Greek Grammar

Welcome to the 8th lesson about Greek grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns. To hear the pronunciation, just click on the sound icon.

We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Greek and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Greek and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Greek.

Prepositions	Greek	Pronunciation
and	και	[kai]
above	άνω	[ano]
under	υπό	[epo]
before	προτού	[protoύ]
after	μετά	[meta]
in front of	μπροστά από	[mprosta apo]
behind	πίσω από	[piso apo]
far from	μακριά από	[makria apo]
near	κοντά	[konta]
in	σε	[se]
inside	εντός	[entos]
outside	εκτός	[ektos]
with	με	[me]
without	χωρίς	[choris]
about	περίπου	[peripoe]
between	μεταξύ	[metaxύ]
but	αλλά	[alla]
for	για	[yia]
from	από	[apo]
to	να	[na]

Preposition Grammar Rules

The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Prepositions + Rules	Greek + Pronunciation
I eat without a knife [preposition + noun]	τρώω χωρίς μαχαίρι [troo choris machairi]
she lives near the church [verb + preposition]	ζει κοντά στην εκκλησία [zei konta sten ekklesia]
he is taller than her [adjective + preposition]	είναι ψηλότερος από αυτήν [einai pseloteros apo aeten]
he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun]	ήρθε μαζί με το μικρό σκυλί του [erthe mazi me to mikro skeli toe]
can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun]	μπορείς να έρθεις μαζί μου; [mporeis na ertheis mazi moe;]

Negation in Greek

Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Negation + Rules	Greek + Pronunciation
I understand you [affirmative form]	σας καταλαβαίνω [sas katalavaino]
I don't understand you [negation + verb]	δεν σας καταλαβαίνω [then sas katalavaino]
this is not the correct word [negation + adjective]	αυτή δεν είναι η σωστή λέξη [aete then einai e soste lexe]
don't leave me [imperative negation]	μην με αφήνεις [men me afeneis]
no problem [negation + noun]	κανένα πρόβλημα [kanena provlema]

Negative Sentences	Greek + Pronunciation
I don't speak French [negation + present tense]	δεν μιλώ γαλλικά [then milo yallika]
she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense]	δεν επισκέφθηκε τη γερμανία [then episkeftheke te yermania]
he cannot see us [negative modal verb]	δεν μπορεί να μας δει [then mporei na mas thei]
can't she play chess? [interrogative negation]	μπορεί να παίξει σκάκι; [mporei na paixei skaki;]
we will not come late [negation + future tense]	δεν θα έρθουμε αργά [then tha erthoeme arya]

Questions in Greek

Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:

English	Greek	Pronunciation
how?	πώς;	[pos;]
what?	τι;	[ti;]
who?	ποιος;	[poios;]
why?	γιατί;	[yiati;]
where?	πού;	[poύ;]

More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:

Questions + Rules	Greek + Pronunciation
where do you live? [interrogative + verb]	πού μένεις; [poύ meneis;]
does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb]	μιλάει κινέζικα; [milaei kinezika;]
how much is this? [interrogative preposition]	πόσο είναι αυτό; [poso einai aeto;]
can I help you? [interrogative modal verb]	μπορώ να σας βοηθήσω; [mporo na sas voetheso;]
what is your name? [interrogative preposition]	ποιο είναι το όνομά σου; [poio einai to onoma soe;]

Adverbs in Greek

It's time to learn the adverbs in Greek. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Adverbs	Greek	Pronunciation
now	τώρα	[tora]
yesterday	εχθές	[echthes]
today	σήμερα	[semera]
tonight	απόψε	[apopse]
tomorrow	αύριο	[aύrio]
soon	σύντομα	[sύntoma]
quickly	γρήγορα	[yreyora]
slowly	αργά	[arya]
together	μαζί	[mazi]
very	πολύ	[polύ]
almost	σχεδόν	[schethon]
always	πάντοτε	[pantote]
usually	συνήθως	[senethos]
sometimes	μερικές φορές	[merikes fores]
rarely	σχεδόν ποτέ	[schethon pote]
never	ποτέ	[pote]

The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.

Adverbs + Rules	Greek + Pronunciation
do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb]	με καταλαβαίνετε τώρα; [me katalavainete tora;]
I need help immediately [noun + adverb]	χρειάζομαι βοήθεια αμέσως [chreiazomai voetheia amesos]
she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective]	είναι πολύ έξυπνη [einai polύ exepne]
I will always love you [verb + adverb]	θα σας αγαπάω για πάντα [tha sas ayapao yia panta]
can we learn German together? [adverb in a question]	μπορούμε να μάθουμε γερμανικά μαζί; [mporoύme na mathoeme yermanika mazi;]

Pronouns in Greek

We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Greek. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Personal Pronouns	Greek	Pronunciation
I	εγώ	[eyo]
you	εσείς	[eseis]
he	αυτός	[aetos]
she	αυτή	[aete]
we	εμείς	[emeis]
they	αυτοί	[aetoi]

Object Pronouns	Greek	Pronunciation
me	εμένα	[emena]
you	εσάς	[esas]
him	αυτόν	[aeton]
her	αυτήν	[aeten]
us	μας	[mas]
them	τους	[toes]

Possessive Pronouns	Greek	Pronunciation
my	μου	[moe]
your	σας	[sas]
his	του	[toe]
her	της	[tes]
our	μας	[mas]
their	τους	[toes]

I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.

Personal Pronouns	Greek + Pronunciation
I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb]	είμαι φίλος σου [eimai filos soe]
you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb]	μιλάτε πολύ γρήγορα [milate polύ yreyora]
he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb]	έχει τρία σκυλιά [echei tria skelia]
she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb]	μπορεί να μιλήσει γερμανικά [mporei na milesei yermanika]
we will not come late [1st plural pronoun]	δεν θα αργήσουμε [then tha aryesoeme]
they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun]	αγόρασαν γάλα και ψωμί [ayorasan yala kai psomi]

The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:

Object Pronouns	Greek + Pronunciation
can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun]	μπορείτε να μου πείτε το όνομά σας; [mporeite na moe peite to onoma sas;]
I will give you money [2nd object pronoun]	θα σας δώσω χρήματα [tha sas thoso chremata]
she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun]	του έγραψε μια επιστολή [toe eyrapse mia epistole]
they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun]	την επισκέφθηκαν εχθές [ten episkefthekan echthes]
can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun]	μπορεί να μας βοηθήσει; [mporei na mas voethesei;]
he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun]	τους έδωσε φαγητό [toes ethose fayeto]

Possessive Pronouns	Greek + Pronunciation
my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun]	το όνομά μου είναι μάγια [to onoma moe einai mayia]
your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun]	ο αδελφός σου ζει εδώ [o athelfos soe zei etho]
her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun]	η μητέρα της μαγειρεύει για μας [e metera tes mayeireύei yia mas]
his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun]	χόμπι του είναι η ανάγνωση βιβλίων [chompi toe einai e anaynose vivlion]
our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun]	το όνειρό μας είναι να επισκεφθούμε το παρίσι [to oneiro mas einai na episkefthoύme to parisi]
their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun]	το σπίτι τους δεν είναι μακριά [to spiti toes then einai makria]

One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.

Demonstrative Pronouns	Greek	Pronunciation
this is my house	αυτό είναι το σπίτι μου	[aeto einai to spiti moe]
that restaurant is far	αυτό το εστιατόριο είναι μακριά	[aeto to estiatorio einai makria]
these apples are delicious	αυτά τα μήλα είναι νόστιμα	[aeta ta mela einai nostima]
those stars are shiny	τα αστέρια αυτά είναι λαμπερά	[ta asteria aeta einai lampera]

I hope you learned a lot about the Greek grammar in this lesson. If you have any question about this lesson please contact me here. The next lesson is below, have fun!

Greek Phrases

Greek Vocabulary

Inspirational Quote: First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus