors. Sooner or later you’ll be able to review Essential Modern Greek Grammar or a more detailed book at a time that