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Use of Greek: verb to switch on Posted by Ourania on Aug 10, 2015
Sometimes students are not sure which verb means to turn an appliance on. The most common verb is ανοίγω (aneego) which means “to open” but also “to turn/switch on”: Ανοίγω τα μάτια μου. (Anigo ta matia mou). I open my eyes. / Ανοίγω το παράθυρο. (Anigo to parathiro). I open the window. With some nouns…
Listen to Greek! Posted by Ourania on Aug 3, 2015
The summer is at its peak and some of you are probably on holiday. For those of you who want to practice Greek, in this post there is a listening comprehension exercise suitable for Intermediate students. Watch the video about the Toy Museum and do the exercise that follows: you have to tell whether the…
Phrases to use at a Greek hotel Posted by Ourania on Jul 27, 2015
In most Greek hotels service speak English so travelers can communicate their needs. However, sometimes the service in small, family-run hotels are not fluent in English so the knowledge of basic Greek could be useful. Below, there is a list of some common requests and simple questions in Greek with a transliteration. It’s not a problem…
About Greek numbers Posted by Ourania on Jul 22, 2015
The Greek numbers are not too hard to learn. However, beginners find it hard to use them. The reason is that the numbers one, three and four are not invariable and are declined. They have three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter), cases , singular and plural. Number one has only singular and numbers three and…
Use of Greek: demonstrative pronouns Posted by Ourania on Jul 20, 2015
The pronouns τέτοιος and τόσος can be confusing. They are both translated as such but τόσος can take more definitions depending on the context. The difference is that τέτοιος is used to state quality and τόσος is used to state quantity. They are declined as adjectives (see pdf) and they agree in gender, number and…
About the Government of Greece Posted by Ourania on Jul 13, 2015
In the last days, many views have been expressed about the Greek referendum, the economic crisis and the practical problems that Greece has to deal with. In this post you can find some basic information about the Greek system of government which is much different than the American one. Στην Ελλάδα η μοναρχία καταργήθηκε με…
Quiz: Use of Greek 2 (yes or no) Posted by Ourania on Jun 30, 2015
Do you know how to accept or to deny an invitation or a request ?Which phrase would you use in the following contexts? For questions 1-10 choose the answer that you find suitable. The answers are not transliterated so the quiz is suitable for learners who are able to read the Greek alphabet. You may find…