Modern Greek grammar

Main article: Modern Greek

The grammar of Modern Greek, as spoken in present-day Greece and Cyprus, is essentially that of Demotic Greek, but it has also assimilated certain elements of Katharevousa, the archaic, learned variety of Greek imitating Classical Greek forms, which used to be the official language of Greece through much of the 19th and 20th centuries. Modern Greek grammar has preserved many features of Ancient Greek, but has also undergone changes in a similar direction as many other modern Indo-European languages, from more synthetic to more analytic structures.

General characteristics

Syntax

The predominant word order in Greek is SVO (subject–verb–object), but word order is quite freely variable, with VSO and other orders as frequent alternatives. Within the noun phrase, adjectives commonly precede the noun (for example, τたうοおみくろん μεγάλο σπίτι, [to meˈɣalo ˈspiti], 'the big house'). Adjectives may also follow the noun when marked for emphasis, as in ένα βιβλίο νέο, 'a new book', instead of the usual order ένα νέο βιβλίο. When, however, the adjective describes an intrinsic characteristic, it often follows the noun. For example, the order γάλα κατσικίσιο 'goat milk', with the neuter form of the adjective κατσικίσιος 'referring or belonging to goats' following the noun, is about equally common as the order κατσικίσιο γάλα. Possessors generally follow the noun (for example, τたうοおみくろん σπίτι μみゅーοおみくろんυうぷしろん, [to ˈspiti mu], 'my house'; τたうοおみくろん σπίτι τたうοおみくろんυうぷしろん Νίκου 'Nick's house'). If both an adjective and a possessive occur, the possessive may be placed before the noun: τたうοおみくろん μεγάλο μみゅーοおみくろんυうぷしろん σπίτι ⇔ τたうοおみくろん μεγάλο σπίτι μみゅーοおみくろんυうぷしろん, 'my big house'. Some other alternative constructions involving the opposite order of constituents are possible as a marked option (e.g. τたうοおみくろん σπίτι τたうοおみくろん μεγάλο 'the big house' – not the small house; τたうοおみくろんυうぷしろん Νίκου τたうοおみくろん σπίτι 'Nick's house' – not Maria's house)

Greek is a pro-drop language, and subjects are typically not overtly expressed whenever they are inferable from context. While the word order of the major elements within the clause is fairly free, certain grammatical elements attach to the verb as clitics and form a rigidly ordered group together with it; this applies particularly to unstressed object pronouns, negation particles, the tense particle θしーたαあるふぁ [θしーたa], and the subjunctive particle νにゅーαあるふぁ [na]. Likewise, possessive pronouns are enclitic to the nouns they modify.

Morphology

Greek is a largely synthetic (inflectional) language. Although the complexity of the inflectional system has been somewhat reduced in comparison to Ancient Greek, there is also a considerable degree of continuity in the morphological system, and Greek still has a somewhat archaic character compared with other Indo-European languages of Europe. Nouns, adjectives and verbs are each divided into several inflectional classes (declension classes and conjugation classes), which have different sets of endings. In the nominals, the ancient inflectional system is well preserved, with the exception of the loss of one case, the dative, and the restructuring of several of the inflectional classes. In the verbal system, the loss of synthetic inflectional categories is somewhat greater, and several new analytic (periphrastic) constructions have evolved instead.

Characteristics of the Balkan language area

Modern Greek shares several syntactic characteristics with its geographical neighbours, with which it forms the so-called Balkan language area (Sprachbund). Among these characteristics are:

• The lack of an infinitive. In Greek, verbal complementation in contexts where English would use an infinitive is typically formed with the help of finite (subjunctive) verb forms (e.g. θέλω νにゅーαあるふぁ πάω, [ˈθしーたelo na ˈpao], literally 'I-want that I-go', i.e. 'I want to go').
• The merger of the dative and the genitive case. In Greek, indirect objects are expressed partly through genitive forms of nouns or pronouns, and partly through a periphrasis consisting of the preposition σしぐまεいぷしろん ([se], 'to') and the accusative.
• The use of a future construction derived from the verb 'want' (θέλει νにゅーαあるふぁ [ˈθしーたeli na] → θしーたαあるふぁ [θしーたa]).
• A tendency to use pre-verbal clitic object pronouns redundantly (clitic doubling), doubling an object that is also expressed elsewhere in the clause: for example, τたうοおみくろん είδα τたうοおみくろん αυτοκίνητο ([to ˈiða to aftoˈcinito], 'I saw it, the car", literally 'It I-saw the car').

On the other hand, one prominent feature of the Balkan language area that Greek does not share is the use of a postposed definite article. The Greek article (like the Ancient Greek one) stands before the noun.

Accent

Modern Greek has a stress accent, similar to English. The accent is notated with a stroke (΄) over the accented vowel and is called οξεία (oxeia, "acute") or τόνος (tonos, "accent") in Greek. The former term is taken from one of the accents used in polytonic orthography which officially became obsolete in 1982.

As in Ancient Greek, in Modern Greek the accent cannot be placed before the antepenultimate syllable. As a result, in many words that have the accent on their antepenultimate in their base form, the stress shifts to the next syllable in inflection forms with longer affixes. For example, NOM SG μάθημα ([ˈmaθしーたima], "lesson") but GEN SG μαθήματος [maˈθしーたimatos] and NOM PL μαθήματα [maˈθしーたimata] etc. In some words, the accent moves forward even without the addition of a syllable. For example, NOM SG άνθρωπος ([ˈanθしーたropos], "human") but GEN SG ανθρώπου [anˈθしーたropu], GEN PL ανθρώπων [anˈθしーたropon] and ACC PL ανθρώπους [anˈθしーたropus]. This accentuation is inherited from Ancient Greek, where long vowels and diphthongs occupied two morae, having the same effect as the addition of a syllable.

Accent shifts can also be triggered by the addition of enclitic elements after a word. Enclitics are phonologically weak personal pronouns that form a single phonological unit together with the word they are attached to. The three-syllable rule then applies to the unit as a whole. When the previous word is accented on the antepenultimate syllable, the enclitic causes the ultimate syllable to be accented too. For example, δάσκαλος ([ˈðaskalos], "teacher") but δάσκαλός μみゅーοおみくろんυうぷしろん ([ˌðaskaˈloz‿mu], "my teacher") and φόρεσε ([ˈforese], "wear (IMP)") but φόρεσέ τたうοおみくろん ([ˌforeˈse‿to], "wear it"). If two enclitic elements are added to a word, the extra accent appears on the first enclitic. For example, φέρε μού τたうοおみくろん ([ˌfere‿ˈmu‿to], "bring it to me").

As a rule, monosyllabic words do not carry an orthographic accent, except for a few words where the accent marker is used to orthographically distinguish them from an otherwise homonymous item (e.g. ή ([i], "or", distinguished from the feminine article ηいーた. Moreover, weak personal pronouns are accented in cases where they may be mistaken for enclitics. For example, οおみくろん σκύλος μού γάβγισε ([o ˈscilos mu ˈɣavʝise], "the dog barked at me") instead of οおみくろん σκύλος μみゅーοおみくろんυうぷしろん γάβγισε ([o ˈsciloz‿mu ˈɣavʝise], "my dog barked").

Verbs

Greek verb morphology is structured around a basic 2-by-2 contrast of two aspects, imperfective and perfective, and two tenses, past and non-past (or present). The aspects are expressed by distinct verb stems, while the tenses are marked mainly by different sets of endings. Of the four possible combinations, only three can be used in indicative function: the present (i.e. imperfective non-past), the imperfect (i.e. imperfective past) and the aorist (i.e. perfective past). All four combinations can be used in subjunctive function, where they are typically preceded by the particle νにゅーαあるふぁ or by one of a set of subordinating conjunctions. There are also two imperatives, one for each aspect.

In addition to these basic forms, Greek also has several periphrastic verb constructions. All the basic forms can be combined with the future particle θしーたαあるふぁ (historically a contraction of θέλει νにゅーαあるふぁ, 'want to'). Combined with the non-past forms, this creates an imperfective and a perfective future. Combined with the imperfective past it is used as a conditional, and with the perfective past as an inferential. There is also a perfect, which is expressed with an inflected form of the auxiliary verb έχω ('have'). It occurs both as a past perfect (pluperfect) and as a present perfect.

Modern Greek verbs additionally have three non-finite forms. There is a form traditionally called "απαρέμφατο" (i.e. 'infinitive', literally the 'invariant form'), which is historically derived from the perfective (aorist) infinitive, but has today lost all syntactical functions typically associated with that category. It is used only to form the periphrastic perfect and pluperfect, and is always formally identical to the 3rd person singular of the perfective non-past. There is also a passive participle, typically ending in -menos (-meni, -meno), which is inflected as a regular adjective. Its use is either as a canonical adjective, or as a part of a second, alternative perfect periphrasis with transitive verbs. Finally, there is another invariant form, formed from the present tense and typically ending in -ontas, which is variably called either a participle or a gerund by modern authors. It is historically derived from an old present participle, and its sole use today is to form non-finite adjunct adverbial clauses of time or manner, roughly corresponding to an -ing participle in English.

• Regular perfect periphrasis, with aparemphato ("invariant form"), for example:
  • Έχω γράψει τたうηいーたνにゅー επιταγή ([ˈexo ˈɣrapsi tin epitaˈʝi], 'I have written the cheque')
• Alternative perfect periphrasis, with passive participle, for example:
  • Έχω τたうηいーたνにゅー επιταγή γραμμένη ([ˈexo tin epitaˈʝi ɣraˈmeni], 'I have written the cheque')
• Adverbial clause with present participle/gerund form, for example:
  • Έτρεξε σしぐまτたうοおみくろんνにゅー δρόμο τραγουδώντας ([ˈetrekse ston ˈðromo traɣuˈðondas], 'he ran along the street singing')

The tables below exemplify the range of forms with those of one large inflectional class of verbs, the first conjugation.

First conjugation

Aspect	Stem		Non-past	Past	Imperative
Imperfective	γがんまρろーαあるふぁφふぁい-		Present (indic. + subj.)	Imperfect	[continuous]
			('I write')	('I was writing')	('write!')
		1 sg.	γράφωおめが	έγραφαあるふぁ
		2 sg.	γράφεις	έγραφες	γράφεいぷしろん
		3 sg.	γράφεいぷしろんιいおた	έγραφεいぷしろん
		1 pl.	γράφοおみくろんυうぷしろんμみゅーεいぷしろん	γράφαあるふぁμみゅーεいぷしろん
		2 pl.	γράφεいぷしろんτたうεいぷしろん	γράφαあるふぁτたうεいぷしろん	γράφεいぷしろんτたうεいぷしろん
		3 pl.	γράφοおみくろんυうぷしろんνにゅー	έγραφαあるふぁνにゅー
Perfective	γがんまρろーαあるふぁψぷさい-		Subjunctive	Aorist	[once]
			('that I write')	('I wrote')	('write!')
		1 sg.	γράψωおめが	έγραψαあるふぁ
		2 sg.	γράψεις	έγραψες	γράψεいぷしろん
		3 sg.	γράψεいぷしろんιいおた	έγραψεいぷしろん
		1 pl.	γράψοおみくろんυうぷしろんμみゅーεいぷしろん	γράψαあるふぁμみゅーεいぷしろん
		2 pl.	γράψεいぷしろんτたうεいぷしろん	γράψαあるふぁτたうεいぷしろん	γράψτたうεいぷしろん
		3 pl.	γράψοおみくろんυうぷしろんνにゅー	έγραψαあるふぁνにゅー
Perfect	εいぷしろんχかい- γράψεいぷしろんιいおた		Present Perf.	Past Perf.
			('I have written')	('I had written')
		1 sg.	έχω γράψει	είχα γράψει
		2 sg.	έχεις γράψει	είχες γράψει
		3 sg.	έχει γράψει	είχε γράψει
		1 pl.	έχουμε γράψει	είχαμε γράψει
		2 pl.	έχετε γράψει	είχατε γράψει
		3 pl.	έχουν γράψει	είχαν γράψει

	With subordinating particle "νにゅーαあるふぁ"				With future particle "θしーたαあるふぁ"
	Non-past		Past		Non-past		Past
Imperfective	νにゅーαあるふぁ γράφει	'(that) he write', 'to be writing'	νにゅーαあるふぁ έγραφε	'(that) he was writing, 'to have been writing'	θしーたαあるふぁ γράφει	'he will be writing'	θしーたαあるふぁ έγραφε	'he would write'
Perfective	νにゅーαあるふぁ γράψει	'(that) he write', 'to write'	νにゅーαあるふぁ έγραψε	'(that) he wrote', 'to have written'	θしーたαあるふぁ γράψει	'he will write'	θしーたαあるふぁ έγραψε	'he probably wrote'

Second conjugation

Below are the corresponding forms of two subtypes of another class, the second conjugation. Only the basic forms are shown here; the periphrastic combinations are formed as shown above. While the person-number endings are quite regular across all verbs within each of these classes, the formation of the two basic stems for each verb displays a lot of irregularity and can follow any of a large number of idiosyncratic patterns.

	verbs in -(ά)ωおめが/ώ (αγαπώ 'love')		verbs in -ώ ( ← -εいぷしろんωおめが) (οδηγώ 'lead')
	Present	Imperfect	Present	Imperfect
1 sg.	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいώ, αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいάω	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいούσα, αγάπαあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁ	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまώ	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまούσα
2 sg.	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいάς	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいούσες, αγάπαγες	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまείς	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまούσες
3 sg.	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいάει, αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいά	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいούσε, αγάπαあるふぁγがんまεいぷしろん	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまεί	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまούσε
1 pl.	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいάμε	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいούσαμε, αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいάγαμε	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまούμε	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまούσαμε
2 pl.	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいάτε	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいούσατε, αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいάγατε	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまείτε	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまούσατε
3 pl.	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいούν(εいぷしろん), αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいάν(εいぷしろん)	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいούσανε, αγάπαあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁνにゅー(εいぷしろん)	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまούν	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまούσαν(εいぷしろん)
	Subj.	Aorist	Subj.	Aorist
1 sg.	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいήσω	αγάπηいーたσしぐまαあるふぁ	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまήσω	οδήγηいーたσしぐまαあるふぁ
2 sg.	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいήσεις	αγάπησες	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまήσεις	οδήγησες
3 sg.	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいήσει	αγάπηいーたσしぐまεいぷしろん	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまήσει	οδήγηいーたσしぐまεいぷしろん
1 pl.	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいήσουμε	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいήσαμε	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまήσουμε	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまήσαμε
2 pl.	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいήσετε	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいήσατε	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまήσετε	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまήσατε
3 pl.	αあるふぁγがんまαあるふぁπぱいήσουν	αγάπηいーたσしぐまαあるふぁνにゅー(εいぷしろん)	οおみくろんδでるたηいーたγがんまήσουν	οδήγηいーたσしぐまαあるふぁνにゅー

Augment

The use of the past tense prefix εいぷしろん- (e-), the so-called augment, shows some variation and irregularity between verb classes. In regular (demotic) verbs in standard modern Greek, the prefix is used depending on a stress rule, which specifies that each past tense verb form has its stress on the third syllable from the last (the antepenultimate); the prefix is only inserted whenever the verb would otherwise have fewer than three syllables. In these verbs, the augment always appears as έ-. A number of frequent verbs have irregular forms involving other vowels, mostly ηいーた- (i-), for example, θέλω → ήθελα ('want'). In addition, verbs from the learned tradition partly preserve more complex patterns inherited from ancient Greek. In learned compound verbs with adverbial prefixes such as πぱいεいぷしろんρろーιいおた- (peri-) or υうぷしろんπぱいοおみくろん- (ipo-), the augment is inserted between the prefix and the verb stem (for example, πぱいεいぷしろんρろーιいおた-γράφω → πぱいεいぷしろんρろーιいおた-έ-γραψα ('describe'). Where the prefix itself ends in a vowel, the vowels in this position may be subject to further assimilation rules, such as in υうぷしろんπぱいοおみくろん-γράφω → υうぷしろんπぱい-έ-γραψα ('sign'). In addition, verbs whose stem begins in a vowel may also display vocalic changes instead of a syllabic augment, as in ελπίζω → ήλπιζα ('hope').

Type of verb	Present tense		Meaning	Past tenses
				Perfective		Imperfective
Simple	γράφω	[ˈɣrafo]	write	έγがんまρろーαあるふぁψぷさいαあるふぁ	[ˈeɣrapsa]	έγがんまρろーαあるふぁφふぁいαあるふぁ	[ˈeɣrafa]
Composite	περιγράφω ← περί + γράφω	[peɾiˈɣrafo]	describe	πぱいεいぷしろんρろーιいおたέγがんまρろーαあるふぁψぷさいαあるふぁ	[peɾiˈeɣrapsa]	πぱいεいぷしろんρろーιいおたέγがんまρろーαあるふぁφふぁいαあるふぁ	[peɾiˈeɣrafa]
	υπογράφω ← υπό + γράφω	[ipoˈɣrafo]	sign	υうぷしろんπぱいέγがんまρろーαあるふぁψぷさいαあるふぁ	[iˈpeɣrapsa]	υうぷしろんπぱいέγがんまρろーαあるふぁφふぁいαあるふぁ	[iˈpeɣrafa]
	διαγράφω ← δια + γράφω	[ðiaˈɣrafo]	delete	δでるたιいおたέγがんまρろーαあるふぁψぷさいαあるふぁ	[ðiˈeɣrapsa]	δでるたιいおたέγがんまρろーαあるふぁφふぁいαあるふぁ	[ðiˈeɣrafa]
Initial vowel	ελπίζω	[elˈpizo]	hope	ήλらむだπぱいιいおたσしぐまαあるふぁ	[ˈilpisa]	ήλらむだπぱいιいおたζぜーたαあるふぁ	[ˈilpiza]
Composite and initial vowel	υπάρχω ← υπό + άρχω	[iˈparxo]	exist	υうぷしろんπぱいήρろーξくしーαあるふぁ	[iˈpirksa]	υうぷしろんπぱいήρろーχかいαあるふぁ	[iˈpirxa]
Irregular augment	είμαι	[ˈime]	be	——	——	ήμみゅーοおみくろんυうぷしろんνにゅー	[ˈimun]
	έχω	[ˈexo]	have	——	——	είχかいαあるふぁ	[ˈixa]
	θέλω	[ˈθしーたelo]	want	θέλησα (no augment)	[ˈθしーたelisa]	ήθしーたεいぷしろんλらむだαあるふぁ	[ˈiθしーたela]
	ξέρω	[ˈksero]	know	——	——	ήξくしーεいぷしろんρろーαあるふぁ	[ˈiksera]
	πίνω	[ˈpino]	drink	ήπぱいιいおたαあるふぁ	[ˈipça]	έπぱいιいおたνにゅーαあるふぁ	[ˈepina]

Grammatical voice

Greek is one of the few modern Indo-European languages that still retain a morphological contrast between the two inherited Proto-Indo-European grammatical voices: active and mediopassive. The mediopassive has several functions:

• Passive function, denoting an action that is performed on the subject by another agent (for example, σκοτώθηκε 'he was killed');
• Reflexive function, denoting an action performed by the subject on him-/herself (for example, ξυρίστηκε 'he shaved himself');
• Reciprocal function, denoting an action performed by several subjects on each other (for example, αγαπιούνται 'they love each other');
• Modal function, denoting the possibility of an action (for example, τρώγεται 'it is edible');
• Deponential function: verbs that occur only in the mediopassive and lack a corresponding active form. They often have meanings that are rendered as active in other languages: εργάζομαι 'Ιいおた work'; κοιμάμαι 'I sleep'; δέχομαι 'I accept'. There are also many verbs that have both an active and a mediopassive form but where the mediopassive has a special function that may be rendered with a separate verb in other languages: for example, active σηκώνω 'I raise', passive σηκώνομαι 'I get up'; active βαράω 'I strike', passive βαριέμαι 'I am bored'.

	γράφω 'write'		αγαπώ 'love'		οδηγώ 'lead'
	Present	Imperfect	Present	Imperfect	Present	Imperfect
1 sg.	γράφοおみくろんμみゅーαあるふぁιいおた	γがんまρろーαあるふぁφふぁいόμουν	αγαπιέμαι	αγαπιόμουν*	οδηγούμαι	οδηγούμουν
2 sg.	γράφεいぷしろんσしぐまαあるふぁιいおた	γがんまρろーαあるふぁφふぁいόσουν	αγαπιέσαι	αγαπιόσουν	οδηγείσαι	οδηγούσουν
3 sg.	γράφεいぷしろんτたうαあるふぁιいおた	γがんまρろーαあるふぁφふぁいόταν(εいぷしろん)	αγαπιέται	αγαπιόταν(εいぷしろん)	οδηγείται	οδηγούνταν(εいぷしろん)
1 pl.	γがんまρろーαあるふぁφふぁいόμαστε	γがんまρろーαあるふぁφふぁいόμασταν	αγαπιόμαστε	αγαπιόμασταν	οδηγούμαστε	οδηγούμασταν
2 pl.	γράφεいぷしろんσしぐまτたうεいぷしろん	γがんまρろーαあるふぁφふぁいόσασταν	αγαπιέστε	αγαπιόσασταν	οδηγείστε	οδηγούσασταν
3 pl.	γράφοおみくろんνにゅーτたうαあるふぁιいおた	γράφοおみくろんνにゅーτたうαあるふぁνにゅー	αγαπιούνται	αγαπιόνταν	οδηγούνται	οδηγούνταν
	Subj.	Aorist	Subj.	Aorist	Subj.	Aorist
1 sg.	γがんまρろーαあるふぁφふぁいτώ	γράφτたうηいーたκかっぱαあるふぁ	αγαπηθώ	αγαπήθηκα	οδηγηθώ	οδηγήθηκα
2 sg.	γがんまρろーαあるふぁφふぁいτείς	γράφτηκες	αγαπηθείς	αγαπήθηκες	οδηγηθείς	οδηγήθηκες
3 sg.	γがんまρろーαあるふぁφふぁいτεί	γράφτたうηいーたκかっぱεいぷしろん	αγαπηθεί	αγαπήθηκε	οδηγηθεί	οδηγήθηκε
1 pl.	γがんまρろーαあるふぁφふぁいτούμε	γがんまρろーαあるふぁφふぁいτήκαμε	αγαπηθούμε	αγαπηθήκαμε	οδηγηθούμε	οδηγηθήκαμε
2 pl.	γがんまρろーαあるふぁφふぁいτείτε	γがんまρろーαあるふぁφふぁいτήκατε	αγαπηθείτε	αγαπηθήκατε	οδηγηθείτε	οδηγηθήκατε
3 pl.	γがんまρろーαあるふぁφふぁいτούν	γράφτたうηいーたκかっぱαあるふぁνにゅー	αγαπηθούν	αγαπήθηκαν	οδηγηθούν	οδηγήθηκαν

There also two other categories of verbs, which historically correspond to the ancient contracted verbs.

	εγγυώμαι ('guarantee')			στερούμαι ('lack')
	Present	Imperfect	Imperative	Present	Imperfect	Imperative
Impf.	εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんώμαι εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんάσαι εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんάται εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんόμαστε εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんάστε εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんώνται	εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんόμουν εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんόσουν εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんόταν εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんόμασταν εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんόσασταν εγγυόνταν	—     —	σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーούμαι σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーείσαι σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーείται σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーούμαστε σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーείστε σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーούνται	σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーούμουν σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーούσουν σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーούνταν and σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーείτο σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーούμασταν σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーούσασταν σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーούνταν	—     —
	Subjunctive	Aorist	Imperative	Subjunctive	Aorist	Imperative
Pf.	εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんηθώ εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんηθείς εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんηθεί εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんηθούμε εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんηθείτε εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんηθούν	εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんήθηκα εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんήθηκες εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんήθηκε εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんηθήκαμε εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんηθήκατε εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんήθηκαν	εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんήσου     εいぷしろんγがんまγがんまυうぷしろんηθείτε	σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーηθώ σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーηθείς σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーηθεί σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーηθούμε σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーηθείτε σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーηθούν (σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーηθούνε)	σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーήθηκα σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーήθηκες σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーήθηκε σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーηθήκαμε σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーηθήκατε σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーήθηκαν (σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーηθήκανε)	σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーήσου     σしぐまτたうεいぷしろんρろーηθείτε
	έχω εγγυηθεί			έχω στερηθεί

• There are also more formal suffixes instead of -μασταν, -σασταν: -μαστε, -σαστε. In this case the suffixes of the first person of the plural of present and imperfect are the same.

Be and have

The verbs είμαι ('be') and έχω ('have') are irregular and defective, because they both lack the aspectual contrast. The forms of both are given below. The first and second person plural forms ήμαστε and ήσαστε appear very rarely in the spoken language.

For both of these verbs, the older declinable participles are also sometimes used in fossilized stereotypical expressions (e.g. "έχων σωάς τας φρένας", 'of sound mind and spirit')

Present	Past	Participle
είμαι είσαι είναι είμαστε είσαστε/είστε είναι	ήμουν(αあるふぁ) ήσουν(αあるふぁ) ήταν(εいぷしろん) ήμασταν/ήμαστε ήσασταν/ήσαστε ήταν(εいぷしろん)	όντας

Present	Past	Participle
έχωおめが έχεις έχεいぷしろんιいおた έχοおみくろんυうぷしろんμみゅーεいぷしろん έχεいぷしろんτたうεいぷしろん έχοおみくろんυうぷしろんνにゅー(εいぷしろん)	είχαあるふぁ είχες είχかいεいぷしろん είχαあるふぁμみゅーεいぷしろん είχαあるふぁτたうεいぷしろん είχαあるふぁνにゅー(εいぷしろん)	έχοντας

Nouns

The Greek nominal system displays inflection for two numbers (singular and plural), three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter), and four cases (nominative, genitive, accusative and vocative). As in many other Indo-European languages, the distribution of grammatical gender across nouns is largely arbitrary and need not coincide with natural sex. Case, number and gender are marked on the noun as well as on articles and adjectives modifying it. While there are four cases, there is a great degree of syncretism between case forms within most paradigms. Only one sub-group of the masculine nouns actually has four distinct forms in the four cases.

Articles

There are two articles in Modern Greek, the definite and the indefinite. They are both inflected for gender and case, and the definite article also for number. The article agrees with the noun it modifies. For plural indefiniteness, no article is used.

Definite article

The definite article is used frequently in Greek, such as before proper names and nouns used in an abstract sense. For example,

• Οおみくろん Αλέξανδρος ήρθε χθες (O Alexandros irthe chthes, "Alexander came yesterday")
• Ηいーた ειλικρίνεια είναι ηいーた καλύτερη πρακτική. (I eilikrineia einai i kalyteri praktiki, "Honesty is the best policy")

		Neuter	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	Nominative	τたうοおみくろん	οおみくろん	ηいーた
	Accusative		τたうοおみくろんνにゅー	τたうηいーた(νにゅー)
	Genitive	τたうοおみくろんυうぷしろん		τたうηいーたς
Plural	Nominative	τたうαあるふぁ	οおみくろんιいおた
	Accusative		τたうους	τたうιいおたς
	Genitive	τたうωおめがνにゅー

Indefinite article

The indefinite article is identical with the numeral one and only has singular forms. The use of the indefinite article is not dictated by rules and the speaker can use it according to the circumstances of their speech. Indefiniteness in plural nouns is expressed by the bare noun without an article, just as in English. For example,

• Αγόρασα έναν υπολογιστή (Agorasa enan ypologisti, "I bought a computer")

However, the indefinite article is not used in Greek as often as in English because it specifically expresses the concept of "one". For example,

• Είναι δικηγόρος (Einai dikigoros, "He is a lawyer")
• Τたうιいおた καλό παιδί! (Ti kalo paidi, "What a good boy!")

	Singular
	Masculine		Feminine		Neuter
Nominative	ένας	[ˈenas]	μみゅーία or μみゅーιいおたαあるふぁ	[ˈmia] or [mɲa]	ένにゅーαあるふぁ	[ˈena]
Accusative	έναあるふぁνにゅー	[ˈenan]	μみゅーία(νにゅー) or μみゅーιいおたαあるふぁ(νにゅー)	[ˈmia(n)] or [mɲa(n)]	έναあるふぁ	[ˈena]
Genitive	εいぷしろんνにゅーός	[eˈnos]	μίας or μみゅーιいおたας	[ˈmias] or [mɲas]	εいぷしろんνにゅーός	[eˈnos]

Declensions

Greek nouns are inflected by case and number. In addition each noun belongs to one of three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. Within each of the three genders, there are several sub-groups (declension classes) with different sets of inflectional endings.

Masculine nouns

The main groups of masculine nouns have the nominative singular end in -ος [-os], -ης [-is], -ας [-as], -έας [-ˈeas]. Nouns in -os are identical to the Ancient Greek second declension, except for the final -n of the accusative singular. However, in other parts of speech that follow the same declension and where clarity is necessary, such as in pronouns, the -n is added. When the word has more than two syllables and the antepenult is accented, the accent fluctuates between the antepenult and the penult according to whether the last syllable has one of the ancient long diphthongs, -οおみくろんυうぷしろん, -ωおめがνにゅー or -ους. Nouns in -is correspond to the ancient first declension in most cases, having the accent on the ultimate syllable in the genitive plural, and so do some nouns ending in -ίας [-ˈias]. Nouns in -as stem from the ancient third declension. They formed their nominative singular from the accusative singular and retain the original accent in genitive plural. Nouns in -eas stem from the ancient third declension and form their plural respectively.

Moreover, there are other categories and forms too that have to do with either Demotic or Katharevousa. For example, through Demotic, many nouns, especially oxytones (those that are accented on the last syllable) in -άς (-as) or -ής (-is) form their plural by adding the stem extension -άδ- (-ad-) and -ήδ- (-id-) respectively. Although this declension group is an element of Demotic, it has its roots in Ionic Greek that influenced later Koine. On the other hand, from Katharevousa, nouns such as μυς (mys, "muscle") follow the ancient declension in all cases except for the dative.

		-ος/-οおみくろんιいおた άνθρωπος ([ˈanθしーたropos] 'human')		-ης/-ες πολίτης ([poˈlitis] 'citizen')		-ας/-ες πατέρας ([paˈteras] 'father')		-εας/-εις προβολέας ([provoˈleas] 'floodlight')		-ας/-αδες ψαράς ([psaˈras] 'fisherman')
Singular	Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative	άνθρωπος ανθρώποおみくろんυうぷしろん άνθρωποおみくろん άνθρωπεいぷしろん	[-os] [-u] [-o] [-e]	πολίτης πολίτηいーた πολίτηいーた πολίτηいーた	[-is] [-i] [-i] [-i]	πατέρας πατέραあるふぁ πατέραあるふぁ πατέραあるふぁ	[-as] [-a] [-a] [-a]	προβολέας προβολέα προβολέα προβολέα	[-eas] [-ea] [-ea] [-ea]	ψぷさいαあるふぁρろーάς ψぷさいαあるふぁρろーά ψぷさいαあるふぁρろーά ψぷさいαあるふぁρろーά	[-as] [-a] [-a] [-a]
Plural	Nominative Genitive Accusative	άνθρωποおみくろんιいおた ανθρώπωおめがνにゅー ανθρώπους	[-i] [-on] [-us]	πολίτες πぱいοおみくろんλらむだιいおたτたうών πολίτες	[-es] [-ˈon] [-es]	πατέρες πατέρωおめがνにゅー πατέρες	[-es] [-on] [-es]	προβολείς προβολέων προβολείς	[-is] [-eon] [-is]	ψぷさいαあるふぁρろーάδες ψぷさいαあるふぁρろーάδων ψぷさいαあるふぁρろーάδες	[-aðes] [-aðon] [-aðes]

Feminine nouns

Most feminine nouns end in -ηいーた [-i], -αあるふぁ [-a] and -ος [-os]. Those that end in -i and many that end in -a stem from the ancient first declension and have the accent on the ultimate syllable in genitive plural. The rest of those that end in -a originate from the ancient third declension and have formed their nominative singular from the ancient accusative singular; those nouns keep the accent unchanged in genitive plural. The nouns that end in -ος (-os) are identical to the respective masculine nouns. Finally, many feminine nouns that end in -ηいーた (-i) correspond to Ancient Greek nouns in -ις (-is), which are still used as learned forms in formal contexts. Their singular forms have been adapted to the rest of the feminine nouns, while their plural forms have retained the ancient pattern in -εις (-eis). The forms of the genitive singular -εως (-eos) are also found as a stylistic variant and they are fully acceptable, and in fact are more commonly used than the old-style nominative singular form.

		-ηいーた/-ες μάχη ([ˈmaçi], 'battle')		-αあるふぁ/-ες θάλασσα ([ˈθしーたalasa], 'sea')		-ος/-οおみくろんιいおた μέθοδος ([ˈmeθしーたoðos], 'method')		-ηいーた/-εις δύναμη ([ˈðinami], 'force')
Singular	Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative	μάχηいーた μάχης μάχηいーた μάχηいーた	[-i] [-is] [-i] [-i]	θάλασσαあるふぁ θάλασσας θάλασσαあるふぁ θάλασσαあるふぁ	[-a] [-as] [-a] [-a]	μέθοδος μεθόδοおみくろんυうぷしろん μέθοδοおみくろん μέθοδεいぷしろん	[-os] [-u] [-o] [-e]	δύναμηいーた δύναμης and δυνάμεως δύναμηいーた δύναμηいーた	[-i] [-is] and [-eos] [-i] [-i]
Plural	Nominative Genitive Accusative	μάχες μみゅーαあるふぁχかいών μάχες	[-es] [-ˈon] [-es]	θάλασσες θαλασσών θάλασσες	[-es] [-ˈon] [-es]	μέθοδοおみくろんιいおた μεθόδωおめがνにゅー μεθόδους	[-i] [-on] [-us]	δυνάμεις δυνάμεいぷしろんωおめがνにゅー δυνάμεις	[-is] [-eon] [-is]

Neuter nouns

Most neuter nouns end either in -οおみくろん [-o] (plural: -αあるふぁ [-a]) or -ιいおた [-i] (plural: -ιά [-ia]). Indeed, most of them that end in -i initially ended in -io, an ending for diminutives that many nouns had acquired already from Koine Greek. As a result, the endings of the plural and of the genitive singular are reminiscent of those older forms. For example, the diminutive of the ancient Greek word πぱいαあるふぁῖς (pais, "child") is παιδίον (paidion) and hence the modern noun παιδί (paidi). Other neuter nouns end in -αあるふぁ (-a) and -ος (-os) and their declension is similar to the ancient one. Moreover, some nouns in -ιいおたμみゅーοおみくろん (-imo), which are usually derivatives of verbs, are declined similarly to those that end in -a. Also note that most borrowings are indeclinable neuter, and can have just about any ending, such as γουίντ-σέρφινγκ "windsurfing". Finally, all neuter nouns have identical forms across the nominative, accusative and vocative.

		-οおみくろん/-αあるふぁ βιβλίο ([viˈvlio], 'book')		-ί/-ιά παιδί ([peˈði], 'child')		-αあるふぁ/-αあるふぁτたうαあるふぁ πρόβλημα ([ˈprovlima], 'problem')		-ος/-ηいーた μέγεθος ([ˈmeʝeθしーたos], 'size')		-ιμο/-ίματα δέσιμο ([ˈðesimo], 'tying')
Singular	Nominative Genitive Accusative	βιβλίοおみくろん βιβλίοおみくろんυうぷしろん βιβλίοおみくろん	[-o] [-u] [-o]	πぱいαあるふぁιいおたδでるたί πぱいαあるふぁιいおたδでるたιού πぱいαあるふぁιいおたδでるたί	[-i] [-ˈju] [-i]	πρόβλημαあるふぁ προβλήματος πρόβλημαあるふぁ	[-a] [-atos] [-a]	μέγεθος μεγέθους μέγεθος	[-os] [-us] [-os]	δέσιμοおみくろん δεσίματος δέσιμοおみくろん	[-o] [-atos] [-o]
Plural	Nominative Genitive Accusative	βιβλίαあるふぁ βιβλίωおめがνにゅー βιβλίαあるふぁ	[-a] [-on] [-a]	πぱいαあるふぁιいおたδでるたιά πぱいαあるふぁιいおたδでるたιών πぱいαあるふぁιいおたδでるたιά	[-ˈja] [-ˈjon] [-ˈja]	προβλήμαあるふぁτたうαあるふぁ προβλημάτων προβλήμαあるふぁτたうαあるふぁ	[-ata] [-ˈaton] [-ata]	μεγέθηいーた μみゅーεいぷしろんγがんまεいぷしろんθしーたών μεγέθηいーた	[-i] [-ˈon] [-i]	δεσίμαあるふぁτたうαあるふぁ δでるたεいぷしろんσしぐまιいおたμみゅーάτων δεσίμαあるふぁτたうαあるふぁ	[-ata] [-ˈaton] [-ata]

For other neuter nouns, the ancient declension is used. For example, τたうοおみくろん φως (fos, "light") becomes τたうοおみくろんυうぷしろん φωτός, τたうαあるふぁ φώτα and τたうωおめがνにゅー φώτων and τたうοおみくろん οξύ (oxy, "acid") becomes τたうοおみくろんυうぷしろん οξέος, τたうαあるふぁ οξέα and τたうωおめがνにゅー οξέων.

Adjectives

Adjectives agree with nouns in gender, case and number. Therefore, each adjective has a threefold declension paradigm for the three genders. Adjectives show agreement both when they are used as attributes, e.g. ηいーた όμορφη γυναίκα (i omorfi gynaika, "the beautiful woman") and when they are used as predicates e.g. ηいーた γυναίκα είναι όμορφη (i gynaika einai omorfi, "the woman is beautiful").

Most adjectives take forms in -ος (-os) in the masculine, -οおみくろん (-o) in the neuter and either -ηいーた (-i), -αあるふぁ (-a) or -ιいおたαあるふぁ (-ia) in the feminine. All those adjectives are declined similarly with the nouns that have the same endings. However they keep the accent stable where nouns change it. Adjectives with a consonant before the ending usually form the feminine with -ηいーた, those with a vowel before the ending in -αあるふぁ and some adjectives that end in -κός ([-ˈkos], -kos) or -χός ([-ˈxos], -chos) usually form it in -ιいおたαあるふぁ although the ending -ηいーた is applicable for those too.

			Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Singular	Nominative	όμορφος ([ˈomorfos], "beautiful")	όμορφος	όμορφηいーた	όμορφοおみくろん
		νέος ([ˈneos], "new, young")	νέος	νέαあるふぁ	νέοおみくろん
		γλυκός ([ɣliˈkos], "sweet")	γがんまλらむだυうぷしろんκかっぱός	γがんまλらむだυうぷしろんκかっぱιά	γがんまλらむだυうぷしろんκかっぱό

		Masculine		Feminine						Neuter
				for όμορφος		for νέος		for γλυκός
Singular	Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative	όμορφος όμορφοおみくろんυうぷしろん όμορφοおみくろん όμορφεいぷしろん	[-os] [-u] [-o] [-e]	όμορφηいーた όμορφης όμορφηいーた όμορφηいーた	[-i] [-is] [-i] [-i]	νέαあるふぁ νέας νέαあるふぁ νέαあるふぁ	[-a] [-as] [-a] [-a]	γがんまλらむだυうぷしろんκかっぱιά γがんまλらむだυうぷしろんκかっぱιάς γがんまλらむだυうぷしろんκかっぱιά γがんまλらむだυうぷしろんκかっぱιά	[-ja] [-jas] [-ja] [-ja]	όμορφοおみくろん όμορφοおみくろんυうぷしろん όμορφοおみくろん όμορφοおみくろん	[-o] [-u] [-o] [-o]
Plural	Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative	όμορφοおみくろんιいおた όμορφωおめがνにゅー όμορφους όμορφοおみくろんιいおた	[-i] [-on] [-us] [-i]	όμορφες όμορφωおめがνにゅー όμορφες όμορφες	[-es] [-on] [-es] [-es]	νέες νέωおめがνにゅー νέες νέες	[-es] [-on] [-es] [-es]	γがんまλらむだυうぷしろんκかっぱές γがんまλらむだυうぷしろんκかっぱών γがんまλらむだυうぷしろんκかっぱές γがんまλらむだυうぷしろんκかっぱές	[-es] [-on] [-es] [-es]	όμορφαあるふぁ όμορφωおめがνにゅー όμορφαあるふぁ όμορφαあるふぁ	[-a] [-on] [-a] [-a]

Other classes of adjectives include those that take forms in -ης (-is) in both masculine and feminine and in -ες (-es) in neuter. They are declined similarly with the ancient declension. Those that are not accented on the ultima usually raise the accent in the neuter. Another group includes adjectives that end in -υς ([-is], -ys). Although some are declined somewhat archaically such as οξύς (oxys, "acute"), most of them are declined according to the rules of Demotic Greek and in many cases and persons they acquire other endings, such as in the case of πλατύς (platys, "wide").

		-ης, -ες/-εις, -ηいーた συνεχής ([sineˈçis], 'continuous')				-υς, -ιいおたαあるふぁ, -υうぷしろん/-ιいおたοおみくろんιいおた, -ιες, -ιいおたαあるふぁ πλατύς ([plaˈtis], 'wide')						-υς, -εいぷしろんιいおたαあるふぁ, -υうぷしろん/-εις, -ειες, -εいぷしろんαあるふぁ οξύς ([oˈksis], 'acute')
		Masc. & Fem.		Neuter		Masculine		Feminine		Neuter		Masculine		Feminine		Neuter
Singular	Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative	σしぐまυうぷしろんνにゅーεいぷしろんχかいής σしぐまυうぷしろんνにゅーεいぷしろんχかいούς σしぐまυうぷしろんνにゅーεいぷしろんχかいή σしぐまυうぷしろんνにゅーεいぷしろんχかいή	[-is] [-us] [-i] [-i]	σしぐまυうぷしろんνにゅーεいぷしろんχかいές σしぐまυうぷしろんνにゅーεいぷしろんχかいούς σしぐまυうぷしろんνにゅーεいぷしろんχかいές σしぐまυうぷしろんνにゅーεいぷしろんχかいές	[-es] [-us] [-es] [-es]	πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうύς πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうιού πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうύ πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうύ	[-is] [-ju] [-i] [-i]	πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうιά πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうιάς πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうιά πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうιά	[-ja] [-jas] [-ja] [-ja]	πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうύ πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうιού πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうύ πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうύ	[-i] [-ju] [-i] [-i]	οおみくろんξくしーύς οおみくろんξくしーέος οおみくろんξくしーύ οおみくろんξくしーύ	[-is] [-eos] [-i] [-i]	οおみくろんξくしーεία οおみくろんξくしーείας οおみくろんξくしーεία οおみくろんξくしーεία	[-ia] [-ias] [-ia] [-ia]	οおみくろんξくしーύ οおみくろんξくしーέος οおみくろんξくしーύ οおみくろんξくしーύ	[-i] [-eos] [-i] [-i]
Plural	Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative	σしぐまυうぷしろんνにゅーεいぷしろんχかいείς σしぐまυうぷしろんνにゅーεいぷしろんχかいών σしぐまυうぷしろんνにゅーεいぷしろんχかいείς σしぐまυうぷしろんνにゅーεいぷしろんχかいείς	[-is] [-on] [-is] [-is]	σしぐまυうぷしろんνにゅーεいぷしろんχかいή σしぐまυうぷしろんνにゅーεいぷしろんχかいών σしぐまυうぷしろんνにゅーεいぷしろんχかいή σしぐまυうぷしろんνにゅーεいぷしろんχかいή	[-i] [-on] [-i] [-i]	πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうιοί πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうιών πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうιούς πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうιοί	[-ji] [-jon] [-jus] [-ji]	πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうιές πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうιών πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうιές πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうιές	[-jes] [-jon] [-jes] [-jes]	πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうιά πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうιών πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうιά πぱいλらむだαあるふぁτたうιά	[-ja] [-ja] [-ja] [-ja]	οおみくろんξくしーείς οおみくろんξくしーέων οおみくろんξくしーείς οおみくろんξくしーείς	[-is] [-eon] [-is] [-is]	οおみくろんξくしーείες οおみくろんξくしーειών οおみくろんξくしーείες οおみくろんξくしーείες	[-ies] [-ion] [-ies] [-ies]	οおみくろんξくしーέα οおみくろんξくしーέων οおみくろんξくしーέα οおみくろんξくしーέα	[-ea] [-eon] [-ea] [-ea]

The adjective πολύς (polys, "many, much") is irregular:

		Masculine		Feminine		Neuter
Singular	Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative	πぱいοおみくろんλらむだύς πぱいοおみくろんλらむだύ or πぱいοおみくろんλらむだλらむだού πぱいοおみくろんλらむだύ πぱいοおみくろんλらむだύ	[-is] [-i] or [-u] [-i] [-i]	πぱいοおみくろんλらむだλらむだή πぱいοおみくろんλらむだλらむだής πぱいοおみくろんλらむだλらむだή πぱいοおみくろんλらむだλらむだή	[-i] [-is] [-i] [-i]	πぱいοおみくろんλらむだύ πぱいοおみくろんλらむだύ or πぱいοおみくろんλらむだλらむだού πぱいοおみくろんλらむだύ πぱいοおみくろんλらむだύ	[-i] [-i] or [-u] [-i] [-i]
Plural	Nominative Genitive Accusative Vocative	πぱいοおみくろんλらむだλらむだοί πぱいοおみくろんλらむだλらむだών πぱいοおみくろんλらむだλらむだούς πぱいοおみくろんλらむだλらむだοί	[-i] [-on] [-us] [-i]	πぱいοおみくろんλらむだλらむだές πぱいοおみくろんλらむだλらむだών πぱいοおみくろんλらむだλらむだές πぱいοおみくろんλらむだλらむだές	[-es] [-on] [-es] [-es]	πぱいοおみくろんλらむだλらむだά πぱいοおみくろんλらむだλらむだών πぱいοおみくろんλらむだλらむだά πぱいοおみくろんλらむだλらむだά	[-a] [-on] [-a] [-a]

Comparative and superlative

Adjectives in Modern Greek can form a comparative for expressing comparisons. Similar to English, it can be formed in two ways, as a periphrastic form (as in English POS beautiful, COMP more beautiful) and as a synthetic form using suffixes, as in English ADJ tall COMP tall-er. The periphrastic comparative is formed by the particle πぱいιいおたοおみくろん ([pço], pio, originally "more") preceding the adjective. The synthetic forms of the regular adjectives in -ος, -ηいーた and -o is created with the suffix -ότερος (-'oteros), -ότερη (-'oteri) and -ότερο (-'otero). For those adjectives that end in -ης and -ες or -υς, -εいぷしろんιいおたαあるふぁ and -υうぷしろん the corresponding suffixes are -έστερος (-'esteros) etc. and -ύτερος (-'yteros) etc. respectively.

A superlative is expressed by combining the comparative, in either its periphrastic or synthetic form, with a preceding definite article. Thus, Modern Greek does not distinguish between the largest house and the larger house; both are τたうοおみくろん μεγαλύτερο σπίτι.

Besides the superlative proper, sometimes called "relative superlative", there is also an "absolute superlative" or elative, expressing the meaning "very...", for example ωραιότατος means very beautiful. Elatives are formed with the suffixes -ότατος, -ότατη and -ότατο for the regular adjectives, -έστατος etc. for those in -ης and -ύτατος for those in -υς.

Simple form			Comparative form		Superlative form
					Relative		Absolute (elative)
			Periphrastic	Synthetic	Periphrastic	Synthetic
Adjectives	ωραίος	nice	πぱいιいおたοおみくろん ωραίος	ωραιότερος	οおみくろん πぱいιいおたοおみくろん ωραίος	οおみくろん ωραιότερος	ωραιότατος
	βαθύς	deep	πぱいιいおたοおみくろん βαθύς	βαθύτερος	οおみくろん πぱいιいおたοおみくろん βαθύς	οおみくろん βαθύτερος	βαθύτατος
	επιεικής	lenient	πぱいιいおたοおみくろん επιεικής	επιεικέστερος	οおみくろん πぱいιいおたοおみくろん επιεικής	οおみくろん επιεικέστερος	επιεικέστατος
Participles	μεθυσμένος	drunk	πぱいιいおたοおみくろん μεθυσμένος	—	οおみくろん πぱいιいおたοおみくろん μεθυσμένος	—	—
Adverbs	ωραία	nicely	πぱいιいおたοおみくろん ωραία	ωραιότたうεいぷしろんρろーαあるふぁ	—	—	ωραιότたうαあるふぁτたうαあるふぁ
	επιεικώς	leniently	πぱいιいおたοおみくろん επιεικώς	επιεικέστたうεいぷしろんρろーαあるふぁ	—	—	επιεικέστたうαあるふぁτたうαあるふぁ

Numerals

The numerals one, three and four are declined irregularly. Other numerals such as διακόσιοι (diakosioi, "two hundred"), τριακόσιοι (triakosioi, "three hundred") etc. and χίλιοι (chilioi, "thousand") are declined regularly like adjectives. Other numerals including two are not declined.

	Singular						Plural
	ένας (enas, "one")						τρεις (treis, "three")				τέσσερις (tesseris, "four")
	Masculine		Feminine		Neuter		Masc. & Fem.		Neuter		Masc. & Fem.		Neuter
Nominative	ένας	[ˈenas]	μίαあるふぁ	[ˈmia]	έναあるふぁ	[ˈena]	τたうρろーεις	[tris]	τたうρろーία	[ˈtria]	τέσσερις	[ˈteseris]	τέσσεいぷしろんρろーαあるふぁ	[ˈtesera]
Genitive	εいぷしろんνにゅーός	[eˈnos]	μみゅーιいおたας	[mɲas]	εいぷしろんνにゅーός	[eˈnos]	τたうρろーιών	[triˈon]	τたうρろーιών	[triˈon]	τたうεいぷしろんσしぐまσしぐまάρων	[teˈsaron]	τたうεいぷしろんσしぐまσしぐまάρων	[teˈsaron]
Accusative	έναあるふぁνにゅー	[ˈenan]	μίαあるふぁ	[ˈmia]	έναあるふぁ	[ˈena]	τたうρろーεις	[tris]	τたうρろーία	[ˈtria]	τέσσερις	[ˈteseris]	τέσσεいぷしろんρろーαあるふぁ	[ˈtesera]

Pronouns

Greek pronouns include personal pronouns, reflexive pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, interrogative pronouns, possessive pronouns, intensive pronouns, relative pronouns, and indefinite pronouns.

Personal pronouns

There are strong personal pronouns (stressed, free) and weak personal pronouns (unstressed, clitic). Nominative pronouns only have the strong form (except in some minor environments) and are used as subjects only when special emphasis is intended, since unstressed subjects recoverable from context are not overtly expressed anyway. Genitive (possessive) pronouns are used in their weak forms as pre-verbal clitics to express indirect objects (for example, τたうοおみくろんυうぷしろん μίλησα, [tu ˈmilisa], 'I talked to him'), and as a post-nominal clitic to express possession (for example, οおみくろんιいおた φίλοι τたうοおみくろんυうぷしろん, [i ˈfili tu], 'his friends'). The strong genitive forms are relatively rare and used only for special emphasis (for example, αυτού οおみくろんιいおた φίλοι, [afˈtu i ˈfili], 'his friends'); often they are doubled by the weak forms (for example, αυτού τたうοおみくろんυうぷしろん μίλησα, [afˈtu tu ˈmilisa], ' him I talked to'). An alternative way of giving emphasis to a possessive pronoun is propping it up with the stressed adjective δικός ([ðiˈkos], 'own'), for example, οおみくろんιいおた δικοί τたうοおみくろんυうぷしろん φίλοι ([i ðiˈci tu ˈfili], 'his friends').

Accusative pronouns exist both in a weak and a strong form. The weak form in the oblique cases is used as a pre-verbal clitic (for example, τたうοおみくろんνにゅー είδα, [ton ˈiða], 'I saw him'); the strong form is used elsewhere in the clause (for example, είδα αυτόν, [ˈiða afˈton], 'I saw him'). The weak form in the nominative is found only in few idiomatic deictic expressions, such as νにゅーαあるふぁ τος 'there he [is]', πού 'νにゅー' τος; 'where is he?'. Third-person pronouns have separate forms for the three genders; those of the first and second person do not. The weak third-person forms are similar to the corresponding forms of the definite article. The strong third-person forms function simultaneously as generic demonstratives ('this, that').

The strong forms of the third person in the genitive (αυτού, αυτής, αυτών, αυτούς) have optional alternative forms extended by an additional syllable [-on-] or [-un-] (αυτουνού, αυτηνής, αυτωνών). In the plural, there exists the alternative accusative form αυτουνούς.

			1st person		2nd person		3rd person
							Masc.		Fem.		Neut.
Strong	Singular	Nominative	εγώ	[eˈɣo]	εσύ	[eˈsi]	αυτός	[afˈtos]	αυτή	[afˈti]	αυτό	[afˈto]
		Genitive	εμένα	[eˈmena]	εσένα	[eˈsena]	αあるふぁυうぷしろんτたうoύ	[afˈtu]	αυτής	[afˈtis]	αυτού	[afˈtu]
		Accusative	εμένα	[eˈmena]	εσένα	[eˈsena]	αυτόν	[afˈton]	αυτήν	[afˈtin]	αυτό	[afˈto]
	Plural	Nominative	εμείς	[eˈmis]	εσείς	[eˈsis]	αυτοί	[afˈti]	αυτές	[afˈtes]	αυτά	[afˈta]
		Genitive	εμάς	[eˈmas]	εσάς	[eˈsas]	αυτών	[afˈton]	αυτών	[afˈton]	αυτών	[afˈton]
		Accusative	εμάς	[eˈmas]	εσάς	[eˈsas]	αυτούς	[afˈtus]	αυτές	[afˈtes]	αυτά	[afˈta]
Weak	Singular	Nominative					τος	[tos]	τたうηいーた	[ti]	τたうοおみくろん	[to]
		Genitive	μみゅーοおみくろんυうぷしろん	[mu]	σしぐまοおみくろんυうぷしろん	[su]	τたうοおみくろんυうぷしろん	[tu]	της	[tis]	τたうοおみくろんυうぷしろん	[tu]
		Accusative	μみゅーεいぷしろん	[me]	σしぐまεいぷしろん	[se]	τたうοおみくろんνにゅー	[ton]	τたうηいーたνにゅー	[tin]	τたうοおみくろん	[to]
	Plural	Nominative					τたうοおみくろんιいおた	[ti]	τες	[tes]	τたうαあるふぁ	[ta]
		Genitive	μας	[mas]	σας	[sas]	τους	[tus]	τους	[tus]	τους	[tus]
		Accusative	μας	[mas]	σας	[sas]	τους	[tus]	τις/τες	[tis]/[tes]	τたうαあるふぁ	[ta]

Besides αυτός [afˈtos] as a generic demonstrative, there are also the more specific spatial demonstrative pronouns τούτος, -ηいーた, -οおみくろん ([ˈtutos], 'this here') and εκείνος, -ηいーた, -οおみくろん ([eˈcinos], 'that there').

It is worth noting that in some rare cases, pronouns in the genitive can either express an indirect object or a possessive, as they have the same form (μみゅーοおみくろんυうぷしろん, σしぐまοおみくろんυうぷしろん, τたうοおみくろんυうぷしろん, ...). In the case of possible ambiguity, a diacritical accent should be written if the pronoun is an indirect object (μού, σού, τού, ...).

- Indirect object: Οおみくろん καθηγητής μού εξήγησε τたうοおみくろん μάθημα. (The teacher explained the lesson to me.)

- Possessive: Οおみくろん καθηγητής μみゅーοおみくろんυうぷしろん εξήγησε τたうοおみくろん μάθημα. (My teacher explained the lesson.)

- Both: Οおみくろん καθηγητής μみゅーοおみくろんυうぷしろん μみゅーοおみくろんυうぷしろん εξήγησε τたうοおみくろん μάθημα. (My teacher explained the lesson to me.)

The last sentence does not require diacritics, as one of the "μみゅーοおみくろんυうぷしろん" represents the possessive, and the other one represents the indirect object.

In speech, the ambiguity would be removed by a stronger emphasis of 'μου' if it is an indirect object, the possessive being unstressed anyway.

Prepositions

In Demotic Greek, prepositions normally require the accusative case: από (from), γがんまιいおたαあるふぁ (for), μみゅーεいぷしろん (with), μετά (after), χωρίς (without), ως (as) and σしぐまεいぷしろん (to, in or at). The preposition σしぐまεいぷしろん, when followed by a definite article, fuses with it into forms like σしぐまτたうοおみくろん (σしぐまεいぷしろん + τたうοおみくろん) and σしぐまτたうηいーた (σしぐまεいぷしろん + τたうηいーた). While there is only a relatively small number of simple prepositions native to Demotic, the two most basic prepositions σしぐまεいぷしろん and από can enter into a large number of combinations with preceding adverbs to form new compound prepositions, for example, πάνω σしぐまεいぷしろん (on), κάτω από (underneath), πλάι σしぐまεいぷしろん (beside), πάνω από (over) etc.

A few prepositions that take cases other than the accusative have been borrowed into Standard Modern Greek from the learned tradition of Katharevousa: κατά (against), υπέρ (in favor of, for), αντί (instead of). Other prepositions live on in a fossilised form in certain fixed expressions (for example, εいぷしろんνにゅー τたうωおめが μεταξύ 'in the meantime', dative).

The preposition από (apó, 'from') is also used to express the agent in passive sentences, like English by.

Conjunctions

Coordinating and subordinating conjunctions in Greek include:

Kinds	Conjunctions	Meaning
Copulative	κかっぱαあるふぁιいおた (κかっぱιいおた), ούτε, μήτε, ουδέ, μηδέ, μみゅーεいぷしろんνにゅー... δでるたεいぷしろん	and, neither
Disjunctive	ή, είτε	or, either
Adversative	μみゅーαあるふぁ, αλλά, παρά, όμως, ωστόσο, ενώ, αあるふぁνにゅー κかっぱαあるふぁιいおた, μολονότι, μόνο, μόλο	but, although, however, whereas
Inferential	λοιπόν, ώστε, άρα, επομένως, πぱいοおみくろんυうぷしろん	so, so as, thus, that
Explanatory	δηλαδή	so, in other words
Complementizers	ότι, πως, πぱいοおみくろんυうぷしろん	that
Temporal	όταν, σしぐまαあるふぁνにゅー, ενώ, καθώς, αφού, αφότου, πριν (πぱいρろーιいおたνにゅー νにゅーαあるふぁ), μόλις, προτού, ώσπου, ωσότου, όσο πぱいοおみくろんυうぷしろん, όποτε	when, while, after, before, just, until
Causal	γιατί, διότι, επειδή, αφού	because
Conditional	αあるふぁνにゅー, εάν, άμα, σしぐまαあるふぁνにゅー	if
Purpose	νにゅーαあるふぁ, γがんまιいおたαあるふぁ νにゅーαあるふぁ	so as, (in order) to
Result	ώστε (νにゅーαあるふぁ), πぱいοおみくろんυうぷしろん	so as, (in order) to
Concessive	μολονότι	despite
Dubitative	μみゅーηいーた(νにゅー), μήπως	maybe, perhaps
Comparative	παρά	to, than

The word νにゅーαあるふぁ ([na]) serves as a generic subordinator corresponding roughly to English to (+ infinitive) or that in sentences like προτιμώ νにゅーαあるふぁ πάω ([protiˈmo na ˈpao], 'I prefer to go', literally 'I prefer that I go') or προτιμώ νにゅーαあるふぁ πάει οおみくろん Γιάννης ([protiˈmo na ˈpai o ˈʝannis], 'I prefer that John go'). It marks the following verb as being in the subjunctive mood. Somewhat similar to the English to-infinitive its use is often associated with meanings of non-factuality, i.e. events that have not (yet) come true, that are expected, wished for etc. In this, it contrasts with ότι [ˈoti] and πως [pos], which correspond to English that when used with a meaning of factuality. The difference can be seen in the contrast between μας είπε νにゅーαあるふぁ πάμε βόλτα ([mas ˈipe na ˈpame ˈvolta], 'he told us to go for a walk') vs. μας είπε πως πήγε βόλτα ([mas ˈipe pos ˈpiʝe ˈvolta], 'he told us that he went for a walk'). When used on its own with a following verb, νにゅーαあるふぁ may express a wish or order, as in νにゅーαあるふぁ πάει! ([na ˈpai], 'let him go' or 'may he go'). Unlike the other subordinating conjunctions, νにゅーαあるふぁ is always immediately followed by the verb it governs, separated from it only by any clitics that might be attached to the verb, but not by a subject or other clause-initial material.

Negation

For sentence negation, Greek has two distinct negation particles, δでるたεいぷしろん(νにゅー) ([ˈðe(n)], de(n)) and μみゅーηいーた(νにゅー) ([ˈmi(n)], mi(n)). Δでるたεいぷしろんνにゅー is used in clauses with indicative mood, while μみゅーηいーたνにゅー is used primarily in subjunctive contexts, either after subjunctive-inducing νにゅーαあるふぁ or as a negative replacement for νにゅーαあるふぁ. Both particles are syntactically part of the proclitic group in front of the verb, and can be separated from the verb only by intervening clitic pronouns. The distinction between δでるたεいぷしろんνにゅー and μみゅーηいーたνにゅー is a particularly archaic feature in Greek, continuing an old prohibitive negation marker inherited from Indo-European. As such, μみゅーηいーたνにゅー is often associated with the expression of a wish for an event not to come true:

• Δでるたεいぷしろんνにゅー τたうοおみくろんυうぷしろん ζήτησα νにゅーαあるふぁ έρθει. (Den tou zitisa na erthei, "I didn't ask him to come.")
• Τたうοおみくろんυうぷしろん ζήτησα νにゅーαあるふぁ μみゅーηいーたνにゅー έρθει. (Tou zitisa na min erthei, "I asked him not to come.")

When used alone with a subjunctive verb in the second person, prohibitive μみゅーηいーたνにゅー serves as the functional equivalent to a negative imperative, which itself cannot be negated. Thus, the negation of the positive imperative τρέξε ([ˈtrekse], 'run!') is μみゅーηいーたνにゅー τρέξεις ([min ˈtreksis], 'don't run!').

The particle όχι serves as the stand-alone utterance of negation ('no'), and also for negation of elliptical, verbless sentences and for contrastive negation of individual constituents:

• Κάλεσα τたうηいーた Μαρία, όχι τたうοおみくろんνにゅー Γιώργο. (Kalesa ti Maria, ochi ton Giorgo, "I invited Mary, not George.")

For constituent negation, Greek employs negative concord. The negated constituent is marked with a negative-polarity item (e.g. κανένας 'any, anybody/nobody', τίποτα 'anything/nothing', πουθενά 'anywhere/nowhere'), and the verb is additionally marked with the sentence negator δでるたεいぷしろんνにゅー (or μみゅーηいーたνにゅー). In verbless, elliptical contexts the negative-polarity items can also serve to express negation alone.

	Masculine		Feminine		Neuter
Nominative Genitive Accusative	κかっぱαあるふぁνにゅーένας or κかっぱαあるふぁνにゅーείς κかっぱαあるふぁνにゅーενός κかっぱαあるふぁνにゅーέναν	[-enas] or [-is] [-enos] [-enan]	κかっぱαあるふぁμみゅーία κかっぱαあるふぁμみゅーίας κかっぱαあるふぁμみゅーία	[-mia] [-mias] [-mia]	κかっぱαあるふぁνにゅーένα κかっぱαあるふぁνにゅーενός κかっぱαあるふぁνにゅーένα	[-ena] [-enos] [-ena]

The negative pronoun κανείς ([kaˈnis], kaneis), i.e. nobody or anybody is declined in all three genders and three cases and can be used as the English determiner no.

• Δでるたεいぷしろん θέλω κανέναν εδώ. (De thelo kanenan edo, "I want nobody here.")
• —Είναι κανείς εδώ; —Όχι, κανείς. (—Einai kaneis edo? —Ochi, kaneis, "'Is anyone here?' 'No, nobody.'")
• Δでるたεいぷしろんνにゅー έκανα κανένα λάθος. (Den ekana kanena lathos, "I have made no mistake.")

On the other hand, the negative pronoun ουδείς ([uˈðis], oudeis), from the learned tradition of Ancient Greek, is used without negative concord:

• Ουδείς πείστηκε. (Oudeis peistike, "No one was convinced.")

	Masculine		Feminine		Neuter
Nominative Genitive Accusative	οおみくろんυうぷしろんδでるたείς οおみくろんυうぷしろんδでるたενός οおみくろんυうぷしろんδでるたένα	[-is] [-enos] [-ena]	οおみくろんυうぷしろんδでるたεいぷしろんμみゅーία οおみくろんυうぷしろんδでるたεいぷしろんμみゅーίας οおみくろんυうぷしろんδでるたεいぷしろんμみゅーία(νにゅー)	[-mia] [-mias] [-mia(n)]	οおみくろんυうぷしろんδでるたέν οおみくろんυうぷしろんδでるたενός οおみくろんυうぷしろんδでるたέν	[-en] [-enos] [-en]

Relative clauses

Greek has two different ways of forming relative clauses. The simpler and by far the more frequent uses the invariable relativizer πぱいοおみくろんυうぷしろん ([pu], 'that', literally 'where'), as in: ηいーた γυναίκα πぱいοおみくろんυうぷしろん είδα χτες ([i ʝiˈneka pu ˈiða xtes], 'the woman that I saw yesterday'). When the relativized element is a subject, object or adverbial within the relative clause, then – as in English – it has no other overt expression within the relative clause apart from the relativizer. Some other types of relativized elements, however, such as possessors, are represented within the clause by a resumptive pronoun, as in: ηいーた γυναίκα πぱいοおみくろんυうぷしろん βρήκα τたうηいーたνにゅー τσάντα της (/i ʝiˈneka pu ˈvrika tin ˈt͡sanda tis/, 'the woman whose handbag I found', literally 'the woman that I found her handbag').

The second and more formal form of relative clauses employs complex inflected relative pronouns. They are composite elements consisting of the definite article and a following pronominal element that is inflected like an adjective: οおみくろん οποίος, ηいーた οποία, τたうοおみくろん οποίο ([o oˈpios, i oˈpia, to oˈpio] etc., literally 'the which'). Both elements are inflected for case, number and gender according to the grammatical properties of the relativized item within the relative clause, as in: ηいーた γυναίκα τたうηいーたνにゅー οποία είδα χτες ([i ʝiˈneka tin oˈpia ˈiða xtes], 'the woman whom I saw yesterday'); ηいーた γυναίκα της οποίας βρήκα τたうηいーたνにゅー τσάντα ([i ʝiˈneka tis oˈpias ˈvrika tin ˈt͡sanda], 'the woman whose handbag I found').

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