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A touch of Greek Easter Posted by Ourania on Apr 15, 2014
The countdown to Easter (Πάσχα, Pasha) , the most important Greek holiday, has already started. The Easter traditions have been preserved and are still followed by most Greeks, religious or not. Some people, relate Easter to a big open air celebration with music, dance, and of course a meal that is composed of lamb and…
Say the colors in Greek Posted by Ourania on Apr 6, 2014
Ήρθε η άνοιξη! (Irthe i anixi, spring is in the air) Spring is the season of colors and the Greek vocabulary is rich in adjectives and idioms related to colors (χρώματα, hromata). The colors grammatically are adjectives, so they have genders, singular and plural and cases, i.e. they are not invariable. 1. Form of colors…
Greece in fifteen questions Posted by Ourania on Mar 25, 2014
In Greece on March 25 we celebrate the Independence Day and also the Annunciation to Virgin Mary of her conception. Instead of writing a post about a topic that can be searched on Wikipedia or on documentaries, I decided to make a quiz about Greece. Making a quiz about Greece is not easy and I…
Let’s talk about the Past! Greek Irregular verbs you must know Posted by Ourania on Mar 19, 2014
Αόριστος (Aoristos, Past Simple) is one of the most challenging tenses beginners have to deal with. For information on the Aoristos conjugation check this entry https://blogs.transparent.com/greek/tenses-simple-past/ Below there’s a list of some common verbs which have an irregular form and a dialogue in order to put these verbs in context. Ενεστώτας (Enestotas) Present Transliteration Definition…
Free Samples of Modern Greek Language Books Posted by Ourania on Mar 12, 2014
Learning a foreign language is not easy. Sometimes learners tend to buy loads of books in their attempt to master the new language as quickly as possible. However, instead of learning the language they often overload the shelves of their bookcase with books that they will never read. There’s nothing wrong with buying books and…
Let the kites fly, it’s Clean Monday! Posted by Ourania on Mar 3, 2014
Clean Monday (Καθαρά Δευτέρα, Kathara Deftera) is the first day of the Lent that lasts until Easter. It is called “clean” (καθαρά, kathara) because the Christian believers purify themselves spiritually and physically by eliminating the consumption of meat, eggs and dairy products and by abstaining from sin. Customs Each region has its own customs but…
Always, never, from time to time: expressions of frequency Posted by Ourania on Feb 24, 2014
Never On Sunday is one of the best known Greek movies. The Greek title is Ποτέ την Κυριακή (Pote tin Kiriaki). What about “always on Sunday” or “very often” ? Below there’s a list with the most common expressions of frequency used in Modern Greek and an example of their use. Πάντα (panda)= always Ποτέ…