Tag Archives: use of Greek
School vocabulary in Greek Posted by Ourania on Jan 28, 2015
The verbs “to learn” and “to study” are often misused even by advanced learners of Greek. In this post, there are some examples of their use. There’s also a list of words related to school. διαβάζω (diavazo): to read / to study Ο Μιχάλης διαβάζει την εφημερίδα του. (O Mihalis diavazei tin efimerida tou). Michael…
Less is More: Adverbs of Quantity (greek) Posted by Ourania on Sep 30, 2014
Γεια σας! Today’s topic is the use of the adverbs of quantity, such as very, more, less, almost etc. Below there’s a list with the most common adverbs and some examples of their use. The English phrases are sometimes translated directly and I hope they make sense. πολύ λίγο αρκετά σχεδόν καθόλου ελάχιστα…
How to be polite in Greek Posted by Ourania on Sep 9, 2014
One of the first topics Greek students have to learn is the use of the polite form. It is a relatively “new” element, as it did not exist in ancient Greek, and has its origins in French. It is formed by the second plural person. E.g. «Τι κάνετε κύριε Δήμου;» (Tee kanete keerie Demou?) How…
Use of the conjunction “na” Posted by Ourania on Apr 21, 2014
The right use of the conjunctions ότι, πως, να (oti, pos, na) which mean “that” and “to”) is not always clear and Greek learners often misuse them (ελπίζω που instead of ελπίζω να etc.). Verbs that express desire, wish, necessity, exhortation, possibility and prohibition are followed by the conjunction να (na, to) and a verb in…
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…
Greek quiz-Expressions of time and frequency Posted by Ourania on Jan 21, 2014
How good are you at giving the right answer to questions related to time and frequency? Do this quiz to find out. For questions 1-10 choose α, β, or γ. Only one answer is correct. This quiz is suitable for beginners who are able to read the Greek alphabet and who have been taught prepositions…
“What’s going on?”:uses of the verb ginomai Posted by Ourania on Nov 26, 2013
One of the most common verbs that causes problems to Greek learners is γίνομαι (ginomai). It means “to become”. If you haven’t come across it yet, you are very likely to hear it as soon as you go to Greece, and if you have already been there, you have definitely heard people using it regularly…