LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #1 This Is Greek Athens—Or Is It?

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 6 Grammar 8 Cultural Insight

# 1

1. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Δηλαδή, αυτό δεν είναι το Αεροδρόμιο της Αθήνας;

2. Κοπέλα στο γκισέ πληροφοριών: Αυτό είναι το αεροδρόμιο της Αθήνας, όμως η περιοχή αυτή δεν είναι Αθήνα!

3. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Και το κέντρο είναι πολύ μακριά από εδώ;

4. Κοπέλα στο γκισέ πληροφοριών: Περισσότερο από μια ώρα. Εδώ είναι Ελλάδα!

ROMANIZATION

1. Pétra Górdon: Diladí, aftó den íne to Aerodrómio tis Athínas?

2. Kopéla sto gisé Aftó íne to aerodrómio tis Athínas, ómos i periohí aftí den íne Athína! pliroforión:

3. Pétra Górdon: Ke to kéndro íne polí makriá apó edó?

4. Kopéla sto gisé Perisótero apó mia óra. Edó íne Eláda! pliroforión:

ENGLISH

1. Petra Gordon: So this is not Athens’ airport?

2. Airport This is Athens’ airport, but this area is not Athens. information desk girl:

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - THIS I S GREEK ATHENS—OR I S I T? 2 3. Petra Gordon: So downtown is very far from here?

4. Airport More than an hour. This is Greece! information desk girl:

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

μια ώρα mia ora one hour phrase feminine

Αυτό δεν είναι Auto den einai this is not expression neuter

downtown κέντρο kentro (literally, noun “center”)

κοπέλα kopéla young woman noun feminine

είναι einai, íne is (he is, she is) verb

μακριά makriá far adverb

από apó from preposition

εδώ edó here pronoun

περισσότερο perissotero more adjective neuter

τώρα tóra now adverb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Θα έρθει σε μια ώρα. Αυτό δεν είναι τασάκι. Tha erthei se mia ora. Auto den einai tasaki.

"He will come in an hour." "This is not an ashtray."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - THIS I S GREEK ATHENS—OR I S I T? 3 Θα πάω στο κέντρο. Είδα μια ξανθιά κοπέλα. Tha pao sto kentro. Eida mia ksanthia kopela.

"I will go downtown." "I saw a blonde girl."

Η κοπέλα ακούει μουσική με Η παραλία είναι μακριά από εδώ. ακουσ τικά. I paralía íne makriá apó edó.

"The girl is listening to music with "The beach is far from here." headphones."

Δε ν μπορώ να το δω, είναι πολύ Η παραλία είναι μακριά από εδώ. μακριά. I paralía íne makriá apó edó.

Den boró na to do, íne polí makriá. "The beach is far from here." "I can't see it, it's too far away."

Είναι μακριά από εδώ. Το μαγαζί είναι ανοιχτό από τις 9 το Eínai makriá apó edó. π ρω ί.

To magazí íne anihtó apó tis enéa to proí. "It's far from here." "The store is open from 9 AM."

Η παραλία είναι μακριά από εδώ. Είμαι από την Αμερική.

Eímai apó tin Amerikí. "The beach is far from here." "I am from America."

Είναι μακριά από εδώ. Η παραλία είναι μακριά από εδώ. Eínai makriá apó edó. I paralía íne makriá apó edó.

"It's far from here." "The beach is far from here."

Έλα εδώ! Χρε ιάζ ομαι περισσότερο χρόνο. Éla edó! Chreiazomai perissotero chrono.

"Come here!" "I need more time."

Είμαι πολύ απασχολημένη τώρα. Τώ ρα άκουσέ με, σε παρακαλώ. Íme polí apascholiméni tóra. Tóra ákusé me, se parakaló.

"I am very busy now." "Now, please listen to me."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - THIS I S GREEK ATHENS—OR I S I T? 4 Τώ ρα μιλάω στο τηλέφωνο. Έφαγα πάρα πολύ και τώρα με Tora milao sto tilefono. π ονάε ι το στομάχι μου.

Éfaga pára polí ke tóra me ponái to stomáhi mu. "I'm talking on the phone now." "I ate too much, and now my stomach hurts."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

The first sentence, δηλαδή αυτό δεν είναι το αεροδρόμιο της Αθήνας (diladi, auto • den einai to aerodromio tis Athinas), starts with the particle diladi, which roughly translates to the English "so" or "that is to say." This means that the conversation has already started before this sentence and that the speaker (in this case, the main character) asks for some clarification or further explanation. Δηλαδή (Diladi) is a very useful Greek word, and it is good to remember it.

In the last sentence, the airport clerk replies to the main character's question "how far • is the airport" by using time, not distance (περισσότερο από μια ώρα, perissotero apo mia ora, "more than an hour"). This is rather common in Greece; for some reason, most people think of distances in terms of the time it takes to cover them than of the actual kilometers involved). Hence, a very common idiom is X ώρα/ώρες δρόμος, X ora/ores dromos, which literally means "X hour/hours street" but actually means "it takes X hour/hours to get there."

A characteristic of the Greek language that might confuse English speakers is that • many parts of speech are gendered and numbered. Since both the subject of genders and the subject of numbers are quite broad, we will examine them in detail in future lessons; for the moment, it would be better to focus on the masculine gender and the singular number: all our sample sentences are in the first person singular, and in our dialogue, we have three cases of neuter/singular:

1. Αυτό είναι/δεν είναι το αεροδρόμιο της Αθήνας (Auto einai/den einai to aerodromio tis Athinas ) "This is/is not Athens' airport."

2. Το κέντρο είναι πολύ μακριά από εδώ? (To kentro einai poly makria apo edo?) "(Is) downtown is very far from here?"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - THIS I S GREEK ATHENS—OR I S I T? 5 3. Εδώ είναι Ελλάδα. (Edo einai Ellada).

"This is Greece." and one case of feminine/singular:

1. Η περιοχή αυτή δεν είναι Αθήνα. (I periohi auti den einai Athina.) "This area is not Athens."

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is the Verb "to Be" in Modern Greek.

Αυτό είναι το αεροδρόμιο

Auto einai to aerodromio.

"This is the airport."

In this lesson, we will focus on the use of the verb "to be" in Modern Greek. As is the case with most languages, the verb "to be" is one of the most commonly used verbs in Modern Greek. Contrary to English, though, we do not use the verb "to be" as an auxiliary verb (i.e., to form different types of verbs); we mostly use it in its "official capacity" to show the existence or the presence of a thing or a situation.

Since the conjugation of verbs can be quite tricky in Greek, in this lesson we will present only the first person singular of the verb "to be" in the present affirmative, negative, and interrogative form.

Present - Affirmative (Singular)

G reek Romanization "English"

Εγώ είμαι Ego eimai "I am"

Present - Negative (Singular)

G reek Romanization "English"

Εγώ δεν είμαι Ego then eimai "I am not"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - THIS I S GREEK ATHENS—OR I S I T? 6 Present - Interrogative (Singular)

G reek Romanization "English"

Εγώ είμαι; Ego eimai? "Am I?"

Sam ple Sentences

G reek Romanization "English"

Εγώ είμαι άντρας Ego eimai antras. "I am a man."

Εγώ είμαι γιατρός Ego eimai giatros. "I am a doctor."

Εγώ είμαι Έλληνας Ego eimai Ellinas. "I am Greek."

Εγώ είμαι πεινασμένος Ego eimai peinasmenos. "I am hungry."

Εγώ δεν είμαι Ego den eimai κουρασμένος kourasmenos. "I am not tired."

Εγώ είμαι μόνος στο σπίτι Ego eimai monos sto spiti. "I am home alone."

Εγώ δεν είμαι στην Αμερική Ego den eimai stin Ameriki. "I am not in America."

Εγώ είμαι στην Αθήνα Ego eimai stin Athina. "I am in Athens."

Εγώ είμαι μακριά από το σπίτι μου Ego eimai makria apo to "I am far from home." spiti mou.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - THIS I S GREEK ATHENS—OR I S I T? 7 Εγώ είμαι στο γραφείο Ego eimai sto grafeio. "I am at the office."

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Speaking English in Greece

While Greek is one of the oldest languages in the world and has been the basis of all European languages, the small size of Greece and its eventful history haven't allowed for the use of Greek much outside the borders of the country. This means that most Greeks need to learn at least one more language. For the last forty years or so, this language has been almost exclusively English. Depending on where you are in Greece or whom you are talking to, the level of English will vary from basic understanding to almost native-level proficiency. (Many Greeks study in English-speaking countries, so their English can surprise you!) So chances are that if you get stranded anywhere in the country with no knowledge of Greek whatsoever, you will manage to get by with your English. Having said that, Greeks generally have a tremendous respect for foreigners who know even a little bit of their language, and they will do their best to understand even the most broken and mispronounced Greek.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - THIS I S GREEK ATHENS—OR I S I T? 8 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #2 Take the Last Greek Train to Athens

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 5 Grammar 7 Cultural Insight

# 2

1. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Συγγνώμη, κυρία, εδώ είναι δύο γραμμές αλλά μόνο μια πλατφόρμα;

2. Υπάλληλος Είναι μια γραμμή για το Μετρό και μια για τον Προαστιακό σταθμού: Σιδηρόδρομο.

3. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Οπότε, μόνο μια πλατφόρμα και για τα δύο τρένα;

4. Υπάλληλος Ναι. Ένας σταθμός, μια πλατφόρμα, δύο τρένα. σταθμού:

ROMANIZATION

1. Pétra Górdon: Signómi, kiría, edó íne dío gramés alá móno mia platfórma?

2. Ipálilos stathmú: Íne mia gramí ya to Metró ke mia ya ton Proastiakó Sidiródromo.

3. Pétra Górdon: Opóte, móno mia platfórma ke ya ta dío tréna?

4. Ipálilos stathmú: Ne. Énas stathmós, mia platfórma, dío tréna.

ENGLISH

1. Petra Gordon: Excuse me, madam, here are two tracks but only one platform?

2. Station Clerk: There is one track for the Metro and one track for the Suburban Railroad.

3. Petra Gordon: So only one platform for both trains?

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #2 - TAKE THE LAS T GREEK TRAI N TO ATHENS 2 4. Station Clerk: Yes. One station, one platform, two trains.

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

αλλά allá, alá but conjunction

μια one adjective feminine

κυρία kiría madam noun

I'm sorry, συγγνώμη signómi excuse me, I expression beg your pardon

γραμμές grammes tracks, lines noun feminine

μόνο móno only adverb

πλατφόρμα platforma platform noun feminine

τρένο treno train noun neutral

σταθμός stathmos station noun masculine

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Νυσ τάζ ω, αλλά πρέπει να Ξέ ρω ότι είσαι απασχολημένος, τε λε ιώ σ ω αυτήν την αναφορά αλλά μπορείς να πάρεις τηλέφωνο απ όψε. τον δικηγόρο μου; Nistázo, alá prépi na telióso aftín tin anaforá Xéro óti íse apascholiménos, alá borís na páris apópse. tiléfono ton dikigóro mu?

"I'm sleepy but I have to finish this report "I know you are busy. But can you call my tonight." lawyer?"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #2 - TAKE THE LAS T GREEK TRAI N TO ATHENS 3 Δε ν θέλω να πάω, αλλά θα πάω. Το τρένο είναι αργό, αλλά συνεπές. Den thélo na páo, alá tha páo. To tréno eínai argó, allá synepés.

"I don't want to go, but I will go." "The train is slow, but punctual."

Είμαι τόσο κοντά, αλλά τόσο μακριά. Φ ώ ναξ α βοήθεια, αλλά κανείς δεν Eímai tóso kontá, allá tóso makriá. έ τρε ξ ε.

Fónaxa voíthia, alá kanís den étrexe. "I'm so close, and yet so far." "I shouted for help, but nobody ran."

Στο ψυγείο έχει μόνο μια Κυρία, μπορώ να σας ρωτήσω κάτι; πορτοκαλάδα. Kiría, boró na sas rotíso káti?

Sto psigeio echei mono mia portokalad. "Madam, may I ask you something?" "There is only one orange soda in the refrigerator."

Συγγνώ μη, πού είναι η τουαλέτα; Το μετρό της Αθήνας έχει τρεις Signómi, pú íne I tualéta? γραμμέ ς.

To metro tis Athinas echei treis grammes. "Excuse me, where is the toilet?" "The Athens subway has three lines."

Είμαι ελεύθερη μόνο την Κυριακή. Στο ψυγείο έχει μόνο μια Íme eléftheri móno tin Kiriakí. πορτοκαλάδα.

Sto psigeio echei mono mia portokalada. "I am only free on Sunday." "There is only one orange soda in the refrigerator."

Έχω μόνο μεγάλα χαρτονομίσματα. Με τά από τέτοιο φαγοπότι το μόνο Écho móno megála chartonomísmata. π ου ήθελα ήταν να κοιμηθώ.

Metá apó tétio fagopóti to móno pu íthela ítan na "I only have large denominations." kimithó.

"After such a wassail, the only thing I wanted was to sleep."

Πε ριμέ νω στην πλατφόρμα. Το τρένο είναι αργό, αλλά συνεπές. Perimeno stin platforma. To tréno eínai argó, allá synepés.

"I'm waiting at the platform." "The train is slow, but punctual."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #2 - TAKE THE LAS T GREEK TRAI N TO ATHENS 4 Έρχονται δύο τρένα. Ναι, αυτός είναι ο σταθμός Erchontai dyo trena. Nai, autos einai o stathmos.

"Two trains are coming." "Yes, this is the station."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

In our first sentence, we use the expression εδώ είναι δύο γραμμές - edo einai dyo gram m es ("here are two lines"); although this phrase is perfectly valid, you could also use εδώ έχει δύο γραμμές, edo echei dyo grammes ("here it has two lines") or εδώ βλέπω δύο γραμμές, edo blepo dyo grammes ("here I see two lines") or εδώ υπάρχουν δύο γραμμές, edo yparchoun dyo grammes ("here there exist two lines").

The last two lines of our dialogue:

Peter Gordon: Οπότε, μόνο μία πλατφόρμα και για τα δύο τρένα; (Opote, mono mia platforma kai gia ta dyo trena? ) "So, only one platform for both trains?" Station Clerk: Ναι. Ένας σταθμός, μία πλατφόρμα, δύο τρένα. (Nai. Enas stathmos, mia platforma, dyo trena.)

"Yes. One station, one platform, two trains."

...might sound a little abrupt—and indeed they are! The reason is that we have kept them minimal (i.e., without the verbs) so we can focus better on our main subject, which is the indefinite article. Still, even without the verbs, they are perfectly valid sentences that we can use (and in fact that people use) every day in Greece. Since the Greek language is not inherently polite, simple sentences like these that just convey the information needed are very much part of everyday conversation.

Finally, something about the word kyrios (literally, "master"): we use it in Greek to mean both "mister" as in κύριος Παπαδόπουλος (kyrios Papadopoulos), meaning "Mister Papadopoulos" and "sir" as in our dialogue: Συγγνώμη, κύριε, εδώ είναι δύο γραμμές αλλά μόνο μία πλατφόρμα, (Sygnomi, kyrie, edo einai dyo grammes alla mono mia platform). meaning "Excuse me sir, here there are two lines but only one platform". The abbreviation of κύριος, kyrios is κ. or Κος (k. or Kos), as in Έρχεται ο κ. Παπαδόπουλος (Erchetai o k. Papadopoulos), meaning "Mr. Papadopoulos is coming." For women, we use the word κυρία (kuria), meaning "Mrs.," and its abbreviations, κ. or Κα (k. or Ka). The distinction between "Mrs.," "Ms.," and "Miss" does not really have an equivalent in Greek, although often people use δεσποινίς or Δις (despoinis or dis), literally meaning "damsel," for younger women.

GRAMMAR

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #2 - TAKE THE LAS T GREEK TRAI N TO ATHENS 5 The Focus of This Lesson Is the Use of the Indefinite Article in Modern G reek. Ένας σταθμός, μία πλατφόρμα, δύο τρένα. Enas stathm os, m ia platform , dyo trena. "One station, one platform , two trains."

In Modern Greek, there are two articles, the definite and the indefinite. As expected, we use the definite article when talking about a specific person or thing, while we use the indefinite when talking about a single but unspecified person or thing. In this lesson, we are focusing on the indefinite articles ένας, μία, and ένα (enas, mia, and ena), the masculine, feminine, and neuter, respectively, which in Greek we also use as an indefinite personal pronoun and as the numeral one. This means that depending on the context, the word ένας (enas) can mean "one" or "a/an." Things are simpler than they seem because it is actually very easy to tell which case is which. If ένας, μία, or ένα (enas, mia, or ena) is followed by a noun (ένας άντρας, μία γυναίκα, ένα παιδί - enas antras, mia gynaika, ena paidi), meaning "a man," "a woman," or "a child," we know we are dealing with the indefinite article (think of the English "a/an"). If the same words are not followed by a noun but by a verb, we know we are dealing with the indefinite personal pronoun and the words ένας, μία and ένα (enas, mia, and ena) are taking the place of a noun. In our vocabulary sample sentences, we have the phrase ο ένας είναι ψηλός και ο άλλος κοντός, (o enas einai psilos kai o allos kontos), meaning "the one is tall and the other is short." If we are referring to two people, the full sentence would be, ο ένας άνθρωπος είναι ψηλός και ο άλλος άνθρωπος είναι κοντός, (o enas anthropos einai psilos kai o allos anthropos einai kontos), meaning "the one man is short and the other man is tall," but since this might sound a little unnatural, the pronouns enas and allos replace the noun anthropos

Finally, we know we are dealing with the numeral when we see the words in the context of counting: ένας άντρας (enas antras), δύο άντρες (duo antres), τρεις άντρες (treis antres) means "one man, two men, three men."

The good thing is that regardless of whether we are dealing with the indefinite article, the indefinite personal pronoun, or the numeral, we always decline the words ένας, μία and ένα (enas, mia, and ena) the same way. And, of course, since they refer to "one" or "a/an," they only have singular number.

The following are some sample sentences using the word enas in all its uses. In this lesson, we are focusing on the masculine gender, so the feminine (mia) and the neuter (ena) do not appear in these sentences.

Sam ple Sentences

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #2 - TAKE THE LAS T GREEK TRAI N TO ATHENS 6 G reek Romanization "English"

Στο λεωφορείο είναι Sto leoforeio einai mono "There is only one μόνο ένας επιβάτης enas epivatis passenger on the bus."

Ο ένας μου γιος είναι O enas mou gios einai "One of my sons is a γιατρός giatros doctor."

Ο ένας κινητήρας είναι O enas kinitiras einai χαλασμένος chalasmenos "One engine is broken."

O ένας είναι ψηλός και ο O enas einai psilos kai o "One is tall and the other is άλλος είναι κοντός allos einai kontos short."

Είναι ένας λευκός τοίχος Einai enas leukos toichos "It is a white wall."

Στο συρτάρι είναι ένας "There is a map in the χάρτης Sto syrtari einai enas chartis drawer."

Είναι ένας πίνακας του Einai enas pinakas tou Πικάσο Pikaso "It is a painting by Picasso."

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Public Transportation in Athens

Even the most hardcore supporters of Greece will agree on one thing: transportation in Athens is one of the city's biggest problems. Literally, millions of cars, taxis, buses, trolley- buses, and all kinds of supply vehicles combined with a street planning created more than a hundred years ago for a population roughly one-tenth of today's make Athens one of the hardest cities to move around in. Luckily, after the Olympic Games of 2004, the citizens of Athens (and, of course its visitors!) got a much needed gift: the new Metro (subway) system. Although neither big nor very complex, the three-line Metro offered the city a considerable relief and the only reliable means of transportation. If you want to keep an appointment in Athens, the Metro is the only way to manage that. So if you have a choice between accommodations, you should certainly pick the one closest to a subway station! And it's cheap too: all distances are covered by an 1.60 euro ticket, which you can also use (within an

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #2 - TAKE THE LAS T GREEK TRAI N TO ATHENS 7 hour and a half time frame) for all other public transportation as well.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #2 - TAKE THE LAS T GREEK TRAI N TO ATHENS 8 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #3 Keeping It in the Greek Family

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 6 Grammar 8 Cultural Insight

# 3

1. Δανάη Πέτρα, αυτή είναι η αδελφή μου, η Κωσταντίνα που ζει μαζί μας και Παπαδοπούλου: τα παιδιά μου: ο Γιώργος, ο Γιάννης και η Ελένη.

2. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Γεια. Είμαι η Πέτρα.

3. Κωσταντίνα Παπαδοπούλου: Καλώς ήρθες στην Αθήνα και στο σπίτι μας!

4. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: A, τα παιδιά είναι σχεδόν ενήλικες! Πόσο είναι τώρα;

5. Κωσταντίνα Παπαδοπούλου: Ο μεγάλος γιος της Δανάης είναι 18, ο μικρός είναι 15 και η κόρη της είναι 16.

ROMANIZATION

1. Danái Pétra, aftí íne i adelfí mu, i Kostandína pu zi mazí mas ke ta pediá Papadopúlu: mu: o Yiórgos, o Yiánis ke i Eléni.

2. Pétra Górdon: Ya. Íme i Pétra.

3. Kostandína Kalós írthes stin Athína ke sto spíti mas! Papadopúlu:

4. Pétra Górdon: A, ta pediá íne schedón enílikes! Póso íne tóra?

5. Kostandína O megálos yos tis Danáis íne 18, o mikrós íne 15 ke i kóri tis íne 16. Papadopúlu:

ENGLISH

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #3 - KEEPING I T I N THE GREEK FAMILY 2 1. Danai Petra, this is my sister Kostantina who lives with us and my children Papadopoulou: —Giorgos, Yannis, and Eleni.

2. Petra Gordon: Hi. I'm Petra.

3. Kostantina Welcome to Athens and to our home! Papadopoulou:

4. Petra Gordon: Oh, your kids are almost grown-ups! How old are they now?

5. Kostantina Danai's older son is 18, the younger is 15 and her daughter is 16. Papadopoulou:

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

τώρα tóra now adverb

αδερφή aderfí sister noun feminine

παιδί paidi child noun neutral

κόρη kóri daughter noun feminine

αυτή avtí this pronoun feminine

possessive μου moy my pronoun

γιός yos son noun masculine

Καλώς ήρθες Kalos irthes welcome expression

πόσο póso how much

μεγάλος megalos big, elder adjective masculine

σπίτι spíti home, house noun neutral

SAMPLE SENTENCES

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #3 - KEEPING I T I N THE GREEK FAMILY 3 Είμαι πολύ απασχολημένη τώρα. Τώ ρα άκουσέ με, σε παρακαλώ. Íme polí apascholiméni tóra. Tóra ákusé me, se parakaló.

"I am very busy now." "Now, please listen to me."

Τώ ρα μιλάω στο τηλέφωνο. Έφαγα πάρα πολύ και τώρα με Tora milao sto tilefono. π ονάε ι το στομάχι μου.

Éfaga pára polí ke tóra me ponái to stomáhi mu. "I'm talking on the phone now." "I ate too much, and now my stomach hurts."

Η αδερφή μου σπουδάζει ιατρική Θα ήθελα να στείλω αυτό το γράμμα I aderfi mou spoudazei iatriki σ την αδερφή μου.

Tha íthela na steílo aftó to grámma stin aderfí "My sister is studying medicine." moy.

"I would like to send this letter to my sister."

Τα παιδιά μου πηγαίνουν σε Η κόρη του θα έρθει στη ιδιω τικό σχολείο. συγκέντρωση, οπότε θα Ta paidia mou pigainoun se idiotiko scholeio. χρειαστούμε μια επιπλέον θέση.

Ι kóri tu tha érthi sti singéndrosi, opóte tha "My children go to a private school." hriastúme mia epipléon thési.

"His daughter is coming to the reunion, so we need an extra seat."

Η κόρη σου είναι στο γραφείο? Αυτή είναι η μεγάλη μου κόρη. I kori sou einai sto grafeio? Auti einai i megali mou kori.

"Is your daughter at the office?" "This is my older daughter."

Η μητέρα διάβασε στην κόρη της. Αυτή είναι η μεγάλη μου κόρη. I mitéra diávase stin kóri tis. Auti einai i megali mou kori.

"The mother read to her daughter." "This is my older daughter."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #3 - KEEPING I T I N THE GREEK FAMILY 4 Είναι ελεύθερη αυτή η θέση; Αυτή είναι η εκκλησία που θα Íne elétheri aftí i thési? παντρευτούμε.

Aftí íne i eklisía pou tha pandreftúme. "Is this seat taken?" "This is the church that we are going to get married in."

Τα παιδιά μου πηγαίνουν σε Αυτό είναι το σπίτι μου. ιδιω τικό σχολείο. Auto enai to spiti mou.

Ta paidia mou pigainoun se idiotiko scholeio. "This is my house." "My children go to a private school."

Η οικογένεια αυτή έχει δύο γιους. Ο γιός μου υπηρετεί στον ελληνικό Ι ikoyénia aftí éhi dío yius. σ τρατό.

O gios mou ypiretei ston elliniko strato. "This family has two sons." "My son is serving in the Greek army."

Αυτός είναι ο μικρός μου γιος. Καλώ ς ήρθες στην Ελλάδα. Autos einai o mikros mou gios. Kalos irthes stin Ellada.

"This is my younger son." "Welcome to Greece."

Πόσ ο γρήγορα μπορείς να έρθεις; Πόσ ο τζατζίκι θέλεις; Poso grigora mporeis na ertheis? Póso tzatzíki théleis?

"How fast can you come?" "How much tzaziki do you want?"

Αυτή είναι η μεγάλη μου κόρη. Ένα μεγάλο σπίτι Auti einai i megali mou kori. Ena megalo spiti

"This is my older daughter." "A big house"

Αυτό είναι το σπίτι μου. Το σπίτι μου βρίσκεται στο Auto enai to spiti mou. ε π όμε νο τετράγωνο.

To spíti mu vrískete sto epómeno tetrágono. "This is my house." "My house is situated on the next block."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #3 - KEEPING I T I N THE GREEK FAMILY 5 Since we will be focusing on adjectives in this lesson, it would be good to note that the adjectives μικρός (m ikros) and μεγάλος (m egalos), which appear in our dialogue, literally mean "small" and "big," but we also use them with the connotation of "young" and "old"; there are specific words for those too, but we will speak about them in a future lesson. Political correctness was only recently introduced to Greece; this means that the language still contains some expressions that might offend the sensitivities of many English speakers. You can see one of them in the expression Η γυναίκα μου (I gynaika m ou), which we have included in our dialogue; this means "my wife," but literally it means "my woman." The same goes for the husband: the expression we use is ο άντρας μου (o antras m ou), which literally means "my man," although these are common everyday expressions used in informal settings. The formal way to speak about someone's spouse is ο σύζυγός μου (o syz ygos m ou) or η σύζυγός μου (i syz ygos m ou) (this word does not have a gender). We are not so sure whether this is best though, since σύζυγος (syz ygos) literally means "one who is under the same

Although English makes a distinction between house and home, Modern Greek doesn't; in both cases, we use the word spiti. Occasionally, and especially in literary works, you can come across the word σπιτικό (spitiko) as something closer to what we call in English "home," but it is not a word we use in everyday Greek conversation. Interestingly enough, we use the same word σπιτικό (spitiko) for the word adjective "homemade" as in σπιτικό φαγητό (spitiko fagito - "homemade cooking") or σπιτικό κρασί (spitiko krasi - "homemade wine"), etc.

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is Adjectives and Their Use in Modern G reek. Ο μεγάλος μας γιος είναι 18 O m egalos m as gios einai 18 "Our older son is eighteen."

Adjectives are one of the most important parts of speech in Greek or in any other language. Although we can probably go through a basic conversation without using any adjectives, such a conversation would sound unnatural and strained, so it is best to start using some adjectives right away! For this first introduction to adjectives, we use in our dialogue μεγάλος (megalos) and μικρός (mikros), which respectively mean "big" and "small," but which also mean "old" and "young," depending on the context; such is the case in our dialogue where one of the characters says ο μεγάλος μας γιος είναι 18 και ο μικρός 15 (o megalos mas gios einai 18 kai o mikros 15). Literally, this phrase would translate as "our big/old son is eighteen and our small/young fifteen," but since we form this particular expression in English using the comparative degree (old-er, young-er), when translating the dialogue we use "Our older son is eighteen and our younger son is fifteen." Remember, though, that in Greek we just use the plain form of the adjective (what is called the "positive degree").

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #3 - KEEPING I T I N THE GREEK FAMILY 6 In Greek, as in English, the adjective goes after the article and before the noun. So we will say ένα κόκκινο αυτοκίνητο (ena kokkino autokinito - "a red car"), ένας ψηλός άντρας (enas psilos antras - "a tall man"), or ένα ενδιαφέρον βιβλίο (ena endiaferon vivlio - "an interesting book"). If there is a verb, the verb goes first and then the adjective and the noun follow.

For Example:

1. Εγώ έχω ένα κόκκινο αυτοκίνητο (Ego echo ena kokkino autokinito) "I have a red car."

2. Εγώ χαιρετάω έναν ψηλό άντρα (Ego cheraitao enan psilo antra) "I am greeting a tall man."

3. Εγώ διαβάζω ένα ενδιαφέρον βιβλίο (Ego diabazo ena endiaferon vivlio)

"I am reading an interesting book."

Finally, when we use a personal pronoun (as in our dialogue), the pronoun can be either at the end of the sentence or between the adjective and the noun. Both of the following sentences mean "our older son is eighteen" - the word μας, (mas) is a personal pronoun in the first person plural-i.e., "our":

1. Ο μεγάλος μας γιος είναι 18 ( O megalos mas gios einai 18)

2. Ο μεγάλοςγιος μας είναι 18 (O megalos gios mas einai 18)

Adjectives, like articles and nouns, are gendered and declinable in Greek. This might prove to be a bit of a challenge, but for the moment we will keep things as simple as possible and see only the first case, the nominative in the singular number and the masculine gender. In the following table, we have put a few adjectives and nouns in this case so you can get acquainted with how things look and sound (the o before each adjective/noun is the masculine definite article in the nominative case, but more about that in a future lesson!).

Sam ple Sentences

G reek Romanization "English"

Ο μεγάλος γιος O megalos gios "the older son"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #3 - KEEPING I T I N THE GREEK FAMILY 7 Ο μικρός ανιψιός O mikros anipsios "the younger nephew"

Ο λευκός τοίχος O leukos toichos "the white wall"

Ο φορητός υπολογιστής O foritos ypologistis "the portable computer"

Ο νόστιμος μουσακάς O nostimos mousakas "the tasty moussaka"

Ο κεντρικός δρόμος O kentrikos dromos "the main street"

Ο λεπτομερής χάρτης O leptomeris chartis "the detailed map"

Ο αρχαίος ναός O archaios naos "the ancient temple"

Ο ξύλινος φράχτης O ksilinos frachtis "the wooden fence"

Ο ηλεκτρικός φούρνος O ilektrikos fournos "the electric oven"

Ο πλαστικός χάρακας O plastikos charakas "the plastic ruler"

Ο ελληνικός στρατός O ellinikos stratos "the Greek army"

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Typical G reek Fam ilies

Like most western countries, the Greek family nowadays follows the "nuclear" pattern; that is, it consists of a couple and its (usually) one or two children. But, like most Mediterranean and

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #3 - KEEPING I T I N THE GREEK FAMILY 8 Middle Eastern countries (both cultures that have a long history of interaction with Greece), the extended family is still a big part of most people's everyday reality. If you ever attend a Greek wedding, you will invariably notice that the biggest part of the (usually enormous!) guest list is composed of all kinds of aunts and uncles and cousins, many of them living in some village and having little or no contact with the marrying couple.

Because the family (nuclear and extended) tends to be very protective, young Greeks rarely leave their homes before they are in their mid-twenties or early thirties, and even after that, they usually keep very strong ties with their family. It's not uncommon for them to rent a place in the same building or across the street from where their parents live, and they always drop by for a chat or a meal.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #3 - KEEPING I T I N THE GREEK FAMILY 9 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #4 Lunch…Before Lunch in Greece?

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 6 Grammar 9 Cultural Insight

# 4

1. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Ααααχ! Το πρώτο μου ούζο μετά από δέκα χρόνια. Αλλά τι είναι όλα αυτά;

2. Δανάη Απλώς ένα λουκάνικο, μερικές φέτες ψωμί, μερικές ελιές, μια Παπαδοπούλου: κομμένη ντομάτα και λίγο τυρί.

3. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Και αυτά δεν είναι γεύμα;

4. Δανάη Όχι, αυτά είναι μεζέδες. Πάντα τρώμε κάτι μαζί με το ούζο· Παπαδοπούλου: τουλάχιστον μια ελιά και ένα κομμάτι ψωμί.

ROMANIZATION

1. Pétra Górdon: Aaaah! To próto mu úzo metá apó déka hrónia. Alá ti íne óla aftá?

2. Danái Aplós éna lukániko, merikés fétes psomí, merikés eliés, mia Papadopúlu: koméni domáta ke lígo tirí.

3. Pétra Górdon: Ke aftá den íne yévma?

4. Danái Óhi, aftá íne mezédes. Pánda tróme káti mazí me to úzo: tuláhiston Papadopúlu: mia eliá ke éna komáti psomí.

ENGLISH

1. Petra Gordon: Aaaaah! my first ouzo after ten years. But what are all these?

2. Danai It's just a sausage, a few slices of bread, some olives, a sliced Papadopoulou: tomato and a little cheese.

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #4 - LUNCH…BEFORE LUNCH I N GREECE? 2 3. Petra Gordon: And all this isn't lunch?

4. Danai No, these are appetizers. We always eat a little something with Papadopoulou: ouzo, at least an olive and a piece of bread.

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

ελιά elia olive noun feminine

λίγο lígo a little adverb neuter

πάντα pánda always adverb

όλα óla all neuter

preposition, μετά meta, metá after adverb

μερικές merikes some feminine

γεύμα meal, lunch noun

τρώω troo I'm eating verb

μαζί mazí together adverb

ντομάτα domáta tomato noun feminine

κάτι káti something pronoun

ψωμί psomí bread noun neutral

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Δοκίμασ ε μια ελιά. Έχουν αργήσει λίγο. Dokimase mia elia. Éhun argísi lígo.

"Try an olive." "They are a little late."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #4 - LUNCH…BEFORE LUNCH I N GREECE? 3 Θέ λω λίγο καφέ. Θέ λω λίγο τυρί. Thelo ligo kafe. Thelo ligo tyri.

"I want some coffee." "I'd like a little cheese."

Χιόνισ ε λίγο. Πάντα τρώμε κάτι κατά τις 12:00. Chiónise lígo. Pánda tróme káti katá tis dódeka.

"It snowed a little." "We always eat something at about twelve o'clock."

Με τον αδερφό μου βλέπουμε Πάντα πίνω ούζο με πάγο. π άντα θρίλερ. Pánda píno úzo me págo.

Me ton aderfó moy vlépoyme pánta thríler. I always drink ouzo with ice. "With my brother we always watch thrillers."

Έφε ρα όλα μου τα CD. Θα πάω σπίτι μετά τη δουλειά. Efera ola mou ta CD. Tha páo spíti metá ti duliá.

"I brought all of my CDs." "I will go home after work."

Θα έρθω μετά τη δουλειά. Με ρικέ ς φορές πίνω ούζο. Tha ertho meta ti douleia. Merikes fores pino ouzo.

"I will come after work." "Sometimes I drink ouzo."

Το γεύμα ήταν θαυμάσιο. Πάντα τρώμε κάτι κατά τις 12:00. To geuma itan thaumasio. Pánda tróme káti katá tis dódeka.

"The meal was wonderful." "We always eat something at about twelve o'clock."

Θα 'πρεπε να πάμε μαζί στο πάρτι. Θα πάμε μαζί σινεμά. Tha 'prepe na páme mazí sto párti. Tha pame mazi sinema.

"We should go to the party together." "We will go to the cinema together."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #4 - LUNCH…BEFORE LUNCH I N GREECE? 4 Η οικογένεια τρώει μαζί πρωινό. Ο παππούς μου καλλιεργεί I oikogéneia tróei mazí proinó. ντομάτε ς στον κήπο του.

O papús mu kalieryí domátes ston kípo tu. "The family is eating breakfast together." "My grandfather grows tomatoes in his garden."

Η ντομάτα είναι το κύριο συστατικό Έκοψα μια ντομάτα. της χωριάτικης σαλάτας. 'Ekopsa mia domáta.

I domáta íne to kírio sistatikó tis elinikís horiátikis salátas. "I sliced a tomato."

"Tomato is the main ingredient of the Greek salad."

Για να έχει γίνει τόσο υπερμεγέθης Σε παρακαλώ, φάε κάτι. αυτή η ντομάτα σίγουρα Se parakaló, fáe káti.

χρησιμοποίησαν χημικό λίπασμα. "Please eat something." Ya na éhi yíni tóso ipermeyéthis aftí i domáta sígura hrisimopíisan himikó lípasma.

"For this tomato to have become that oversized, they definitely used chemical fertilizer."

Πάντα τρώμε κάτι κατά τις 12:00. Έχω κάτι για σένα. Pánda tróme káti katá tis dódeka. Ého káti gia séna.

"We always eat something at about twelve "I have something for you." o'clock."

Το άσπρο ψωμί δεν είναι υγιές για Τρω ς ψωμί με το φαγητό; σ έ να. Tros psomi me to fagito?

To áspro psomí den íne iyiés ya séna. "Do you eat bread with your lunch?" "White bread is not healthy for you."

Πάντα τρώω ψωμί με το φαγητό. Pánda tróo psomí me to fagitó.

"I always eat bread with my meal."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #4 - LUNCH…BEFORE LUNCH I N GREECE? 5 In the first sentence of our dialogue, Τ ο πρώτο μου ούζο μετά από δέκα χρόνια (To proto m ou ouz o m eta apo deka chronia), meaning "my first ouzo after ten years," we can see that in Greek, as in English, there are cases when we can omit the verb (in this case, είναι (einai), meaning "is") without affecting the meaning of the phrase. This happens in cases where the context makes the meaning of the verb obvious.

In the phrase θέλω λίγο τυρί (thelo ligo tyri), meaning "I want some cheese," the word λίγο (ligo) actually translates as "a little." In phrases such as the above, though, its meaning is much closer to the English "some," so we chose to translate it this way. You don't need to worry that the Greek people you are talking with will misunderstand and give you very little cheese (or bread or whatever): when we say λίγο τυρί (ligo tyri) in Greek, it is actually more than what most people expect! And if your Greek friends are not sure how much cheese you want, they will ask Τόσο είναι εντάξει; (Toso einai entaksei?), meaning "Is this much OK?"

Similarly, we have translated the word μερικές (m erikes) both as "a few" and as "some" - as in μερικές φέτες ψωμί (merikes fetes psomi), μερικές ελιές (merikes elies), meaning "a few slices of bread, some olives"). The literal translation of the adjective merikes (feminine, plural) is "some," which, as in English, we can sometimes render as "a few."

One of our sentences above is Θα έρθω μετά τη δουλειά (Tha ertho m eta ti douleia), meaning "I will come after work." Here, we have one more similarity between Greek and English: the two phrases are a literal translation of each other since in Greek we usually say douleia, meaning "work," as a generic noun to mean anything that we do for a living. Also, as in English, many Greeks who work at an office will say πάω στο γραφείο (pao sto grafeio), which, in another literal translation, means "I go to the office."

Finally, the word κατά (kata) - πάντα τρώω κάτι κατά τιος 12:00 (panta troo kati kata tis 12:00) is a preposition with a primary meaning of "against" or "versus." In everyday conversation, though, we very commonly use it as a way to say "at about" or "around" some point in time, as in κατά το μεσημέρι (kata to mesimeri), meaning "around noon," κατά τις 5:00 (kata tis 5:00), meaning "around five," or as a way to say "toward," as in πάω κατά την Αθήνα (pao kata tin Athina), meaning "I'm going in the direction of Athens."

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is G ender and Particularly the Fem inine G ender. Μια ελιά και ένα κομμάτι ψωμί Mia elia kai ena kom m ati psom i "An olive and a piece of bread."

One of the most common difficulties for people learning Greek is grasping how to use

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #4 - LUNCH…BEFORE LUNCH I N GREECE? 6 genders; the problem is much worse for English speakers since English does not make extensive use of genders. Greek does, however, and they can be found in articles, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, participles, and adverbs; in other words, almost everything that can be declined belongs to one of the three genders.

The main difficulty in Greek, and one that Greeks also face, is with inanimate objects. Common sense would suggest that all inanimate objects should be neuter, but (mostly for reasons having to do with legacies from Ancient Greek) they are not. And this is where most people's troubles start!

To put things in their usual order, we always use the masculine gender in cases where the article, noun, adjective, etc. are male; this means that a "policeman" is ο αστυνομικός (o astynomikos) - o is the masculine definite article), and a "female teacher" is η δασκάλα (i daskala) - η is the feminine definite article. But in the case of a PC, a TV, and a radio, we have ο υπολογιστής (o ypologistis), masculine, η τηλεόραση (i tileorasi), feminine, and το ραδιόφωνο (to radiofono), neuter.

Unfortunately, other than the article (definite or indefinite) and sometimes the ending of the noun or adjective, there is no way to know the gender of a noun; there are no set rules about when an object is masculine, feminine, or neuter. So learners of Greek, regardless of being Greeks or foreigners, have to learn the genders by experience, something that isn't as hard as it seems since in most cases, the articles are there to remind us what is what. If you want the extra help of the ending, though, generally speaking, if you see a noun's nominative singular ending in -η (- i) or in -α ( -a), there is a good chance it will belong to the feminine gender; masculine gender nouns usually end in -ος (- os), -ης (- is), or -ας (- as).

In this lesson, we will focus on the feminine gender, which appears four times in our dialogue:

1. Μερικές φέτες ψωμί (Merikes fetes psomi) "A few slices of bread"

2. Μερικές ελιές (Merikes elies) "Some olives"

3. Μια κομμένη ντομάτα (Mia kommeni ntomata) "A sliced tomato"

4. Μια ελιά (Mia elia) "An olive"

In examples 1 and 2, the nouns φέτα (feta), meaning "slice," and ελιά (elia), meaning "olive," are plural and, in examples three and four, ντομάτα (ntomata), meaning "tomato,"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #4 - LUNCH…BEFORE LUNCH I N GREECE? 7 and ελιά (elia), meaning "olive," are singular. We will deal more thoroughly with numbers in future lessons, but for the moment, we will focus on the singular and especially the nominative case. Just to cover everything, though, the word μερικές (merikes) is an adjective meaning "some," and the word κομμένη (kommeni) is also an adjective meaning "sliced."

In the table that follows, there are a few more examples of inanimate objects that are also in the feminine gender; we have used both the definite (η, i) and the indefinite (μία, mia), meaning "a" or "an," articles to help you get used to seeing either one of them. All examples are in the singular nominative case to keep things as simple as possible!

Sam ple Sentences

G reek Romanization "English"

Η/μία τηλεόραση I/mia tileorasi "the/a television"

Η/μία οθόνη I/mia othoni "the/a screen"

Η/μία θάλασσα I/mia thalassa "the/a sea"

Η/μία πατάτα I/mia patata "the/a potato"

Η/μία λίμνη I/mia limni "the/a lake"

Η/μία κιθάρα I/mia kithara "the/a guitar"

Η/μία στάση I/mia stasi "the/a stop" (i.e., "bus")

Η/μία σελίδα I/mia selida "the/a page"

Η/μία κατεύθυνση I/mia kateythinsi "the/a direction"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #4 - LUNCH…BEFORE LUNCH I N GREECE? 8 Η/μία προσπάθεια I/mia prospathia "the/an effort"

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Ouz o/Beer and Mez edes ("Appetizers")

Everybody has heard of ouzo, the semi-legendary Greek anise-flavored aperitif that turns white when we add water to it. Even today, with many young Greeks having turned their eyes to beers (and especially imported ones), ouzo remains a big part of Greek culture, especially during summer and especially by the beach, under shade to shelter you from the merciless Mediterranean sun. Traditionally, the macho way to drink ouzo had been without adding any water but these no one really cares how you drink your ouzo; it's just a matter of taste. Everyone agrees on one thing though: ouzo needs a little something to accompany it. Since it's supposedly only an aperitif, the food served with ouzo is mostly of the bite-size, finger- food kind, but in most ουζερί (ouzeri), which are "ouzo taverns," if you order a ποικιλία (poikilia), which literally means "variety," what you'll get will be enough food to keep you full for the next four hours. And not necessarily with a light stomach afterward, since the most common mezedes for ouzo are fried seafood, meatballs, sausages, sardines, herrings, and other hot, salty, and spicy "appetizers." Our suggestion is that if you go for ouza (in plural) or even for ena ouzaki, literally "one small ouzo," go with an empty stomach!

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #4 - LUNCH…BEFORE LUNCH I N GREECE? 9 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #5 Oh, This Is Greek Lunch!

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 4 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 5 Grammar 7 Cultural Insight

# 5

1. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Ω, όλα αυτά για μένα;

2. Δανάη Μπα, δεν είναι τίποτα. Είναι το κανονικό μας φαγητό. Παπαδοπούλου:

3. Ελένη Ναι, καλά. Δύο σαλάτες, τρία κύρια πιάτα και τέσσερα διαφορετικά Παπαδοπούλου: ορεκτικά! Αυτό δεν είναι το κανονικό μας φαγητό!

4. Δανάη Δε σου αρέσει, Ελένη; Παπαδόπουλου:

5. Ελένη Όχι, όχι μου αρέσει. Απλώς λέω... Παπαδοπούλου:

ROMANIZATION

1. Pétra Górdon: O̱, óla aftá ya ména?

2. Danái Ba, den íne típota. Íne to kanonikó mas fagitó. Papadopúlu:

3. Eléni Papadopúlu: Ne, kalá. Dío salátes, tría kíria piáta ke tésera diaforetiká orektiká! Aftó den íne to kanonikó mas fagitó!

4. Danái De su arési, Eléni? Papadópulu:

5. Eléni Papadopúlu: Óhi, óhi mu arési. Aplós léo...

ENGLISH

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #5 - OH, THIS I S GREEK LUNCH! 2 1. Petra Gordon: Oh, all this for me?

2. Danai Oh, this is nothing. It's our regular meal. Papadopoulou:

3. Eleni Yeah, right. Two salads, three main dishes, and four different Papadopoulou: appetizers. This is not our regular meal!

4. Danai You don't like it, Eleni? Papadopoulou:

5. Eleni No, no, I like it. I'm just saying... Papadopoulou:

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

αρέσει arési to like verb

καλά kalá good, right, well adjective neuter

κανονικό kanonikó regular, normal adjective neuter

τίποτα típota nothing pronoun

φαγητό fagitó food noun neutral

σαλάτα saláta salad noun feminine

διαφορετικά diaforetiká different adjective neuter

όχι óhi, óchi no pronoun, adverb

I say, I am λέω léo telling verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #5 - OH, THIS I S GREEK LUNCH! 3 Μου αρέσει το παγωτό. Αισ θάνομαι καλά. Mou arési to pagotó. Esthánome kalá.

"I like ice cream." "I feel good."

Καλά, ευχαριστώ. Αυτό είναι το κανονικό πρόγραμμα. Kalá, efharistó. Aftó íne to kanonikó prógrama.

"(I am) well, thank you." "This is the normal schedule."

Δε ν έχω φάει τίποτα. Δε ν θυμάμαι τίποτα. Den ého fái típota. Den thimáme típota.

"I've had nothing to eat." "I don’t remember anything."

A: Ευχαριστώ. Τα ελληνικά φαγητά δεν είναι πολύ B: Τίποτα. π ικάντικα. A: Efharistó. Ta eliniká fagitá den íne polí pikándika. B: Típota. "Greek foods are not very spicy." A: "Thanks." B: "It's nothing."

Το ελληνικό φαγητό είναι νόστιμο. Θα παραγγείλω δύο σαλάτες. To elinikó fagitó íne nóstimo. Tha parangílo dío salátes.

"Greek food is delicious!" "I will order two salads."

Σου φαίνονται διαφορετικά; Όχι, δεν άκουσα τι μου είπες. Sou fénonde diaforetiká? Óhi, den ákusa ti mu ípes.

"Do they look different to you?" "No, I didn't hear what you said."

Όχι, δεν θα έρθω. Όχι, δεν έχω ψιλά. Óhi, den tha értho. Óhi, den ého psilá.

"No, I won't come." "No, I don't have change."

Δε ν λέω όχι. Λέ ω την αλήθεια. Den léo óhi. Leo tin alitheia.

I am not saying no. "I'm telling the truth."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #5 - OH, THIS I S GREEK LUNCH! 4 In our dialogue, the second sentence is Μπα, δεν είναι τίποτα (Ba, den íne típota). This is a very common dismissive Greek expression that we very often use to put the person we are talking to at ease, the same way we use it in the dialogue: the main character feels bad that his hosts have gone to great lengths for him, and they immediately quell his worries by saying "it's nothing" or "don't worry about it." - The phrase δεν είναι τίποτα (den íne típota) literally means "it's nothing." The Μπα (ba) in the beginning of the phrase is an exclamation particle, which we can use any time we want to express disbelief or to dismiss something

For Example:

1. Θα βρέξει? Μπα, δεν το πιστεύω. (Tha vréxi? Ba, den to pistévo.) "Will it rain? Nah, I don't believe so."

In our dialogue, we can see two very common English idiomatic phrases and their Greek equivalents, which are literal translations and thus very easy to remember! The one is "Yeah, right," which is Ναι, καλά (Ne, kalá) in Greek, and the other is "I'm just saying," which is Απλώς λέω.. (Aplós léo...) (both courtesy of the teenage character Eleni Papadopoulou).

In one of our sample sentences above, we have translated the word μακαρόνια (makarónia) as "pasta" since in Modern Greek we use the word μακαρόνι (makaróni) in its plural, μακαρόνια (makarónia), to mean all long and round kinds of pasta. The real word for pasta is ζυμαρικά (zimariká), which we also widely use, especially in restaurant menus.

One of our sample sentences is Δεν λέω όχι (Den léo óhi); this literally translates to "I don't say no" or "I am not saying no" with the verb "to say" (léo) in the negative present tense (δεν λέω, den léo). We chose to translate it a little differently, though, with the English verb "say" in the conditional present, "I wouldn't say," because this way it feels closer to the English expression. Interestingly, in Greek we can also use the conditional present for this expression: Δεν θα έλεγα όχι (Den tha élega óhi), which literally translates to the English "I wouldn't say no."

In two of our sample sentences, we have used verbs in the future tense. Although we will deal with the future tense in a future lesson, it's good to remember a simple rule about the future tenses: we always form them by using the particle θα (tha), which we can think of as equivalent to the English "shall/will."

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is the Neuter G ender in Nouns. Είναι το κανονικό μας φαγητό. Íne to kanonikó m as fagitó. "It' s our regular m eal."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #5 - OH, THIS I S GREEK LUNCH! 5 As we mentioned in our previous lesson (GreekPod101 Beginner Season 1, Lesson 4), the Greek language makes extensive use of genders. Articles, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, participles are all gendered, so if you want to speak proper Greek, you have to know the gender for each word belonging to the above groups.

Most English speakers have the tendency to expect that all inanimate objects would belong to the neuter gender. Unfortunately, for various linguistic and historical reasons, this is not the case. So please remember that putting το (to) in front of an object's name is not always correct! (There are many English speakers who make this kind of mistake.)

The truth of the matter is that the only way (other than the articles to and éna) to know whether a noun belongs to the neuter gender is by memorization. Some rules that exist have enough exceptions not to be considered extremely helpful. For what it's worth, though, you can keep in mind that most nouns ending in -ο ( -o) and - ι (-i) in the singular nominative case are neuter: for example, το θέατρο (to théatro), meaning "the theater"; το αυτοκίνητο (to aftokínito), meaning "the car"; το ποδήλατο (to podílato), meaning "the bicycle"; το μολύβι (to molívi), meaning "the pencil"; το σπίτι (to spíti), meaning "the house"; and το κεφάλι (to kefáli), meaning "the head." So even if the articles to and éna are not present, you could make an educated guess from the ending of the noun.

In the table that follows, we have included some more common neuter-gendered nouns. They are all in the singular and in the nominative case, and we have used both the definite and the indefinite articles so you can get started. More cases (and the plural number) will follow soon!

G reek Romanization "English"

Τ ο/ένα ξενοδοχείο To/éna xenodohío "the/a hotel"

Τ ο/ένα δωμάτιο To/éna domátio "the/a room"

Τ ο/ένα κρεβάτι To/éna kreváti "the/a bed"

Τ ο/ένα μαξιλάρι To/éna maxilári "the/a pillow"

Τ ο/ένα τηλέφωνο To/éna tiléfono "the/a telephone"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #5 - OH, THIS I S GREEK LUNCH! 6 Τ ο/ένα βιβλίο To/éna vivlío "the/a book"

Τ ο/ένα μαχαίρι To/éna mahéri "the/a knife"

Τ ο/ένα πιρούνι To/éna piroúni "the/a fork"

Τ ο/ένα κουτάλι To/éna koutáli "the/a spoon"

Τ ο/ένα πιάτο To/éna piáto "the/a plate"

Τ ο/ένα ποτήρι To/éna potítri "the/a glass"

Τ ο/ένα μπουκάλι To/éna boukáli "the/a bottle"

Τ ο/ένα εισιτήριο To/ena eisitírio "the/a ticket"

Τ ο/ένα λεωφορείο To/éna leoforío "the/a bus"

Τ ο/ένα τρένο To/éna tréno "the/a train"

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Typical G reek Lunch

Although in Greek culture, lunch was traditionally the most important meal of the day (because it was a chance for the whole family to get together), except in cases (like in our story) where there is some special guest, most Greek families don't have big lunches anymore. This has mostly to do with the changes in lifestyle; lunch was important when adults used to return from work and children from school by two P.M., so a family could eat lunch at

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #5 - OH, THIS I S GREEK LUNCH! 7 about two-thirty P.M. This is rarely the case nowadays: most Greeks work at offices and very seldom return before seven P.M. Since most Greeks have grown up with the old system, though, they still have the tendency to eat a big lunch, even when they eat at the office! The old-fashioned lunch is still alive and well during holidays, while on vacation, and on the weekends; especially on the weekends, many Greeks often visit their parents and eat like they used to when they were kids. On these occasions, lunch is usually quite elaborate, with appetizers, a main dish that is invariably meat, salads, and desserts or, more probably, fruit since Greeks still eat fruit all year long. If you have the chance to eat at a Greek home in a situation like this, grab it! You are in for a real treat!

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #5 - OH, THIS I S GREEK LUNCH! 8 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #6 Greek Millions and Billions

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 2 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 4 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 5 Grammar 9 Cultural Insight

# 6

1. Πέτρα: Τι είναι αυτό; Καινούριο δάνειο 100 δισεκατομμύρια ευρώ;

2. Γυναίκα: Ναι. Σχεδόν 80 εκατομμύρια κάθε μήνα για τους επόμενους δώδεκα μήνες.

3. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Δηλαδή, είναι 1000 ευρώ κάθε μήνα για κάθε Έλληνα πολίτη;

4. Γυναίκα: Μακάρι!

ROMANIZATION

1. Pétra: Ti íne aftó? Kenúrio dánio 100 disekatomíria evró?

2. Yinéka: Ne. Shedón 80 ekatomíria káthe mína ya tus epómenus dódeka mínes.

3. Pétra Górdon: Diladí, íne 1000 evró káthe mína ya káthe Élina políti?

4. Yinéka: Makári!

ENGLISH

1. Petra: What is this? A new hundred-billion-euro loan?

2. Woman: Yes. About eighty million every month for the next twelve months.

3. Petra Gordon: So it is one thousand euro every month for every Greek citizen?

4. Woman: We wish!

VOCABULARY

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #6 - GREEK MILLI ONS AND BILLI ONS 2 Greek Romanization English Class Gender

επόμενος epómenos next adjective masculine

πολίτης politis citizen noun masculine

καινούριο kenúrio new adjective neuter

interrogative τι ti what pronoun

μήνας minas month noun masculine

Έλληνας Ellinas Greek noun masculine

μακάρι makari to wish, hope verb

δισεκατομμύριο disekatommyrio billion noun, adjective neuter

κάθε káthe each, every determiner

εκατομμύριο ekatommyrio million noun, adjective neuter

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Τον επόμενο μήνα θα πάω στη Είμαι Έλληνας πολίτης. Ρώ μη. Eimai Ellinas politis.

Ton epómeno mína tha páo sti Rómi. "I am a Greek citizen." "Next month I am going to Rome."

Σκέ φτομαι να αγοράσω καινούριο Τι λες; αυτοκίνητο. Ti les?

Skéftome na agoráso kenúrio aftokínito. "What are you talking about?" "I am thinking of buying a new car."

Τι διαβάζεις; Τι ώρα είναι; Ti diavazis? Ti óra íne?

"What are you reading?" "What time is it?"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #6 - GREEK MILLI ONS AND BILLI ONS 3 Τι κάνεις αύριο; Τον επόμενο μήνα θα πάω στη Ti kánis ávrio? Ρώ μη.

Ton epómeno mína tha páo sti Rómi. "What are you doing tomorrow?" "Next month I am going to Rome."

Δε ν είμαι Έλληνας. Μακάρι να μη βρέξει αύριο. Den eímai Éllinas. Makari na mi vreksei aurio.

"I'm not Greek." "I wish it wouldn't rain tomorrow."

Ένα δισεκατομμύριο είναι χίλια Διαβάζ ω βιβλία κάθε μέρα. εκατομμύρια. Diavázo vivlía káthe méra.

Ena disekatommyrio einai chilia ekatommyria. "I read books every day." "One billion is one thousand millions."

Κάθε μέρα περνάω απο το Εθνικό Ένα εκατομμύριο ευρώ. Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο της Αθήνας. Ena ekatommyrio euro.

Káthe méra pernáo apó to Ethnikó Archaiologikó Moyseío tis Athínas. "One million Euro."

"Every day I pass the National Archeological Museum of Athens."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

The word μακάρι (m akari) we used in one of our sample sentences, Μακάρι να μη βρέξει αύριο (Makari na mi vreksei aurio), meaning "I wish it wouldn't rain tomorrow," is not a literal translation of "I wish"; that would be (Εγώ, Ego) εύχομαι (euchom ai). Makari is an exclamation that we almost always use on such occasions, though, so we chose to use this and render it as "I wish." We use the literal translation when we direct our wishes to a particular person: σου εύχομαι καλά Χριστούγεννα (sou euchomai Kala Christougenna), meaning "I wish you a Merry Christmas." Having said that, direct wishes are a little complicated in Greek, so it would be a better idea to leave them for the moment!

In the sentence Είμαι Έλληνας πολίτης (Eim ai Ellinas politis), meaning "I am a Greek citizen," we see one of several occasions where Modern Greek does not use either a definite or an indefinite article. Since these occasions are quite a few, for the moment we will just note that we don't use an article when we are referring to someone's attributes: for example, Είμαι Έλληνας πολίτης (Eimai Ellinas politis), meaning "I am a Greek citizen"; είναι γιατρος

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #6 - GREEK MILLI ONS AND BILLI ONS 4 (einai giatros), meaning "He is a doctor"; δείχνει καλός άνθρωπος (deichnei kalos anthropos), meaning "he seems like a good person"; and αγόρασα καινούριο αυτοκίνητο (agorasa kainourio autokinito), meaning "I bought a new car," which is also one of our sample vocabulary sentences!

As is also the case in English, the word Έλληνας (Ellinas) (or any other nationality for that matter) that we used in the example sentence above can be either an adjective or a noun.

For Example:

1. Οι Έλληνες είναι περήφανος λαός (Oi Ellines einai perifanos laos) "Greeks are a proud people."

2. Οι Έλληνες οδηγοί είναι απρόσεκτοι (Oi Ellines odigoi einai aprosektoi) "Greek drivers are careless."

In the first sentence, the word Έλληνες (Ellines), meaning "Greeks," is a noun, and in the second, it is an adjective.

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is Num bers (Singular and Plural) in Nouns. 1000 ευρώ κάθε μήνα 1000 euro kathe m ina "One thousand euro each m onth."

As we mentioned in previous lessons, besides genders, the Greek language makes extensive use of numbers (singular and plural); we can see them in the definite article, in nouns, in adjectives, in pronouns, in participles, and in adverbs, so it's good to have an idea of how they work!

Basically, singular and plural function in Greek in the same way they function in all languages: to separate when we are talking about one or many persons, things, or situations. What distinguishes Greek from, for example, English is that when declining the various parts of speech, there are four different cases for each number; this means that depending on the case, the words change, sometimes considerably.

In our dialogue, we see an example of such a change in the word μήνας (minas), which means "month." In the plural, the word becomes μήνες (mines) meaning "months", which is a modification of the word's last syllable; in English, we just add the final "-s" and we have

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #6 - GREEK MILLI ONS AND BILLI ONS 5 covered most situations!

We can codify these modifications (which usually happen in the noun's ending), and below you can find a table with these modifications for future reference. In this lesson, though, we will focus on the nominative case for nouns of all three genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter). The table that follows has several such examples:

Singular

G reek Romanization "English"

ο άντρας (m.) o antras "the man"

η γυναίκα (f.) i gynaika "the woman"

το παιδί (n.) to paidi "the child"

ο υπολογιστής (m.) o ypologistis "the computer"

η οθόνη (f.) i othoni "the screen"

το ποντίκι (n.) to pontiki "the mouse"

ο τοίχος (m.) o toichos "the wall"

η πόρτα (f.) i porta "the door"

το παράθυρο (n.) to parathyro "the window"

ο δρόμος (m.) o dromos "the street"

η λεωφόρος (f.) i leoforos "the avenue"

το αυτοκίνητο (n.) to autokinito "the car"

ο πατέρας (m.) o pateras "the father"

η μητέρα (f.) i mitera "the mother"

το εγγόνι (n.) to eggoni "the grandchild"

Plural

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #6 - GREEK MILLI ONS AND BILLI ONS 6 G reek Romanization "English"

οι άντρες oi antres "the men"

οι γυναίκες oi gynaikes "the women"

τα παιδιά ta paidia "the children"

οι υπολογιστές oi ypologistes "the computers"

οι οθόνες oi othones "the screens"

τα ποντίκια ta pontikia "the mice"

οι τοίχοι oi toichoi "the walls"

οι πόρτες oi portes "the doors"

τα παράθυρα ta parathyra "the windows"

οι δρόμοι oi dromoi "the streets"

οι λεωφόροι oi leoforoi "the avenues"

τα αυτοκίνητα ta autokinita "the cars"

οι πατέρες oi pateres "the fathers"

οι μητέρες oi miteres "the mothers"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #6 - GREEK MILLI ONS AND BILLI ONS 7 τα εγγόνια ta eggonia "the grandchildren"

For those interested in codifying these changes, the following table is thorough enough to cover most cases. There are exceptions, but we will deal with them in a future lesson.

Ending Ending Exam ple Exam ple G ender (Singular) (Plural) (Singular) (Plural)

Έλληνας Έλληνες (Ellinas) (Ellines) m asculine -ας (- as) -ες (- es) "Greek" "Greeks"

μαθητής μαθητές (mathitis) (mathites) masculine -ης (- is) -ες (- es) "student" "students"

μητέρα μητέρες (mitera) (miteres) fem inine -α (- a) -ες (- es) "mother" "mothers"

ανάγκες ανάγκη (anagkes) feminine -η (- i) -ες (- es) (anagki) "need" "needs"

γιατρός (giatros) γιατροί (giatroi) m asculine -ος (- os) -οι (- oi) "doctor" "doctors"

είσοδος είσοδοι (eisodos) (eisodoi) fem inine -ος (- os) -οι (- oi) "entrance" "entrances"

αναχώρηση αναχωρήσεις (anachorisi)"de (anachoriseis) feminine -η (- i) -εις (- eis) parture" "departures"

νερό (nero) νερά (nera) neuter -ο (- o) -α (- a) "water" "waters"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #6 - GREEK MILLI ONS AND BILLI ONS 8 χαρτιά neuter χαρτί (charti) (chartia) -ι (- i) -ια (- ia) "paper" "papers"

λάθος (lathos) λάθη (lathi) neuter -ος (- os) -η (- i) "mistake" "mistakes"

παπάδες παπάς (papas) (papades) m asculine -ας (- as) -αδες (- ades) "priest" "priests"

μεζέδες μεζές (mezes) (mezedes) masculine -ες (- es) -εδες (- edes) "appetizer" "appetizers"

παππούς παππούδες -ουδες (- (pappous) (pappoudes) masculine -ους (- ous) oudes) "grandfather" "grandfathers"

γιαγιάδες γιαγιά (giagia) (giagiades) fem inine -α (- a) -αδες (- ades) "grandmother" "grandmothers"

αλεπούδες -ουδες (- αλεπού (alepoudes) feminine -ου (- ou) oudes) (alepou) "fox" "foxes"

μάθημα μαθήματα (mathima) (mathimata) neuter -μα (- ma) -ματα (- mata) "lesson" "lessons"

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Kiosks/Newsstands in G reece

In this lesson, the three characters are standing in front of a περίπτερο (periptero maning "kiosk") and are discussing politics; you can see this all over the country every day after twelve o'clock when the new dailies have been delivered. Kiosks usually hang the

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #6 - GREEK MILLI ONS AND BILLI ONS 9 newspapers outside so that their front page shows up to the fold, so people can have a quick look and know the headlines (literally) of the day. If you ever wondered how the Greeks are always up to date on current events even when they haven't watched TV, this is your answer!

Speaking of kiosks, they are a phenomenon unique to Greece: they are a combination of newsstand and convenience store, but they are only allowed to occupy one square meter (10.7 sq. ft.) of space, which is hardly room for the "vendor" (περιπτεράς, peripteras) to either sit or stand. Still, kiosks manage to cram in this tiny space pretty much everything from stationery to cigarettes, candy, newspapers and magazines, various utility items like batteries, mass transportation tickets, small change wallets, bottled water, soft drinks, beer, and coffee, and on occasion, even books and DVDs! They are usually yellow and there is hardly an area, especially in the big cities, where you will need to walk more than two hundred meters before you stumble upon one.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #6 - GREEK MILLI ONS AND BILLI ONS 10 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #7 How Long Is Your Lunch Break in Greece, Again?

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 6 Grammar 8 Cultural Insight # 7

1. Δημήτρα Τριανταφύλλου: Πέτρα, τέλος. Ώρα για φαγητό. Θα συνεχίσουμε αύριο.

2. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Αύριο; Γιατί Δημήτρα;

3. Δημήτρα Τριανταφύλλου: Δε θα δουλέψουμε πολύ μετά το φαγητό!

4. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Οπότε, ας μη φάμε πολύ.

5. Δημήτρα Τριανταφύλλου: Αστειεύεσαι, ε;

ROMANIZATION

1. Dimítra Pétra, télos. Óra ya fagitó. Tha sinehísume ávrio. Triandafílu:

2. Pétra Górdon: Ávrio? Yatí Dimítra?

3. Dimítra De tha dulépsume polí metá to fagitó! Triandafílu:

4. Pétra Górdon: Opóte, as mi fáme polí.

5. Dimítra Astiévese, e? Triandafílu:

ENGLISH

1. Dimitra Petra, that's it. Time for lunch. We will continue tomorrow. Triantafyllou:

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #7 - HOW LONG I S YOUR LUNCH BREAK I N GREECE, AGAI N? 2 2. Petra Gordon: Tomorrow? Why?

3. Dimitra We will not work much after lunch! Triantafyllou:

4. Petra Gordon: So let's not eat much.

5. Dimitra You're kidding, right? Triantafyllou:

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

Αστειεύεσαι Asteieuesai you are kidding expression

δουλειά duliá work noun feminine

to continue, to συνεχίζω sinehízo keep, to proceed verb

τέλος telos the end, that's it noun

ώρα óra hour, time noun feminine

αύριο ávrio tomorrow adverb neutral

adverb, subordinating γιατί giatí why, because conjunction, pronoun

Ας φάμε / Ας μη As fame / As Let's eat/Let's φάμε (mi) fame not eat expression

much, great, πολύ polý, polí very adverb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #7 - HOW LONG I S YOUR LUNCH BREAK I N GREECE, AGAI N? 3 Ας φάμε μετά τη δουλειά. Θα συνεχίσω να δουλεύω μέχρι να As fáme metá ti duliá. το τελειώσω

Tha synechiso na doulevo mechri na to teleioso "Let's eat after work." "I will continue working until I finish it."

Θα συνεχίσω αργότερα. Είδα το τέλος του αγώνα. Tha synechiso argotera. Eida to telos tou agona

"I will continue later." "I saw the end of the game."

Τι ώρα είναι η παράστασή σου; Πε ρίμε να δύο ώρες, αλλά δεν ήρθε. Ti óra íne i parástasí su? Perímena dío óres, alá den írthe.

"What time is your play?" "I waited for two hours, but he didn’t come."

Ή ρθε η ώρα να φύγουμε. Τι ώρα είναι; Írthe i óra na fýgoyme. Ti óra íne?

"It's time to go." "What time is it?"

Δε θα δουλέψουμε αύριο. Θα έχουμε κάλο καιρό αύριο. De tha doulepsoume aurio. Tha échoyme kaló kairó ávrio.

"We will not work tomorrow." "We'll have beautiful weather tomorrow."

Γιατί έκλεισες τον υπολογιστή; Γιατί δεν ήρθε; Giati ekleises ton ypologisti? Giati den irthe?

"Why did you turn off the computer?" "Why didn't he come?"

Γιατί είσαι εδώ; Η φίλη μου θύμωσε μαζί μου, γιατί Giatí eísai edó; ξ έ χασ α να της ευχηθώ χρόνια

π ολλά. "Why are you here?" I fíli moy thýmose mazí moy, giatí xéchasa na tis efchithó chrónia pollá.

"My friend got angry with me because I forgot to wish her a happy birthday."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #7 - HOW LONG I S YOUR LUNCH BREAK I N GREECE, AGAI N? 4 Ας φάμε μετά τη δουλειά. Μου αρέσει πολύ το γιαούρτι. As fáme metá ti duliá. Mou aresei poly to giaourti.

"Let's eat after work." "I like yogurt very much."

Κάνε ι πολύ κρύο σήμερα. Μου αρέσει ο καφές πάρα πολύ. Kánei polý krýo símera. Moy arései o kafés pára polý.

"It's very cold today." "I like coffee very much."

Πε ινάω πάρα πολύ. Peináo pára polý.

"I am very hungry."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

In the dialogue and in one of our sample sentences, we used the particle as : ας μη φάμε πολύ, ας φαμε μετα τη δουλειά (as mi fame poly, as fame meta ti douleia); this particle is one of the most useful tools in everyday Greek conversation since it is the equivalent of the English "let's." Actually, this is one of the uses of ας (as), but for the moment we will stick to that. If we want to use as in this manner, we put it in front of the first person plural.

For Example:

1. Ας φάμε (As fame). "Let's eat."

2. Ας πάμε σινεμά (As pame sinema). "Let's go to the cinema."

3. Ασ δούμε τηλεόραση (As doume tileorasi) "Let's watch TV."

If we want to use ας (as) in a negative way (e.g., "let's not"), we add the word μη(ν) (mi(n)) between as and the verb.

For Example:

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #7 - HOW LONG I S YOUR LUNCH BREAK I N GREECE, AGAI N? 5 1. Ας μη φάμε (As mi fame). "Let's not eat."

2. Ας μη πάμε σινεμά (As min pame sinema). "Let's not go to the cinema."

3. Ας μη δούμε τηλεόραση (As mi doume tileorasi). "Let's not watch TV."

Incidentally, the rule about when to use μη or μην (mi or min) is that we use μην (min) before a vowel or before words that start with κ (k), π (p), τ (t), ξ (ks), ψ (ps), μπ (mp), ντ (nt), γκ (gk), τσ (ts), and τζ (tz); in all other cases, we use mh (mi). One thing to remember about as, though, is that we use it when prompting or proposing to do something. It is not for asking the other person's opinion or consent. This means that ας πάμε σινεμά (as pame sinema) does not mean "we could go to the cinema" or "what do you think about going to the cinema": it only means "I say let's go to the cinema!"

In the dialogue and in the third sample sentence, we have chosen to translate the word telos as "that's it" (i.e., in the sense "it's over"). Actually, the word t;elow (telos) means "end," and just saying τέλος (telos) after something is done is a faster way to say τελείωσα (teleiosa), meaning "I finished," or τελειώσαμε (teleiosame), meaning "we are finished."

One note for the word ώρα (ora). We literally translate this word as "hour," but we also use it when we want to say it's time for something, as in our dialogue, ώρα για φαγητό, (ora gia fagito) or when we want to refer to some unspecified amount of time as in the expressions:

1. Έχει περάσει αρκετή ώρα. (Echei perasei arketi ora). "Some time has passed."

2. Περιμένω αρκετή ώρα (Perimeno arketi ora). "I have been waiting for some time."

3. Χρειάζεται αρκετή 'ωρα για να πας στο Α. (Chreiazetai arketi ora gia na pas sto A). "It takes some time to get to point A."

As we mentioned above, the amount of time mentioned is unspecified or unknown, and it can be anything from a few minutes to almost an hour. If we know or suspect that the amount of time we are discussing is over an hour, we wouldn't use the word ώρα (ora) but its plural, ώρες (ores).

GRAMMAR

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #7 - HOW LONG I S YOUR LUNCH BREAK I N GREECE, AGAI N? 6 The Focus of This Lesson Is Proper Nouns. Γιατί Δημήτρη; G iati Dim itri? "Why Dim itri?"

In this lesson, we will take a look at proper nouns; that is, nouns that denote a specific person, animal, or thing. In everyday parlance, proper nouns usually apply to people (first and last names) or places, but occasionally we come across the name of a specific object (e.g., a ship).

Proper nouns are declinable in Modern Greek. Luckily, they don't change much from one case to the other, so it will not be hard to remember. Also, since they refer to a specific person (or animal or thing), they only have singular number; if we want to speak about many people having the same name, we will say something like όσοι λέγονται Κώστας (osoi legontai Kostas) meaning "everybody named Kostas".

In the following table, we will see some common Greek proper nouns (that is, names); most are masculine and feminine people and place names, but we have also included two neuters, Αβέρωφ (Averof) - the name of a famous warship that is now decommissioned and functions as a museum in Faliro, a place near Athens: unlike English, Greek does not use the feminine gender for ships; and Κολωνάκι (Kolonaki), the name of a very expensive neighborhood of Athens. For now, we have only used the nominative case so we can keep things simpler; this is the case we will use when talking about the particular person. Usually, we refer to the nominative case as the case that answers to the question "who?"

One thing fundamentally different from English is that proper names do take the definite article. This means that although in English the expression "the Maria" is wrong, the Greek equivalent "η Μαρία", (i Maria) is not only right but mandatory!

Proper Nouns - Singular

G reek

G reek Romanization

o Κώστας (m) o Kostas

o Γιάννης (m) o Giannis

o Αντώνης (m) o Antonis

o Νίκος (m) o Nikos

o Βόλος (m) o Volos (city)

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #7 - HOW LONG I S YOUR LUNCH BREAK I N GREECE, AGAI N? 7 o Πειραιάς (m) o Peiraias (city, "port of Athens")

η Ελένη (f) i Eleni

η Μαρία (f) i Maria

η Κατερίνα (f) i Katerina

η Αναστασία (f) i Anastasia

η Ελλάδα (f) i Ellada ("Greece")

η Αθήνα (f) i Athina ("Athens")

το Αβέρωφ (n) to Averof

το Κολωνάκι (n) to Kolonaki

Since the word Αβέρωφ (Averof), i.e. the name of the warship, in the table above is not an actual Greek word, this is a good opportunity to mention that foreign proper nouns (Peter, Smith, etc.) are not declined in Modern Greek; we only use them in the nominative case. This might not make much difference now since we are only dealing with the nominative case anyway, but it will come handy in future lessons when we will be discussing the other cases.

CULTURAL INSIGHT

G reek Office Culture

Up until the eighties, there was no office culture in Greece. Of course, this is a very broad statement, but the truth is that until then, most Greeks who worked in an office worked for the public sector, which has some very particular characteristics, permanence being the most prominent. Things have changed dramatically in the last thirty years, when more and more people began working for private sector companies (often Greek branches of multinationals), which means that they also follow the common Western business hours (9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.) instead of the public sector's hours (7:30 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.), they eat lunch at work (there's usually a one-hour break, at least in theory!) and, most importantly, are being evaluated according to their productivity. These may sound pretty obvious, but they weren't, and the shift from one model of work to the other has been anything but smooth. The old system being so prominent is the main reason why most real work is done by 2:00 to 3:00 P.M.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #7 - HOW LONG I S YOUR LUNCH BREAK I N GREECE, AGAI N? 8 in the majority of Greek offices. After that, most office employees find various imaginative ways to procrastinate until it's time to go home.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #7 - HOW LONG I S YOUR LUNCH BREAK I N GREECE, AGAI N? 9 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #8 Any Greek Calls?

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 6 Grammar 10 Cultural Insight

# 8

1. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Πήρε κανείς τηλέφωνο την ώρα του φαγητού;

2. Γραμματέας: Πήραν από το γραφείο του πελάτη που είδατε το πρωί. Είναι για κάτι σχετικό με κάποια λεπτομέρεια της προσφοράς μας.

3. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Άφησαν κάποιο τηλέφωνο;

4. Γραμματέας: Όχι, είπαν να καλέσετε στο τηλεφωνικό κέντρο της εταιρείας.

ROMANIZATION

1. Pétra Górdon: Píre kanís tiléfono tin óra tu fagitú?

2. Gramatéas: Píran apó to grafío tu peláti pu ídate to proí. Íne ya káti schetikó me kápia leptoméria tis prosforás mas.

3. Pétra Górdon: Áfisan kápio tiléfono?

4. Gramatéas: Óhi, ípan na kalésete sto tilefonikó kéndro tis eterías.

ENGLISH

1. Petra Gordon: Did anyone call during lunch?

2. Secretary: They called from this morning's client's office. It's about some detail from our offer.

3. Petra Gordon: Did they leave a number?

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #8 - ANY GREEK CALLS ? 2 4. Secretary: No, they said you should use the company's telephone center.

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

πρωί proí morning adverb, noun neutral

προσφορά prosforá offer noun feminine

τηλέφωνο tiléfono telephone noun neutral

to take, call on παίρνω pérno the telphone verb

γραφείο grafío office noun neutral

λεπτομέρεια leptoméria detail noun feminine

αριθμός arithmós number noun masculine

εταιρεία etería company noun feminine

πελάτης pelátis client, customer noun masculine

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Μισ ώ το να ξυπνάω νωρίς το πρωί Πηγαίνουν για βόλτα κάθε πρωί. όταν δεν έχω σχέδια για τη μέρα. Piyénun ya vólta káthe proí.

Misó to na xipnáo norís to proí ótan den ého schédia ya ti méra. "They go for a walk every morning."

"I hate waking up early in the morning when I don't have plans for the day."

Αυτή την εποχή κάνει κρύο το πρωί. Τα καταστήματά μας θα ανοίξουν Aftí tin epohí káni krío to proí. ξ ανά αύριο το πρωί.

Ta katastímatá mas tha aníxun xaná ávrio to "At this time of the year it is cold in the proí. morning." "Our stores will open again tomorrow morning."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #8 - ANY GREEK CALLS ? 3 Το πρωί ξυπνάω στις 6. Το πρωί έχει πολλή κίνηση. To proí xipnáo stis éxi. To proí éhi polí kínisi.

"I wake up at 6 in the morning." "Traffic is bad in the morning."

Το αγόρι ξυπνάει το πρωί. Δε ν προσέφεραν αρκετά. To agóri xipnái to proí. Den proséferan arketá.

"The boy wakes up in the morning." "They didn't offer enough."

Αυτή η τηλεόραση είναι σε Ποιος είναι ο αριθμός τηλεφώνου π ροσ φορά. του; Aftí i tileórasi ine se proforá. Pios ine o arithmós tou tilefónou tou?

"This TV set is on offer." "What's his telephone number?"

Το τηλέφωνο ήταν μωβ. Θα πάρω τηλέφωνο αργότερα. To tiléfono ítan mov. Tha páro tiléfono argótera.

"The telephone was purple." "I will call later."

Το γραφείο μου είναι στον δεύτερο Μπ ορε ίς να έρθεις στο γραφείο μας όροφο. για να υπογράψεις το συμβόλαιο; To grafío mu íne ston déftero órofo. Borís na érthis sto grafío mas ya na ipográpsis to simvóleo? "My office is on the second floor." "Could you come to our office to sign the contract?"

Μέ νω κοντά στο γραφείο. Θα είμαι στο γραφείο όλο το Méno kondá sto grafío. απ όγε υμα.

Tha ime sto grafío ólo to apóyevma. "I live near my office. " "I'll be in the office all afternoon."

Το γραφείο βρίσκεται ανάμεσα σε Προσ έ χω πολύ τις λεπτομέρειες. δύο ψηλά κτήρια. Prosého polí tis leptoméries.

To grafío vrískete anámesa se dío psilá ktíria. "I pay a lot of attention to details." "The office is between two tall buildings."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #8 - ANY GREEK CALLS ? 4 Σήμε ρα στο μάθημα χημείας μάθαμε Ποιος είναι ο αριθμός τηλεφώνου για τον αριθμό Αβογκάντρο. του; Símera sto máthima himías máthame ya ton Pios ine o arithmós tou tilefónou tou? arithmó Avogándro. "What's his telephone number?" "We learned Avogadro's number in chemistry class today."

Κάλε σ α τους γονείς μου στο Δουλε ύω σε μια εταιρεία εξαγωγών. χριστουγεννιάτικο πάρτυ της Doulévo se mia etería exagogón.

ε ταιρε ίας. "I work at an export company." Kálesa tus gonís mu sto hristuyeniátiko párti tis eterías.

"I invited my parents to the company Christmas party."

Θα δουλεύω σε μία μικρή εταιρία. Είναι πελάτης. Tha doulévo se mía mikrí etairía. Ine pelátis.

"I'll be working at a small company." "He is a client."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

For the telephone, Modern Greek uses the word παίρνω (pérno), which means "to take." In corporate environments, some people also use the word καλώ (kaló), which is a direct translation of the English verb "to call". So in Greek, I either παίρνω τηλέφωνο (pérno tiléfono) meaning literally, "I take telephone" or καλώ (kaló) someone i.e., "call" someone. Both are appropriate but like we already mentioned, καλώ (kaló) sounds more official.

One of our example sentences is Ποιος είναι ο αριθμός τηλεφώνου του ; (Pios ine o arithm os tilefonou tou?), which literally translates to "What is his telephone number?" This is the one hundred percent grammatically correct way to ask, although most people usually say Ποιο είναι το τηλέφωνό του; (Pio ine to tiléfonó tou?) which literally translated means "What is his telephone?" Incidentally, sometimes instead of the word αριθμός (arithmós), we use the word νούμερο (número). This doesn't only apply to telephone numbers but to all instances where we use the word "number" (e.g., addresses, invoice numbers, mathematics, etc.).

The words το γραφείο (to grafío) can mean both "office" (the space) and "desk" (the

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #8 - ANY GREEK CALLS ? 5 furniture); the only way to understand whether the speaker is referring to the one or the other is from context. When the word is used in its first meaning (i.e., office), we can also use it as a synonym for "work" or "company."

For Example:

1. Θα είμαι στο γραφείο όλο το απόγευμα(Tha ime sto grafío olo to apoyevma ) "I'll be in the office all afternoon." (i.e., "I'll be at work all afternoon.")

2. Πήραν από το γραφείο του πελάτη (Piran apo to grafío tou pelati) "The client's office called." (i.e., "The client's company called.")

Like in English, the Greek word προσφορά (prosforá) means both "offer" and "sale"; when it is the latter, we use the expression σε προσφορά (se prosforá), meaning "on offer."

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is the Cases and Especially the G enitive Case of Nouns. Τ ο γραφείο του πελάτη. To grafío tou peláti. "The client' s office."

In this lesson, we will discuss the cases and especially the genitive case of nouns. One of the biggest challenges of the Greek language is that many parts of speech are declinable; this means that the words change according to their function in a sentence. This happens with almost all vital parts of everyday language: articles, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and participles so when learning Greek, we have to immediately start learning the different forms they take while speaking and/or writing. These different forms are called "cases" (πτώσεις/ ptósis), and there are four for each number (singular and plural). An easy way to remember them is by associating them with particular questions.

We answer the question "who" or "what" with the nominative case:

Q: Ποιος είναι; (Pios ine?) "Who is it?"

A: Είναι ο Γιάννης. (Ine o Yannis) "It is Yannis."

Q: Τι είναι αυτό; (Ti ine aftó?) "What is this?"

A: Είναι ένας υπολογιστής. (Ine enas ipoloyistís) "It's a computer."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #8 - ANY GREEK CALLS ? 6 We answer the question "whose" with the genitive case:

Q: Ποιανού είναι αυτό το στυλό; (Pianou ine aftó to stiló?) "Whose is this pen?"

A: Είναι του Γιάννη. (Ine tou Yianni) "It is Yanni's."

Q: Ποιανής είναι αυτό το αυτοκίνητο; (Pianís ine aftó to aftokínito?) "Whose is this car?"

A: Είναι της Μαρίας. (Ine tis Marias) "It is Maria's."

We answer the question "whom" or "what" with the accusative case:

Q: Ποιον είδες; (Pion ides?)"Whom did you see?"

A: Είδα τον Νίκο. (Ida ton Niko) "I saw Niko."

Q: Τι έφαγες; (Ti efages?) "What did you eat?"

A: Έφαγα τη μπανάνα. (Efaga ti banána.) "I ate the banana."

Finally, the vocative case does not answer a question; instead, we use it when we want to call or address someone.

For Example:

1. Κώστα, έλα εδώ. (Kosta, ela edo) "Kosta, come here."

2. Πες μου, Ελένη, σου άρεσε η ταινία; (Pes mou, Eleni, sou arese i tenía)? "Tell me, Eleni, did you like the movie?"

In this lesson, we will focus on the genitive case in nouns (there are many similarities with cases in all declinable parts of speech, though) and in the singular number. It is the case we use in almost all lines of our dialogue:

1. [...] ώρα φαγητού (ora tou fagitou) literally, "food's hour"

2. [...] γραφείο του πελάτη (grafío tou pelati) "client's office"

3. [...] λεπτομέρεια της προσφοράς (leptoméria tis prosforás) literally, "offer's detail"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #8 - ANY GREEK CALLS ? 7 4. [...] τηλεφωνικό κέντρο της εταιρείας (tilefonikó kéndro tis eterías) "company's telephone center"

To better understand how the nouns change from nominative (the basic case and the one usually given in dictionaries, etc.) to the genitive, we have put the two cases together in the following table:

Nom inative G enitive

το φαγητό (to fagitó) "the food" του φαγητού (tou fagitoú) "the food's"

ο πελάτης (o pelátis) "the client" του πελάτη (tou peláti) "the client's"

η προσφορά (i prosforá) "the offer" της προσφοράς (tis prosforás) "the offer's"

η εταιρεία (i etería) "the company" της εταιρείας (tis eterías) "the company's"

We can see that both the definite article and the noun changes from nominative to genitive. For the noun, the change is in the last syllable (the word's ending) and it follows these rules:

Nom inative G enitive

Ο άνθρωπος, (o Του ανθρώπου, Masculine in -ος (- ánthropos) "the (tou anthrópou) "the -ου (- ou) os) man" man's"

Masculine in -ας (- Ο πατέρας (o Του πατέρα (tou as) patéras) "the father" -α (- a) patéra) "the father's"

Masculine in -ης (- Ο Γιάννης (o Του Γιάννη (tou is) Yannis)"Yannis" -η (- i) Yanni) "Yianni's"

Της μητέρας (tis Η μητέρα (i mitéra) mitéras) "the Feminine in -α (- a) -ας (- as) "the mother" mother's"

Η Ελένη (i Eleni) Της Ελένης (tis Feminine in -η (- i) "Eleni" -ης (- is) Elenis) "Eleni's"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #8 - ANY GREEK CALLS ? 8 Το πιάτο (to piáto) Του πιάτου (tou Neuter in -o (-ο) "the plate" -ου (- ou) piátou) "the plate's"

Του πατώματος Το πάτωμα, (to (tou patómatos) "the Neuter in -α (- a) -ατος (- atos) pátoma) "the floor" floor's"

Του λάθους (tou Το λάθος (to láthos) láthous) "the Neuter in -ος (- os) -ους (- ous) "the mistake" mistake's"

Το συνεχές, (to Του συνεχούς, (tou sinehés) "the sinehoús) "the Neuter in -ες (- es) -ους (- ous) continuum" continuum's"

Το παιδί (to pedí) -ου Του παιδιού (tou Neuter in -ι (- i) "the child" pedioú) "the child's"

Του κρέατος (tou Το κρέας (to kréas) -ατος kréatos) "the Neuter in -ας (- as) "the meat" meat's"

Το φως (to fos) "the -τος Του φωτός (tou Neuter in -ως (- os) light" fotós) "the light's"

One particular challenge with the genitive case is that besides the change in the noun's ending, there is a good possibility that a change also occurs to the syllable being accented. But since this is too complicated to analyze here, we will leave it at that for the moment!

One good way to understand whether a noun is in the genitive case (other than from context), is to pay attention to the article. In the following table, we have included both the definite and the indefinite article and the way they change from case to case:

Nom inative G enitive

G ender Definite Indefinite Definite Indefinite

Masculine ο (o) ένας (énas) του (tou) ενός (enós)

Fem inine η (i) μία (mía) της (tis) μίας (mías)

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #8 - ANY GREEK CALLS ? 9 Neuter το (to) ένα (ena) του (tou) ενός (enós)

CULTURAL INSIGHT

G reek Office Culture (II)

Although Greece was rather lately introduced to what is usually referred to as "corporate culture," over the last twenty years or so, more and more companies have started adopting models of behavior and procedures closer to the ones seen in the United States and Western Europe. One thing to keep in mind though is that this rule applies to private companies only since the public sector still has its own way of doing things, a way that is much closer to Greece's Middle Eastern roots than to its European ones.

An example of this "modernization" of the Greek office space is the practice mentioned in our dialogue: a company might prefer to avoid giving the number of one of its employees' direct phone line to lower-rank employees (like a secretary or a telephone operator) of another company, even when there is a close relationship between the two companies. Another example is that more and more companies enforce policies related to sexual harassment, something that would be virtually unheard of even in the late nineties.

Fortunately, these policies haven't reached the extremes they have reached in the United States when even the slightest remark might end up in a lawsuit: most female employees are capable of distinguishing when a video that is not safe for work is just a clumsy attempt at humor!

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #8 - ANY GREEK CALLS ? 10 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #9 The British Call This Greek Place a 'Pub'

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 4 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 5 Grammar 8 Cultural Insight # 9

1. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Πολύ κόσμο έχει αυτό το μπαρ, ε Δημήτρα;

2. Δημήτρα Τριανταφύλλου: Ναι, είναι πολύ διάσημο.

3. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Χμμμμμ. Τι θα πιούμε; Μπύρα; Τι λες Ευαγγελία;

4. Ευαγγελία Γιατί όχι; Έχουν πολλές εισαγόμενες μάρκες. Θωμαΐδη:

ROMANIZATION

1. Pétra Górdon: Polí kósmo éhi aftó to bar, e Dimítra?

2. Dimítra Ne, íne polí diásimo. Triandafílu:

3. Pétra Górdon: Hmmm. Ti tha piúme? Bíra? Ti les Evangelía?

4. Evangelía Yatí óhi? Éhun polés isagómenes márkes. Thomaídi:

ENGLISH

1. Petra Gordon: This bar is very crowded, isn't it, Dimitra?

2. Dimitra Yes, it is very famous. Triantafyllou:

3. Petra Gordon: Hmmm. What are we drinking? Beer? What do you say, Evaggelia?

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #9 - THE BRI TI S H CALL THIS GREEK PLACE A 'PUB' 2 4. Evaggelia Why not? They have many imported brands. Thomaidi:

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

πίνω pino to drink verb

εισαγόμενες eisagomenes imported adjective feminine

μπαρ bar bar noun neutral

πολύς, πολλή, πολύ polys, polli, polu much adjective masculine

διάσημο diasimo famous adjective neuter

μπύρα bíra beer noun feminine

μάρκα marka brand name noun feminine

κόσμος kósmos world, people noun masculine

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Τώ ρα πίνουμε ουίσκι. Αυτό το κρασί είναι εισαγόμενο. Tora pinoume whisky. Auto to krasi einai eisagomeno.

"Now we are drinking whisky." "This wine is imported."

Το αγαπημένο μου μπαρ ήταν Πολλοί διάσημοι άνθρωποι. κλε ισ τό. Polí diásimi ánthropi

To agapiméno mou bar ítan klistó. Many famous people. "My favorite bar was closed."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #9 - THE BRI TI S H CALL THIS GREEK PLACE A 'PUB' 3 Η πόλη της Πάτρας είναι διάσημη Θα πιούμε μπύρες. για το καρναβάλι της. Tha pioúme bíres.

I póli tis Pátras íne diásimi gia to karnaváli tis. "We will drink beers." "The city of Patras is famous for its carnival."

Θέ λε ις κρασί ή μπύρα; Τι μάρκα είναι το αυτοκίνητό σου; Thélis krasí í bíra? Ti marka einai to autokinito sou?

"Do you want wine or beer?" "What brand is your car?"

Είχε πάρα πολύ κόσμο. Σήμε ρα έμαθα τα επτά θαύματα του Eíche pára polý kósmo. κόσ μου.

Símera ématha ta eptá thávmata tu kósmu. "There were so many people." "Today I learned about the Seven Wonders of the World."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

In the first sentence of the dialogue, πολύ κόσμο έχει αυτό το μπαρ (poly kosm o exei auto to bar), meaning "this bar is very crowded," we have used the word κόσμος (kosmos). Literally, the word κόσμος (kosmos) means "world." Very often we use it in Modern Greek meaning this: a TV segment on international news can be titled Νέα από όλον τον κόσμο (Nea apo olon ton kosmo), meaning "News from all over the world", or we could say ο κόσμος μας αντιμετωπίζει πρόβλημα πείνας (o kosmos mas antimetopizei provlima peinas), meaning "our world is facing a hunger problem". In everyday Greek, though, the word κόσμος (kosmos) can also mean "people," much in the way we could use the word "crowd" in English, which is also used in Greek: the word is πλήθος (plithos). It's good to remember, though, that the expression πολύς κόσμος (polys kosmos) always means "many

Also, in the same line, the main character, Peter, says πολύ κόσμο έχει αυτό το μπαρ , ε Δημήτρη; (Poly kosm o exei auto to bar, e Dim itri?) which we translate as "This bar is very crowded, isn't it, Dimitri?" This e before the name Δημήτρη (Dimitri) is a very common informal way to address someone, especially in cases when we want them to confirm what we just said (as in our example). This e comes close to the English "hey," and it is better for us to use it only among people we know very well since it can even be considered rude! Still, people widely use it in everyday Greek.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #9 - THE BRI TI S H CALL THIS GREEK PLACE A 'PUB' 4 In the third line of the dialogue, the main character asks Τ ι θα πιούμε, μπύρα; (Ti tha pioum e? Bíra?) much in the same way we would ask in English "What are we drinking? Beer?" Sometimes, we can strip down questions like this of everything else but their single essential component-in this case, the noun (beer), since everything else is implied. Although Greek is a quite analytical language, in everyday conversation, we can (and do) simplify some phrases that way. This, by the way, does not occur only in informal conversations; it can happen anywhere.

One note about the word μπαρ (bar), which is obviously the English word "bar!" We mentioned in Lesson 7 of this series that although some foreign/imported words have been in use for so much time that they have become declinable, the rule is that when we decline them, we change their article but the word itself stays as is. One such example is the word "bar": it is neuter in gender, but if we decline it, it doesn't change:

G reek Romanization

το μπαρ to bar

του μπαρ tou bar

το μπαρ to bar

τα μπαρ ta bar

των μπαρ ton bar

τα μπαρ ta bar

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is the Vocative Case of Nouns. Τ ι λές Βαγγέλη; Ti les Vaggeli? "What do you say, Vaggeli?"

In this lesson, we will present the vocative case of nouns. As we mentioned in a previous lesson (Absolute Beginner Series 1 Lesson 8), articles, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and participles in Greek are declinable; that is, they change their form according to their function in a sentence. These forms are called "cases" (in Greek, πτώσεις (ptoseis)), and when learning a new noun, adjective, etc., it's better to learn how it is declined (i.e., its four cases) immediately so we can use it more correctly and effectively.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #9 - THE BRI TI S H CALL THIS GREEK PLACE A 'PUB' 5 In this lesson, we have chosen to present to you one of the easiest cases, the vocative. We use this when we address someone or when we want to draw someone's attention. In our dialogue, we use the vocative case twice both in cases where the main character addresses one of his colleagues:

1. Πολύ κόσμο έχει αυτό το μπαρ, ε Δημήτρη; (Poly kosmo exei auto to bar, e Dimitri? ) "This bar is very crowded, isn't it, Dimitri?"

2. Τι λες Βαγγέλη; (Ti les Vaggeli?) "What do you say, Vaggeli?"

English speakers might not be immediately able to understand the difference (because of not enough familiarity with Greek names!) but if you look at the table below, you can see the difference between the nominative case of the name and the vocative:

Nom inative Vocative

O Δημήτρης (O Dimitris) Δημήτρη (Dimitri)

O Βαγγέλης (O Vaggelis) Βαγγέλη (Vaggeli)

What happens in this case is that in the vocative case, we drop the final -s, which is always present in the nominative case of the singular number of masculine nouns. This is not the only change in masculine nouns, though. The general rules are:

• If the masculine noun ends in - ος (os), the ending becomes -ε (e).

• If the masculine noun ends in - ης (is), the ending becomes -η (i).

• If the masculine noun ends in - ας (as), the ending becomes -α (a).

Feminine and neuter nouns are easier since the singular number's vocative case is exactly the same with the nominative case:

Nom inative Vocative

H Μαρία (I Maria) (f.) Μαρία (Maria)

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #9 - THE BRI TI S H CALL THIS GREEK PLACE A 'PUB' 6 Η Ελένη (I Eleni) (f.) Ελένη (Eleni)

Η Αμερική (I Ameriki) "America" (f.) Αμερική (Ameriki)

Although we have used proper nouns (i.e., names) for the examples above, the same rules apply to all nouns (although outside poetry, having a vocative for certain objects might not make much sense in everyday conversation!). The table that follows shows the nominative and vocative cases for some very common nouns of all three genders:

Nom inative Vocative

o αστυφύλακας (o astyfylakas) "the police officer" (m) αστυφύλακα (astyfylaka) "officer"

ο/η γιατρός (o/i giatros) "the doctor" (m+f*) γιατρέ (giatre) "doctor"

ο/η οδηγός (o/i odigos) "the driver" (m + f.*) οδηγέ (odige) "driver"

ο δάσκαλος (daskalos) "the teacher" (m.) δάσκαλε (daskale) "teacher"

ο κύριος (o kyrios) "the gentleman," "mister" (m.) κύριε (kyrie) "sir," "mister"

η κυρία (i kyria) "the lady," "madam," "Mrs." (f.) κυρία (kyria) "madam," "Mrs."

η μητέρα (i mitera) "the mother" (f.) μητέρα (mitera) "mother"

η θεία (i theia) "the aunt" (f.) θεία (theia) "aunt"

η ξαδέλφη (i ksadelfi) "the cousin" (f.) ξαδέλφη (ksadelfi) "cousin"

η θάλασσα (i thalassa) "the sea" (f.) θάλασσα (thalassa) "sea"

το δάσος (to dasos) "the forest" (n.) δάσος (dasos) "forest"

το φεγγάρι (to feggari) "the moon" (n.) φεγγάρι (feggari) "moon"

* Some nouns like γιατρός (giatros), meaning "doctor," or οδηγός (odigos), meaning "driver," have the same form for both the masculine and the feminine.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #9 - THE BRI TI S H CALL THIS GREEK PLACE A 'PUB' 7 You might have noticed that in the vocative case, we do not use an article. In some older textbooks, there used to be an Ω (O, similar to the English exclamation "O!" as in "O, say can you see") in front of the noun, but we do not use this anymore since it is considered too old- fashioned. Like in English, though, you can find it in Greece's national anthem, old poems, etc. In older textbooks, sometimes an exclamation mark was used after the noun to indicate the vocative case, but this too has fallen into disuse since all uses of the vocative do not involve an exclamation. In everyday Greek conversation, we use the vocative case in the way we have used it in our dialogue: with just the noun.

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Bars in G reece

If you are in Athens (or most Greek cities), one of the most casual and enjoyable ways to spend an evening is in one of the city's literally thousands of bars, especially in summer where you get a chance to sit outside and enjoy the breeze. What is called a "bar" in Greece is a cross between an English pub and an American neighborhood watering hole; there is always a big bar with one or two bartenders and a few tables for two to four people. There is always music playing (sometimes it can also be live), and the crowds gathered can be anything from young people in their late teens to fifty- and even sixty-year-olds (not always barflies sitting alone at the bar talking to the bartender). Greeks call these bars μπαράκι (baraki) literally, "small bar", and in Athens you can find them anywhere but mostly in the areas called Exarcheia, Plaka, Kolonaki, Ampelokipoi, Psirri, Thisseio, Metaksourgeio, and Gkazi. All these are downtown areas where you also get the most chances for some interesting people watching. The style of these bars varies considerably: from hippie/rocker casual to very trendy and fashionable, you can find them all and enjoy a beer while having a chat with a friend.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #9 - THE BRI TI S H CALL THIS GREEK PLACE A 'PUB' 8 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #10 How Many Greek Beers Is 'Too Much' Beer?

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 4 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 5 Grammar 9 Cultural Insight # 10

1. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Αυτές τις μπύρες δεν τις ξέρω.

2. Δημήτρα Τριανταφύλλου: Οι πιο πολλές είναι γερμανικές.

3. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Πίνουν πολλοί Έλληνες γερμανικές μπύρες;

4. Ευαγγελία Μπα, οι πιο πολλοί προτιμούν τις ελληνικές μάρκες. Θωμαΐδης:

ROMANIZATION

1. Pétra Górdon: Aftés tis bíres den tis xéro.

2. Dimítra I pio polés íne yermanikés. Triandafílu:

3. Pétra Górdon: Pínun polí Élines yermanikés bíres?

4. Evangelía Ba, i pio polí protimún tis elinikés márkes. Thomaídis:

ENGLISH

1. Petra Gordon: Ι don't know these beers.

2. Dimitra Most of them are German. Triantafyllou:

3. Petra Gordon: Do many people in Greece drink German beer?

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #10 - HOW MANY GREEK BEERS I S 'TOO MUCH' BEER? 2 4. Evaggelia Nah, most people prefer the Greek brands. Thomaidis:

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

Δεν ξέρω Den ksero I don't know expression

πολλοί polloi many adjective masculine

πίνω píno to drink verb

Γερμανικές Germanikes German adjective feminine

πολλές polles many adjective feminine

προτιμώ protimo, protimó to prefer verb

αυτό aftó this pronoun neuter

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Δε ν ξέρω πότε θα έρθει. Πολλοί Έλληνες ενδιαφέρονται για Den ksero pote tha erthei. το ποδόσφαιρο.

Polloi Ellines endiaferontai gia to podosfairo. "I don't know when he will come." "Many Greeks are interested in football."

Μου αρέσει να πίνω ζεστό τσάι τις Η γυναίκα μου πίνει μόνο κρασί. κρύε ς μέρες. I gynaika mou pinei mono krasi.

Mu arési na píno zestó tsái tis kríes méres. "My wife drinks only wine." "I love to drink hot tea on cold days."

Θα πιούμε μπύρες. Πίνω γάλα κάθε μέρα. Tha pioúme bíres. Píno gála káthe méra.

"We will drink beers." "I drink milk every day."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #10 - HOW MANY GREEK BEERS I S 'TOO MUCH' BEER? 3 Προτιμάε ι τις γερμανικές οικιακές Το έγραψαν πολλές εφημερίδες. σ υσ κε υέ ς. To egrapsan polles efimerides.

Protimaei tis germanikes oikiakes syskeues "Many newspapers wrote about it." "He prefers German household appliances."

Προτιμάμε αυτό το δωμάτιο. Προτιμούν να πάνε με το Protimáme aftó to domátio. αυτοκίνητο, αλλά εγώ θα πάω με το

με τρό. "We prefer this room." Protimún na páne me to aftokínito, alá egó tha páo me to metró.

"They prefer to go by car, but I will take the subway."

Οι άντρες προτιμούν τις ξανθιές. Προτιμάε ι τις γερμανικές οικιακές Oi antres protimoun tis ksanthies. σ υσ κε υέ ς.

Protimaei tis germanikes oikiakes syskeues "Gentlemen prefer blondes." "He prefers German household appliances."

Αυτέ ς οι παντόφλες είναι δικές μου. Θέ λω αυτό το βιβλίο Autes oi pantofles einai dikes mou Thélo aftó to vivlío.

"These slippers are mine." "I want this book."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

In our dialogue, we twice used the expression πιο πολλοί and πιο πολλές (pio polloi and pio polles), which we have translated as "most" ("people" and "brands"). The word "most" is, of course, the superlative degree of the adjectives "many" and "much," so it would make sense to use a similar word in Greece. The problem is that the adjective πολύς (polys) or πολλοί (polloi) for plural, which is the main grammar point of this lesson, is irregular, and it doesn't have a different form for the comparative and the superlative degree, so we use the word περισσότερος (perissoteros) or περισσότεροι (perissoteroi) for plural, for both.

Having said that, there is a second way to form this adjective's degrees, and this is with the help of the adverb pio, which we use to indicate quantity. So we can either say περισσότερος

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #10 - HOW MANY GREEK BEERS I S 'TOO MUCH' BEER? 4 (perissoteros) or πιο πολύς (pio polys), or περισσότεροι (perissoteroi) and πιο πολλοί (pio polloi) for plural; both are equally valid and used in everyday Greek.

In the last line of our dialogue, we translated the Greek phrase οι πιο πολλοί προτιμούν (oi pio polloi protim oun) as "most people prefer," but if you watch closely enough, you can see that in the Greek phrase, we omit the word for "people", i.e. άνθρωποι (anthropoi). Since it is obvious from the context that the conversation is about people preferring Greek beers, we can use the adjective as a noun.

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is the Irregular Adjective Polys/Polloi ("Many"). Πολλοί άνθρωποι

Polloi anthropoi.

"Many people."

In this lesson, we will present the irregular adjective πολύς/πολλοί (polys/polloi) meaning "many". The way we use the adjective "many" in Modern Greek can be a bit of a challenge for many English speakers; this happens because in Greek, besides the obvious use in the plural form, where it means more or less the same as in English (i.e., more than one countable nouns), we also use it in the singular form to mean what we usually express in English with the adjective "much" (i.e., in relation to uncountable nouns). So it's good to remember that while English makes a distinction between the adjectives "many" and "much," in Greek these are both different forms of the same adjective.

Like most adjectives, πολλοί (polloi) has three genders and is declinable with three cases. The table that follows shows how we decline this irregular but important adjective.

Polys - Greek

Singular

Case Masculine Fem inine Neuter

Ο πολύς Η πολλή Τ ο πολύ Nom inative

Τ ης πολλής G enitive - -

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #10 - HOW MANY GREEK BEERS I S 'TOO MUCH' BEER? 5 Τ ον πολύ Τ ην πολλή Τ ο πολύ Accusative

Vocative - - -

Plural

Case Masculine Fem inine Neuter

Οι πολλοί Οι πολλές Τ α πολλά Nom inative

Τ ων πολλών Τ ων πολλών Τ ων πολλών G enitive

Τ ους πολλούς Τ ις πολλές Τ α πολλά Accusative

Vocative - - -

Polys - Romanization

Singular

Case Masculine Fem inine Neuter

Nom inative O polys I polli To poly

G enitive - Tis pollis -

Accusative Ton poly Tin polli To poly

Vocative - - -

Adjectives - Plural

Case Masculine Fem inine Neuter

Nom inative Oi polloi Oi polles Ta polla

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #10 - HOW MANY GREEK BEERS I S 'TOO MUCH' BEER? 6 G enitive Ton pollon Ton pollon Ton pollon

Accusative Tous pollous Tis polles Ta polla

Vocative - - -

The basic irregularity of the adjective πολύς/πολλοί (polys/polloi) is that there are a few cases missing: the singular genitive in the masculine and neuter and all the vocatives (singular and plural). Another problem is that there are many homophones (i.e., words that sound the same) in these tables: (τον) πολύ-(ton) poly, η πολλή - (i) polli, (την) πολλή - (tin) polli, (το) πολύ - (to) poli, and οι πολλοί - (oi) polloi, even though written differently, all sound exactly the same, so there is no possible way to understand by the adjective alone to what the speaker refers to. The difference comes from the context or from the noun following the adjective.

Another problem with πολύς/πολλοί (polys/polloi) is that not all nouns make sense in both the singular and the plural. For example, it makes sense to say οι πολλές γυναίκες (i polles ginaikes) meaning "many women", but it doesn't make sense to say η πολλή γυναίκα - (i polli ginaika), meaning "many woman". In the table below, we show the declination of πολύς (polys) with the addition of a noun. The nouns we have used are ο πάγος (o pagos), meaning "the ice" (masculine), η δύναμη (i dynami), meaning "the power" (feminine), and το φαγητό (to fagito), meaning "the food" (neuter).

Polys + noun - Greek

Singular

Case Masculine Fem inine Neuter

Ο πολύς πάγος Η πολλή δύναμη Τ ο πολύ φαγητό Nom inative

Τ ης πολλής δύναμης G enitive - -

Τ ον πολύ πάγο Τ ην πολλή δύναμη Τ ο πολύ φαγητό Accusative

Vocative - - -

Plural

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #10 - HOW MANY GREEK BEERS I S 'TOO MUCH' BEER? 7 Case Masculine Fem inine Neuter

Οι πολλοί πάγοι Οι πολλές Τ α πολλά φαγητά δυνάμεις Nom inative

Τ ων πολλών Τ ων πολλών Τ ων πολλών πάγων δυνάμεων φαγητών G enitive

Τ ους πολλούς Τ ις πολλές Τ α πολλά φαγητά πάγους δυνάμεις Accusative

Vocative - - -

Polys + noun - Romanization

Singular

Case Masculine Fem inine Neuter

Ο πολύς πάγος (O Η πολλή δύναμη (I Το πολύ φαγητό Nom inative polys pagos) polli dynami) (To poly fagito)

Τις πολλές δυνάμεις (Tis pollis G enitive - - dynamis)

Τον πολύ πάγο Την πολλή δύναμη Το πολύ φαγητό Accusative (Ton poly pago) (Tin polli dynami) (To poly fagito)

Vocative - - -

Adjectives - Plural

Case Masculine Fem inine Neuter

Οι πολλές Οι πολλοί πάγοι (Oi δυνάμεις (Oi polles Τα πολλά φαγητά Nom inative polloi pagoi) dynameis) (Ta polla fagita)

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #10 - HOW MANY GREEK BEERS I S 'TOO MUCH' BEER? 8 Των πολλών Των πολλών Των πολλών G enitive πάγων (Ton pollon δυνάμεων (Ton φαγητών (Ton pagon) pollon dynameon) pollon fagiton)

Τους πολλούς Τις πολλές πάγους (Tous δυνάμεις (Tis Τα πολλά φαγητά Accusative pollous pagous) polles dynameis) (Ta polla fagita)

Vocative - - -

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Alcohol in G reece

It might come as a surprise to many Westerners, but Greece only recently enforced a law for prohibiting the sale of alcohol to minors. This means that up until ten to fifteen years ago, people of all ages could go to a convenience store or a supermarket and buy anything from a can of low-alcohol beer to a bottle of vodka, no questions asked. Even now that a law requiring the various bars, clubs, etc. to ask for an ID if they believe their customer is underage exists, most places rarely enforce it, so in essence even today pretty much everyone can buy a drink. Paradoxically, all these don't make Greeks more susceptible to alcohol abuse; Greek alcoholism statistics were always below the average for the EU. This doesn't mean that Greeks don't drink, though. Most people enjoy a beer or two with their dinner, and going out for a drink is one of the most common ways to spend an evening with friends. Not to mention that some customary drinks like ouzo or τσίπουρο (tsipouro), a kind of pomace brandy, also known as ρακί (raki) or τσικουδιά (tsikoudia) in various places of Greece, are a big part of most Greeks' summer ritual at a seaside seafood tavern!

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #10 - HOW MANY GREEK BEERS I S 'TOO MUCH' BEER? 9 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #11 Ready or Not, We're Leaving for Greece!

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 4 Sample Sentences 5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 6 Grammar 8 Cultural Insight

# 11

1. Δανάη Είμαι έτοιμη. Πέτρα; Παπαδόπουλου:

2. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Κι εγώ σχεδόν είμαι έτοιμη. Φεύγουμε;

3. Δανάη Ναι. Αν φύγουμε τώρα, θα είμαστε στο γραφείο στις 8.40. Παπαδόπουλου:

4. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: ΟΚ. Πάμε!

5. Δανάη Πέτρα, ο Κώστας κι εγώ είμαστε έτοιμοι. Θα σε περιμένουμε στο Παπαδόπουλου: αυτοκίνητο.

6. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Θα είμαι εκεί σε πέντε λεπτά!

ROMANIZATION

1. Danái Íme étimi. Pétra? Papadópulu:

2. Pétra Górdon: Ki egó schedón íme étimi. Févgume?

3. Danái Ne. An fígume tóra, tha ímaste sto grafío stis októ ke saránda. Papadópulu:

4. Pétra Górdon: OK. Páme!

5. Danái Pétra, o Kóstas ki egó ímaste étimi. Tha se periménume sto Papadópulu: aftokínito.

6. Pétra Górdon: Tha íme ekí se pénde leptá!

ENGLISH CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #11 - READY OR NOT, WE'RE LEAVI NG FOR GREECE! 2 1. Danai I'm ready. Petra? Papadopoulou:

2. Petra Gordon: I'm almost ready too. Shall we go?

3. Danai Yes. If we leave now, we will be at the office at 8.40. Papadopoulou:

4. Petra Gordon: OK. Let's go!

5. Danai Petra, Costas and I are ready. We'll be waiting for you in the car. Papadopoulou:

6. Petra Gordon: I'll be there in five minutes.

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

αυτοκίνητο aftokínito car noun neutral

έτοιμος étoimos ready adjective

περιμένουμε perimenoume we wait verb

εγώ ego I pronoun

πάμε pame we go, let's go verb

φεύγω févgo to leave verb

subordinating αν an if conjunction

πέντε pénte five (5) numeral neutral

λεπτά lepta minutes noun

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #11 - READY OR NOT, WE'RE LEAVI NG FOR GREECE! 3 είμαι eímai to be verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Στην Ελλάδα πωλούνται πιο εύκολα Θα βάλω το αυτοκίνητο στο γκαράζ. τα μεταχειρισμένα αυτοκίνητα παρά Tha valo to aytokinito sto gkaraz.

τα καινούρια. "I'll put the car in the garage." Stin Eláda polúnde pio éfkola ta metahirisména aftokínita pará ta kenúria.

"In Greece second-hand cars are sold more easily than new ones."

Το αυτοκίνητο ήταν άσπρο. Το φαγητό είναι έτοιμο. To aftokínito ítan áspro. To fagito einai etoimo.

"The car was white." "Lunch is ready."

Το τραπέζι στην τραπεζαρία είναι Θα σε περιμένουμε στην είσοδο έ τοιμο. του σινεμά.

Tha se perimenoume stin eisodo tou sinema. "The dining room table is set." "We'll be waiting for you at the cinema's entrance."

Εγώ θα φάω πατάτες. Αν είσαι έτοιμη, πάμε! Ego tha fao patates. An eisai etoimi, pame!

"I will eat potatoes." "If you are ready, let's go!"

Πάμε για καφέ. Αύριο το πρωί φεύγουμε για Παρίσι. Pame gia kafe. Aurio to proi feugoume gia Parisi.

"Let's go for a cup of coffee." "Tomorrow morning we leave for Paris."

Φ ε ύγω αμέσως. Αν αργήσω, αρχίστε χωρίς εμένα. Févgo amésos. An argiso, archiste choris emena.

"I am leaving immediately." "If I'm late, start without me."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #11 - READY OR NOT, WE'RE LEAVI NG FOR GREECE! 4 Πήρα πέντε βιβλία από τη Πε ρίμε νε πέντε ώρες στο βιβλιοθήκη. αε ροδρόμιο. Pira pente vivlia apo ti vivliothiki. Perímene pénte óres sto aerodrómio.

"I took five books from the library." "He waited five hours in the airport."

Πέ ντε κοπέλες. Μια ώρα είναι 60 λεπτά. Pénte kopéles. Mia ora einai 60 lepta.

"five girls" "One hour is sixty minutes."

Είμαι δημοσιογράφος. Είμαι Ελληνίδα. Eimai dimosiogafos. Eímai Ellinída.

"I am a journalist." "I'm Greek."

Είμαι η Μαρία. Eímai i María.

"I'm Maria."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

In the first sentence of our dialogue, the character says Είμαι έτοιμη. Πέτρα; (Ím e étim i. Pétra?) meaning "I'm ready. Petra?" In Greek, as in English, we can strip a sentence down to its bare essentials: both characters are preparing to leave, so by just calling the other by his name (i.e., "Petra"), the character Danai actually means "I am ready. Petra, are you ready too?" Such oversimplifications are very common in everyday language even if they are not technically correct.

One more point about the first and the second sentence: in the first sentence the character Danai says Είμαι έτοιμη (Íme étimi), meaning "I'm ready," and the character Petra replies Κι εγώ σχεδόν έτοιμη είμαι (Ki egó schedón étimi íme), meaning "I'm ready too." Although in the second line, the order of the words is reversed (είμαι έτοιμη - íme étimi vs. έτοιμη είμαι - étimi íme), this is done for emphasis and does not change the meaning of the sentence. The reply could have also been Κι εγώ είμαι έτοιμη (Ki egó íme étimi), which would also be grammatically correct.

One of our sample sentences is Είμαι δημοσιογράφος (Ím e dimosiográfos), meaning "I am a journalist." You might have noticed that the literal translation of the Greek phrase would be "I am journalist." In Greek, we do not use the indefinite article "a" in sentences where we

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #11 - READY OR NOT, WE'RE LEAVI NG FOR GREECE! 5 are referring to a person's occupation (in other cases too, but for the moment we'll stick to that! ).

Similarly, in the sentence Πάμε για καφέ (Pám e ya kafé), meaning "Let's go for a cup of coffee," the literal translation of the Greek phrase would be "Let's go for coffee." Technically, this is not wrong in English, but it certainly sounds a little strange!

In our vocabulary appear three verbs in the first person plural: φεύγουμε (févgum e), meaning "we are leaving"; πάμε (páme), meaning "we are going"; and περιμένουμε (periménume), meaning "we are waiting." Although this is beyond the scope of this lesson, it is interesting to note that these verbs can also mean "we leave," "we go," and "we wait." In other words, Greek doesn't make a distinction between the simple present ("we go") and present continuous ("we are going"). We use the form φεύγουμε (févgume) for both.

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is the Verb "To Be." Είμαι έτοιμη. Ím e étim i. "I am ready."

In this lesson, we will take a more detailed look at the verb "to be" in the first person singular and plural.

As we mentioned in a previous lesson, when we introduced the verb είμαι (íme), meaning "to be," we do not use it as an auxiliary verb in Greek. This means that it does not help to form other verbs' tenses; instead, we only use it to denote the existence or presence of a person, thing, or situation.

The first person of the verb "to be" is είμαι (íme) in the singular number and είμαστε (eimaste) in the plural. The corresponding personal pronouns are εγώ (egó) and εμείς (emeis). Although when we are referring to a verb in English we use its infinitive accompanied by the preposition "to," in Greek we almost always refer to a verb in its first- person singular present tense form. So if we want to refer to the verb "to be," we will say Εγώ είμαι (Egó íme), meaning "I am," or simply είμαι (íme), meaning "am."

Let's see some instances from our dialogue:

1. Είμαι έτοιμη (Íme étimi) = "I am ready"

2. Κι εγώ σχεδόν έτοιμη είμαι (Ki egó schedón étimi íme) = "I am ready too."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #11 - READY OR NOT, WE'RE LEAVI NG FOR GREECE! 6 3. Θα είμαστε (Tha ímaste) = "We will be"

4. Θα είμαστε έτοιμες (Tha ímaste étimes) = "We will be ready"

5. Θα είμαι εκεί (Tha íme ekí) = "I'll be there"

In two of these cases, the verb appears in a future tense (θα είμαστε - tha ímaste, θα είμαι - tha íme). Although we will deal with the future tense of verbs in a future lesson, it is good to remember that we form future tenses in Greek by adding the particle θα between the pronoun and the verb's present tense.

One important point to notice is that we do not always use the personal pronouns in Greek. In phrases one, three, and five from our dialogue (see above), we omit the personal pronouns εγώ (egó), εμείς (emís), and εγώ (egó). Grammar rules are vague on that; technically pronouns must always be used, but neither informal or formal, written or spoken modern Greek uses the pronouns all the time. We usually avoid the first person singular pronoun in particular unless we need specific emphasis; this happens because the first person singular pronoun is considered very strong and draws too much attention to the person using it (consider how this particular word is used in English!). Also, we don't really need the pronoun since the verb changes according to the person; this means that είμαι (íme) and είμαστε (ímaste) are enough to tell us we are dealing with the first person.

The following table has some more examples of the verb "to be" in some of its more common uses. As we mentioned above, although the 100% correct way is with the personal pronoun included, please remember that in most cases, using the first person pronoun would sound a little strange to most Greeks!

G reek Romanization "English"

Εγώ είμαι μαθητής. Egó íme mathitís. "I am a student."

Εγώ είμαι έτοιμος. Egó íme étimos. "I am ready."

Εγώ είμαι πεινασμένος. Egó íme pinasménos. "I am hungry."

Εγώ είμαι στενοχωρημένος. Egó íme stenohoriménos. "I am sad."

Εγώ είμαι όρθιος. Egó íme órthios. "I am standing."

Εγώ είμαι 1,80. Egó íme 1,80. "I am 180 centimeters tall."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #11 - READY OR NOT, WE'RE LEAVI NG FOR GREECE! 7 Εμείς είμαστε φίλοι. Emís ímaste fíli. "We are friends."

Εμείς είμαστε συνάδελφοι. Emís ímaste sinádelfi. "We are colleagues."

Εμείς είμαστε καθ' οδόν. Emís ímaste kath' odón. "We are on the way."

Εμείς είμαστε στην Αθήνα. Emís ímaste stin Athína. "We are in Athens."

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Com m uting and Carpooling

Simply put, commuting is very bad in Greece and especially in Athens! The public transportation system is not very well designed (some would say it is badly designed), so many people need to take their cars to commute. This leads to too many cars on the streets, and commutes of forty-five minutes or one hour are rather common, usually at speeds that don't go over twenty to thirty kilometers (thirty-two to forty-eight miles per hour). Obviously, this makes both the cars and the drivers very unhappy, which results in too many people arriving at their workplace with too much tension. Unfortunately, the problem is compounded by too many people preferring to use their car even though they could use public transportation; most Greeks feel that since they've spent a few thousand Euros on a car they have to use it, even if it is not practical! For the same reason, carpooling is not very popular in Greece: even people who live in the same building, work in the same area (or even the same company), and leave for work at the same time usually each use their own car, citing their need to feel independent. Fortunately, this has started to change and is occasionally supported by companies with environmental concerns.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #11 - READY OR NOT, WE'RE LEAVI NG FOR GREECE! 8 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #12 I'm OK in Greece; are you OK?

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 3 English 3 Vocabulary 4 Sample Sentences 5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 7 Grammar 10 Cultural Insight

# 12

1. Δανάη Είστε σίγουροι ότι τα πήρατε όλα; Παπαδοπούλου:

2. Κωσταντίνα Παπαδοπούλου: Εγώ ναι. Πέτρα, εσύ είσαι εντάξει;

3. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Ναι, όλα εντάξει. Μπορούμε να φύγουμε.

4. Δανάη Πες μου πάλι, μέχρι τι ώρα θα είστε στο γραφείο σήμερα; Παπαδοπούλου:

5. Κωσταντίνα Παπαδοπούλου: Ως τις 6.00. Εσύ τι ώρα θα είσαι σπίτι;

6. Δανάη Θα έχω γυρίσει ως τις 5.30 το αργότερο. Παπαδοπούλου:

ROMANIZATION

1. Danái Íste síguri óti ta pírate óla? Papadopúlu:

2. Kostandína Egó ne. Pétra, esí íse endáxi? Papadopúlu:

3. Pétra Górdon: Ne, óla endáxi. Borúme na fígume.

4. Danái Pes mu páli, méhri ti óra tha íste sto grafío símera? Papadopúlu:

5. Kostandína O̱s tis 6.00. Esí ti óra tha íse spíti? Papadopúlu:

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #12 - I 'M OK I N GREECE; ARE YOU OK? 2 6. Danái Tha ého yirísi os tis 5.30 to argótero. Papadopúlu:

ENGLISH

1. Danai Are you sure you have everything? Papadopoulou:

2. Kostantina I'm sure, yes. Petra, are you OK? Papadopoulou:

3. Petra Gordon: Yes, everything is OK. We can leave.

4. Danai Tell me again, until what time will you be in the office today? Papadopoulou:

5. Kostantina Until 6.00. What time will you be home? Papadopoulou:

6. Danai I'll be back by 5.30 at the latest. Papadopoulou:

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

preposition, μέχρι méchri, méhri until conjunction

ότι óti that conjunction

πάλι páli again adverb

είστε eiste are verb

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #12 - I 'M OK I N GREECE; ARE YOU OK? 3 όλα óla all neuter

adverb, εντάξει entáxei OK expression

μπορούμε mproroume we can expression

αργότερο argotero latest noun

σίγουροι sigouroi sure, certain adjective

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Σήμε ρα θα δουλεύω μέχρι αργά το Πήγε μέχρι το σούπερ-μάρκετ. βράδυ. Pige mechri to super-market.

Símera tha dulévo méhri argá to vrádi. "He went to the supermarket." "Today I will be working until late at night."

Γνω ρίζ ω να μετράω μέχρι το δέκα. Πιάσ αμε την κουβέντα μέχρι το Gnorízo na metráo méhri to déka. ξ ημέ ρω μα.

Piásame tin kuvénda méhri to ximéroma. "I know how to count to ten." "We kept on talking until daybreak."

Του είπα ότι χάλασε ο υπολογιστής Είναι σίγουροι ότι θα έρθουν. μου. Einai sigouroi oti tha erthoun.

Tou eipa oti chalase o ypologistis mou. "They are certain that they'll come." "I told him that my computer was broken."

Οι μαθητές νόμισαν ότι ήταν Πάλι βρέχει. δύσ κολο το μάθημα. Páli vréhi.

Oi mathités nómisan óti ítan dýskolo to máthima. "It's raining again." "The students thought that the lesson was difficult."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #12 - I 'M OK I N GREECE; ARE YOU OK? 4 Θα φύγεις πάλι; Χθε ς καθάρισα κι όμως σήμερα έχει Tha fygeis pali? π άλι παντού σκόνη.

Chthes kathárisa ki ómos símera échei páli "Will you leave again?" pantoý skóni.

"I cleaned yesterday, but there's still dust everywhere today."

Ή ρθα πάλι στην Ελλάδα. Είσ τε μαζί; Írtha páli stin Elláda. Eiste mazi?

"I came back to Greece again." "Are you together?"

Έφε ρα όλα μου τα CD. Εντάξ ε ι, θα φύγω. Efera ola mou ta CD. Endáxi, tha fígo.

"I brought all of my CDs." "OK, I'll go."

Είμαι εντάξει. Μπ ορούμε να πάμε για πίτσα. Eimai entaksei. Mporoume na pame gia pitsa.

"I'm OK." "We can go for a pizza."

Θα τελειώσει, το αργότερο ως τις Είναι σίγουροι ότι θα έρθουν. 8:00. Einai sigouroi oti tha erthoun.

Tha teleiosei, to argotero os tis 8:00. "They are certain that they'll come." "It will be over by eight o'clock at the latest."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

The word αργότερο (argotero), which appears both in our dialogue and in one of our sample phrases (ως τις 5:30 το αργότερο - os tis 5:30 to argotero, το αργότερο ως τις 8:00 - to argotero os tis 8:00) is both the comparative and superlative degree of the adjective αργός (argos), literally meaning "slow." Here, though, we use it idiomatically to mean "latest"; in these cases, we always use it in the expression το αργότερο (to argotero) meaning"the later" or "the latest". If we need to say "slower," we will use the expression πιο αργό (pio argo), which we never use to mean "late."

The word ότι (oti) is a conjunction corresponding to the English "that," as in μου είπε ότι θα έρθει (mou eipe oti tha erthei), meaning "he told me that he will come". There is a similar

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #12 - I 'M OK I N GREECE; ARE YOU OK? 5 word, ό,τι, which is a relative pronoun we use to substitute for the words "anything," οτιδήποτε (otidipote), or "nothing," τίποτα (tipota).

For Example:

1. Πάρε οτιδήποτε θέλεις (Pare otidipote theleis) "Take anything you want."

2. Πάρε ό,τι θέλεις (Pare o,ti theleis) "Take anything you want."

3. Τίποτα που να πεις δε θα μου αλλάξει γνώμη(Tipota pou na peis de tha mou allaksei gnomi) "Nothing you'll say is going to change my opinion."

4. Ό,τι και να πεις δε θα μου αλλάξει γνώμη(O,ti kai na peis de tha mou allaksei gnomi) "Nothing you'll say is going to change my opinion."

Notice that the only difference between the two words is the comma: ότι vs. ό,τι, oti vs. o,ti. This means it's very easy to confuse the two; in fact, even many Greeks do!

The word εντάξει (entaksei) literally means "in order" (Greek εν (en) + τάξη (taksi)). With time, the two words became one (an adverb, actually) that we use to express the equivalent of the English "OK." The conjunction μέχρι (m echri) means "until" both temporally and spatially (i.e., "to," "by").

For Example:

1. Θα πάω μέχρι τον Κώστα Tha pao mechri ton Kosta "I will go by Kosta's place."

2. Θα λείπω μέχρι τις 10:00 Tha leipo mechri tis 10:00 "I'll be out until ten o'clock."

A very common synonym for μέχρι (mechri) is ως (os).

For Example:

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #12 - I 'M OK I N GREECE; ARE YOU OK? 6 1. Θα πάω ως τον Κώστα Tha pao os ton Kosta "I will go by Kosta's place."

2. Θα λείπω ως τις 10:00 Tha leipo os tis 10:00 "I'll be out until ten o'clock."

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is the Verb "To Be" at the Second Person Singular and Plural. Είστε σίγουροι; Eiste sigouroi? "Are you sure?"

In this lesson, we will focus on the verb "to be" at the second person singular and plural.

Since we do not use the verb eimai, meaning "to be," as an auxiliary verb in Greek, we use its second person only to address a certain person or persons.

The first person of the verb "to be" is είμαι (eimai) in the singular number and είμαστε (eimaste) in the plural. The second person, which interests us more in this lesson, is είσαι (eisai) and είσαστε (eisaste) or είστε (eiste).

Let's see how we use it in our dialogue:

1. Είστε σίγουροι ότι τα πήρατε όλα? (Eiste sigouroi oti ta pirate ola?)

2. Πίτερ, εσύ είσαι εντάξει; (Piter, esy eisai entaksei?)

3. Μέχρι τι ώρα θα είστε στο γραφείο σήμερα; (Mechri ti ora tha eiste sto grafeio simera?)

4. Εσύ τι ώρα θα είσαι σπίτι? (Esy ti ora tha eisai spiti?)

The second personal pronoun for the singular is εσύ (esy) and for the plural it is εσείς (eseis). This means they both correspond to the English "you." Pay attention though, because in Greek the singular "you" is different from the plural:

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #12 - I 'M OK I N GREECE; ARE YOU OK? 7 1. εσύ είσαι esy eisai "you are" (singular)

2. εσείς είσαστε/εσείς είστε eseis eisaste/eseis eiste "you are" (plural)

As you can see from the instances in our dialogue, we can omit the personal pronoun and it will not alter the meaning; actually, like we mentioned in the lesson about the first person of the verb "to be," in everyday use, we frequently drop personal pronouns, and the language (especially the spoken language) is more natural this way. And since the words eisai and eiste/eisaste themselves tell us that this is the second person, we don't really need the pronouns.

In the second phrase above (Πίτερ, εσύ είσαι εντάξει; - Piter, esy eisai entaksei, which means "Peter, are you OK?"), we use the personal pronoun though. We do this for emphasis: the character says "I am OK-Are you OK?" emphasizing the "you."

One thing you might have noticed is that the verb itself can either be eiste or eisaste; this is a legacy from older Greek and it doesn't make any difference whatsoever: they are both equally correct.

One major point about the second person is that we use the second person plural (not only in the verb "to be" but in all verbs) to form the Greek polite form; actually, it is the only difference between informal and polite language that exists in Modern Greek. So εσείς είστε (eseis eiste), meaning "you are," can either mean "you two are" (or three or more) or "you, Mr. XYZ, are." In our dialogue, we used all instances of the second person plural to denote two people, but they could be used exactly the same if the character were addressing one person politely. The only way to understand whether we are using the second plural of the verb to address one or more persons (that is, if we are using it as polite language or simply as the plural) is from the number of the adjective or noun that follows.

For Example:

1. Είστε μόνοι eiste monoi "Are you (two or more) alone?"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #12 - I 'M OK I N GREECE; ARE YOU OK? 8 2. Είστε μόνος eiste monos "Are you alone (Mr. XYZ)?"

3. Είστε φίλοι του Κώστα eiste filoi tou Kosta "Are you (two or more) friends of Kosta's?"

4. Είστε φίλος του Κώστα eiste filos tou Kosta "Are you (Mr. XYZ) friend of Kosta's?"

The table that follows has a few examples of the second person of the verb "to be" in the singular and plural number:

G reek Romanization "English"

Εσύ είσαι γιατρός "You are a Esy eisai giatros doctor." (singular)

Εσύ είσαι χαρούμενος Esy eisai charoumenos "You are happy." (singular)

Εσύ είσαι καθιστός Esy eisai kathistos "You are sitting." (singular)

Εσύ είσαι διψασμένος Esy eisai dipsasmenos "You are thirsty." (singular)

Εσύ είσαι στο σπίτι "You are at Esy eisai sto spiti home." (singular)

Εσείς είσαστε/είστε ζευγάρι Eseis eiste/eisaste zeugari "You are a couple." (plural)

Εσείς είσαστε/είστε στην Ελλάδα Eseis eiste/eisaste stin "You are in Greece." (plural) Ellada

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #12 - I 'M OK I N GREECE; ARE YOU OK? 9 Εσείς είστε σιωπηλοί Eseis eiste/eisaste siopiloi "You are silent." (plural)

Εσείς είστε ψηλοί Eseis eiste/eisaste psiloi "You are tall." (plural)

Εσείς είστε τουρίστες Eseis eiste/eisaste touristes "You are tourists." (plural)

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Equality between Men and Wom en in G reece

As is the case with most countries, up until thirty years ago, most women in Greece would choose not to get a job but to stay at home and raise a family. This is true especially in Greece, where even the law differentiated between men and women in the workplace. Until the early 1980s, women trying to establish a career had far fewer rights than men. The first laws for equality among sexes passed in 1982 to 1983, and since then there's been a big change in the Greek society with more and more women choosing a career path away from home and joining the workforce. Nowadays, most jobs are split equally between men and women, with the exception being heavy menial industrial jobs that are almost exclusively male dominated. Greek women who want to have both a career and a family have joined their Western sisters in the effort to juggle the two; in Greece, things might be more difficult since the government does not offer much help to women wanting to have a family in the way of child welfare and support. Still, most families manage to find a way to balance things out, judging from the fact that it's very rare to find a family with a stay-at-home parent anymore!

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #12 - I 'M OK I N GREECE; ARE YOU OK? 10 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #13 What Do You Have in Greece?

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 4 Sample Sentences 5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 6 Grammar 12 Cultural Insight

# 13

1. Δανάη Πέτρα είσαι ευχαριστημένη με τον εξοπλισμό σου; Παπαδοπούλου:

2. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Ναι. Έχω τον υπολογιστή που χρειάζομαι, έχω την οθόνη που χρειάζομαι, έχω τα προγράμματα που χρειάζομαι, έχω την υποστήριξη που χρειάζομαι –όλα είναι μια χαρά.

3. Δανάη Αν έχεις κάποιο πρόβλημα να μου πεις. Παπαδοπούλου:

4. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Ευχαριστώ. Εξάλλου, έχω και το τηλέφωνο της εταιρείας που κάνει τη μηχανογραφική υποστήριξη.

ROMANIZATION

1. Danái Pétra íse efharistiméni me ton exoplismó su? Papadopúlu:

2. Pétra Górdon: Ne. Ého ton ipologistí pu hriázome, ého tin othóni pu hriázome, ého ta prográmata pu hriázome, ého tin ipostírixi pu hriázome –óla íne mia hará.

3. Danái An éhis kápio próvlima na mu pis. Papadopúlu:

4. Pétra Górdon: Efharistó. Exálu, ého ke to tiléfono tis eterías pu káni ti mihanografikí ipostírixi.

ENGLISH

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #13 - WHAT DO YOU HAVE I N GREECE? 2 1. Danai Peter, are you happy with your equipment? Papadopoulou:

2. Petra Gordon: Yes. I have the computer that I need, I have the screen that I need, I have the software that I need, I have the support that I need— everything is fine.

3. Danai If you have any problems, just let me know. Papadopoulou:

4. Petra Gordon: Thanks. Besides, I also have the number of the company that does IT support.

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

to need, to χρειάζομαι hriázome require verb

κάποιο kapoio some, any adjective neuter

ευχαριστώ efharistó thank you expression, verb

υπολογιστής ypologistis computer noun masculine

έχω ého I have verb

ευχαριστημένος eucharistimenos happy, pleased adjective masculine

πρόβλημα próvlima problem noun neutral

eksoplismos, εξοπλισμός exoplismós equipment noun masculine

monitor οθόνη othóni (computer) noun

programs προγράμματα programmata (software) noun neuter

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #13 - WHAT DO YOU HAVE I N GREECE? 3 υποστήριξη ypostiriksi support noun feminine

έχεις echeis you have verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Χρε ιάζ ε ται να βγάλετε τα Ξέ ρε ις κάποιο καλό εστιατόριο; π απ ούτσ ια σας πριν μπείτε στον Ksereis kapoio kalo estiatorio?

ναό αυτό. "Do you know any good restaurants?" Hriázete na vgálete ta papútsia sas prin bíte ston naó aftó.

"It is required to remove your shoes before entering this temple."

Ευχαρισ τώ για τη βοήθειά σας! Ευχαρισ τώ για το δώρο. Efharistó ya ti voíthiá sas! Eucharisto gia to doro.

"Thank you for your help!" "Thank you for the gift."

Ευχαρισ τώ πολύ. Θα αγοράσω ένα φορητό Efcharisto poli. υπ ολογισ τή.

Tha agoraso ena forito ypologisti. "Thank you very much." "I will buy a laptop computer."

Έχω ένα αυτοκίνητο και μια Είμαι ευχαριστημένος από τη ζωή μοτοσυκλέτα. μου. Echo ena autikinito kai mia motosykleta. Eimai eucharistimenos apo ti zoi mou.

"I have a car and a motorcycle." "I'm happy with my life."

Έχω πρόβλημα με τον προϊστάμενό Η αλλαγή του προγράμματος μου. π ροκάλε σ ε πρόβλημα. Echo provlima me ton proistameno mou. I alagí tu prográmatos prokálese próvlima.

"I have a problem with my supervisor." "The modification of the program caused a problem."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #13 - WHAT DO YOU HAVE I N GREECE? 4 Αν θες να μάθεις να κάνεις σκι, θα Χρε ιάζ ε σ αι ειδικό εξοπλισμό για να π ρέ π ε ι να αγοράσεις όλο τον κάνε ις σκι. απ αραίτητο εξοπλισμό. Chreiazesai eidiko eksoplismo gia na kaneis ski.

An thes na máthis na kánis ski, tha prépi na agorásis ólo ton aparétito exoplismó. "You need special equipment to ski."

"If you want to learn how to ski, you will have to buy all the equipment required."

Θα ήθελα να έχω μεγαλύτερη Εγκατέστησα τα προγράμματα οθόνη. μόνος μου.

Egkatestisa ta programmata monos mou. "I'd like to have a bigger monitor." "I installed the programs myself."

Χρε ιάζ ε ται ψυχολογική υποστήριξη. Έχε ις τα κλειδιά σου; Chreiazetai psychologiki ypostiriksi. Echeis ta kleidia sou?

"She needs psychological support." "Do you have your keys?"

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

We translated the word ευχαριστημένος (eucharistimenos) as "happy." Literally, the Greek word for "happy" is ευτυχισμένος (eutichismenos), but everyday Greek has reserved the word ευτυχισμένος (eutichismenos) for greater things, bordering on the metaphysical (e.g., true happiness). Everyday English, on the other hand, makes quite extensive use of the adjective "happy," so we think that in this context it's better to use ευχαριστημένος (eucharistimenos), which is closer to the English word "pleased."

The expression όλα είναι μια χαρά (ola einai m ia chara) roughly translates as "everything is fine," and this is how we have translated it in this dialogue. Literally, it means "everything is one joy" since the real meaning of the Greek word χαρά (chara) is "joy." We widely use this expression in everyday Greek to show complete satisfaction (like in our dialogue) and even as a reply to the common greeting "How are you?"

For Example:

1. Γεια σου Κώστα. Τι κάνεις; (Geia sou Kosta. Ti kaneis?) "Hi, Kosta. How are you?"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #13 - WHAT DO YOU HAVE I N GREECE? 5 2. Μια χαρά, ευχαριστώ. (Mia chara, eucharisto.) "I'm fine, thank you."

In Modern Greek, there is no abbreviated and informal version of "thank you" (equivalent to the English "thanks"). The Greek word we use in both formal and informal situations is ευχαριστώ (eucharisto), which literally means "I thank." Saying σε ευχαριστώ (se eucharisto), which means "thank you," gives a more intimate shade to the expression, while ευχαριστώ πολύ (eucharisto poly) is the Greek equivalent of "thank you very much."

The Greek word for "software" is λογισμικό (logismiko). This word, however, sounds somehow formal for many Greeks (and especially people in the IT/high tech community), so they usually use the word προγράμματα (programmata), which literally means "programs," instead.

The word κάποιο (kapoio) - in neuter, kapoios in masculine and κάποια (kapoia) in feminine, is a little complicated: it is an indefinite pronoun literally meaning "a specific something or someone." In Greek, however, it is a very flexible word that we could translate as "any" (e.g., "If you have any problems, call me."), "some" (e.g., "I had had some problem with my car.") or "a"/"an" (e.g., "I know a good Italian restaurant."). We will deal extensively with it in a future lesson; for now, it is good to remember that we can use it in the various different circumstances we just mentioned.

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is the Accusative Case of Nouns Used with Echo, Meaning "To Have." Έχω τον υπολογιστή που χρειάζομαι. Echo ton ypologisti pou chreiazomai. "I have the com puter that I need."

In this lesson, we will focus on the accusative case of nouns and on how we use it with the verb έχω (echo), meaning "to have."

As we have discussed in previous lessons, Greek nouns (and also articles, adjectives, pronouns, and participles) are declinable; this means that they change in different ways according to the way that we use them in speech and text. The forms these parts of speech take are called "cases", πτώσεις (ptoseis) in Greek and there are four of them: nominative, genitive, accusative, and vocative. Since we have already focused on nominative, genitive, and vocative, in this lesson, we will look at the accusative case. And as we did for the previous three cases, we will focus on the singular number.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #13 - WHAT DO YOU HAVE I N GREECE? 6 We use the accusative case when we want to respond to the question "whom" or "what."

For Example:

1. Q: Ποιον να φωνάξω; (Poion na fonakso?) "Whom shall I call?"

2. A: Φώναξε τον Γιάννη. (Fonakse ton Yanni.) "Call Yanni."

3. Q: Ποιον είδες; (Poion eides?) "Whom did you see?"

4. A: Είδα τη Μαρία. (Eida ti Maria.) "I saw Maria."

5. Q: Τ ι χρησιμοποίησες; (Ti chrisimopoiises?) "What did you use?"

6. A: Χρησιμοποίησα τον υπολογιστή. (Chrisimopoiisa ton ypologisti.) "I used the computer."

7. Q: Τι αγόρασε; (Ti agorase?) "What did he buy?"

8. A: Αγόρασε το βιβλίο των Αγγλικών. (Agorase to vivlio ton Agglikon.) "He bought the English book."

A good thing for students of the Greek language is that nouns don't change much from nominative to accusative; this means that if we know a noun's nominative case (which is the basic case, usually mentioned in dictionaries), we know its nominative as well. The following table shows how we form the nominative for various nouns depending on their ending, since this is where changes usually appear between cases.

Nom inative

Case G reek Romanization "English"

Masculine in -ος (- ο γιατρός os) o giatros "the doctor"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #13 - WHAT DO YOU HAVE I N GREECE? 7 Masculine in -ας (- ο παπάς as) o papas "the priest"

Masculine in -ης (- ο Θανάσης is) o Thanasis "Thanasis"

η νοσοκόμα Feminine in -α (- a) i nosokoma "the nurse"

η ειρήνη Feminine in -η (- i) i eirini "peace"

το ρούχο Neuter in -ο (- o) to roucho "the cloth"

το δίπλωμα Neuter in -α (- a) to diploma "the diploma"

το μήκος Neuter in -oς (-os) to mikos "the length"

to συνεχές Neuter in -ες (- es) to syneches "the continuum"

το σπίτι Neuter in -ι (- i) to spiti "the house"

το τέρας Neuter in -ας (- as) to teras "the monster"

το καθεστώς Neuter in -ως (- os) to kathestos "the regime"

Accusative

Ending G reek Romanization "English"

τον γιατρό -ο (- o) to giatro "the doctor"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #13 - WHAT DO YOU HAVE I N GREECE? 8 τον παπά -α (- a) ton papa "the priest"

τον Θανάση -η (- i) to thanasi "Thanasi"

τη νοσοκόμα -α (- a) ti nosokoma "the nurse"

την ειρήνη -η (- i) tin eirini "peace"

το ρούχο -o (-ο) to roucho "the cloth"

το δίπλωμα -α (-a) to diploma "the diploma"

το μήκος -ος (- os) to mikos "the length"

το συνεχές -ες (- es) to syneches "the continuum"

το σπίτι -ι (- i) to spiti "the house"

το τέρας -ας (- as) to teras "the monster"

το καθεστώς -ως (- os) to kathestos "the regime"

As we can see from the table, only masculine nouns change from nominative to accusative, and basically what happens is that they drop the final -ς (- s), which is always present in masculine-gendered nouns. Feminine and neuter nouns, regardless of their ending (which, especially in neuters, has many variations) keep the exact form they have in the nominative. Unfortunately, this can also be the cause of misunderstandings, since sometimes the context might not make it immediately obvious if the person speaking is using nominative or accusative, but if you follow the rule about the questions "whom" and "what" (e.g., try to find whether there is a question answered by the noun), you will be able to tell in most cases; the

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #13 - WHAT DO YOU HAVE I N GREECE? 9 rest are just a matter of familiarity with the language.

For reference, the following table has the changes from nominative to accusative case in the articles (definite and indefinite). This also can help us understand if the noun is in nominative or accusative case:

Case Nom inative Accusative

Definite Indefinite Definite Indefinite

Masculine ο (o) ένας (enas) τον (ton) έναν (enan)

Fem inine η (i) μία (mia) τη/την (ti/tin) μία (mia)

Neuter το (to) ένα (ena) το (to) ένα (ena)

You may have noticed that articles used for the feminine τη/την - ti/tin use ν (n) in the end but not always. This happens for euphonic reasons, and the rule is that we use ν (n), when the noun following starts from a vowel or from the consonants -κ (- k), -π (- p), -τ (- t), -ξ (-ks), -ψ (- ps), -μπ (- mp), -ντ (- nt), -γκ (- gk), -τσ (- ts), and -τζ (- tz).

For the masculine this rule doesn't apply and ν (n) is always used.

Finally, a small introduction to the verb echo, meaning "to have." Like in most languages, the verb echo is an auxiliary verb in Greek since we use it to form various verb tenses. In some of the next lessons, we will deal with this special verb in extensive detail, but for the moment, we would like to note that we always use echo with the accusative case. The instances in which we used it in our dialogue are very typical.

For Example:

1. Έχω τον υπολογιστή (Echo ton ypologisti) "I have the computer."

2. Έχω την οθόνη (Echo tin othoni) "I have the screen."

3. Έχω τα προγράμματα (Echo ta programmata) "I have the programs."

4. Έχω την υποστήριξη (Echo tin ypostiriksi) "I have the support."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #13 - WHAT DO YOU HAVE I N GREECE? 10 5. Έχεις κάποιο πρόβλημα; (Echeis kapoio provlima?) "You have any problems?"

6. Έχω το τηλέφωνο (Echo to tilefono) "I have the (telephone) number."

All the above are cases where the noun is in the accusative case.

Nom inative

"English"

ο υπολογιστής (o ypologistis)

"the computer"

η οθόνη(i othon)

"the screen"

τα προγράμματα (ta programmata)

"the programs"

η υποστήριξη (i ypostiriksi)

"the support"

το πρόβλημα (to provlima)

"the problem"

το τηλέφωνο (to tilefono)

"the telephone/number"

"English" Accusative

"the computer" τον υπολογιστή (ton ypologisti)

"the screen" την οθόνη(tin othoni)

"the programs" τα προγράμματα (ta programmata)

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #13 - WHAT DO YOU HAVE I N GREECE? 11 "the support" την υποστήριξη (tin ypostiriksi)

"the problem" το πρόβλημα (to provlima)

"the telephone/number" το τηλέφωνο (to tilefono)

So the first thing to remember about the verb έχω (echo), meaning "to have," is that we always use it with the accusative case!

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Technology in G reece

It probably won't come as a big surprise to most, but Greece hasn't exactly been on the edge of high technology! Since the country went through its Industrial Revolution phase very late (i.e., late nineteenth century) and because it was involved in wars between 1900 and 1950, its modernization and, thus, its adoption of technology are things that basically happened after the mid-seventies. Surprisingly enough, even for a people inherently suspicious of technology, Greeks have adopted some of its aspects very quickly and on a very large scale: devices like cellular phones, GPS systems, and home theaters can be found in almost all homes, and the models are usually the latest available in Europe. IT is a slightly different matter since computer literacy was only recently (i.e., after 2000) introduced to schools, so all people who know their way around a computer were either scientists or self-taught. Although all these make for a rather rocky start, today more than half of the country's population is online, and there is a rather vibrant IT/Internet market with companies that could easily stand next to their European counterparts, at least in the services sector.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #13 - WHAT DO YOU HAVE I N GREECE? 12 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #14 To Have and Have Not in Greece

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 7 Grammar 12 Cultural Insight

# 14

1. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Έχω ένα πρότζεκτ που πρέπει να τελειώσω και θα ήθελα λίγο τη βοήθειά σου, όταν μπορείς.

2. Ευαγγελία Έχω αρκετό ελεύθερο χρόνο τώρα –πες μου. Θωμαΐδη:

3. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Έχουμε πρόσβαση στον σέρβερ;

4. Ευαγγελία Ναι, έχω τους κωδικούς. Θωμαΐδη:

5. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Λοιπόν, έχουμε αυτή τη βάση δεδομένων...

ROMANIZATION

1. Pétra Górdon: Ého éna prójekt pu prépi na telióso ke tha íthela lígo ti voíthiá su, ótan borís.

2. Evangelía Ého arketó eléfthero hróno tóra –pes mu. Thomaídi:

3. Pétra Górdon: Éhume prósvasi ston sérver?

4. Evangelía Ne, ého tus kodikús. Thomaídi:

5. Pétra Górdon: Lipón, éhume aftí ti vási dedoménon...

ENGLISH

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #14 - TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT I N GREECE 2 1. Petra Gordon: I have a project that I have to finish and would like some help, when you can.

2. Evaggelia I have enough free time now—tell me. Thomaidi:

3. Petra Gordon: Do we have access to the server?

4. Evaggelia Yes, I have the access codes. Thomaidi:

5. Petra Gordon: So we have this database...

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

χρόνος Hrónos time, year noun masculine

τώρα tóra now adverb

αρκετός arketós enough pronoun masculine

βοήθεια voítheia help noun feminine

Θα ήθελα Tha ithela I would like expression

πρέπει prepei must helping verb

κωδικός kodikos code noun masculine

Τελειώνω teleiono I finish verb

μπορείς mporeis you can helping verb

ελεύθερος eleutheros free adjective masculine

conjunctive λοιπόν lipón well, so adverb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #14 - TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT I N GREECE 3 Ο χρόνος που έχουμε είναι Ο χρόνος έχει 12 μήνες. περιορισμένος. O chronos echei 12 mines.

O chronos pou echoume einai periorismenos. "The year has twelve months." "The time we have is limited."

Είμαι πολύ απασχολημένη τώρα. Τώ ρα άκουσέ με, σε παρακαλώ. Íme polí apascholiméni tóra. Tóra ákusé me, se parakaló.

"I am very busy now." "Now, please listen to me."

Τώ ρα μιλάω στο τηλέφωνο. Έφαγα πάρα πολύ και τώρα με Tora milao sto tilefono. π ονάε ι το στομάχι μου.

Éfaga pára polí ke tóra me ponái to stomáhi mu. "I'm talking on the phone now." "I ate too much, and now my stomach hurts."

Αγόρασ α αρκετό τυρί για να Φ ώ ναξ α βοήθεια, αλλά κανείς δεν φτιάξ ουμε πίτσα. έ τρε ξ ε. Agórasa arketó tirí ya na ftiáxume pítsa. Fónaxa voíthia, alá kanís den étrexe.

"I bought enough cheese to make a pizza." "I shouted for help, but nobody ran."

Θα ήθελα ένα κρουασάν σοκολάτα, Πρέ π ε ι να φύγω. π αρακαλώ. Prepei na fygo.

Tha ithela ena krouasan sokolata, parakalo. "I must leave." "I would like a chocolate croissant, please."

Τε λε ιώ νε ις την εργασία σου; Τε λε ιώ νω το βιβλίο που μου Teliónis tin ergasía su? δάνε ισ ε ς.

Τελειώνω το βιβλίο που μου δάνεισες. "Are you finishing up your homework?" "I'm finishing the book you lent me."

Μπ ορε ίς να καταλάβεις τι λέει; Επ ιτέ λους! Αισθάνομαι ελεύθερος! Mporeis na katalaveis ti leei? Epitelous! Aisthanomai eleutheros!

"Can you understand what he says?" "Finally! I feel free!"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #14 - TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT I N GREECE 4 Λοιπ όν, τι κάνουμε τώρα; Λοιπ όν, τι πιστεύεις; Lipón, ti kánume tóra? Loipon, ti pisteueis?

"Well, what do we do now?" "So, what do you think?"

Λοιπ όν, τι θα κάνουμε; Loipón, ti tha kánoyme;

"So what shall we do?"

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Πρέπει

The word prepei, meaning "must," is a strange case of verb; as in English, it is not conjugated and it exists only in the present and the past tenses (prepei and eprepe, respectively).

For Example:

1. Πρέπει να πάω prepei na pao "I must go (now)."

2. Έπρεπε να πάω eprepe na pao "I must go (in the past)."

3. Έπρεπε να έχω πάει eprepe na echo paei "I should have gone."

4. Έπρεπε να είχα πάει eprepe na eicha paei "I should have gone."

In English, the second case, i.e., έπρεπε να πάω (eprepe na pao) would be better translated with "I had to," as in "I had to go."

χρόνος

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #14 - TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT I N GREECE 5 The word χρόνος (chronos) can mean either "time" (e.g., "I have time to spare") or "year" (e.g., "One year is 365 days"). There's no grammatical difference between the two uses, so we can only understand which is which from context.

κωδικός and κώδικας

We can translate the word "code" (e.g., "access code") or programming code (e.g., "the code is written in C++"), as either κωδικός (kodikos) or κώδικας (kodikas). We use the first word, κωδικός (kodikos), exclusively for "access codes": in all other cases, we use the word κώδικας (kodikas) (e.g., "The Da Vinci Code").

αρκετό

The word αρκετό (arketo) is an adjective in Greek; this means it has three genders - αρκετό (arketo) is the neuter form; the masculine is αρκετός (arketos) and the feminine is αρκετή (arketi)), and it is declinable in two numbers, singular and plural. It also has an adverb form that is always in the nominative plural of the neuter αρκετά (arketa) and that is closer to the English "enough" (also an adverb). Since English doesn't have a similar adjective, we usually translate the adjective form of αρκετός (arketos) with "enough":

G ender and Num ber G reek Romanization "English"

Αρκετός κόσμος "Enough people πιστεύει ό τι , Arketos kosmos believe what they Masculine διαβάζει στο pisteuei o,ti read on the singular Ίντερνετ diabazei sto Internet Internet."

Υπάρχει αρκετή Fem inine πίτσα για όλους Yparchei arketi pitsa "There is enough singular gia olous pizza for everyone."

Αγόρασες αρκετό ψωμί για Agorases arketo "Did you buy το Neuter singular psomi gia to enough bread for Σαββατοκύριακο; Savatokyriako the weekend?"

Τηλεφώνησαν Tilefonisan arketoi "Enough customers Masculine plural αρκετοί πελάτες pelates called."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #14 - TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT I N GREECE 6 Έφαγα αρκετές Efaga arketes μπανάνες για mpananes gia Fem inine plural "I ate enough σήμερα simera bananas for today."

Είδα αρκετά Eida arketa αυτοκίνητα στον autokinita ston "I saw enough cars Neuter, plural δρόμο dromo on the street."

"Project" and "server"

We use the English words "project" and "server" extensively in Greek, especially in corporate circles or in the IT world. There are two schools of thought regarding whether we should write such words using the Greek or the Latin alphabet; since most good Greek dictionaries include them (using the Greek alphabet), we have used this translation, but you can still see them written using the Latin alphabet in many cases.

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is the First Person, Singular and Plural of the Verb Echo, Meaning "To Have." Έχω ένα πρότζεκτ. Echo ena project. "I have a project."

The first person singular of the verb έχω (echo), meaning "to have" in the present tense, is εγώ έχω (ego echo), meaning "I have." And the first person plural is εμείς έχουμε (emeis echoume), meaning "we have." In the examples that follow, however, we have used the verbs without the personal pronouns (εγώ-ego, εμείς-emeis) since in most instances we omit them, especially in the first person. Keep in mind, though, that the grammatically correct way (i.e., when declining a verb) is to use the pronouns too!

The basic use of the verb έχω (echo) is pretty much straightforward since we use it in pretty much the same way as in English. For example, we use it to indicate:

1) Possession:

For Example:

1. Έχω ένα αυτοκίνητο (Echo ena autokinito) "I have a car."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #14 - TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT I N GREECE 7 2) Relation:

For Example:

1. Έχω έναν αδελφό (Echo enan adelfo) "I have a brother."

3) Affliction:

For Example:

1. Έχω πυρετό (Echo pyreto) "I have a fever."

4) Experience:

For Example:

1. Είχα μια πολύ κουραστική μέρα (Eicha mia poly kourastiki mera) "I had a very tiring day."

5) Occupation:

For Example:

1. Έχω πολλή δουλειά σήμερα (Echo pollh douleia shmera) "I have much work today."

6) Obligation:

For Example:

1. Έχω να πάω σε έναν γάμο (Echo na pao se enan gamo) "I have to go to a wedding."

In the last case, where echo indicates an obligation, it is always followed by the particle na (similar to the English "to") and the verb indicating the obligation (i.e., "go"). If a noun follows, it will always be in the accusative case (τον γάμο - ton gamo, meaning "the wedding").

There are also some idiomatic uses involving other persons of the verb (usually its third

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #14 - TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT I N GREECE 8 person), but we will discuss those in future lessons.

Also, besides its basic use, we also use the verb έχω (echo) to form three verb tenses:

• The perfect or present perfect (Greek: παρακείμενος, parakeimenos):

For Example:

1. Έχει φάει το κέικ. (Echei faei to keik.) "He has eaten the cake."

• The past perfect or pluperfect (Greek: υπερσυντέλικος, ypersyntelikos):

For Example:

1. Είχε φάει όλο το κέικ πριν γυρίσω (Eiche faei olo to keik prin guriso) "He had eaten the whole cake before I came."

• The future perfect (Greek: συντελεσμένος μέλλοντας, syntelesmenos mellontas):

For Example:

1. Θα έχω φάει μέχρι να έρθεις (Tha echo faei mechri na ertheis) "By the time you come, I will have eaten."

Since these are more complicated constructions, we will discuss them in a future lesson. For now, it's good to remember that we use the verb echo in more ways than one; in other words, it is an auxiliary verb.

The following table has some more examples of the various basic uses of έχω (echo) in everyday Greek.

G reek Romanization "English"

"I have a lesson at six Έχω μάθημα στις 6:00 Echo mathima stis 6:00 o'clock."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #14 - TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT I N GREECE 9 Έχω πονοκέφαλο Echo ponokefalo "I have a headache."

Έχω να διαβάσω τρία βιβλία Echo na diavaso tria vivlia "I have to read three books."

Έχω μια μεγαλύτερη αδελφή Echo mia megalyteri adelfi "I have an older sister."

Έχω δύο φωτογραφικές Echo dyo fotografikes μηχανές michanes "I have two cameras."

Για βραδινό έχουμε Gia vradyno echoume "We have shrimp for γαρίδες garides dinner."

Έχουμε ένα εξοχικό στη Echoume ena eksochiko sti "We have a country house Σαντορίνη Santorini in Santorini."

Έχουμε γάλα στο ψυγείο "We have milk in the Echoume gala sto psygeio refrigerator."

Έχουμε να πάμε στο σούπερ-μάρκετ Echoume na pame sto "We have to go to the souper-market supermarket."

Έχουμε μεγάλα σχέδια για το μέλλον Echoume megala sxedia "We have great plans for gia to mellon the future."

Like all verbs, it is very easy to form the negative and interrogative form of the verb echo. We use the negative form with the particle δεν (den) before the verb, and we form the interrogative exactly like the affirmative but with a slight difference in the tone: the pitch gets a little higher in the accented syllable of the sentence in spoken Greek because in writing, all we have to do is add the Greek question mark (;) at the end of the sentence. Using the table above, here is how these examples would be in the negative:

Negative Form

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #14 - TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT I N GREECE 10 G reek Romanization "English"

"I don't have a lesson at six Δεν έχω μάθημα στις 6:00 Den echo mathima stis 6:00 o'clock."

Δεν έχω πονοκέφαλο Den echo ponokefalo "I don't have a headache."

Δεν έχω να διαβάσω τρία βιβλία Den echo na diavaso tria "I don't have to read three vivlia books."

Δεν έχω μια μεγαλύτερη Den echo mia megalyteri "I don't have an older αδελφή adelfi sister."

Δεν έχω δύο φωτογραφικές μηχανές Den echo dyo fotografikes "I don't have two cameras." michanes

Για βραδινό δεν έχουμε Gia vradyno den echoume "We don't have shrimp for γαρίδες garides dinner."

Δεν έχουμε ένα εξοχικό στη Σαντορίνη Den echoume ena "We don't have a country eksochiko sti Santorini house in Santorini."

Δεν έχουμε γάλα στο Den echoume gala sto "We don't have milk in the ψυγείο psygeio refrigerator."

Δεν έχουμε να πάμε στο σούπερ-μάρκετ Den echoume na pame sto "We don't have to go to the souper-market supermarket."

Στην Ελλάδα δεν έχουμε Stin Ellada den echoume "In Greece, we don't have δημοκρατία dimokratia a democracy."

And here is how the same examples would look in the interrogative:

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #14 - TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT I N GREECE 11 Interrogative Form

G reek Romanization "English"

"Do I have a lesson at six Έχω μάθημα στις 6:00; Echo mathima stis 6:00? o'clock?"

Έχω πονοκέφαλο; Echo ponokefalo? "Do I have a headache?"

Έχω να διαβάσω τρία "Do I have to read three βιβλία; Echo na diavaso tria vivlia? books?"

Έχω μια μεγαλύτερη αδελφή; Echo mia megalyteri adelfi? "Do I have an older sister?"

Έχω δύο φωτογραφικές Echo dyo fotografikes μηχανές; michanes? "Do I have two cameras?"

Για βραδινό έχουμε Gia vradyno echoume "Do we have shrimp for γαρίδες; garides? dinner?"

Έχουμε ένα εξοχικό στη Echoume ena eksochiko sti "Do we have a country Σαντορίνη; Santorini? house in Santorini?"

"Do we have milk in the Έχουμε γάλα στο ψυγείο; Echoume gala sto psygeio? refrigerator?"

Έχουμε να πάμε στο Echoume na pame sto "Do we have to go to the σούπερ-μάρκετ; souper-market? supermarket?"

Στην Ελλάδα έχουμε Stin Ellada echoume "Do we have a democracy δημοκρατία; dimokratia? in Greece?"

CULTURAL INSIGHT

English as a G reek language

One characteristic (which you will be able to appreciate more if you carry on with our lessons!) of the Greek language is the adoption of a certain "corporate language" that makes heavy use

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #14 - TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT I N GREECE 12 of English words directly used in their English form; words like "meeting," "project manager," "client service," "human resources," and "logistics" are frequently used every day in companies' offices all over the country. Of course, like all languages, Greek is a living organism and has been for five thousand years; this means that foreign words have been incorporated in it since the days of the Romans.

What some people have difficulty in accepting, however, is that this linguistic importation seems now more prevalent than ever. Of course, this happens because with new technologies, new things (and, consequently, new words) appear every day. The mainstream Greek language is quite receptive in this respect: if a word is useful, it gets included in everyday speech, even if there is no formal inclusion (i.e., in grammar textbooks or dictionaries), but with time, many of these words become "Greek." Eventually, if their nature permits it, they even become declinable. Most Greeks don't think of the word παλτό (palto), meaning "overcoat," or the word κεφτές (keftes), meaning "meatball," as French (paletot) or Turkish (köfte) anymore, but they still are!

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #14 - TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT I N GREECE 13 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #15 Everybody in Greece Has Them

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 4 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 6 Grammar 12 Cultural Insight

# 15

1. Δανάη Πέτρα έχεις το εισιτήριό σου; Παιδιά, εσείς έχετε τα δικά σας; Παπαδοπούλου:

2. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Ναι, το έχω. Μην ανησυχείς! Και τα παιδιά έχουν τα εισιτήριά τους. Τους τα έδωσα εγώ.

3. Δανάη Οπότε μπαίνουμε; Παπαδοπούλου:

4. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Πάμε!

ROMANIZATION

1. Danái Pétra éhis to isitírió su? Pediá, esís éhete ta diká sas? Papadopúlu:

2. Pétra Górdon: Ne, to ého. Min anisihís! Ke ta pediá éhun ta isitíriá tus. Tus ta édosa egó.

3. Danái Opóte bénume? Papadopúlu:

4. Pétra Górdon: Páme!

ENGLISH

1. Danai Petra, do you have your ticket? Kids, do you have yours? Papadopoulou:

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #15 - EVERYBODY I N GREECE HAS THEM 2 2. Petra Gordon: Yes, I have it. Don't worry! And the kids have their tickets too. I gave them to them.

3. Danai So shall we head in? Papadopoulou:

4. Petra Gordon: Let's go!

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

πάμε pame we go, let's go verb

δικά σας dika sas your (plural) adjective

σου sou your (singular) pronoun

έχεις echeis you have verb

εισιτήριο eisitírio ticket noun neutral

έχετε echete you have (plural) verb

έδωσα edosa I gave verb

coordinating οπότε opote so conjunction

μπαίνουμε mpainoume we enter verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Αν είσαι έτοιμη, πάμε! Πάμε για καφέ. An eisai etoimi, pame! Pame gia kafe.

"If you are ready, let's go!" "Let's go for a cup of coffee."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #15 - EVERYBODY I N GREECE HAS THEM 3 Πρέ π ε ι να φέρετε τα δικά σας ποτά Πήγαινε στο δωμάτιό σου. σ το πάρτι. Pigaine sto domatio sou.

Prepei na ferete ta dika sas pota sto party. "Go to your room." "You have to bring your own drink to the party."

Ζ ήσ ε τη ζωή σου με πάθος. Έχε ις κανένα βιβλίο του; Zíse ti zoí soy me páthos. Echeis kanena vivlio tou?

"Live your life with passion." "Do you have any of his books?"

Το εισιτήριο κοστίζει 10 ευρώ. Αγόρασ α ένα εισιτήριο λεωφορείου To esitirio kostizei 10 euro. σ το περίπτερο.

Agórasa éna eisitírio leoforeíoy sto períptero. "The ticket costs ten euros." "I bought a bus ticket at the kiosk."

Μήπ ω ς έχετε δωμάτια με θέα στη Του έδωσα τον υπολογιστή μου. θάλασ σ α; Tou edosa ton ypologisti mou.

Mipos echete domatia me thea sti thalassa? "I gave him my computer." "Do you have any rooms with a sea view?"

Όλοι έχουν έρθει οπότε μπορούμε Στο θέατρο μπαίνουμε από εκείνη να αρχίσουμε. την πόρτα. Oloi echoun erthei opote mporoume na Sto theatro mpainoume apo ekeini tin porta. arxisoume. "We enter the theater through that door." "Everybody is here, so we can start."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

The first phrases of our dialogue are Πετρα, εχεις το εισιτήριό σου; (Petra, echeis to eisitirio sou?) Παιδιά, εσείς έχετε τα δικά σας; (Paidia, eseis echete ta dika sas?) meaning "Petra, do you have your ticket? Kids, do you have yours?" Here we see that in Greek, as in English, we do not need to repeat the word εισιτήριο (eisitirio), meaning "ticket," or εισιτήρια (eisitiria), meaning "tickets," since it is obvious from the context what the speaker means. The full second phrase would be Παιδιά, εσείς έχετε τα δικά σας; (Paidia, eseis echete ta eisitiria sas?) or Παιδιά, εσείς έχετε τα δικά σας εισιτήρια; (Paidia, eseis echete ta dika sas eisitiria?) Βoth versions mean "your tickets"-more on that follows immediately, but such

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #15 - EVERYBODY I N GREECE HAS THEM 4 phrasing would be redundant.

In the phrases just mentioned and in our vocabulary, there appear two words or expressions, both of which we translate as "your": σου (sou) and δικά σας (dika sas). The word sou (and sas) are personal pronouns appearing here in their "weak" form (there is also a "strong" form, which we use when we want to add emphasis or make a distinction). We use this weak form in Greek to form possessive pronouns ("my," "your," etc.) as follows:

Case First Person Second Person

Singular

Nom inative - -

G enitive μου (mou) σου (sou)

Accusative με (me) σε (se)

Plural

Nom inative - -

G enitive μας (mas) σας (sas)

Accusative μας (mas) σας (sas)

Third Person

Singular

Case Masculine Fem inine Neuter

Nom inative τος (tos) τη (ti) το (to)

G enitive του (tou) της (tis) του (tou)

Accusative τον (ton) τη/ν (ti/n) το (to)

Plural

Nom inative τοι (toi) τες (tes) τα (ta)

G enitive τους (tous) τους (tous) τους (tous)

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #15 - EVERYBODY I N GREECE HAS THEM 5 Accusative τους (tous) τις/τες (tis/te) τα (ta)

So when we want to say "my books," we will use the first person singular genitive pronoun from the above, τα βιβλία μου (ta vivlia mou), and when we want to say "her car," we will say το αυτοκίνητό της (to autokinito tis) - third person, feminine, genitive singular.

As for the word δικό/δικά (diko/dika), it is an adjective that we always use with one of the above possessive pronouns to indicate that something is "mine," "yours," etc. So instead of saying τα βιβλία μου (ta vivlia mou), meaning "my books," we can say τα δικά μου βιβλία (ta dika mou vivlia), which also translates to "my books"; the same with το αυτοκίνητό της (to autikinito tis meaning "her car", which we can also translate as το δικό της αυτοκίνητό (to diko tis autokinito), also meaning "her car".

The word μήπως (mipos) that appears in one of our sample sentences - Μήπως έχετε δωμάτια με θέα στη θάλασσα; (Mipos echete domatia me thea sti thalassa?) which means "Do you have any rooms with a sea view?") is something similar to the English "by any chance"; this means that a better translation for this phrase would be "Do you, by any chance, happen to have any rooms with a sea view?" For grammar buffs, this μήπως (mipos) is a conjunction and not declinable, which means we always use it in this form.

In the phrase Και τα παιδιά έχουν τα εισιτήριά τους (Kai ta paidia echoun ta eisitiria tous) literally, "And the kids have their tickets too.", the first word, και (kai), is the very useful conjunction "and." Here, put before the subject of the sentence (i.e., τα παιδιά (ta paidia), which means "the kids", it functions as the inclusive "too" or "also" in English. If the sentence didn't use this και (kai) in the beginning, i.e. τα παιδιά έχουν τα εισιτήριά τους ( ta paidia echoun ta eisitiria tous), it would mean "The kids have their tickets"; the "too" in the translation comes from the initial και (kai).

The word πάμε (pam e) literally means "we go" or "we are going." If we use it in a context like in our dialogue, though, it can also mean "let's go!"

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is the Second and Third Person Form s of the Verb Echo ("To Have"). Τ α παιδιά έχουν τα εισιτήριά τους Ta paidia echoun ta eisitiria tous. "The kids have their tickets."

In the previous lesson, we discussed the first person (singular and plural) of the verb έχω

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #15 - EVERYBODY I N GREECE HAS THEM 6 (echo), meaning "to have." In this lesson, we will focus on the second and third persons of the same verb; we are overtly analytical with the verb έχω (echo) since, besides being very useful, it is also the only auxiliary verb in the Greek language. This means that if you grasp its basic use (the one we discuss here), you will be able to use it later for the forming of three verb tenses (present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect).

You can see all three persons of έχω (echo) in the following table (we have included the first person, so you'll have a chance to do a little review). We are still in the present tense, so for the moment you don't need to worry about other tenses:

Verb Έχω - Echo ("To Have")

Singular

Person G reek Romanization "English"

Singular

Εγώ έχω First person Ego echo "I have"

Εσύ έχεις Second person Esy echeis "you have"

Αυτός/αυτή/αυτό Autos/auti/auto έχει Third person echei "he/she/it has"

Plural

Εμείς έχουμε First person Emeis echoume "we have"

Εσείς έχετε Second person Eseis echete "you have"

Αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά Autoi/autes/auta έχουν Third person echoun "they (*) have"

Since the third person plural also has three genders in Greek (contrarily to English), there are three different words for the personal pronoun "they," depending on the gender:

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #15 - EVERYBODY I N GREECE HAS THEM 7 1. Masculine: αυτοί

2. Feminine: αυτές

3. Neuter: αυτά

You might notice that the difference from one person to the other is in the ending of the verb; there is a part of the verb, εχ- (called the stem) remains the same. Greek verbs generally have two stems: the present stem (i.e., the stem of its present tense) and the aorist stem (i.e., the stem of its simple past). It is important to be able to tell the stem of the verb so you will be able to create various changes according to tense or person. The next table is the same as the above, but we have highlighted the stem of the verb.

Person G reek Romanization "English"

Singular

Εγώ έχ-ω First person Ego ech-o "I have"

Εσύ έχ-εις Second person Esy ech-eis "you have"

Αυτός/αυτή/αυτό έχ-ει Autos/auti/auto Third person "he/she/it has" ech-ei

Plural

Εμείς έχ-ουμε First person Emeis ech-oume "we have"

Εσείς έχ-ετε Second person Eseis echete "you have"

Αυτοί/αυτές/ αυτά έχ-ουν Autoi/autes/auta Third person "they (*) have" ech-oun

Besides its main uses, which we mentioned in the lesson about the first person, which are

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #15 - EVERYBODY I N GREECE HAS THEM 8 very similar to its uses in English (i.e., to indicate possession, relation, affliction, experience, occupation, and obligation), there are some uses more particular in Greek that are expressed in the third person. These have to do with:

1) The description of a situation:

For Example:

1. Αύριο έχει απεργία το μετρό (Aurio echei apergia to metro) "The metro is on strike tomorrow." (i.e., its employees)

2. Σήμερα έχει ζέστη (Simera echei zesti) "Today, it is hot." (literally, "it has heat")

2) The existence of something in a particular place, whether real or virtual:

For Example:

1. Στη θάλασσα έχει ψάρια (Sti thalassa echei psaria) "In the sea, there are fish."

2. Στο βουνό έχει αρκούδες (Sto vouno exei arkoudes) "On the mountain, there are bears."

3. Δεν έχει τίποτα καλό στην τηλεόραση σήμερα (Den echei tipota kalo stin tileorasi simera) "There's nothing good on the TV today." (literally, "It doesn't have anything on the TV today.")

3) The forbidding of or the inability to do something:

For Example:

1. Αν δεν διαβάσεις τα μαθήματά σου, δεν έχει τηλεόραση απόψε. (An den diabaseis ta mathimata sou, den echei tileorasi apopse.) "If you don't do your homework, there's no TV tonight." (literally, "It doesn't have TV tonight.")

2. Φέτος δεν έχει διακοπές (Fetos den echei diakopes) "This year, there will be no vacation." (literally, "It doesn't have vacation.")

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #15 - EVERYBODY I N GREECE HAS THEM 9 4) The expression of cost:

For Example:

1. Αυτό το περιοδικό έχει 10 Ευρώ (Auto to periodiko echei 10 Euro) "This magazine costs ten Euro." (literally, "it has ten Euro")

2. Τα ροδάκινα έχουν 3 Ευρώ το κιλό (Ta rodakina echoun 3 Euro to kilo) "The peaches cost three Euro per kilo." (literally, "the peaches have three Euro the kilo")

5) The expression that something is created or made of various parts:

For Example:

1. Το αυτοκίνητο έχει τέσσερις τροχούς (To autokinito echei tesseris trochous) "The car has four wheels."

2. Ο άνθρωπος έχει δύο χέρια και δύο πόδια( Ο anhtropos echei dyo cheria kai dyo podia) "Man has two hands and two legs."

Also, as in all verbs, please remember that we use the second person plural for the polite form; this means that έχετε (echete) can either mean "you two or more people" or "you Mr. XYZ!"

In the following table, we have included some examples of the various uses of the verb έχω (echo) in the second and third persons. They are all in the present tense, but we have included examples in all three forms: affirmative, negative, and interrogative.

G reek Romanization "English"

Έχεις καμιά τσίχλα; Echeis kamia tsichla? "Do you have any gum?"

Έχει τίποτα καλό στην Echei tipota kalo stin "Is there anything good on τηλεόραση; tileorasi? TV?"

Έχεις κάποιο πρόβλημα Echeis kapoio provlima "Do you have a problem μαζί μου; mazi mou? with me?"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #15 - EVERYBODY I N GREECE HAS THEM 10 Η δασκάλα έχει πολύ αυστηρό βλέμμα I daskala echei poly austiro "The teacher has a very vlemma stern look."

Δεν έχει καλό καιρό "The weather is not good σήμερα Den echei kalo kairo simera today."

Τ ο εισιτήριο έχει 15 Ευρώ "The ticket costs fifteen To eisitirio echei 15 Euro Euro."

Αυτό το δέντρο έχει μεγάλα κλαδιά Auto to dentro echei "This tree has big branches." megala kladia

Έχεις πολύ χρόνο στη διάθεσή σου Echeis poly chrono sti "You have much time at diathesi sou your disposal."

Έχετε το διαβατήριό Echete to diavatirio sas "Do you have your passport σας μαζί σας; mazi sas? with you?"

Δεν έχετε κήπο; Den echete kipo? "Don't you have a garden?"

Έχετε πολλά μαθήματα για το Σαββατοκύριακο Echete polla mathimata gia "You have much homework to Savatokyriako for the weekend."

Έχουν ένα μεγάλο Echoun ena megalo αυτοκίνητο autokinito "They have a big car."

Τ α σχολεία έχουν Ta scholeia echoun "Schools are closed for the διακοπές diakopes holidays."

Τ α ελληνικά νησιά έχουν ωραίες παραλίες Ta ellinika nisia echoun "Greek islands have oraies paralies beautiful beaches."

Τ ι έχετε να κάνετε "What do you have to do απόψε; Ti echete na kanete apopse tonight?"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #15 - EVERYBODY I N GREECE HAS THEM 11 Έχετε πολύ ωραία "You have very beautiful λουλούδια Κα Echete poly oraia louloudia flowers, Mrs. Παπαδοπούλου Ka. Papadopooulou Papadopoulou."

As we mentioned in the lesson about the negative and interrogative forms of the verb echo, these are created very easily: for the negative form, we add the negative particle δεν (den) before the verb, and for the interrogative form, we use the affirmative form but we raise the pitch of our voice in the accented syllable of the sentence (when we are writing, we just add the question mark ; at the end!) That's why we have included in our table phrases using all three forms; you probably didn't have any difficulty understanding which is which, even without looking at the translation!

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Cinem as in G reece

Greece has followed the Western world in the home theater, computer-as-an-entertainment- center revolution; this mean that cinemas have not been at their best for the last ten years or so (since the year 2000). Until the mid-nineties, most Greek cinemas were single theaters with two hundred to three hundred seats and catering mostly for each neighborhood, but since the Great Multiplex Invasion, almost all neighborhood theaters have closed and now people rush to the malls created around the multiplexes for their cinematic entertainment. One victim to the multiplexes was an institution particular to Greece, the summer cinemas (or θερινά σινεμά (therina sinema): "open-air cinemas" operating from mid-spring till mid- autumn where people could watch a movie while having a snack, a beer, or a cigarette. Most of these cinemas have closed permanently now, but all Greeks of ages thirty and older remember them fondly every year when the weather becomes warmer. The high-tech, air- conditioned rooms of the multiplexes just don't feel the same!

Like we mentioned above, though, even the powerful multiplex cinemas have a hard time competing with home theaters and the Internet. Nowadays, cinema theaters are almost exclusively a teenagers' domain since they provide a rather cheap solution for a night out; most people over twenty will probably opt to stay at home and watch the movie from their DVD instead.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #15 - EVERYBODY I N GREECE HAS THEM 12 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #16 What, No Greek Breakfast?

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 6 Grammar 13 Cultural Insight

# 16

1. Δανάη Φεύγουμε για δουλειά; Παπαδοπούλου:

2. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Δεν τρώμε κάτι πρώτα;

3. Δανάη Όλο το ξεχνάω. Στην Αμερική τρώτε το πρωί. Εδώ δεν τρώμε Παπαδοπούλου: πρωινό!

4. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Καλά, τρώω κάτι αργότερα, στο γραφείο.

5. Δανάη Περίμενε λίγο. Δεν τρώμε πρωινό αλλά καφέ πίνουμε! Παπαδοπούλου:

ROMANIZATION

1. Danái Févgume ya duliá? Papadopúlu:

2. Pétra Górdon: Den tróme káti próta?

3. Danái Ólo to xehnáo. Stin Amerikí tróte to proí. Edó den tróme proinó! Papadopúlu:

4. Pétra Górdon: Kalá, tróo káti argótera, sto grafío.

5. Danái Perímene lígo. Den tróme proinó alá kafé pínume! Papadopúlu:

ENGLISH

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #16 - WHAT, NO GREEK BREAKFAS T? 2 1. Danai Are we leaving for work? Papadopoulou:

2. Petra Gordon: Don't we eat something first?

3. Danai I keep forgetting. In the U.S. you eat in the morning. Here we don't Papadopoulou: eat breakfast!

4. Petra Gordon: OK. I will eat something later, at the office.

5. Danai Wait a little. We don't eat breakfast, but we do drink coffee! Papadopoulou:

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

λίγο lígo a little adverb neuter

καφές kafés coffee noun masculine

ξεχνάω xechnáo to forget verb

Τρώω, τρώτε, troo, trote, den I eat, you eat, δεν τρώμε trome we don't eat verb

φεύγουμε feugome we leave verb

πρώτα prota, próta first adverb

πρωί proi morning noun neutral

πρωινό proino breakfast noun neuter

αργότερα argotera later adverb

περίμενε perímene wait verb

πίνουμε pinoume we drink verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #16 - WHAT, NO GREEK BREAKFAS T? 3 Έχουν αργήσει λίγο. Θέ λω λίγο καφέ. Éhun argísi lígo. Thelo ligo kafe.

"They are a little late." "I want some coffee."

Θέ λω λίγο τυρί. Χιόνισ ε λίγο. Thelo ligo tyri. Chiónise lígo.

"I'd like a little cheese." "It snowed a little."

Δε ν μπορώ να ξεκινήσω την ημέρα Θέ λω λίγο καφέ. μου χωρίς καφέ. Thelo ligo kafe.

Den boró na xekiníso tin iméra mu horís kafé. "I want some coffee." "I can't start my day without coffee."

Να σου φτιάξω καφέ; Πάντα ξεχνάω τα κλειδιά μου. Na sou ftiaxo kafe? Panta ksechnao ta kleidia mou.

"Shall I make you some coffee?" "I'm always forgetting my keys."

Ξέ χασ α να κατέβω στη σωστή Στην Ελλάδα δεν τρώμε πρωινό. σ τάσ η. Stin Ellada den trome proino.

Xéchasa na katévo sti sostí stási. "In Greece we don't eat breakfast." "I forgot to get off at the right stop!"

Φ ε ύγουμε πολύ βιαστικά. Πρώ τα διάβασε το κείμενο και μετά Feugoume poly viastika. απ άντησ ε στις ερωτήσεις.

Próta diávase to kímeno ke metá apándise stis "We are leaving in a hurry." erotísis.

"Read the text first and then answer the questions."

Πρώ τα θα κάνω ένα ντους. Το πρωί πηγαίνω στο γραφείο. Prota tha kano ena ntous. To proi pigaino sto grafeio.

"First I'll take a shower." "In the morning I go to the office."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #16 - WHAT, NO GREEK BREAKFAS T? 4 Στην Ελλάδα δεν τρώμε πρωινό. Θα έρθω αργότερα. Stin Ellada den trome proino. Tha ertho argotera.

"In Greece we don't eat breakfast." "I'll come later."

Πε ρίμε νε μέχρι να τελειώσω. Δε ν πίνουμε οινόπνευμα στο σπίτι. Perimene mechri na teleioso. Den pinoume oinopneuma.

"Wait until I'm finished." "We don't drink alcohol at home."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

In the first sentence of our dialogue (Φεύγουμε για δουλειά;- Feugoume gia douleia? meaning "Are we leaving for work?") and in all vocabulary phrases, we omitted the personal pronouns (εμείς-emeis, meaning "we," and εγώ-ego, meaning "I"). As we have mentioned in previous lessons, this is often the case when the context makes perfectly clear who the persons involved are. This means that in everyday conversation, you will very often hear the verbs without the pronouns, so it is important to remember the conjugation of verbs so you will know which person we are referring to! One detail to keep in mind regarding personal pronouns is that Greeks consider the first person pronoun εγώ (ego) especially strong; remember what it means in English! A speaker using the word ego all the time sounds like too much of a, well, egomaniac, so it is better to avoid using it unless there is no other way to convey your meaning.

In the second sentence of the dialogue, the speaker uses the negative form of the verb τρώμε (trome), meaning "we eat", δεν τρώμε (den trom e), but in the form of a question. This makes the question more polite since it is more a suggestion than an expression of wish, will, or need. In the case of θέλω λίγο καφέ (thelo ligo kafe), meaning "I want some coffee," from the vocabulary sample sentences, we express the wish or need directly.

In one of the vocabulary phrases above (θέλω λίγο καφέ - thelo ligo kafe, meaning "I want some coffee"), we can see a very common idiom of Modern Greece. The adjective λίγος - ligos (masculine), λίγη - ligi (feminine), and λίγο - ligo (neuter) literally means "a little" (as in περίμενε λίγο - perimene ligo, "wait a little" in our dialogue). But in many instances, we use it pretty much the way we use "some" in English (e.g., "I want some coffee," "I could eat some pizza").

In the last phrase of the dialogue (δεν τρώμε πρωινό αλλά καφέ πίνουμε - den trome proino alla kafe pinoume, meaning "We don't eat breakfast, but we do drink coffee") we can see a very common way to add emphasis in a phrase. Instead of saying δεν τρώμε πρωινό αλλά

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #16 - WHAT, NO GREEK BREAKFAS T? 5 πίνουμε καφέ - den trome proino alla pinoume kafe, which would mean "We don't eat breakfast, but we drink coffee," we inverted the order of the words πίνουμε - pinoume ("we drink") and καφέ - kafe ("coffee") so the word kafe is highlighted; when speaking, we add extra emphasis by slightly raising the pitch of the last syllable (ka-FE). It is perfectly acceptable to use the normal word order (δεν τρώμε πρωινό αλλά πίνουμε καφέ - den trome proino alla pinoume kafe), but the inverted order will make your Greek more natural!

The word πρώτα (prota) we use in our dialogue is an adverb (i.e., "firstly"), not an adjective. The adjective meaning "first" is πρώτος (protos), πρώτη (proti), and πρώτο(proto) - masculine, feminine, and neuter, respectively.

We have translated the word περίμενε (perimene) as "wait"; this is the imperative mood of the verb περιμένω (perimeno), meaning "I wait"), not the verb itself!

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is the Present Tense of G reek Verbs. Εδώ δεν τρώμε πρωινό! Edo den trom e proino! "Here, we don' t eat breakfast!"

In this lesson, we will see how the present tense of verbs works in Modern Greek.

The present tense is the most common tense of verbs; it is also the one used in dictionaries, so it is very important to know the present tense of a verb if you want to look it up! The most important thing to remember is that in Modern Greek, there is only one present tense (for grammar buffs, it is called ενεστώτας χρόνος or ενεστώτας χρόνος (enestotas chronos); χρόνος (chronos) meaning "time" (e.g., "I have time to spare") or "year" (e.g., "One year has passed"), but we also use it for verb tenses, and it covers both the English simple present and the present continuous.

This means that when we have the sentence Εγώ τρώω λαχανικά, (Ego troo lachanika), meaning "I eat vegetables," we can't know for sure whether the speaker means he eats vegetables generally or whether he is eating them right now. Luckily, since the Greeks themselves understand the ambiguity of such a statement, they always add some context. For example, you will hear someone saying Γενικά εγώ τρώω λαχανικά (Genika ego troo lachanika), meaning "As a rule, I eat vegetables"; Τώρα εγώ τρώω λαχανικά (Tora ego troo lachanika), meaning "Now, I am eating vegetables"; or Το μεσημέρι εγώ τρώω πάντα λαχανικά (To mesimeri ego troo panta lachanika), meaning "I am always eating vegetables for lunch," so you will know whether the speaker is using the present tense or the present continuous tense.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #16 - WHAT, NO GREEK BREAKFAS T? 6 In all the above sentences, the more natural way would be to not include the personal pronoun, i.e., εγώ (ego), meaning "I"; the reason we have included them is to help you understand that the verb is in the first person. If you are sure that you know which person the verb is in, you can omit the pronoun.

For Example:

1. Εγώ τρώω λαχανικά (Ego troo lachanika) = Troo lachanika

2. Γενικά εγώ τρώω λαχανικά (Genika ego troo lachanika) = Genika troo lachanika

3. Tora ego troo lachanika = Tora troo lachanika

4. Το μεσημέρι εγώ τρώω πάντα λαχανικά (To mesimeri ego troo panta lachanika) = To mesimeri troo panta lachanika

In the tables that follow, we will show the present tense of the verbs we have used in this lesson's dialogue and in the vocabulary sample sentences, in the affirmative, negative, and interrogative forms. The verbs we use are φεύγω (feugo), meaning "to leave"; τρώω (troo), meaning "to eat"; ξεχνάω (ksechnao), meaning "to forget"; περιμένω (perimeno), meaning "to wait"; πίνω (pino), meaning "to drink"; πηγαίνω (pigaino), meaning "to go"; θέλω (thelo), meaning "to want"; and δουλεύω (douleuo), meaning "to work."

Present Tense Affirmative

φεύγω feugo τρώω troo ξεχνάω περιμένω ksechnao πίνω perimeno εγώ ego πηγαίνω pino θέλω "I" δουλεύω pigaino thelo douleuo

φεύγεις feugeis τρως tros ξεχνάς περιμένεις ksechnas πίνεις perimeneis εσύ esy πηγαίνεις pineis θέλεις "you" δουλεύεις pigaineis theleis douleueis

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #16 - WHAT, NO GREEK BREAKFAS T? 7 φεύγει feugei τρώει troei ξεχνάει περιμένει ksechnaei αυτός/αυτή/αυτό πίνει perimenei autos/auti/auto πηγαίνει pinei θέλει "he/she/it" δουλεύει pigainei thelei douleuei

φεύγουμε feugoume τρώμε trome ξεχνάμε περιμένουμε ksechname πίνουμε perimenoume εμείς emeis πηγαίνουμε pinoume θέλουμε "we" δουλεύουμε pigainoume theloume douleuoume

φεύγετε feugete τρώτε trote ξεχνάτε περιμένετε ksechnate πίνετε eseis perimenete εσείς πηγαίνετε "you" pinete θέλετε δουλεύετε pigainete thelete douleuete

φεύγουν feugoun τρώνε trone ξεχνούν περιμένουν ksechnoun πίνουν autoi/autes/auta perimenoun αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά πηγαίνουν "they" (masculine/ pinoun θέλουν δουλεύουν feminine/neuter) pigainoun theloun douleuoun

You might have noticed that there are some similarities in the endings of the verbs above. That is because all verbs in the active voice in the indicative mood (i.e., what is expressed in a statement or a question, affirmative or negative, as a matter of fact) and in the first conjugation

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #16 - WHAT, NO GREEK BREAKFAS T? 8 (such as the ones we have used in our table) always end their first person singular with an unaccented -ω (-o) (the unaccented part is very important because verbs ending in an accented -ω belong to the second conjugation. As you will notice later, though, the ending doesn't always change in the same way for the other persons and for the plural.

In the verbs we have used here, there are two main categories:

1. the ones where the last syllable changes from -ω (- o) and becomes -εις (- eis), -ει (- ei), -ούμε (- oume), -έτε (- ete), and -ουν (- oun). These verbs are φεύγω (feugo), περιμένω (perimeno), πίνω (pino), πηγαίνω (pigaino), θέλω (thelo), and δοωλεύω (douleuo.

1. the ones where the last syllable changes from -ω (-o) and becomes -ς (- s), -ει (- ei), - με (-me), -τε (- te), and -ώνε (- one). These verbs are troo and ksechnao.

If you look very carefully, you will notice what the difference between the first and the second category is: in the first category, there is always a consonant before the final -o, whereas in the second category, there is always a vowel before the final -o. So the rule to remember here is that if the part of the verb before the last syllable is a consonant, you can apply the endings of the first category, and if it is a vowel, you can apply the endings of the second. Remember, this applies for verbs in the present tense, the active voice, the indicative mood, and the first conjugation. We will elaborate more for other verbs, but for the moment, rest assured that this is more than half the verbs you will ever need to learn in Modern Greek!

Note (mostly) for grammar buffs: all verbs have two parts, the stem (i.e., the part that does not change) and the ending (i.e., the part that does change). It might be good to start noticing the stems of verbs since this might help you better understand how these change from one person or tense to the other. Also, keep in mind that in Greek, verbs have two stems: the present stem (i.e., the stem of its present tense) and the aorist stem (i.e., the stem of its simple past). In this lesson, we are focusing on the present tense, so the stem is the present stem.

In the table that follows, we show the stems in the verbs we have used:

Verb Stem Ending

φεύγω -ω φεύγ-

τρώω -ω τρώ-

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #16 - WHAT, NO GREEK BREAKFAS T? 9 ξεχνάω -ω ξεχνά-

περιμένω -ω περιμέν-

πίνω -ω πίν-

πηγαίνω -ω πηγαίν-

θέλω -ω θέλ-

δουλεύω -ω δουλεύ-

Now let's see the same verbs in their negative form:

Present Tense Negative

φεύγω feugo τρώω troo ξεχνάω περιμένω ksechnao πίνω perimeno εγώ δεν ego den πηγαίνω pino θέλω "I do not" δουλεύω pigaino thelo douleuo

φεύγεις feugeis τρως tros ξεχνάς περιμένεις ksechnas πίνεις perimeneis εσύ δεν esy den πηγαίνεις pineis θέλεις "you do not" δουλεύεις pigaineis theleis douleueis

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #16 - WHAT, NO GREEK BREAKFAS T? 10 φεύγει feugei τρώει troei ξεχνάει περιμένει ksechnaei αυτός/αυτή/αυτό πίνει perimenei δεν autos/auti/auto den πηγαίνει pinei θέλει "he/she/it does not" δουλεύει pigainei thelei douleuei

φεύγουμε feugoume τρώμε trome ξεχνάμε περιμένουμε ksechname πίνουμε perimenoume εμείς δεν emeis den πηγαίνουμε pinoume θέλουμε "we do not" δουλεύουμε pigainoume theloume douleuoume

φεύγετε feugete τρώτε trote ξεχνάτε περιμένετε ksechnate πίνετε perimenete εσείς δεν eseis den πηγαίνετε pinete θέλετε "you do not" δουλεύετε pigainete thelete douleuete

φεύγουν feugoun τρώνε trone ξεχνούν περιμένουν autoi/autes/auta ksechnoun αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά πίνουν den perimenoun δεν πηγαίνουν "they do pinoun θέλουν δουλεύουν not" (masculine/ pigainoun feminine/neuter) theloun douleuoun

You probably noticed that the only difference between the affirmative form and the negative form is the addition of the word den between the pronoun and the verb; everything else is exactly the same. So if you learn how to say something in Greek, you just add the word den

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #16 - WHAT, NO GREEK BREAKFAS T? 11 and you learn how to say its opposite! (To be fair, negation isn't always that easy in Modern Greek, but in the case of verbs it is.)

Finally, the interrogative form:

Present Tense Interrogative

φεύγω; feugo? τρώω; troo? ξεχνάω; ksechnao? περιμένω; perimeno? εγώ ego πίνω; pino? "do I" πηγαίνω; pigaino? θέλω; thelo? δουλεύω; douleuo?

φεύγεις; feugeis? τρως; tros? ξεχνάς; ksechnas? περιμένεις; perimeneis? εσύ esy πίνεις; pineis? "do you" πηγαίνεις; pigaineis? θέλεις; theleis? δουλεύεις; douleueis?

φεύγει; feugei? τρώει; troei? ξεχνά; ksechna? περιμένει; perimenei? αυτός/αυτή/αυτό autos/auti/auto πίνει; pinei? "does he/she/it" πηγαίνει; pigainei? θέλει; thelei? δουλεύει; douleuei?

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #16 - WHAT, NO GREEK BREAKFAS T? 12 φεύγουμε; feugoume? τρώμε; trome? ξεχνάμε; ksechname? εμείς περιμένουμε; perimenoume? emeis πίνουμε; pinoume? "do we" πηγαίνουμε; pigainoume? θέλουμε; theloume? δουλεύουμε; douleuoume?

φεύγετε; feugete? τρώτε; trote? ξεχνάτε; ksechnate? περιμένετε; perimenete? εσείς eseis πίνετε; pinete? "do you" πηγαίνετε; pigainete? θέλετε; thelete? δουλεύετε; douleuete?

φεύγουν; feugoun? τρώνε; trone? ξεχνούν; ksechnoun? autoi/autes/auta περιμένουν; perimenoun? αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά "do πίνουν; pinoun? they" (masculine/ πηγαίνουν; pigainoun? feminine/neuter) θέλουν; theloun? δουλεύουν; douleuoun?

The interrogative form is even easier than the negative: the only thing you need to do is add a question mark (when writing) or raise the pitch of your voice in the last syllable (when speaking), and you have a question.

Speaking of raising the pitch, there is an interesting nuance here: we will mention it because it will help your Greek sound more natural, although it might seem a little advanced. Using as an example the question αυτος περιμένει; (autos perimenei?) from the table above, this phrase can have two meanings, depending on where we raise our pitch. If we raise the pitch in autos, it means "He is the one waiting?" while if we raise the pitch in perimenei, it means "Is he waiting?" (or he has left?)

CULTURAL INSIGHT

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #16 - WHAT, NO GREEK BREAKFAS T? 13 Starting the Day in G reece

The Greeks have some habits that might seem peculiar to most Westerners. Notorious among them is the absence of breakfast from the everyday diet of most Greeks. Even in rural areas, where people rise very early and work until dusk, the tendency is to skip breakfast and either eat something at about ten o'clock A.M. or go straight to lunch. Of course, with people staying at the office until well after six o'clock P.M. these days, this has started to change, but still, coming across a Greek family that sits down for a full breakfast is a very rare occasion. Even in the cases where people do eat something for breakfast (instead of just gulping the mandatory coffee), it will at best be some margarine and jam or honey on toast; just the sound of a typical American breakfast with dairy, eggs, meat, etc. sounds terrible to the ears of the majority of Greeks (the rationale is "if I eat all this in the morning, I won't be able to get up from the table and go to work"). Also, and again, contrary to what most Americans consider natural, it is very rare for Greeks to take a shower in the morning; this is usually done in the afternoon when they are back from work. It's worth noting, though that a Western habit that has caught on the last ten years or so is turning on the TV first thing in the morning; this is the reason why nowadays most TV stations start their programming very early and with some of their more popular TV personalities!

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #16 - WHAT, NO GREEK BREAKFAS T? 14 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #17 Weren't You Just in Greece?

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 6 Grammar 12 Cultural Insight

# 17

1. Δήμητρα Τριανταφύλλου: Πέτρα, δεν ήσουν στο σπίτι εχτές;

2. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Στο σπίτι ήμουν. Γιατί;

3. Δήμητρα Τριανταφύλλου: Σε πήρα τηλέφωνο και δεν απαντούσε.

4. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Όλοι στο σπίτι ήμασταν. Περίεργο...

5. Δήμητρα Τριανταφύλλου: Καλά, δεν ήταν κάτι σημαντικό...

ROMANIZATION

1. Dímitra Pétra, den ísun sto spíti ehtés? Triandafílu:

2. Pétra Górdon: Sto spíti ímun. Yatí?

3. Dímitra Se píra tiléfono ke den apandúse. Triandafílu:

4. Pétra Górdon: Óli sto spíti ímastan. Períergo...

5. Dímitra Kalá, den ítan káti simandikó... Triandafílu:

ENGLISH

1. Dimitra Petra, weren't you at home yesterday? Triantafyllou:

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #17 - WEREN'T YOU JUST I N GREECE? 2 2. Petra Gordon: I was at home. Why?

3. Dimitritra I called you but you didn't answer. Triantafyllou:

4. Petra Gordon: We were all at home. Strange...

5. Dimitra Anyway, it wasn't anything important. Triantafyllou:

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class

ήταν itan it was verb

σημαντικό simantiko important adjective

adverb, γιατί giatí why, because subordinating conjunction, pronoun

χτες chtes yesterday adverb

ήσουν isoun you were verb

ήμουν imoun I was verb

απαντούσε apantouse he/she/it answered verb

ήμασταν imastan we were verb

περίεργος períergos strange adjective

καλά kalá well, anyway adjective, adverb

κάτι kati something pronoun

SAMPLE SENTENCES

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #17 - WEREN'T YOU JUST I N GREECE? 3 Η συναυλία ήταν πολύ ωραία. Έχω ένα σημαντικό ραντεβού. I synaulia itan poli oraia. Echo ena simantiko rantevou.

"The concert was very nice." "I have an important date."

Γιατί έκλεισες τον υπολογιστή; Γιατί δεν ήρθε; Giati ekleises ton ypologisti? Giati den irthe?

"Why did you turn off the computer?" "Why didn't he come?"

Γιατί είσαι εδώ; Η φίλη μου θύμωσε μαζί μου, γιατί Giatí eísai edó; ξ έ χασ α να της ευχηθώ χρόνια

π ολλά. "Why are you here?" I fíli moy thýmose mazí moy, giatí xéchasa na tis efchithó chrónia pollá.

"My friend got angry with me because I forgot to wish her a happy birthday."

Έκανε πολλή ζέστη χτες, αλλά Xτές πήγα σινεμά. σ ήμε ρα δεν είναι κι άσχημα. Chtes piga sinema.

Ékane polí zésti htes, alá símera den íne ki áschima. "Yesterday I went to the cinema."

"It was very hot yesterday, but today it's not bad."

Ή σ ουν στην Ελλάδα το καλοκαίρι; Ή μουν μόνος στο σπίτι. Isoun stin Ellada to kalokairi? Imoun monos sto spiti.

"Were you in Greece in the summer?" "I was home alone."

Απ αντούσ ε συνέχεια «ναι». Ή μασ ταν έτοιμοι να φύγουμε όταν Apantouse synecheia “nai”. ήρθε ς.

Imastan etoimoi na fygoume otan irthes. "He always replied, 'Yes.' " "We were ready to leave when you came."

Είδα κάτι περίεργο στην τηλεόραση. Παίζ ε ις περίεργο παιχνίδι. Eida kati periergo stin tileorasi. Paízeis períergo paichnídi.

"I saw something strange on the "You play a strange game." television."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #17 - WEREN'T YOU JUST I N GREECE? 4 Ναι, μιλάω καλά Καλά, θα ξαναπάρω αργότερα. Nai, milao kala Kala, tha ksanaparo argotera.

"Yes, I speak well." "Anyway, I'll call again later."

Είδα κάτι περίεργο στην τηλεόραση. Eida kati periergo stin tileorasi.

"I saw something strange on the television."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Although a very common word, we express "yesterday" in Greek with four different variations of the same word. You can see it as εχθές (echthes), εχτές (echtes), χθες (chthes), or χτες (chtes). They are all equally valid, so you can use whichever one of them that suits you better; the versions with the -e (echthes and echtes) tend to sound a little more formal but only marginally so.

The word περίεργο (periergo) - neuter; the masculine is περίεργος (periergos) and the feminine is περίεργη (periergi) - is an adjective meaning either "curious" or "strange," depending on the circumstances.

For Example:

1. Ήμουν περίεργος να δω τι έχει μέσα το κουτί(Imoun periergos na do ti eiche mesa to kouti) "I was curious to see what was in that box."

2. Έγινε κάτι περίεργο στον δρόμο σήμερα. (Egine kati periergo ston dromo simera.) "Something strange happened on the street today."

You might notice that in our dialogue we have translated "you didn't answer" with δεν απαντούσε (den apantouse), which is the third person of the verb απαντούσα (apantousa), meaning "answered." In Greek, we can either say Σεπήρα αλλά δεν απαντούσες (Se pira alla den apantouses), meaning "I called, but you didn't answer," or Σε πήρα αλλα δεν απαντούσε (Se pira alla den apantouse), meaning "I called, but it didn't answer," and sometimes Σε πηρα αλλα το τηλέφωνο δεν απαντούσε (Se pira alla to tilefono den apantouse), meaning "I called, but the phone didn't answer." As strange as it might sound to English speakers, for the Greek language, a phone can answer (or not) itself!

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #17 - WEREN'T YOU JUST I N GREECE? 5 In Greek, we don't turn off a computer: we "close" it; the verb we use for most electronic appliances is κλείνω (kleino), meaning exactly this: "I close," the same verb we use for when we close a door or a window.

The word καλά (kala) literally means "good" both as an adjective - it's the neuter plural of the adjective καλός (kalos)/καλή (kali)/ καλό (kalo) and as an adverb. We also use this second meaning, as an adjective, to mean "anyway" or "never mind."

For Example:

1. Adjective: Έιναι καλά παιδιά (Einai kala paidia) "They are good kids."

2. Adverb: Πέρασα καλά εχτές (Perasa kala echtes) "I had a good time yesterday."

3. Adverb: Καλά, το συζητάμε μια άλλη φορά (Kala, to syzitame mia alli fora) "Never mind, we'll discuss it some other time."

The French word rendezvous (rendered in Greek as ραντεβού or rantevou) can mean either "a romantic date" or "a meeting" (usually a person-to-person meeting) in a work- related context. Sometimes (but not always) for the second meaning we use the indefinite article ένα (ena), "one"/"a", something usually not done for the first meaning.

For Example:

1. Εχτές είχα ραντεβού με τη Μαρία (Echtes eicha rantevou me ti Maria) "Yesterday, I had a date with Maria."

2. Εχτές είχα ένα ραντεβού με τον διευθυντή τους (Echtes eicha ena rantevou me ton dieythinti tous "Yesterday, I had a meeting with their manager."

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is the Past Tense of the Verb Eim ai, Meaning "To Be." Εχτές ήμουν στο σπίτι Echtes im oun sto spiti "Yesterday, I was at hom e."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #17 - WEREN'T YOU JUST I N GREECE? 6 The Greek language uses three different tenses to deal with something that happened in the past. These are the "past continuous" or "imperfect," παρατατικός (paratatikos), the "simple past" or "aorist," αόριστος (aoristos), and the "past perfect" or "pluperfect," υπερσυντέλικος (ypersyntelikos):

Past continuous (something was happening in the past, was in progress, or was • happening repeatedly)

For Example:

1. Για πέντε χρόνια, πήγαινα στη δουλειά με το αυτοκίνητό μου(Gia pente chronia, pigaina sti douleia me to autokinito mou ) "For five years, I was going to work with my car."

• Simple past (something happened in the past):

For Example:

1. Εχτές πήγα σινεμά (Echtes piga sinema ) "Yesterday, I went to the cinema."

Past perfect (something had been completed before something else, also in the past, • happened):

For Example:

1. Είχα πάει στην Ιταλία πριν έρθω στην Ελλάδα (Eicha paei stin Italia prin ertho stin Ellada ) "I had gone to Italy before I came to Greece."

In this lesson, we will focus on the simple past, the tense that deals with something that happened once in the past.

For Example:

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #17 - WEREN'T YOU JUST I N GREECE? 7 1. Το προηγούμενο Σαββατοκύριακο πήγα στην Πάρο (To proigoumeno Savatokyriako piga stin Paro) "Last weekend, I went to Paros."

2. Εχτές το πρωί αγόρασα ένα καινούριο πουκάμισο(Echtes to proi agorasa ena kainourio poukamiso ) "Yesterday morning, I bought a new shirt."

3. Την Τεταρτη το βράδυ είδαμε το ματς (Tin Tetarti to brady eidame to mats ) "On Wednesday night, we watched the match."

Besides being a very useful tense, the simple past is also useful for one more reason: it helps us recognize the one of the two verb stems used in the Greek language. As we have mentioned before, verbs change to indicate person, number, disposition, mood, and tense. The part that changes is the verb's ending, and the part that remains the same is the verb's stem. All verbs have two stems, the present stem and the aorist stem; the first comes from the verb's simple present and the second from the verb's simple past. So, if we know a verb's simple past, we can distinguish the stem and from that, we can form many more tenses.

Since in this series we started our discussion about verbs from the present tense of the verb είμαι (eimai), meaning "to be," we will continue that way and introduce the simple past tense with the same verb. The simple past tense (and also the past continuous, since some verbs, between them and eimai, don't have a different form for simple past and past continuous) is εγώ ήμουν or εγώ ήμουνα (ego imoun or ego imouna); both types are equally valid, although the type ending in -a sounds a little vulgar to some. The conjugation of the verb is in the table that follows:

(Sim ple) Past Tense of the Verb Eim ai ("To Be")

Singular

Case G reek Romanization "English"

First person εγώ ήμουν(α) ego imoun(a) "I was"

Second person εσύ ήσουν(α) esy isoun(a) "you were"

αυτός/αυτή/αυτό autos/auti/auto itan Third person ήταν(ε) (e) "he/she/it was"

Singular

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #17 - WEREN'T YOU JUST I N GREECE? 8 εμείς ήμασταν First person emeis imastan "we were"

εσείς ήσασταν Second person eseis isastan "you were"

"they αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά autoi/autes/auta itan were" (masculine/ Third person ήταν(ε) (e) feminine/neuter)

In the following table, we have included some examples of the use of this tense:

G reek Romanization "English"

(Εγώ) ήμουν στο σπίτι όταν άρχισε να βρέχει (Ego) imoun sto spiti otan "I was at home when it archise na vrechei started raining."

(Εσύ) ήσουν άρρωστος και δεν ήθελα να σε (Esy) isoun arrostos kai "You were sick, and I didn't ενοχλήσω den ithela na se enochliso want to bother you."

(Αυτός) ήταν πολύ αυστηρός διοικητής (Autos) itan poly austiros "He was a very strict dioikitis commanding officer."

(Αυτή) ήταν πολύ όμορφη (Auti) itan poly omorfi "She was very pretty."

(Αυτό) ήταν ένα πολύ γρήγορο αυτοκίνητο (Auto) itan ena poly grigoro "It was a very fast car." autokinito

(Εμείς) ήμασταν πολύ καλοί φίλοι στο σχολείο (Emeis) imastan poly kaloi "We were very good friends filoi sto scholeio at school."

(Εσείς) ήσασταν διακοπές όταν γύρισα (Eseis) isastan diakopes "You were on vacation otan gyrisa when I returned."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #17 - WEREN'T YOU JUST I N GREECE? 9 (Αυτοί) ήταν πολύ καλοί (Autoi) itan poly kaloi "They were very good παίκτες paiktes players."

(Αυτές) ήταν καλές φωτογραφικές μηχανές (Autes) itan kales "They were good cameras." fotografikes michanes

(Αυτά) ήταν όμορφα "They were beautiful τοπία (Auta) itan omorfa topia landscapes."

In the table, we have put the personal pronouns in brackets because, as we have mentioned in other lessons, it is very common to omit them, both in writing and (especially) in speaking.

Also, as we have mentioned in other lessons, it is very easy to create the negative and interrogative forms of the verb:

For the negative, we put the negative particle δεν (den) between the pronoun and the • verb; if we do not use a pronoun, the particle den goes immediately before the verb.

For the interrogative, we use the affirmative but we either put a question mark at the • end of the sentence (when writing) or we raise the pitch of the accented syllable of the verb.

The tables that follow have the same examples in the negative and the interrogative forms:

Negative form

G reek Romanization "English"

(Εγώ) δεν ήμουν στο σπίτι όταν άρχισε να (Ego) den imoun sto spiti "I was not at home when it βρέχει otan archise na vrechei started raining."

(Εσύ) δεν ήσουν άρρωστος και δεν ήθελα (Esy) den isoun arrostos "You were not sick, and I να σε ενοχλήσω kai den ithela na se didn't want to bother you." enochliso

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #17 - WEREN'T YOU JUST I N GREECE? 10 (Αυτός) δεν ήταν πολύ αυστηρός διοικητής (Autos) den itan poly "He was not a very strict austiros dioikitis commanding officer."

(Αυτή) δεν ήταν πολύ όμορφη (Auti) den itan poly omorfi "She was not very pretty."

(Αυτό) δεν ήταν ένα πολύ γρήγορο (Auto) den itan ena poly αυτοκίνητο "It was not a very fast car." grigoro autokinito

(Εμείς) δεν ήμασταν πολύ καλοί φίλοι στο (Emeis) den imastan poly "We were not very good σχολείο kaloi filoi sto scholeio friends at school."

(Εσείς) δεν ήσασταν διακοπές όταν γύρισα (Eseis) den isastan "You were not on vacation diakopes otan gyrisa when I returned."

(Αυτοί) δεν ήταν πολύ καλοί παίκτες (Autoi) den itan poly kaloi "They were not very good paiktes players."

(Αυτές) δεν ήταν καλές φωτογραφικές μηχανές (Autes) den itan kales "They were not good fotografikes michanes cameras."

(Αυτά) δεν ήταν όμορφα "They were not beautiful τοπία (Auta) den itan omorfa topia landscapes."

Interrogative Form

G reek Romanization "English"

(Εγώ) ήμουν στο σπίτι (Ego) imoun sto spiti otan "Was I at home when it όταν άρχισε να βρέχει; archise na vrechei? started raining?"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #17 - WEREN'T YOU JUST I N GREECE? 11 (Εσύ) ήσουν άρρωστος και δεν ήθελα να σε (Esy) isoun arrostos kai "Were you sick and I didn't ενοχλήσω; den ithela na se enochliso? want to bother you?"

(Αυτός) ήταν πολύ (Autos) itan poly austiros "Was he a very strict αυστηρός διοικητής; dioikitis? commanding officer?"

(Αυτή) ήταν πολύ όμορφη; (Auti) itan poly omorfi? "Was she very pretty?"

(Αυτό) ήταν ένα πολύ (Auto) itan ena poly grigoro γρήγορο αυτοκίνητο; autokinito? "Was it a very fast car?"

(Εμείς) ήμασταν πολύ (Emeis) imastan poly kaloi "Were we very good friends καλοί φίλοι στο σχολείο; filoi sto scholeio? at school?"

(Εσείς) ήσασταν (Eseis) isastan diakopes "Were you on vacation διακοπές όταν γύρισα; otan gyrisa? when I returned?"

(Αυτοί) ήταν πολύ καλοί (Autoi) itan poly kaloi "Were they very good παίκτες; paiktes? players?" (masculine)

(Αυτές) ήταν καλές (Autes) itan kales "Were they good φωτογραφικές μηχανές; fotografikes michanes? cameras?" (feminine)

(Αυτά) ήταν όμορφα "Were they beautiful τοπία; (Auta) itan omorfa topia? landscapes?" (neuter)

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Telephone Etiquette

There is no strict telephone etiquette in Greece; that is, there isn't outside the workplace since most companies these days follow some policies and procedures regarding how to address someone on the phone. For your everyday life in Greece though, the most common way to answer the phone is by saying παρακαλώ (parakalo), meaning "please"; λέγετε (legete), meaning "talk" (imperative, but in the second person plural, i.e. the polite form); ορίστε (orist, literally, "you decree," also in the second person plural/polite form; μάλιστα (malista, literally, "of course"; or simply ναι (nai), meaning "yes." As expected, the nai answer is considered a

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #17 - WEREN'T YOU JUST I N GREECE? 12 little abrupt and/or impolite, so parakalo is a better word to use as a rule. If asking for someone on the phone, the most simple way would be to say Τον κύριο Παπαδόπουλο παρακαλώ, (Ton kurio Papadopoulo parakalo), meaning "Mr. Papadopoulo, please," or, if you are on a first-name basis with the person you are calling, Τον Γιάννη παρακαλώ (Ton Yanni parakalo), meaning "Yanni, please." If asked who's calling "ποιος τον ζητάει"; "poios ton zitaei," literally "who is asking for him", you can say Ο Νίκος (O Nikos), meaning "Nikos," or Λέγομαι Νίκος Παπαδόπουλος (Legomai Nikos Papadopoulos), literally meaning "I'm called Nikos Papadopoulos," or some similar variation. Contrary to what is considered polite in English, most Greeks don't answer the phone stating their names, not even in corporate environments.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #17 - WEREN'T YOU JUST I N GREECE? 13 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #18 Not Even for an E-mail from Your Greek Friend?

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 4 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 6 Grammar 11 Cultural Insight # 18

1. Ευαγγελία Πέτρα, είχες χρόνο να διαβάσεις το email που σου έστειλα; Θωμαΐδη:

2. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Δυστυχώς, δεν είχα καθόλου χρόνο. Είχα πολλή δουλειά με το άλλο πρότζεκτ.

3. Ευαγγελία Α, ναι, σωστά. Είχατε το μίτινγκ εχτές. Πώς πήγε; Θωμαΐδη:

4. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Ναι, πολύ καλά. Η Δανάη είχε μερικές πολύ καλές ιδέες.

ROMANIZATION

1. Evangelía Pétra, íhes hróno na diavásis to emel pu su éstila? Thomaídi:

2. Pétra Górdon: Distihós, den íha kathólu hróno. Íha polí duliá me to álo prójekt.

3. Evangelía A, ne, sostá. Íhate to míting ehtés. Pós píge? Thomaídi:

4. Pétra Górdon: Ne, polí kalá. Ι Danái íhe merikés polí kalés idées.

ENGLISH

1. Evaggelia Petra, did you have time to read the email I sent you? Thomaidis:

2. Petra Gordon: I'm afraid I didn't have any time at all. I had a lot of work with the other project.

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #18 - NOT EVEN FOR AN E-MAI L FROM YOUR GREEK FRI END? 2 3. Evaggelia Oh, yes, right. You had the meeting yesterday. How did it go? Thomaidis:

4. Petra Gordon: Very well. Danai had some very good ideas.

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

διαβάζω diavázo to read verb

άλλο allo other adjective neuter

είχα eicha I had verb

στέλνω stélno to send verb

you had είχες eiches (singular) verb

unfortunately, δυστυχώς dystychos I'm afraid that adverb

at all (as in "not καθόλου katholou at all") adverb

σωστά sostá correct adjective neuter

to go, to match, to take πάω / πηγαίνω páo / piyéno something verb somewhere

είχε eiche he/she/it had verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #18 - NOT EVEN FOR AN E-MAI L FROM YOUR GREEK FRI END? 3 Διαβάζ ω ένα μυθιστόρημα Διαβάζ ω βιβλία κάθε μέρα. επιστημονικής φαντασίας. Diavázo vivlía káthe méra.

Diabazo ena mythistorima epistimonikis fantasias. "I read books every day."

"I'm reading a science fiction novel."

Δοκίμασ ε το άλλο βύσμα. Είχα ένα αυτοκίνητο ακριβώς σαν Dokimase to allo vysma. αυτό.

Eicha ena autokinito akrivos san auto. "Try the other jack." "I had a car exactly like this."

Θα στείλω αυτό το πακέτο αύριο. Στέ λνω πολλά email κάθε μέρα. Tha stílo aftó to pakéto ávrio. Stelno polla email kathe mera.

"I will send this package tomorrow." "I send many e-mails every day."

Έσ τε ιλε ένα email. Θα ήθελα να το στείλω αύριο. Ésteile éna email. Tha íthela na to steílo ávrio.

"She sent an e-mail." "I would like to send this tomorrow."

Είχε ς εργαλεία για να το φτιάξεις; Δυσ τυχώ ς, δεν μπορούσα να πάω. Eiches ergaleia gia na to ftiakseis? Dystychos den mporousa na pao.

"Did you have the tools to fix it?" "Unfortunately, I couldn't go."

Δε με πειράζει καθόλου. Τα υπολόγισα ξανά και ήταν όλα De me peirazei katholou. σ ω σ τά.

Ta ypologisa ksana kai itan ola sosta. "I don't mind at all." "I calculated them again, and they were all correct."

Με ρικέ ς φορές πηγαίνω στο βουνό Ο Θανάσης είχε το CD μου. μόνος μου. O Thanasis eiche to CD mou.

Merikés forés piyéno sto vunó mónos mu. "Thanasis had my CD." "Sometimes I go to the mountain alone."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #18 - NOT EVEN FOR AN E-MAI L FROM YOUR GREEK FRI END? 4 In the phrase Δεν είχα καθόλου χρόνο ( Den eicha katholou chrono), we see a classic example of double negation: the verb is in the negative form - δεν είχα (den eicha), meaning "I didn't have", and it's followed by the quantity adverb καθόλου (katholou), which means "not at all" or "not any."

For Example:

1. Δεν έχουμε καθόλου ψωμί. Then echoume katholou psomi "We don't have any bread."

2. Δεν τον είδα καθόλου. Den ton eida katholou "I didn't see him at all."

Another example of double negation and a very common phrase in everyday Greek conversation is the expression Δε με πειράζει καθόλου (De me peirazei katholou), which means "I don't mind at all." We use double negations such as these very frequently in Modern Greek, so it is good to get familiar with them!

The expression Α, ναι (A, nai), which means "Oh, yes," is very common when the speaker just remembered something or was just reminded something by the other speaker. It is usually followed by some sort of affirmation like Α, ναι, καλά λες (A, nai, kala les), which literally means "Oh, yes what you say is good" or in other words, "you're right," or Α, ναι, έχεις δίκιο (A, nai, echeis dikio), which literally means "Oh yes, you have right" or more colloquially, "you're right."

The word σωστά (sosta) is an adjective meaning "correct" (in the third person plural of the neuter gender; the main form of the adjective is σωστός, σωστή, and σωστό (sostos, sosti, and sosto) for masculine, feminine, and neuter, respectively). Here, we use it as an adverb meaning "correctly" or "you're right"; this is a very common affirmation in everyday Greek, so it is useful to know.

The expression πως πήγε (pos pige) is a literal translation of the English "how did it go," and we use it in pretty much the same way: as an inquiry on the progress of something that happened.

The word μόνος (m onos) is a direct translation of the English adjective and adverb "alone." Μόνος (Monos) in Greek is an adjective μόνος, μόνη, μόνο (monos, moni, mono), but when accompanied by the possessive personal pronoun μου (mou), meaning "my," it functions as a definite pronoun; we can see an example of this in the sample sentence Μερικές φορές πηγαίνω στο βουνό μόνος μου (Merikes fores pigaino sto vouno monos mou), which means

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #18 - NOT EVEN FOR AN E-MAI L FROM YOUR GREEK FRI END? 5 "Sometimes I go to the mountain alone."

The present tense of the verb "to go" has two forms in Modern Greek: Εγώ πάω and Εγώ πηγαίνω (Ego pao and Ego pigaino). Both types are valid, correct, and used extensively, although pigaino is considered slightly more formal.

For Example:

1. Πάω στο σχολείο κάθε μέρα. Pao sto scholeio kathe mera. "I go to school every day."

2. Πηγαίνω στο σχολείο κάθε μέρα. Pigaino sto scholeio kathe mera. "I go to school every day."

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is Eicha, Meaning "I Had, " the Past Tense of the Verb Echo, Meaning "To Have." Είχα πολλή δουλειά Eicha polli douleia "I had a lot of work."

In this lesson, we will look at είχα (eicha), meaning "I had," the past tense of the verb echo, meaning "to have." The past tense of the verb έχω (echo), meaning "to have," is of particular interest not only because it is very useful in everyday Greek but also because we use it as an auxiliary verb to form one more tense, the υπερσυντέλικος (ypersyntelikos), which is the "pluperfect" or "past perfect."

For Example:

1. Είχα φύγει όταν ήρθε. Eicha fygei otan irthe "I had left when he came."

2. Όταν βγήκαμε από το σινεμά, η βροχή είχε σταματήσει. Otan bgikame apo to sinema, I vrochi eiche stamatisei. "When we came out of the cinema, the rain had stopped."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #18 - NOT EVEN FOR AN E-MAI L FROM YOUR GREEK FRI END? 6 The past perfect is outside the scope of this lesson, but it is good to remember that it is one more reason to pay attention to the simple past of έχω (echo).

The full conjugation of είχα (eicha) is:

(Sim ple) Past Tense of the Verb Έχω (Echo), "To Have"

Singular

Person G reek Romanization "English"

Εγώ είχα First person Ego eicha "I had"

Εσύ είχες Second person Esy eiches "you had"

Αυτός/αυτή/αυτό Autos/auti/auto είχε Third person eiche "he/she/it had"

Plural

Εμείς είχαμε First person Emeis eichame "we had"

Εσείς είχατε Second person Eseis eichate "you had"

"they Αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά had" (masculine/ Autoi/autes/auta Third person είχαν feminine/ eichan neuter)

As we have mentioned in previous lessons, we are particularly interested in the simple past αόριστος (aoristos) of the verbs because the simple past's stem (i.e., the part of the verb that doesn't change with person, disposition, number, etc.) is one of the two stems (the other is the stem of the simple present) that we use in the formation of all verb tenses. Most of the changes appear in the verbs' endings, but the two stems remain. In the table that follows, we indicate the simple past stem of the verb είχα (eicha):

Singular

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #18 - NOT EVEN FOR AN E-MAI L FROM YOUR GREEK FRI END? 7 Person G reek Romanization "English"

Εγώ είχ-α First person Ego eich-a "I had"

Εσύ είχ-ες Second person Esy eich-es "you had"

Αυτός/αυτή/αυτό είχ-ε Autos/auti/auto Third person "he/she/it had" eich-e

Singular

Εμείς είχ-αμε First person Emeis eich-ame "we had"

Εσείς είχ-ατε Second person Eseis eichate "you had"

"they Αυτοί/αυτές/ had" (masculine/ Autoi/autes/auta Third person αυτά είχ-αν feminine/ eich-an neuter)

As with all verbs, we create the negative form of eichawith the addition of the negative particle δεν (den) between the pronoun and the verb:

(Sim ple) Past Tense of the Verb Έχω (Echo), "To Have": Negative

Singular

Case G reek Romanization "English"

Εγώ δεν είχα First person Ego den eicha "I had not"

Εσύ δεν είχες Second person Esy den eiches "you had not"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #18 - NOT EVEN FOR AN E-MAI L FROM YOUR GREEK FRI END? 8 Αυτός/αυτή/αυτό Third person δεν είχε Autos/auti/auto den "he/she/it had not" eiche

Plural

Εμείς δεν είχαμε First person Emeis den eichame "we had not "

Εσείς δεν είχατε Second person Eseis den eichate "you had not"

"they had Αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά not" (masculine/ Autoi/autes/auta Third person δεν είχαν feminine/ den eichan neuter)

Finally, we form the interrogative by adding a question mark after the affirmative (when speaking, we raise the pitch of the accented syllable; i.e., είχα (eicha) becomes ΕΙχα (EIcha).

(Sim ple) Past Tense of the Verb Έχω (Echo), "To Have": Interrogative

Singular

Person G reek Romanization "English"

First person Εγώ είχα; Ego eicha; "Had I?"

Second person Εσύ είχες; Esy eiches; "Had you?"

Αυτός/αυτή/αυτό Autos/auti/auto Third person είχε; eiche; "Had he/she/it?"

Plural

First person Εμείς είχαμε; Emeis eichame; "Had we?"

Second person Εσείς είχατε; Eseis eichate; "Had you?"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #18 - NOT EVEN FOR AN E-MAI L FROM YOUR GREEK FRI END? 9 "Had they?" (masculine/ Third person Αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά Autoi/autes/auta feminine/ είχαν; eichan; neuter)

We will close this lesson with some more examples of the simple past of έχω, είχα (echo, eicha), in action. In the following table, we have included phrases from all three forms (affirmative, negative, and interrogative).

G reek Romanization "English"

Είχα πολύ καιρό να πάω για μπάνιο Eicha poly kairo na pao gia "It's been a long time since mpanio I went for a swim."

Δεν είχες άλλο Den eiches allo "Didn't you have another πουκάμισο; poukamiso? shirt?"

Ο δάσκαλος είχε πολύ καλή διάθεση O daskalos eiche poly kali "The teacher was in a very diathesi good mood."

Η υπάλληλος είχε πολύ καλό τρόπο I ypallilos eiche poly kalo "The clerk had very good tropo manners."

Τ ο παιδί δεν είχε δικό του δωμάτιο To paidi den eiche diko tou "The child didn't have its domatio own room."

Εμείς είχαμε την ευθύνη να τον Emeis eichame tin eythini "We had the responsibility προειδοποιήσουμε na ton proeidpoiisoume to warn him."

Είχατε δικό σας "Did you have your own αυτοκίνητο; Eichate diko sas autokinito? car?"

Οι τοίχοι είχαν πολλά Oi toichoi eichan polla "The walls had many χρώματα chromate colors."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #18 - NOT EVEN FOR AN E-MAI L FROM YOUR GREEK FRI END? 10 Οι καρέκλες δεν είχαν αναπαυτικά μαξιλάρια Oi karekles den eichan "The chairs didn't have anapautika maksilaria comfortable pillows."

Τ α ράφια είχαν πολλά "The shelves had many βιβλία Ta raffia eichan polla vivlia books."

CULTURAL INSIGHT

E- m ails, SMS, and Social Networks

As we have mentioned in a previous lesson, more than half of Greece's population is online; this means that e-mail use has become commonplace for most people under forty-five, especially in a workplace or corporate environment. Still, e-mailing is at best second behind SMS, that is, text messaging through cellular phones. Most Greek cellular phones don't have an Internet connection (the technology is there, but the cost is still extremely high), so messaging is done almost completely through texting. Greeks call text messages SMSs, and wherever you go in Greece you will see people (and especially young people) texting like crazy!

One more thing that has caught on enormously in Greece is social networks and especially Facebook; even people who have never used the Internet before Facebook have now their page there, boast about their circle of friends, and upload hundreds of pictures. Such is the extent of Facebook use that there have already been cases of employees being fired because they were spending most of their working hours on Facebook, and there are many companies that have blocked the use of the particular website, as well as Twitter, another very popular service in Greece. For a country that came late into the high-tech world, Greece is certainly catching up very quickly!

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #18 - NOT EVEN FOR AN E-MAI L FROM YOUR GREEK FRI END? 11 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #19 This Greek Place Is Really Old...

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 4 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 6 Grammar 14 Cultural Insight

# 19

1. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Την προηγούμενη φορά που ήμουν στην Ελλάδα, δεν ανέβηκα στην Ακρόπολη.

2. Δανάη Πήγες όμως στο Ηρώδειο. Παπαδοπούλου:

3. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Ναι, είχε μια συναυλία κλασσικής μουσικής. Ήταν πολύ ωραία.

4. Δανάη Πέρασε πολύς καιρός από τότε... Παπαδοπούλου:

ROMANIZATION

1. Pétra Górdon: Tin proigúmeni forá pu ímun stin Eláda, den anévika stin Akrópoli.

2. Danái Píges ómos sto Ιródio. Papadopúlu:

3. Pétra Górdon: Ne, íhe mia sinavlía klasikís musikís. Ítan polí oréa.

4. Danái Pérase polís kerós apó tóte... Papadopúlu:

ENGLISH

1. Petra Gordon: The last time I was in Greece, I didn't climb up the Acropolis.

2. Danai But you did go to the Irodeio. Papadopoulou:

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #19 - THIS GREEK PLACE I S REALLY OLD... 2 3. Petra Gordon: Yes, there was a classical music concert. It was very beautiful.

4. Danai A long time has passed since then... Papadopoulou:

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

καιρός kairos time noun masculine

Ακρόπολη Akropoli Acropolis noun feminine

συναυλία synavlía concert, show noun feminine

πήγες piges you went verb

ανέβηκα anevika I climbed verb

προηγούμενη proigoumeni previous adjective feminine

φορά fora time (iteration) noun feminine

Odeon of Herodes Ηρώδειο(ν) Irodeio(n) Atticus, near the noun neuter Acropolis

μουσική musikí music noun feminine

nice, fine, ωραία oraia beautiful adjective feminine

πέρασε perase passed verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #19 - THIS GREEK PLACE I S REALLY OLD... 3 Ο καιρός περνάει γρήγορα. Η Ακρόπολη είναι το σήμα O kairos pernaei grigora. κατατε θέ ν της Αθήνας.

I Akropoli einai to sima katatethen tis Athinas. "Time flies." "The Acropolis is the trademark of Athens."

Υπ άρχουν εισιτήρια για τη συναυλία; Η χθεσινή συναυλία με μάγεψε. Yparchoun eisitiria gia ti synaulia? I chthesiní synavlía me mágepse.

"Are there tickets for the concert?" "Yesterday's concert bewitched me."

Πήγε ς στο μαγαζί που σου είπα; Ανέ βηκα στη σοφίτα για να το ψάξω. Piges sto magazi pou sou eipa? Anevika sti sofita gia na to psakso.

"Did you go to the shop I told you about?" "I went up to the attic to look for it."

Την προηγούμενη εβδομάδα πήγα Διάβασ έ το άλλη μια φορά. σ τη Θεσσαλονίκη. Diavase to alli mia fora.

Tin proigoumeni evdomada piga sti Thessaloniki. "Read it one more time."

"Last week, I went to Thessaloniki."

Έπ αιζ α μουσική κάθε ημέρα όταν Τι μουσική του αρέσει; σ π ούδαζ α στο ωδείο. Ti musikí tu arési?

Épaiza moysikí káthe iméra ótan spoýdaza sto odeío. "What kind of music does he like?"

"I played music every day when I studied at the conservatory."

Η κλασική μουσική δεν αρέσει σε Είναι ωραία εδώ όλους. Einai oraia edo

I klasikí musikí den arési se ólus. "It’s fine here." "Not everybody likes classic music."

Το σαμπουάν είχε ωραία μυρωδιά. Το λεωφορείο πέρασε πριν από 5 To sampoyán eíche oréa myrodiá. λε π τά.

To leoforeio perase prin apo 5 lepta. "The shampoo smelled nice." "The bus passed five minutes ago."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #19 - THIS GREEK PLACE I S REALLY OLD... 4 In the first two lines of our dialogue, the main character says Τ ην προηγούμενη φορά που ήμουν στην Ελλάδα δεν ανέβηκα στην Ακρόπολη (Tin proigoumeni fora pou im oun sthn Ellada, den anevika stin Akropoli), which means "The previous time I was in Greece, I didn't climb up the Acropolis," and the other character replies Πήγες όμως στο Ηρώδειο (Piges omos sto Irodeio), which means "But you did go to Irodeion." This second sentence doesn't sound complete and indeed, it isn't; we wouldn't use it as a standalone phrase. The problem is the word όμως (omos), which is similar to the English "but" or "though," and we use it in cases where we want to compare two situations: "A didn't happen but B did" or "A didn't happen. B did, though."

In our dialogue, the second character completes the main character's phrase "I didn't climb up the Acropolis, but I did go to the Irodeion." This type of dialogue is very common in Modern Greek and it feels very natural, although we wouldn't recommend it if you are in a formal setting; in those cases, it would be better to use the whole sentence (if you were in the second person's position, that is): Δεν ανεβήκατε στην Ακρόπολη, πήγατε όμως στο Ηρώδειο (Den anebikate stin Akropoli, pigate omos sto Irodeio), meaning "You didn't climb up the Acropolis, but you did go to the Irodeion." Notice that here, since it is more formal, we use the second person plural ανεβήκατε, πήγατε (anebikate, pigate) instead of the second person singular ανέβηκες, πήγες (anebikes, piges).

Another point to notice is the use of the word καιρός (kairos). Literally, the word means "weather," as in ο καιρός είναι καλός σήμερα (o kairos einai kalos sim era), which means "The weather is good today." However, in everyday Greek, we use the same word to express an unspecified period of time, usually a long one; that's the reason we use it together with the adjective πολύς (polys), meaning "much" or in this case "long." Since we sometimes translate the word καιρός (kairos) as "time," this can confuse English speakers.

Continuing from the above, we also translate the English word "time" as φορά (fora) in Greek. This use is exclusively used in the sense of "first time," "second time," etc.: that is, for occurrences of the same event. So we will translate the expression Πρώτη φορά ανεβαίνω στην Ακρόπολη (Proti fora anevaino stin Akropoli) as "It's the first time I climb up the Acropolis."

One more point from the dialogue: we almost always use the verb ανεβαίνω (anevaino), meaning "to climb up" or literally "go up," when we talk about going to the Acropolis (since it is up a hill), and we usually use the verb κατεβαίνω (katevaino), meaning "to go down" or "to descend," when we talk about going to the center of Athens (you can relate it to "downtown"). Even people living in the southern part of the Athens area - were ανεβαίνω (anevaino) would make more topographical sense - usually say κατεβαίνω στο κέντρο (katevaino sto kentro), literally, "I go down to the center".

And since we are talking about the Acropolis, one technical detail: the famous building itself is called "Parthenon"; the word "Acropolis" (literally, "the far end of the city") means the hill where

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #19 - THIS GREEK PLACE I S REALLY OLD... 5 the Parthenon and many other ruins still stand. But, for most Greeks, the word Ακρόπολις (Acropolis) or in everyday conversation Ακρόπολη (Acropoli), also means the Parthenon as well; you will often hear Greeks saying τράβηξα φωτογραφία την Ακρόπολη (trabiksa fotografia tin Akropoli), which means "I took a picture of Acropolis," when they actually mean they took a picture of the Parthenon.

In one of our example sentences, we have used the word βραδιά (vradia), and we have translated it as "night," which isn't one hundred percent correct. The correct word for "night" is νύχτα (nychta), and the correct word for "evening" is βράδυ (vrady). The word βραδιά (vradia) is a semi-poetic word for βράδυ (vrady), which we use quite extensively in Modern Greek whenever we refer to the time after nightfall, especially in expressions where we express an opinion about the evening/night.

For Example:

1. Η βραδιά εξελίχθηκε σε πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα. I vradia ekselixthike se poly endiaferousa . "The evening turned out to be very interesting."

2. Απολαμβάνω τις καλοκαιρινές βραδιές στη βεράντα μου. Apolamvano tis kalokairines vradies sti veranta mou. "I enjoy the summer nights on my veranda."

3. Δύσκολη βραδιά η σημερινή. Dyskoli vradia i simerini . "Tonight was a hard night."

One more idiom about the word βραδιά (vradia): sometimes we use it when referring to an event that took place after nightfall.

For Example:

1. Την Κυριακή έχει βραδιά κλασικής μουσικής στο Ηρώδειο. Tin Kyriaki echei vradia klasikis mousikis sto Irodeio "On Sunday, there is a 'classical music night' in Irodeio."

2. Οργάνωσε μια βραδιά αφιερωμένη στην Ελλάδα. Organose mia vradia afieromeni stin Ellada "He organized a 'Greek night' event."

GRAMMAR

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #19 - THIS GREEK PLACE I S REALLY OLD... 6 The Focus of This Lesson Is the Past Tense of Com m on G reek Verbs. Δεν ανέβηκα στην Ακρόπολη Den anevika stin Akropoli "I didn' t clim b up the Acropolis."

In this lesson, we will learn how to form the past tense of some common Greek verbs. After discussing the simple past (or "aorist," which in Greek is αόριστος or aoristos) of the basic verbs eimai, meaning "to be," and echo, meaning "to have," which are ήμουν (imoun) and είχα (eicha), respectively, it would be only natural to look at the same simple past tense of some more verbs. We remind you here that the simple past is the tense we use to describe something that happened in the past (i.e., before the time we are speaking) and it is over at the time we are speaking.

For Example:

1. Έφαγα την πίτσα. Efaga tin pitsa "I ate the pizza (and now it's over)."

2. Διάβασα το περιοδικό. Diavasa to periodiko "I read the magazine (but I'm not reading it now)."

3. Πήγα στην Ελλάδα. Piga stin Ellada "I went to Greece (but now I'm not there)."

Since until now we have discussed only verbs belonging to the first conjugation (i.e., ending in an unaccented -ω), we will continue the same way for this lesson too. All the verbs that we use as examples below belong to this conjugation (which is just grammar speak for "category"), they are in the active voice, they are either transitive or intransitive (since this doesn't really affect the way their simple past is formed, not to mention this classification isn't very rigid in Greek!), and they are also in the indicative mood; this means that what the verb expresses is presented as a statement or question, affirmative or negative, as a matter of fact.

In the tables that follow, we will show how some of the verbs we have used in our dialogue and our vocabulary sample sentences (and some extra that are related to them) form their simple past. You can find some more information about how we conjugate the simple present in previous lessons. If you haven't downloaded them yet, this is a good time!

The verbs are:

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #19 - THIS GREEK PLACE I S REALLY OLD... 7 G reek Romanization "English"

ανεβαίνω anevaino "to climb up," "to ascend"

πηγαίνω pigaino "to go"

περνάω pernao "to pass"

κατεβαίνω "to climb down," "to katevaino descend"

ακούω akouo "to hear" (or "to listen")

φεύγω feugo "to leave"

τρώω troo "to eat"

αφήνω afino "to let"

διαβάζω diabazo "to read"

ανοίγω anoigo "to open"

κλείνω kleino "to close"

σβήνω svino "to switch off"

And their past tense is:

Εγώ ανεβαίνω/anevaino ανέβηκα/anevika ("I")

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #19 - THIS GREEK PLACE I S REALLY OLD... 8 Εγώ πηγαίνω/pigaino πήγα/piga ("I")

περνάω/pernao πέρασα/perasa

κατεβαίνω/katevaino κατέβηκα/katevika

ακούω/akouo άκουσα/akousa

φεύγω/feugo έφυγα/efyga

τρώω/troo έφαγα/efaga

αφήνω/afino άφησα/afisa

διαβάζω/diabazo διάβασα/diabasa

ανοίγω/anoigo άνοιξα /amoiksa

κλείνω/kleino έκλεισα/ekleisa

σβήνω/svino έσβησα/esvisa

εσύ ανεβαίνεις/anevaineis ανέβηκες/anevikes ("you")

εσύ Πηγαίνεις/pigaineis Πήγες /piges ("you")

περνάς/pernas πέρασες/perases

κατεβαίνεις/katevaineis κατέβηκες/katevikes

ακούς/akous άκουσες/akouses

φεύγεις/feugeis έφυγες/efyges

τρως/tros έφαγες/efages

αφήνεις/afineis άφησες/afises

διαβάζεις/diabazeis διάβασες/diabases

ανοίγεις/anoigeis άνοιξες/amoikses

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #19 - THIS GREEK PLACE I S REALLY OLD... 9 κλείνεις/kleineis έκλεισες/ekleises

σβήνεις/svineis έσβησες/esvises

αυτός/αυτή/αυτό ("he"/"she"/"it") ανεβαίνει/anevainei ανέβηκε/anevike

αυτός/αυτή/αυτό ("he"/"she"/"it") πηγαίνει/pigainei πήγε /pige

περνάει/pernaei πέρασε/perase

κατεβαίνει/katevainei κατέβηκε/katevike

ακούει/akouei άκουσε/akouse

φεύγει/feugei έφυγε/efyge

τρώει/troei έφαγε/efage

αφήνει/afinei άφησε/afise

διαβάζει/diabazei διάβασε/diabase

ανοίγει/anoigei άνοιξε /amoikse

κλείνει/kleinei έκλεισε/ekleise

σβήνει/svinei έσβησε/asvise

εμείς ανεβαίνουμε/anevainoume ανεβήκαμε/anevikame ("we")

εμείς πηγαίνουμε/pigainoume πήγαμε/pigame ("we")

περνάμε/pername περάσαμε /perasame

κατεβαίνουμε/katevainoume κατεβήκαμε/katevikame

ακούμε/akoume ακούσαμε/akousame

φεύγουμε/feugoume φύγαμε/fygame

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #19 - THIS GREEK PLACE I S REALLY OLD... 10 τρώμε/trome φάγαμε/fagame

αφήνουμε/afinoume αφήσαμε/afisame

διαβάζουμε/diabazoume διαβάσαμε /diabasame

ανοίγουμε/anoigoume ανοίξαμε/anoiksame

κλείνουμε/kleinoume κλείσαμε/kleisame

σβήνουμε/svinoume σβήσαμε/svisame

εσείς ανεβαίνετε/anevainete ανεβήκατε/anevikate ("you")

εσείς πηγαίνετε/pigainete πήγατε/pigate ("you")

περνάτε/pernate περάσατε/perasate

κατεβαίνετε/katevainete κατεβήκατε/katevikate

Ακούτε/akoute Ακούσατε/akousate

Φεύγετε/feugete Φύγατε/fygate

Τρώτε/trote Φάγατε/fagate

Αφήνετε/afinete Αφήσατε/afisate

Διαβάζετε/diabazete Διαβάσατε/diabasate

Ανοίγετε/anoigete Ανοίξατε/anoiksate

Κλείνετε/kleinete Κλείσατε/kleisate

Σβήνετε/svinete Σβήσατε/svisate

αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά ("they," masculine, Ανεβαίνουν/anevainoun Ανέβηκαν/anevikan feminine, neuter)

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #19 - THIS GREEK PLACE I S REALLY OLD... 11 αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά ("they," masculine, Πηγαίνουν/pigainoun Πήγαν/pigan feminine, neuter)

Περνούν/pernoun Πέρασαν/perasan

Κατεβαίνουν/katevainoun Κατέβηκαν/katevikan

Ακούν/akoun Άκουσαν/akousan

Φεύγουν/feugoun Έφυγαν/efygan

Τρώνε/trone Έφαγαν/efagan

Αφήνουν/afinoun Άφησαν/afisan

Διαβάζουν/diabazoun Διάβασαν/diavasan

Ανοίγουν/anoigoun Άνοιξαν/amoiksan

Κλείνουν/kleinoun Έκλεισαν/ekleisan

Σβήνουν/svinoun Έσβησαν/esvisian

From this table, we can see that even among the verbs of the first conjugation, the past tense can be quite different, depending on the last syllable and the letters preceding it:

In some cases i.e., the verbs ανεβαίνω (anevaino), κατεβαίνω (katevaino), and • πηγαίνω (pigaino), things are pretty much normal: we removed the last syllable -αίνω (-aino) and in its place we have -ήκα (-ika), -ήκες (-ikes), -ήκε (-ike), -ήκαμε (- ikame), -ήκατε (-ikate), and -ήκαν (-ikan).

In some other cases, i.e. the verbs ακούω (akouo), διαβάζω (diabazo) and αφήνω • (afino), the last syllable is again the one to go, i.e. -ω (-o), -ζω (-zo), and -νω (-no), respectively and in their place we have -σα (-sa), -σες (-ses), -σε (-se), -σαμε (- same), -σατε (-sate), and -σαν (-san).

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #19 - THIS GREEK PLACE I S REALLY OLD... 12 Things get trickier with the verb περνάω (pernao): in its case, the two last syllables - • νάω (-nao) are the ones to be replaced, and in their place we have -ασα (-asa), - ασες (-ases), -ασε (-ase), -άσαμε (-asame), -άσατε (-asate), and -ασαν (-asan).

In the case of ανοίγω (anoigo), we replaced the final γω (-go) with -ξα (-ksa), -ξες (- • kses), -ξε (-kse), -ξαμε (-ksame), -ξατε (-ksate), and -ξαν (-ksan).

Κλείνω (Kleino) and σβήνω (svino) have two similarities: first, they both drop the final • νω (-no), which becomes -σα (-sa), -σες (-ses), -σε (-se), -σαμε (-same), -σατε (- sate), and -σαν (-san). But they also get an -ε (-e) in their beginning έ-κλει-σα, έ- σβη-σα (e-klei-sa, e-svi-sa); we call this an augment, and it has to do with the verb starting with a consonant. In older Greek (i.e., up until the late sixties), all verbs starting with a consonant had this -ε (-e) augment in their past tense; unfortunately, over the last fifty years, everyday use of the language has "simplified" things, which means that some verbs still have it and some do not. The problem is that there is no rule specifying which are which, so the only way to learn is on a case-by-case basis. Grammatically, it is not wrong to use the augment in all verbs starting with a consonant, but this would make you too old-fashioned in today's Greek society!

Finally, we have φεύγω (feugo) and τρώω (troo). Since these also start with a • consonant, they get the augment, so up until that point we are OK. Things get a little more complicated because after the initial -e, they change almost completely, so it would be better to not try to remember some rule of change but to learn them by heart. Luckily, they are very common verbs, so it won't be long before you learn their conjugation. We include one more table here with just the two of them for a more direct reference.

έφυγα/efyga έφαγα/efaga

έφυγες/efyges έφαγες/efages

έφυγε/efuyge έφαγε/efage

φύγαμε/fygame φάγαμε/fagame

φύγατε/fygate φάγατε/fagate

έφυγαν/efygan έφαγαν/efagan

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #19 - THIS GREEK PLACE I S REALLY OLD... 13 Two final notes: the first is about the negative and interrogative forms. As we have mentioned in previous lessons, we create the negative form by adding the word den between the pronoun and the verb in the affirmative form, and we create the interrogative form by adding a question mark (when writing) or raising the pitch of our voice in the accented syllable (when speaking).

The second note is that in most cases, when we speak in the past tense, the accent of the verb goes back one syllable; this is a rule with many exceptions, so we will not go any further for now, but remember that if you keep it in mind, you will be right in most occasions!

CULTURAL INSIGHT

The Acropolis and What It Means to G reeks

Even people who haven't even been to Europe know the Acropolis, the symbol of the city of Athens and of the ancient Greek civilization; for some, the 2,500-year-old structure on the hill in the center of the city has come to stand for the country itself. And indeed, it is very hard to think otherwise if you visit it and see from up close its architectural and artistic details, and it becomes more amazing if you consider the means those people had at their disposal.

The relationship between the Acropolis and the citizens of Athens is a paradox, though: on one hand, everybody is proud of the site and of what it stands for, and on the other hand, most people wouldn't be able to tell you with certainty when it was built, who built it, or what the difference is between the main temple (the Parthenon) and the smaller ones (Erechtheion, Temple of Athena, Nike, etc.). There are remains of eleven buildings on the grounds, not to mention six to seven more a little down the hill). Still, there is one thing that almost all Greeks agree on: that the parts of the Parthenon's frieze that are in the British Museum must return to Greece and take their place next to the parts still there, either on the hill or in the impressive New Acropolis Museum. The chances of this actually happening are very slim, but most Greeks hope it will...

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #19 - THIS GREEK PLACE I S REALLY OLD... 14 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #20 The Greek Kids Are All Right

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 9 Grammar 12 Cultural Insight

# 20

1. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Κρίμα που τα παιδιά σας δεν μπόρεσαν να έρθουν.

2. Κωσταντίνα Παπαδοπούλου: Ε, ο μικρός γιος της Δανάης και η κόρη της μελετάνε για τις εξετάσεις τους και ο μεγάλος της γιος είχε να κάνει κάτι δουλειές.

3. Δανάη «Δουλειές»! Απλώς ήθελε να μείνει στο σπίτι! Παπαδοπούλου:

4. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Είναι καλό πάντως που όλα τα παιδιά είναι στο σπίτι, δεν είναι;

5. Κωσταντίνα Παπαδοπούλου: Από τη μία, είναι καλό για τα παιδιά και για μας. Από την άλλη, δεν είναι καλό για το σπίτι και τους γείτονες...

ROMANIZATION

1. Pétra Górdon: Kríma pu ta pediá sas den bóresan na érthun.

2. Kostandína E, o mikrós yos tis Danáis ke i kóri tis meletáne ya tis exetásis tus Papadopúlu: ke o megálos tis yos íhe na káni káti duliés.

3. Danái ""Duliés""! Aplós íthele na míni sto spíti! Papadopúlu:

4. Pétra Górdon: Íne kaló pándos pu óla ta pediá íne sto spíti, den íne?

5. Kostandína Apó ti mía, íne kaló ya ta pediá ke ya mas. Apó tin áli, den íne kaló Papadopúlu: ya to spíti ke tus yítones...

ENGLISH

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #20 - THE GREEK KIDS ARE ALL RI GHT 2 1. Petra Gordon: It's a shame that your kids couldn't come.

2. Kostantina Well, Danai's young son and daughter had to study for their exams, Papadopoulou: and her older son had some errands to run.

3. Danai "Errands to run!" He just wanted to stay at home! Papadopoulou:

4. Petra Gordon: It's good, though, that all the kids are at home, isn't it?

5. Kostantina On the one hand, it's good for the kids and for us. On the other Papadopoulou: hand, it's not good for the house and the neighbors...

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

μελετάω meletáo to study verb

μένω méno to stay verb

εξετάσεις exetásis examinations noun feminine

érchomai, έρχομαι érhome to come verb

κρίμα kríma pity, shame noun neuter

helping verb δεν μπόρεσα den mporesa I couldn't +adverb

κάνω káno to do verb

καλό kalo good adjective neuter

γείτονας geitonas neighbor noun masculine

SAMPLE SENTENCES

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #20 - THE GREEK KIDS ARE ALL RI GHT 3 Κάθε μέρα μελετάω δύο ώρες. Τα πρωινά μελετάω πιάνο. Káthe méra meletáo dío óres. Ta proina meletao piano.

"Every day I study for two hours." "In the mornings I study the piano."

Οι μαθητές του λυκείου μελετάνε Ή θε λα να μείνω σε ένα ωραίο σ τη βιβλιοθήκη. ξ ε νοδοχε ίο, αλλά δεν είχα λεφτά. Oi mathités toy lykeíoy meletáne sti vivliothíki. Íthela na míno se éna oréo xenodohío, alá den íha leftá. "The high school students study in the library." "I wanted to stay at a nice hotel, but I had no money."

Ποτέ δεν μένει για πολύ καιρό στο Τα βράδια μένω στο σπίτι. ίδιο μέρος. Ta bradia meno sto spiti.

Poté den méni ya polí keró sto ídio méros. "I stay at home in the evenings." "She never stays long at the same place."

Πού μένουν οι γονείς σας; Προσευχήσου να τα πάω καλά στις Poy ménoun oi goneís sas; ε ξ ε τάσ ε ις!

Prosefhísu na ta páo kalá stis exetásis! "Where do your parents live?" "Pray that I do well in the examinations!"

Πε ριμέ νω να έρθει το ταχυδρομείο. Το ξέρω ότι δεν θέλεις να έρθω στο Periméno na érthi to tahidromío. π άρτι.

To xéro óti den thélis na értho sto párti. "I am waiting for the post to come." "I know you don't want me to come to the party."

Θα ήθελα να έρθω ξανά αύριο, αν Έρχομαι στο γραφείο με τα πόδια. ε ίναι δυνατόν. Erchomai sto grafeio me ta podia.

Tha íthela na értho xaná ávrio, an íne dinatón. "I walk to the office." "I would like to come again tomorrow, if possible."

Τι κρίμα που δεν έρχεται! Οι πατάτες έρχονται από το Περού.

Ti kríma pu den érhete! "Potatoes come from Peru." "It's a pity that she's not coming."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #20 - THE GREEK KIDS ARE ALL RI GHT 4 Ο τυφώνας έρχεται από τη θάλασσα. Αύριο στις εφτά μπορώ να περάσω O tyfónas érhetai apó ti thálassa. να σε πάρω.

Ávrio stis eftá boró na peráso na se páro. "The hurricane is blowing in from the sea." "I can come and pick you up tomorrow at seven."

Κρίμα που έχασες τη συναυλία! Αυτό το καλοκαίρι δεν μπόρεσα να Kríma pu éhases ti sinavlía! π άω διακοπές.

Auto to kalokairi den mporesa na pao diakopes. "It's a shame that you missed the concert." "This summer I couldn't take a vacation."

Δε ν ξέρω τι να κάνω. Κάνω ό,τι μπορώ. Den xéro ti na káno. Kano o,ti mporo.

"I don't know what to do." "I do what I can."

Μου αρέσει να κάνω μπάνιο στην Είναι πολύ καλό παιδί. θάλασ σ α. Einai poly kalo paidi.

Moy arései na káno bánio stin thálassa. "He's a very good kid." "I like bathing in the sea."

Ο γείτονάς μου είναι γιατρός. O geitonas mou einai giatros.

"My neighbor is a doctor."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

In the first phrase of our dialogue, the verb δεν μπόρεσαν (den m poresan) is the simple past tense of the verb εγώ δεν μπορώ (ego den mporo) meaning "I cannot."

For Example:

1. Δεν μπορώ να πάω για μπάνιο; Den mporo na pao gia mpanio? "Can't I go for a swim?"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #20 - THE GREEK KIDS ARE ALL RI GHT 5 2. Δεν μπορείς να τον βοηθήσεις; Den mporeis na ton voithiseis?

3. "Can't you help him?"

4. Δεν μπόρεσες να πας για μπάνιο; Den mporeses na pas gia mpanio?

5. "Couldn't you go for a swim?"

6. Δεν μπόρεσες να τον βοηθήσεις; Den mporeses na ton voithiseis? "Couldn't you help him?"

The second phrase starts with the exclamation E; this is a common exclamation for cases where in English we would use "Well..." in the sense of "what can you do?"

For Example:

1. Ε, είχε πολύ κόσμο οπότε δε βλέπαμε καλά. E, eixe poly kosmo opote de blepame kala "Well, there were too many people, so we couldn't see well."

2. Ε, έβρεχε, άργησε το λεωφορείο και καθυστέρησα. E, evreche, argise to leoforeio kai kathysterisa "Well, it was raining, and the bus was late, so I was late too."

We have translated the word δουλειές (douleies) with the English word "errands." Δουλειές (Douleies) is the plural of δουλειά (douleia), meaning "work" or "job"; when we use it in the plural, it means "errands" or "things to do," and we usually do not use it in a context related to the speaker's actual job. One exception is when we use it in the idiomatic question Πως πάνε οι δουλειές; (Pos pane oi douleies?), literally, "How are the jobs going?", which is an inquiry about someone else's job.

The correct use of the adverb πάντως (pantos) appearing in our dialogue Είναι καλό πάντως που όλα τα παιδιά είναι στο σπίτι Einai( kalo pantos pou ola ta paidia einai sto spiti) is when we want to express an opinion different from that of the person we are talking to.

For Example:

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #20 - THE GREEK KIDS ARE ALL RI GHT 6 1. Εγώ πάντως πιστεύω ότι πρέπει να πας. Ego pantos pisteuo oti prepei na pas. "I believe that you should go." (i.e., although you might say you shouldn't)

2. Εγώ πάντως σου το είπα. Ego pantos sou to eipa "I told you so." (i.e., although you didn't listen or although no one else did)

In some cases, as in our dialogue, we can use it as an emphasis on what we want to say. In these cases, we use it in a way similar to the way we would use the word "though" in English.

For Example:

1. Ευτυχώς πάντως που γύρισες σπίτι νωρίς. Eutychos pantos pou gyrises spiti noris "It's a good thing that you came home early, though."

2. Πρέπει πάντως να το παραδεχτούμε. Prepei pantos na to paradechtoume "We have to admit it, though."

The idiomatic English expression "on foot" is pretty straightforward in Greek: we use the expression με τα πόδια (me ta podia) , literally, "with the legs/feet". We form all expressions of transportation with the use of "me," meaning "with."

For Example:

1. με το αυτοκίνητο me to autokinito "by car"

2. με το αεροπλάνο me to aeroplano "by plane"

3. με το λεωφορείο me to leoforeio "by bus"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #20 - THE GREEK KIDS ARE ALL RI GHT 7 4. με τα πόδια me ta podia "on foot"

We can also translate "on foot" as περπατώντας (perpatontas), literally, "walking".

For Example:

1. Γύρισα περπατώντας. Gyrisa perpatontas "I came back on foot."/"I walked my way back."

2. Θα πάμε περπατώντας. Tha pame perpatontas "We will go on foot."/"We'll walk till there."

We translate the English expression "on the one hand...on the other hand" in Greek as από τη μια...από την άλλη (apo ti m ia...apo tin alli) or in its full version από τη μια μεριά...από την άλλη μεριά (apo ti mia meria...apo tin alli meria). The word μεριά (meria) is a an everyday way to say pleura, meaning "side," so the literal translation in English would be "on the one side...on the other side." As in English, the second phrase can include the conjunction αλλά (alla) meaning "but" or not.

For Example:

1. Από τη μια είπα ότι θα πάω. Από την άλλη, δε θέλω να πάω. Apo ti mia eipa oti tha pao. Apo tin alli, de thelo na pao "On the one hand, I said I'd go. On the other hand, I don't want to go."

2. Από τη μια είπα ότι θα πάω. Αλλά από την άλλη, δε θέλω να πάω. Apo ti mia eipa oti tha pao. Alla apo tin alli, de thelo na pao "On the one hand, I said I'd go. But on the other hand, I don't want to go."

In the sample sentence Τ α πρωινά μελετάω πιάνο (Ta proina m eletao piano), which means "In the mornings, I study the piano," the word ta proina is the plural of the word το πρωί (to proi), meaning "the morning." Readers may recognize that there is another singular of the word πρωινά (proina); it is the word πρωινό (proino), meaning "breakfast," which we have seen in a previous lesson. In that case, though, the word πρωινό (proino) is the neuter gender of the adjective πρωινός (proinos), which means "of the morning," so the form πρωινό

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #20 - THE GREEK KIDS ARE ALL RI GHT 8 (proino), meaning "breakfast", actually means "morning meal" πρωινό γεύμα (proino geuma) and has been simplified for convenience.

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is the Definite Article of Nouns. Τ α παιδιά είναι στο σπίτι Ta paidia einai sto spiti "The kids are at hom e."

Our main grammar point for this lesson is the definite article of nouns. The definite article is the article we use when we are referring to a specific person or thing or when referring to all the people or things that belong in the same class.

For Example:

1. Το σαλόνι μας έχει τρία παράθυρα. To saloni mas echei tria parathyra "Our living room has three windows."

2. Το δελφίνι είναι πολύ έξυπνο ζώο. To delfini einai poly eksypno zwo "The dolphin is a very clever animal."

One of the difficulties for English speakers is that the definite article in Greek is gendered; this means that whereas in English, we would uniformly use the word "the" for all the situations where we would use a definite article, in Greek we have to show whether "the" is masculine, feminine, or neuter and also whether it is in the singular or the plural number.

The gender of the definite article is always the same with the gender of the noun that follows it. This means that remembering the definite articles is very important because they give us a very crucial piece of information: the noun's gender. Since it's much easier to remember the genders of three articles than the genders of thousands and thousands of nouns, we suggest you learn the definite article very well. After that, learning nouns will become much easier.

Another point we must repeat and that usually surprises English speakers is that in Greek, proper nouns do take the definite article; we say Ο Κώστας (O Kostas), which in English would translate "The Kostas!"

Although declinable parts of speech usually have four cases, articles have only the first three: nominative, genitive, and accusative. There is no vocative. The following table shows how we

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #20 - THE GREEK KIDS ARE ALL RI GHT 9 decline the definite article.

G reek

Definite Article: Singular

Case Masculine Fem inine Neuter

Nom inative ο η το

G enitive του της του

Accusative τον τη(ν) το

Definite Article: Plural

Case Masculine Fem inine Neuter

Nom inative οι οι τα

G enitive των των των

Accusative τους τις τα

Romanization

Definite Article: Singular

Case Masculine Fem inine Neuter

Nom inative ο i tο

G enitive tou tis tou

Accusative ton ti(n) tο

Definite Article: Plural

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #20 - THE GREEK KIDS ARE ALL RI GHT 10 Case Masculine Fem inine Neuter

Nom inative oi oi ta

G enitive ton ton ton

Accusative tous tis ta

In the feminine accusative case, we can use either την or τη (tin or ti) depending on the first letter of the word that follows. The rule is that we use ν (n) when the word that follows starts from a vowel or from the consonants -κ (- k), -π (- p), -τ (- t), -ξ (- ks), -ψ (- ps), -μπ (- mp), -ντ (- nt), -γκ (- gk), -τσ (- ts), and -τζ (- tz).

For the masculine this rule doesn't apply and ν (n) is always used.

This might be a good time to remind you that an easy way to remember what the cases are is to think of them as answers to questions. The nominative is the answer to the question "who" or "what," the genitive the answer to the question "whose," and the accusative the answer to the question "whom" or "what." The vocative does not answer any questions: we use it when we want to address or call someone.

Also, it would be good to see how the articles work together with nouns. For our examples, we have used the nouns ο υπολογιστής (o ipoloyistís), meaning "the computer," η θάλασσα (i thálasa), meaning "the sea," and το γράμμα (to gráma), meaning "the letter".

G reek

Nouns: Singular

Case Masculine Fem inine Neuter

ο υπολογιστής η θάλασσα το γράμμα Nom inative

του υπολογιστή της θάλασσας του γράμματος G enitive

τον υπολογιστή τη θάλασσα το γράμμα Accusative

Vocative υπολογιστή θάλασσα γράμμα

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #20 - THE GREEK KIDS ARE ALL RI GHT 11 Nouns: Plural

Case Masculine Fem inine Neuter

οι υπολογιστές οι θάλασσες τα γράμματα Nom inative

των υπολογιστών των θαλασσών των γραμμάτων G enitive

τους υπολογιστές τις θάλασσες τα γράμματα Accusative

Vocative υπολογιστές θάλασσες γράμματα

Romanization

Nouns: Singular

Case Masculine Fem inine Neuter

Nom inative o ipoloyistís i thálasa to gráma

G enitive tou ipoloyistí tis thálasas tou grámatos

Accusative ton ipoloyistí ti thálasa to gráma

Vocative ipoloyistí thálasa gráma

Nouns: Plural

Case Masculine Fem inine Neuter

Nom inative oi ipoloyistés oi thálases ta grámata

G enitive ton ipoloyistón ton thalasón ton gramáton

Accusative tous ipoloyistés tis thálases ta grámata

Vocative ipoloyistés thálases grámata

CULTURAL INSIGHT

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #20 - THE GREEK KIDS ARE ALL RI GHT 12 Neighborhoods in G reece

In our dialogue, we use the word "neighbors"; the concept of the neighborhood used to be a very important part of Greek society up until the late sixties, but, as is the case with most modern societies, things have changed considerably since then. Because most Greeks come from villages in the countryside, even in Athens, neighborhoods were very close knit, and people with houses next to each other were almost a family (in many villages, family members actually built their houses close to each other's so their neighbors where indeed family). The big change came with the big construction boom of the sixties when Athens and all big Greek cities were filled with blocks of flats, usually five to seven floors high and people started living...vertically. For some reason, the concept of the neighborhood didn't transfer well to the blocks, so relationships between people living in the same flat deteriorated to the point of practically nonexistent. Of course, these are generalizations, but they reflect what one sees in most cases, especially in Athens. If you want to experience how neighborhoods were until the sixties, you have to travel outside Athens (or any other big city for that matter) and visit villages with much smaller populations. There, people still care for each other and get involved in each other's lives.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #20 - THE GREEK KIDS ARE ALL RI GHT 13 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #21 Are the Greeks Hiding Something?

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 7 Grammar 14 Cultural Insight

# 21

1. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Να ο φύλακας! Εκεί, στην άκρη του φράχτη!

2. Κωσταντίνα Παπαδοπούλου: Να τον ρωτήσουμε γιατί έχει μουσαμά επάνω σ' αυτό το άγαλμα.

3. Δανάη Λες να ξέρει; Ο ξεναγός δεν ήξερε. Παπαδοπούλου:

4. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Μάλλον είναι για να το προστατεύει από τον ήλιο.

5. Κωσταντίνα Παπαδόπουλος: Στην Ελλάδα; Τζάμπα κόπος!

ROMANIZATION

1. Pétra Górdon: Na o fílakas! Ekí, stin ákri tu fráhti!

2. Kostandína Na ton rotísume yatí éhi musamá epáno s' aftó to ágalma. Papadopúlu:

3. Danái Les na xéri? O xenagós den íxere. Papadopúlu:

4. Pétra Górdon: Málon íne ya na to prostatévi apó ton ílio.

5. Kostandína Stin Eláda? Jába kópos! Papadópulos:

ENGLISH

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #21 - ARE THE GREEKS HIDING S OMETHING? 2 1. Petra Gordon: There's the guard! At the end of the fence!

2. Kostantina Let's ask him why there's a tarpaulin on this statue. Papadopoulou:

3. Danai Do you think he'll know? The tour guide didn't know. Papadopoulou:

4. Petra Gordon: I guess it's to protect it from the sun.

5. Kostantina In Greece? It's a waste of time. Papadopoulou:

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

μάλλον mallon, málon probably adverb

ήλιος ílios sun noun masculine

φράχτης fráchtis fence noun masculine

φύλακας fylakas guard noun masculine

άκρη akri end noun feminine

ρωτάω rotáo to ask verb

μουσαμάς mousamas tarpaulin noun masculine

άγαλμα ágalma statue noun neutral

ξεναγός ksenagos tour guide noun masculine

προστατεύω prostateuso I protect verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #21 - ARE THE GREEKS HIDING S OMETHING? 3 Μάλλον θα χιονίσει αύριο, οπότε Μάλλον έχεις δίκιο. ντύσ ου ζεστά σε παρακαλώ! Mallon echeis dikio.

Málon tha hionísi ávrio, opóte dísu zestá se parakaló! "You're probably right."

"It will probably snow tomorrow, so dress warm please!"

Σήμε ρα ο ήλιος καίει πολύ. Τα γυαλιά ηλίου προστατεύουν τα Simera o ilios kaiei poly. μάτια.

Ta gyalia iliou prostateuoun ta matia. "Today the sun is very hot." "Sunglasses protect the eyes."

Ο ήλιος με τύφλωσε. Ο φράχτης είναι πολύ ψηλός. O ílios me tíflose. O frachtis einai poly psilos.

"The sun blinded me." "The fence is very tall."

Τα καγκουρό πηδάνε πάνω από τον Ο φύλακας έρχεται στις 10:00. φράχτη στην εξοχή. O fylakas erchetai stis 10:00.

Ta kanguró pidáne páno apó ton fráhti stin exohí. "The guard comes at 10:00."

"The kangaroos are jumping over the fence in the outback."

Πού είναι η άκρη του σκοινιού; Θα σε ρωτήσω μόνο μία φορά Pou einai i akri tou skoiniou? ακόμα.

Tha se rotíso móno mía forá akóma. "Where is the end of the rope?" "I will only ask you one more time."

Σε ρωτάω για δεύτερη φορά. Αγόρασ α έναν μουσαμά για το Se rotao gia deuteri fora. αυτοκίνητο.

Agorasa enan mousama gia to autokinito. "I'm asking you for the second time." "I bought a tarpaulin for the car."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #21 - ARE THE GREEKS HIDING S OMETHING? 4 Τα αγάλματα είναι φτιαγμένα από Το άγαλμα της Αφροδίτης βρίσκεται μάρμαρο. σ το Μουσείο. Ta agalmata einai ftiagmena apo marmaro. To ágalma tis Afrodítis vrísketai sto Mouseío.

"The statues are made of marble." "Aphrodite's statue is at the museum."

Ο ξεναγός μιλούσε τέσσερις Τα γυαλιά ηλίου προστατεύουν τα γλώ σ σ ε ς. μάτια. O ksenagos milouse tesseris glosses. Ta gyalia iliou prostateuoun ta matia.

"The tour guide could speak four "Sunglasses protect the eyes." languages."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

We have translated the first phrases of our dialogue Να ο φύλακας! Εκεί στην άκρη του φράχτη! (Na o fylakas! Ekei, stin akri tou frachti!) as "There's the guard! At the end of the fence!" If you look carefully, you can see the word ekei (meaning "there"). We use "there" in different positions in Greek and English sentences. In the Greek sentence, we use it in the beginning of the second phrase, i.e. Ekei, stin akri tou frachti (Ekei, stin akri tou frachti) to show where the guard is, while in English we use it in the beginning of the first sentence (i.e., "There is the guard") to show that the speaker has located the guard. The reason that the phrases can't be in perfect sync is that in Greek, there is the particle na, which we use as a demonstrative word (whenever we want to show something to someone else); in English, we usually do this with the adverb "here" or "there," which we use as demonstrative pronouns.

The expression Λες να ξέρει; (Les na kserei?) that we have translated as "Do you think he'll know?" is a very common example of a very useful construction for speaking natural, everyday Greek. The literal translation is "Do you say he knows?" - λες (les) is the second person singular of the verb λέω (leo), meaning "to say - and we use it on many occasions when we want to ask someone's opinion about a matter. It is a casual way to express this inquiry, i.e., no TV journalist is ever going to ask a minister λες να γίνει πόλεμος; (les na ginei polemos?), meaning "Do you think there will be a war?", and we almost always use it with the verb in the second person singular.

For Example:

1. Λεςνα βρέξει; Les na vreksei? "Do you think it will rain?"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #21 - ARE THE GREEKS HIDING S OMETHING? 5 2. Λες να έρθει; Les na erthei? "Do you think he'll come?"

3. Λες να τη ρωτίσω; Les na ti rotiso? "Do you think I'd ask her?"

We have not discussed it yet (verbs' moods are a subject for future lessons), but in this expression, the verb is always in the subjunctive mood. We understand this from the particle na. This is a conjunction, a different na from the one we mentioned above.

The indeclinable word μάλλον (m allon), an adverb of quantity, is a very useful word, which we translate as its English equivalent, "probably."

For Example:

Μάλλον θα έρθω. Mallon tha ertho. "I'll probably come."

Μάλλον έχει τελειώσει. Mallon echei teleiosei. "It's probably over."

Q: Θα πάμε; Tha pame? "Shall we go?" A: Μάλλον ναι. Mallon nai. "Probably

Q: Λες να βρέξει; Les na breksei? "Do you think it will rain?" A: Μάλλον. Mallon "Probably."

Q: Πιστεύεις ότι θα κερδίσουν;

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #21 - ARE THE GREEKS HIDING S OMETHING? 6 Pisteueis oti tha kerdisoun? "Do you think they'll win?" A: Δεν ξέρω. Μάλλον. Den ksero. Mallon. "I don't know. Probably."

In our sample sentences, we form the phrase σήμερα ο ήλιος καίει πολύ (sim era o ilios kaiei poly), "today the sun is very hot", with the use of the verb καίω (kaio), which means "to burn." So a literal translation would be "Today the sun burns much." The literal translation of the English "Today the sun is very hot" would be σήμερα ο ήλιος είναι πολύ καυτός (simera o ilios einai poly kautos), which makes grammatical sense but is very unnatural in Greek. The sun is indeed very hot, but this would make more sense in an astronomical context!

The expression τζάμπα κόπος (tz am pa kopos) is an idiom meaning literally "effort for free" (i.e., "without charge"); that is, the effort one puts for a certain task will be in vain. It is interesting to note that the word τζάμπα (tzampa) is a somehow vulgar way to say that something is free of charge; the most appropriate word is δωρεάν (dorean).

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is the Declension of Masculine Nouns. O φύλακας στην άκρη του φράχτη Ο fylakas stin akri tou frachti. "The guard at the end of the fence."

Nouns in Greek have three declensions, each corresponding to one of the three genders. This means that when we say that a noun is in the first declension, it is masculine; when we say it is in the second declension, it is feminine; and when we say it is in the third declension, it is neuter. In this lesson, we will deal with the first declension, which is with masculine nouns.

One way to categorize nouns in general is by the number of their syllables in the singular as compared to their plural number. Using this as a criterion, there are two categories:

Parisyllabic nouns: nouns that have the same number of syllables in the plural as • they have in the nominative singular. An example of this category is the noun ο μήνας (o minas), "the month", which in the plural becomes οι μήνες (oi mines), "the months".

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #21 - ARE THE GREEKS HIDING S OMETHING? 7 Imparisyllabic nouns: nouns that in all cases of the plural have one syllable more • than they have in the nominative singular. An example of this category is the noun ο πατέρας (o pateras), meaning "the father," which in the plural becomes οι πατεράδες (oi paterades), meaning "the fathers."

Keep these two (unusual) words in mind because they will prove useful in the very near future!

Now, to masculine nouns. One way to categorize these is by dividing them in two classes according to their ending:

• The first class is nouns that end in -ας (- as), -ης (- is), -ες (- es) or -ους (- ous).

• The second class is nouns that end in -ος (- os).

Masculine nouns of the first class can be either parisyllabic or imparisyllabic:

Parisyllabic nouns of the first class form their nominative, accusative, and vocative • plurals in -ες (- es).

Imparisyllabic nouns of the first class form their nominative, accusative, and vocative • plurals in -δες (- des).

In the tables that follow, we will give examples of nouns in each category.

First Class, Masculine in -ας (- as): Parisyllabic

Case G reek Romanization "English"

Singular

ο φύλακας Nom inative o fylakas "the guard"

του φύλακα G enitive tou fylaka "the guard's"

τον φύλακα Accusative ton fylaka "the guard"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #21 - ARE THE GREEKS HIDING S OMETHING? 8 Vocative φύλακα fylaka "guard"

Plural

οι φύλακες Nom inative oi fylakes "the guards"

των φυλάκων G enitive ton fylakon "the guards'"

τους φύλακες Accusative tous fylakes "the guards"

Vocative φύλακες fylakes "guards"

First Class, Masculine in -ας (- as): Imparisyllabic

Case G reek Romanization "English"

Singular

ο μουσαμάς Nom inative o mousamas "the tarpaulin"

του μουσαμά G enitive tou mousama "the tarpaulin's"

τον μουσαμά Accusative ton mousama "the tarpaulin"

Vocative μουσαμά mousama "tarpaulin"

Plural

οι μουσαμάδες Nom inative oi mousamades "the tarpaulins"

των μουσαμάδων G enitive ton mousamadon "the tarpaulins'"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #21 - ARE THE GREEKS HIDING S OMETHING? 9 τους μουσαμάδες Accusative tous mousamades "the tarpaulins"

Vocative μουσαμάδες mousamades "tarpaulins"

First Class, Masculine in -ης (- is): Parisyllabic

Case G reek Romanization "English"

Singular

ο φράχτης Nom inative o frachtis "the fence"

του φράχτη G enitive tou frachti "the fence's"

τον φράχτη Accusative ton frachti "the fence"

Vocative φράχτη frachti "fence"

Plural

οι φράχτες Nom inative oi frachtes "the fences"

των φραχτών G enitive ton frachton "the fences'"

τους φράχτες Accusative tous frachtes "the fences"

Vocative φράχτες frachtes "fences"

First Class, Masculines in -ης (- is): Imparisyllabic

Case G reek Romanization "English"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #21 - ARE THE GREEKS HIDING S OMETHING? 10 Singular

ο μανάβης Nom inative o manavis "the greengrocer"

του μανάβη G enitive tou manavi "the greengrocer's"

τον μανάβη Accusative ton manavi "the greengrocer"

Vocative μανάβη manavi "greengrocer"

Plural

οι μανάβηδες Nom inative oi manavides "the greengrocers"

των μανάβηδων G enitive ton manavidon "the greengrocers'"

τους μανάβηδες Accusative tous manavides "the greengrocers"

Vocative μανάβηδες manavides "greengrocers"

First Class, Masculine in -ες (- es): Imparisyllabic

Case G reek Romanization "English"

Singular

ο καφές Nom inative o kafes "the coffee"

του καφέ G enitive tou kafe "the coffee's"

τον καφέ Accusative ton kafe "the coffee"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #21 - ARE THE GREEKS HIDING S OMETHING? 11 Vocative καφέ kafe "coffee"

Plural

οι καφέδες Nom inative oi kafedes "the coffees"

των καφέδων G enitive ton kafedon "the coffees'"

τους καφέδες Accusative tous kafedes "the coffee"

Vocative καφέδες kafedes "coffee"

First Class, Masculine in -ους (- ous): Imparisyllabic

Case G reek Romanization "English"

Singular

ο παππούς Nom inative o pappous "the grandfather"

του παππού G enitive tou pappou "the grandfather's"

τον παππού Accusative ton pappou "the grandfather"

Vocative παππού pappou "grandfather "

Plural

οι παππούδες Nom inative oi pappoudes "the grandfathers"

των παππούδων G enitive ton pappoudon "the grandfathers'"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #21 - ARE THE GREEKS HIDING S OMETHING? 12 τους παππούδες Accusative tous pappoudes "the grandfathers"

Vocative παππούδες pappoudes "grandfathers"

All the above were examples of the first class, the class with the many different endings. The second class will come as a relief: it includes only nouns ending in -ος (- os), it is a very big category. They are all parisyllabic (i.e., they have the same number of syllables in the plural as they have in the nominative singular), and they are all declined the same way!

Second Class, Masculine in -ος (- os)

Case G reek Romanization "English"

Singular

ο ξεναγός Nom inative o ksenagos "the tour guide"

του ξεναγού G enitive tou ksenagou "the tour guide's"

τον ξεναγό Accusative ton ksenago "the tour guide"

Vocative ξεναγέ ksenage "tour guide"

Plural

οι ξεναγοί Nom inative oi ksenagoi "the tour guides"

των ξεναγών G enitive ton ksenagon "the tour guides'"

τους ξεναγούς Accusative tous ksenagous "the tour guide"

Vocative ξεναγοί ksenagoi "tour guides"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #21 - ARE THE GREEKS HIDING S OMETHING? 13 Some general observations about the masculine nouns:

All nouns of the first class form the genitive, accusative, and vocative singular by • dropping the -ς (- s) they have in their nominative.

All nouns of the first class have three cases with the same form. In the singular • number, these cases are the genitive, the accusative, and the vocative, and in the plural number, these cases are the nominative, the accusative, and the vocative.

• All masculine nouns have a genitive plural ending in -ων (- on).

CULTURAL INSIGHT

G reek Weather

In the last line of our dialogue, the Greek friend of the main character says that trying to protect a statue from the Greek sun is a waste of time. And indeed, it is very rare not to have a bright sun in Greece. Of course, during autumn and winter, sunny days are fewer but even then, it's rare to have a day that will go by without at least three to four hours of sunlight. For spring and summer, it goes without saying that the sun is sometimes so bright that it's blinding and, unfortunately, really burning, especially for Northern Europeans with too white and sensitive skin.

One of the things that surprises many first-time visitors to Greece is the number of people wearing sunglasses. This is not a fashion statement: from April until early October, it's nearly impossible to get around without sunglasses, especially when driving! Aside from the very bright sun, the average weather in Greece is temperate: not very cold in winter and, supposedly, not very hot in summer. Unfortunately, since the nineties, this is beginning to change, both because of global warming and because of various conditions particular to the country, the most notable of them being the absence of trees in and around cities. So if you are coming to Greece during the summer, run to the islands as soon as possible.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #21 - ARE THE GREEKS HIDING S OMETHING? 14 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #22 Enough Greek Culture: Let's Get Some Lunch!

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 7 Grammar 13 Cultural Insight # 22

1. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Πέρασε η ώρα. Καλή η τέχνη αλλά με έπιασε πείνα!

2. Δανάη Έχεις ακόμα διάθεση για ελληνική κουζίνα; Παπαδοπούλου:

3. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Και βέβαια! Γιατί, έχεις καμιά άλλη πρόταση;

4. Δανάη Όχι, απλώς σκεφτόμουν να πάμε προς τη θάλασσα, έτσι για Παπαδοπούλου: αλλαγή. Κωσταντίνα, τι λες;

5. Κωσταντίνα Παπαδοπούλου: Αν η Πέτρα μπορεί να κάνει υπομονή!

ROMANIZATION

1. Pétra Górdon: Pérase i óra. Kalí i téhni alá me épiase pína!

2. Danái Éhis akóma diáthesi ya elinikí kuzína? Papadopúlu:

3. Pétra Górdon: Ke vévea! Yatí, éhis kamiá áli prótasi?

4. Danái Óhi, aplós skeftómun na páme pros ti thálasa, étsi ya alagí. Papadopúlu: Kostandína, ti les?

5. Kostandína An i Pétra borí na káni ipomoní! Papadopúlu:

ENGLISH

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #22 - ENOUGH GREEK CULTURE: LET'S GET S OME LUNCH! 2 1. Petra Gordon: It's getting late. Art is fine, but I'm getting hungry!

2. Danai Are you still in the mood for Greek food? Papadopoulou:

3. Petra Gordon: Sure! Why, do you have another suggestion?

4. Danai No. I was just thinking that we could go toward the sea for a change. Papadopoulou: Kostantina, what do you think?

5. Kostantina If Petra can be patient enough! Papadopoulou:

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

suggestion, πρόταση protasi proposal noun feminine

alteration, αλλαγή alagí change, noun feminine modification

Σκεφτόμουν Skeftomoun I was thinking expression

Και βέβαια kai vevaia of course interjection

τέχνη téchni art noun feminine

διάθεση diáthesi mood noun feminine

κουζίνα kuzína cuisine, kitchen nou feminine

θάλασσα thálasa sea noun feminine

υπομονή ipomoní patience noun feminine

SAMPLE SENTENCES

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #22 - ENOUGH GREEK CULTURE: LET'S GET S OME LUNCH! 3 Του έδωσα την πρότασή μου. Καιρός για αλλαγή. Tou edosa tin protasi mou. Kairos gia allagi.

"I gave him my proposal." "Time for a change."

Η αλλαγή του προγράμματος Σκε φτόμουν να πάω σινεμά. π ροκάλε σ ε πρόβλημα. Skeftomoun na pao sinema.

I alagí tu prográmatos prokálese próvlima. "I was thinking about going to the cinema." "The modification of the program caused a problem."

Και βέβαια θα έρθω. Με ενδιαφέρει η κλασσική τέχνη. Kai vevaia tha ertho. Me endiaferei i klassiki techni.

"Of course I will come." "I'm interested in classical art."

Λατρε ύω την αφηρημένη τέχνη. Έχε ις διάθεση για κινέζικο; Latrévo tin afiriméni téchni. Echeis diathesi gia kineziko

"I adore abstract art." "Are you in the mood for Chinese (food)?"

Η διάθεση μου τον τελευταίο καιρό Η κουζίνα μας είναι πολύ μικρή. δε ν είναι καλή. I kouzina mas einai poly mikri.

I diáthesí mou ton teleftaío kairó den eínai kalí. "Our kitchen is very small." "Lately my mood has not been good."

Προτιμώ την ιταλική κουζίνα. Λατρε ύω την ελληνική κουζίνα. Protimo tin italiki kouzina Latrévo tin elinikí kuzína.

"I prefer Italian food." "I love Greek cuisine."

Φ οβάμαι τη θάλασσα. Η θάλασσα στην Ελλάδα έχει Fováme ti thálasa. υπ έ ροχο χρώμα.

I thalassa stin Ellada echei yperocho chroma. "I'm afraid of the sea." "The sea in Greece has a wonderful color."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #22 - ENOUGH GREEK CULTURE: LET'S GET S OME LUNCH! 4 Λατρε ύω να κολυμπάω στη Το ράψιμο χρειάζεται υπομονή θάλασ σ α. To rapsimo chreiazetai ypomoni

Latrévo na kolibáo sti thálasa. "Sawing needs patience." "I love to swim in the sea."

Χρε ιάζ ε ται υπομονή για να μάθεις μια ξένη γλώσσα. Chreiazetai ypomoni gia na matheis mia kseni glossa.

"Learning a foreign language takes patience."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

The word τέχνη (techni), "art" in Modern Greek usually includes all arts, contrary to English, where it is usually reserved for the fine arts. If you read a Greek newspaper, the pages titled τέχνες (technes), i.e. "arts", invariably include news about music, the theater, the cinema, and dance (classical or modern). Interestingly, architecture is not considered an art in Greece, so a review of a book about architecture will probably not be included in these pages.

There are two basic ways to say "I'm hungry" in Greek: the one is by using the verb πεινάω (peinao), which literally means "I am hungering" (rarely used in Modern English but still correct!) or Με έχει πιάσει πείνα (Me echei piasei peina), literally "hunger has gotten me," especially when, as in our dialogue, we have been doing something and we realize we have started to feel hungry (on these occasions, we can also say Έχω αρχίσει να πεινάω (Echo archisei na peinao), which literally means "I'm starting to hunger." A direct translation of the English "I'm hungry" is Είμαι πεινασμένος (Eimai peinasmenos), which we also use occasionally. All the above apply to "thirsty" as well, which in Greek is διψάω (dipsao) (the verb), δίψα (dipsa) (the noun), and διψασμένος (dipsasmenos) (the adjective).

The word κουζίνα (kouz ina) means like in English both the room of the house where food is prepared and the various styles of cooking (i.e., "cuisine"). In our sample sentences, we have included one example for each.

For Example:

1. Προτιμώ την ιταλική κουζίνα. Protimo tin italiki kouzina. "I prefer Italian food."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #22 - ENOUGH GREEK CULTURE: LET'S GET S OME LUNCH! 5 2. Η κουζίνα μας είναι πολύ μικρή. I kouzina mas einai poly mikri. "Our kitchen is very small."

The word πρόταση (protasi) can have various meanings in Greek. It can mean "sentence" or "clause" (in grammar), "proposal" or "proposition," "suggestion," "censure" (in the phrase "vote of censure"), or standing with the hands raised in the height of the shoulders (i.e., when exercising). Grammatically, nothing changes either way we use it, so only the context shows us what is meant at any particular situation.

For Example:

1. Αυτή η πρόταση έχει δύο διαφορετικά νοήματα. Auti i protasi echei dyo diaforetika noimata. "This sentence has two different meanings."

2. Αυτή είναι η κύρια πρόταση και αυτή η δευτερεύουσα. Auti einai i kyria protasi kai auti i deutereuousa. "This is the main clause, and this is the subordinate clause."

3. Της έκανα πρόταση γάμου. Tis ekana protasi gamou. "I proposed to marry her." (literally, "I did a marriage proposal to her.")

4. Η πρότασή μου έχει ως εξης. I protasi mou echei os eksis. "My proposition is as follows."

5. Το κόμμα του κατέθεσε πρόταση μομφής. To komma tou katethese protasi momfis. "His party asked for a vote of censure."

6. Σταθείτε σε πρόταση και αναπνεύστε βαθιά. Statheite se protasi kai anapneuste bathia. "Stand with your hands raised at the height of your shoulders and breathe deeply."

There are various ways to say "of course" (i.e., to express unequivocal agreement) in Greek. Other than και βέβαια (kai vevaia) that we have used in our dialogue, we can also say βεβαίος (vevaios) - pretty much the same as και βέβαια (kai vevaia), φυσικά (fusika), literally, "naturally", σίγουρα (sigoura), literally, "certainly", οπωσδήποτε (oposdipote) literally,

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #22 - ENOUGH GREEK CULTURE: LET'S GET S OME LUNCH! 6 "at any rate", or όπως και νά'χει (opos kai na 'chei) literally, "in any case".

Like in English, the expressions σκέφτομαι να πάω (skeftom ai na pao), "I'm thinking of going" and σκεφτόμουν να πάω (skeftomoun na pao), "I was thinking of going", can occasionally mean the same thing, even though the verbs are obviously in different tenses (present continuous and past continuous, respectively).

In English, someone is "being patient"; in Greek, someone "does patience." There is an adjective meaning "patient," υπομονετικός (ypomonetikos), but the imperative mood of the verb είμαι (eimai), meaning "to be," is very unusual in Modern Greek, so we very rarely use it. For language buffs, the imperative mood of eimai is έσο (eso), and it comes directly from Ancient Greek; one of these very rare occasions when we use it is in the motto of the Boy Scouts (i.e., "Be prepared"), which in Greek is Έσο έτοιμος (Eso etoimos). The closest there is in the Greek language to the suggestion "be patient" is κάνε υπομονή (kane ypomoni), which literally means "do patience."

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is the Declension of Fem inine Nouns. Έχεις διάθεση για ελληνική κουζίνα; Echeis diathesi gia ellinikh kouz ina? "Are you in the m ood for G reek cooking?"

As we mentioned in our previous lesson, there are three declensions of nouns in Greek, one for each gender. The first is masculine, the second is feminine, and the third is neuter, so in this lesson we will look at nouns of the second declension, i.e., feminine.

The rules of categorization of feminine nouns are similar to the rules applied to the masculine nouns. That is, we can classify them by the number of their syllables in the singular as compared to their plural number:

Some are parisyllabic: they have the same number of syllables in the plural as they • have in the nominative singular). A characteristic noun in this category is η ελπίδα (i elpida), meaning "the hope," which becomes οι ελπίδες (oi elpides), meaning "the hopes."

Some are imparisyllabic nouns: in all cases of the plural, they have one more • syllable than in the nominative singular. A very common noun of this category is η γιαγιά (i giagia), meaning "the grandmother," which in the plural becomes οι γιαγιάδες (oi giagiades), meaning "the grandmothers."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #22 - ENOUGH GREEK CULTURE: LET'S GET S OME LUNCH! 7 One general rule to remember is that parisyllabic nouns form their nominative plurals in -ες (- es), while imparisyllabic ones form their nominative plurals in -δες (- des). There are some exceptions to this rule, but it applies to most feminine nouns.

As we did for the nouns of the first declension (i.e., the masculine nouns), we can categorize nouns of the second declension according to their ending. One difference though is that for these nouns, we do not use the terminology "first class" or "second class" like we used for the masculine nouns.

The endings found in feminine nouns are -α ( -a), -η (-i), another -η (-i) with archaic endings, -ω (-o), -ου (-ou), and -ος (- os) with archaic endings. Nouns ending in -α (- a) can be either parisyllabic or imparisyllabic, and nouns ending in -ου (- ou) are always imparisyllabic. Nouns with all other endings are parisyllabic: that is, they have the same number of syllables in the plural as they have in the singular nominative. If all this sounds somehow complicated, it will make more sense in the tables that will follow!

We mentioned something about some nouns having archaic endings. As we have said in the past, the age of the Greek language (three thousand to five thousand years, depending on what we consider its beginning) has given us some quite peculiar legacies. One of these legacies is feminine nouns ending in -η (-i), which are parisyllabic in all plural cases except one (the genitive) and feminine nouns endings in -ος (- os), which is a typical masculine ending, and thus they are declined as if they were masculine!

The tables that follow show some typical examples of each category of feminine nouns. We have used as many of the nouns from our dialogue as possible.

Fem inine in -α ( - a): Parisyllabic

Case G reek Romanization "English"

Singular

η ώρα Nom inative i ora "the hour"

της ώρας G enitive tis oras "the hour's"

την ώρα Accusative tin ora "the hour"

Vocative ώρα ora "hour"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #22 - ENOUGH GREEK CULTURE: LET'S GET S OME LUNCH! 8 Plural

οι ώρες Nom inative oi ores "the hours"

των ωρών G enitive ton oron "the hours'"

τις ώρες Accusative tis ores "the hours"

Vocative ώρες ores "hours"

Fem inine in -α (- a): Imparisyllabic

Case G reek Romanization "English"

Singular

η μαμά Nom inative i mama "the mama"

της μαμάς G enitive tis mamas "the mama's"

τη μαμά Accusative ti mama "the mama"

Vocative μαμά mama "mama"

Plural

οι μαμάδες Nom inative oi mamades "the mamas"

των μαμάδων G enitive ton mamadon "the mamas'"

τις μαμάδες Accusative tis mamades "the mamas"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #22 - ENOUGH GREEK CULTURE: LET'S GET S OME LUNCH! 9 Vocative μαμάδες mamades "mamas"

Fem inine in -η (- i)

Case G reek Romanization "English"

Singular

η αλλαγή Nom inative i allagi "the change"

της αλλαγής G enitive tis allagis "the change's"

την αλλαγή Accusative tin allagi "the change"

Vocative αλλαγή allagi "change"

Plural

οι αλλαγές Nom inative oi allages "the changes"

των αλλαγών G enitive ton allagon "the changes'"

τις αλλαγές Accusative tis allages "the changes"

Vocative αλλαγές allages "changes"

Fem inine in -η ( - i) with Archaic Endings

Case G reek Romanization "English"

Singular

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #22 - ENOUGH GREEK CULTURE: LET'S GET S OME LUNCH! 10 η πρόταση Nom inative i protasi "the proposition"

της πρότασης G enitive tis protasis "the proposition's"

την πρόταση Accusative tin protasi "the proposition"

Vocative πρόταση protasi "proposition"

Plural

οι προτάσεις Nom inative oi protaseis "the propositions"

των προτάσεων G enitive ton protaseon "the propositions'"

τις προτάσεις Accusative tis protaseis "the propositions"

Vocative προτάσεις protaseis "propositions"

Fem inine in -ου (- ou)

Case G reek Romanization "English"

Singular

η αλεπού Nom inative i alepou "the fox"

της αλεπούς G enitive tis alepous "the fox's"

την αλεπού Accusative tin alepou "the fox"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #22 - ENOUGH GREEK CULTURE: LET'S GET S OME LUNCH! 11 Vocative αλεπού alepou "fox"

Plural

οι αλεπούδες Nom inative oi alepoudes "the foxes"

των αλεπούδων G enitive ton alepoudon "the foxes'"

τις αλεπούδες Accusative tis alepoudes "the foxes"

Vocative αλεπούδες alepoudes "foxes"

Fem inine in -ος (- os) with Archaic Endings

Case G reek Romanization "English"

Singular

η περίοδος Nom inative i periodos "the period"

της περιόδου G enitive tis periodou "the period's"

την περίοδο Accusative tin period "the period"

Vocative περίοδο periodo "period"

Plural

οι περίοδοι Nom inative oi periodoi "the periods"

των περιόδων G enitive ton periodon "the periods'"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #22 - ENOUGH GREEK CULTURE: LET'S GET S OME LUNCH! 12 τις περιόδους Accusative tis periodous "the periods"

Vocative περίοδοι periodoi "periods"

If you read the tables carefully, you can see that we have not included one category: nouns ending in -ω (-o). The reason we did this is because they are very rare and are only found in some women's names; this means that they do not have a plural and that their only difference when declined is that -ω (- o) becomes -ως (- os) in the genitive. One such name is Αργυρώ (Argyro), which in the genitive case becomes Αργυρώς (Argyros).

Following are some general observations regarding nouns of the second declension:

All feminine nouns (except the ones in -ος (- os) with archaic endings) form the • genitive singular by adding an -ς (- s) at the end of their nominative.

All feminine nouns (except the ones in -ος (- os) with archaic endings) have three • identical cases in both numbers: the nominative, the accusative, and the vocative.

• All feminine nouns form their genitive plural with the ending -ων (- on).

CULTURAL INSIGHT

G reeks and Art

In our dialogue, the main character says "Art is fine, but I'm getting hungry," which is a very pedestrian thing to say while visiting the Acropolis! Of course, anyone can get hungry anywhere, but the point (and the sad truth) is that as an attitude this reflects most modern Greeks' stance with regard to art. Although Ancient Greece was a society in which the arts thrived and that produced some timeless classics-the Acropolis itself being one of them-the focus of Modern Greek society has shifted enormously since then. This doesn't mean that art isn't being created anymore: Athens has more theaters per capita than most European cities, and every day there are tens of exhibitions, lectures, and other cultural events in museums and other venues in most Greek cities. What has waned, however, is the people's interest in art, especially since the early eighties when more and more Greeks became obsessed with the accumulation of wealth and material goods. Of course. this is a worldwide trend. but it is particularly sad for the citizens of a country that literally wrote the book on aesthetics many

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #22 - ENOUGH GREEK CULTURE: LET'S GET S OME LUNCH! 13 centuries back. At any rate, when you get to Greece, consult a city guide (print or online) and it's certain that you will fulfill all your artistic needs!

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #22 - ENOUGH GREEK CULTURE: LET'S GET S OME LUNCH! 14 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #23 Now, Where Was It in Greece?

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 4 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 5 Grammar 12 Cultural Insight

# 23

1. Δανάη Αν δεν κάνω λάθος, το εστιατόριο είναι μετά από αυτό το φανάρι, Παπαδοπούλου: έτσι δεν είναι Κοσταντίνα;

2. Κοσταντίνα Παπαδοπούλου: Νομίζω. Είναι σε ένα μικρό στενό, δίπλα σε ένα μαγαζί με ρούχα.

3. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Δεν το ξέρω αυτό το μέρος. Πώς λέγεται;

4. Δανάη Καλαμάκι. Ερχόμαστε συχνά το καλοκαίρι. Παπαδοπούλου:

ROMANIZATION

1. Danái An den káno láthos, to estiatório íne metá apó aftó to fanári, étsi Papadopúlu: den íne Kostandína?

2. Kostandína Nomízo. Íne se éna mikró stenó, dípla se éna magazí me rúha. Papadopúlu:

3. Pétra Górdon: Den to xéro aftó to méros. Pós légete?

4. Danái Kalamáki. Erhómaste sihná to kalokéri. Papadopúlu:

ENGLISH

1. Danai If I'm not mistaken, the restaurant is after this traffic light, isn't it, Papadopoulou: Kostantina?

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #23 - NOW, WHERE WAS I T I N GREECE? 2 2. Kostantina I think so. It's in an alley next to a shop selling clothes. Papadopoulou:

3. Petra Gordon: I don't know this place. What is it called?

4. Danai Kalamaki. We come here often in the summer. Papadopoulou:

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

μικρό mikro small adjective neuter

ρούχα roucha clothes noun neutral

στενό steno alley noun neuter

νομίζω nomizo I think verb

λάθος lathos mistake, wrong noun neuter

εστιατόριο estiatorio restaurant noun neutral

φανάρι fanári traffic light noun neutral

μαγαζί magazí shop noun neuter

μέρος meros place noun neuter

καλοκαίρι kalokairi summer noun neutral

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Το σπίτι τους είναι μικρό αλλά Τι ρούχα θα πάρεις μαζί για το όμορφο. Σαββατοκύριακο; To spiti tous einai mikro alla omorfo. Ti roucha tha pareis mazi gia to Savvatokyriako?

"The house is small but beautiful." "What clothes are you taking with you for the weekend?"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #23 - NOW, WHERE WAS I T I N GREECE? 3 Πώ ς λέγεται αυτό το στενό; Νομίζ ω ότι κάπου το έχω. Pos legetai auto to steno? Nomizo oti kapou to echo.

"What is the name of this alley?" "I think I have it somewhere."

Προσ π αθώ να καταλάβω πού έκανα Το αγαπημένο μου εστιατόριο είναι λάθος. το «Olive Garden». Prospatho na katalavo pou ekana lathos To agapiméno mu estiatório íne to "Olive Garden". "I'm trying to understand where I went wrong." "My favorite restaurant is Olive Garden."

Η ατμόσφαιρα του εστιατορίου έχει Ξέ ρω ένα καλό εστιατόριο εδώ ε λκύσ ε ι πολλούς πελάτες τελευταία. κοντά. I atmósfera tu estiatoríu éhi elkísi polús pelátes Ksero ena kalo estiatorio edo konta. teleftéa. "I know a good restaurant near here." "The atmosphere of the restaurant has drawn a lot of customers lately."

Είναι μαγείρισσα σε εστιατόριο Στρίψε δεξιά στο φανάρι. τε σ σ άρω ν αστέρων. Stripse deksia sto fanari.

"She is a cook at a four-star restaurant." "Turn right at the light."

Το φανάρι αργεί. Το μαγαζί του είναι στο κέντρο της To fanári argeí. Αθήνας

To magazi tou einai sto kentro tis Athinas "The traffic light is very slow." "His shop is in the center of Athens."

Έχε ι ένα μαγαζί που πουλάει Ωραίο μέρος είναι αυτό. υπολογιστές. Oraio meros einai auto.

Echei ena magazi pou poulaei ypologistes. "This is a nice place." "He has a shop that sells computers."

Πήγατε πουθενά το καλοκαίρι; Pigate pouthena to kalokairi?

"Did you go anywhere in the summer?"

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #23 - NOW, WHERE WAS I T I N GREECE? 4 The word φανάρι (fanari) can have different meanings in Greek. We usually take it to mean "traffic light," but it can also mean "a flashlight" - although there is a dedicated word for this, φακός (fakos) - a car's "headlights," or various other kinds of lamps. We can understand the various nuances in meaning from the context. For reference only, there is an "official" word for "traffic light" (two, actually), but only the police use them in traffic accident reports; this word is φωτεινός σηματοδότης (foteinos simatodotis), which is rather clumsy and awkward for us to use in everyday conversation!

We have translated Αν δεν κάνω λάθος (An den kano lathos) as "If I'm not mistaken"; this is the corresponding phrase in English, although the Greek expression literally means "If I'm not making a mistake."

The Greek word for "alley" (of which all Greek cities have quite a few!) is στενό (steno). This word literally means "narrow" (i.e., the adjective), but when we use it as a neuter-gendered noun in everyday conversation, it means a narrow street, hence, "alley."

In Greek, it is very common to describe a shop with the word μαγαζί (m agaz i), meaning "shop" or "store," followed by the preposition me (which actually means "with") and followed by the kind of the goods it sells; thus, a shop selling photographic equipment is μαγαζί με φωτογραφικά (magazi me fotografika), a shop selling car parts is μαγαζί με ανταλλακτικά (magazi me antallaktika), and a shop selling sports goods is μαγαζί με αθλητικά (magazi me athlitika). This rule of thumb is very generic and doesn't apply to many shops, such as βιβλιοπωλείο (vivliopoleio), meaning "bookstore"; μπακάλικο (mpakaliko), meaning "grocery store"; φαρμακείο (farmakeio), meaning "pharmacy"; and χασάπικο (chasapiko), meaning "butcher," among others.

We have translated the verb νομίζω (nom iz o) as "I think"; here, we used think as in "I think it's going to rain," not as "I think of you every day." The second "I think" is the verb σκέφτομαι (skeftomai).

The word μέρος (m eros) literally means "place." But it can also mean "neighborhood" or "area," as in our dialogue.

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is Nouns of the Third Declension (Neuter G endered). Έχεις διάθεση για ελληνική κουζίνα; Echeis diathesi gia ellinikh kouz ina? "Are you in the m ood for G reek cooking?"

This is our third installment of a three-part miniseries about the declension of nouns. As we

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #23 - NOW, WHERE WAS I T I N GREECE? 5 mentioned in the other two lessons, there are three declensions in Modern Greek, with one for every gender; this means that first declension nouns are all masculine, second declension are all feminine, and third declension are all neuter. The classification of nouns within each declension is purely from a morphological point of view: that is, according to their ending and whether they change the number of their syllables from the nominative of the singular to any other case in the plural. The nouns that keep the same number of syllables are called parisyllabic and the ones that don't are imparisyllabic. In the case of neuter nouns, one example of the first category is to treno, meaning "the train," which in the plural becomes ta trena, meaning "the trains." One example of the second is to katastroma, meaning "a ship's deck," which in the plural becomes ta katastromata, meaning "the decks," i.e. there is one more syllable in the plural.

Using this distinction to form an initial class distinction (the first class is parisyllabic nouns, and the second is imparisyllabic nouns), we move on to further categorize nouns according to their ending. The endings of neuter nouns are -o (-o), -ι (-i), -ος (-os), -μα (- ma), -σιμο (- simo), -ας (- as), and -ως (- os). We usually group the last two together because they are declined in exactly the same way. From these groups, the ones ending in -o (-o), -ι (-i), and - ος (-os) are parisyllabic and the ones ending in -μα (- ma), -σιμο (- simo), -ας (- as), and -ως (-os) are imparisyllabic.

In the tables that follow, we show how nouns from all categories are declined; we have tried to use as many of the nouns we used in our dialogue as possible!

Neuters in - o ( - o): Parisyllabic

Singular

Case G reek Romanization "English"

το εστιατόριο Nom inative to estiatorio "the restaurant"

του εστιατορίου G enitive tou estiatoriou "the restaurant's"

το εστιατόριο Accusative to estiatorio "the restaurant"

Vocative εστιατόριο estiatorio "restaurant"

Case G reek Romanization "English"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #23 - NOW, WHERE WAS I T I N GREECE? 6 τα εστιατόρια Nom inative ta estiatoria "the restaurants"

των εστιατορίων G enitive ton estiatorion "the restaurants'"

τα εστιατόρια Accusative ta estiatoria "the restaurant"

Vocative εστιατόρια estiatoria "restaurants"

Neuters in -ι ( - i): Parisyllabic

Singular

Case G reek Romanization "English"

το φανάρι Nom inative to fanari "the traffic light"

του φαναριού G enitive tou fanariou "the traffic light's"

το φανάρι Accusative to fanari "the traffic light"

Vocative φανάρι fanari "traffic light"

Plural

Case G reek Romanization "English"

τα φανάρια Nom inative ta fanaria "the traffic lights"

των φαναριών G enitive ton fanarion "the traffic lights'"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #23 - NOW, WHERE WAS I T I N GREECE? 7 τα φανάρια Accusative ta fanari "the traffic lights"

Vocative φανάρια fanaria "traffic lights"

Neuter in -ος (- os): Parisyllabic

Singular

Case G reek Romanization "English"

το λάθος Nom inative to lathos "the mistake"

του λάθους G enitive tou lathous "the mistake's"

το λάθος Accusative to lathos "the mistake"

Vocative λάθος lathos "mistake"

Plural

Case G reek Romanization "English"

τα λάθη Nom inative ta lathi "the mistakes"

των λαθών G enitive ton lathon "the mistakes'"

τα λάθη Accusative ta lathi "the mistakes"

Vocative λάθη lathi "mistakes"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #23 - NOW, WHERE WAS I T I N GREECE? 8 Neuters in -μα (- m a): Imparisyllabic

Singular

Case G reek Romanization "English"

το κύμα Nom inative to kyma "the wave"

του κύματος G enitive tou kymatos "the wave's"

το κύμα Accusative to kyma "the wave"

Vocative κύμα kyma "wave"

Plural

Case G reek Romanization "English"

τα κύματα Nom inative ta kymata "the waves"

των κυμάτων G enitive ton kymaton "the waves'"

τα κύματα Accusative ta kymata "the waves"

Vocative κύματα kymata "waves"

Neuters in -σιμο (- sim o): Imparisyllabic

Singular

Case G reek Romanization "English"

το γράψιμο Nom inative to grapsimo "the writing"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #23 - NOW, WHERE WAS I T I N GREECE? 9 του γραψίματος G enitive tou grapsimatos "the writing's"

το γράψιμο Accusative to grapsimo "the writing"

Vocative γράψιμο grapsimo "writing"

Plural

Case G reek Romanization "English"

τα γραψίματα Nom inative ta grapsimata the writings

των γραψιμάτων G enitive ton grapsimaton the writings'

τα γραψίματα Accusative ta grapsimata the writings

Vocative γραψίματα grapsimata writings

Neuters in -ως (- os): Imparisyllabic

Singular

Case G reek Romanization "English"

το φως Nom inative to fos "the light"

του φωτός G enitive tou fotos "the light's"

το φως Accusative to fos "the light"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #23 - NOW, WHERE WAS I T I N GREECE? 10 Vocative φως fos "light"

Case G reek Romanization "English"

τα φώτα Nom inative ta fota "the lights"

των φώτων G enitive ton foton "the lights'"

τα φώτα Accusative ta fota "the lights"

Vocative φώτα fota "lights"

Neuter in -ας (- as): Imparisyllabic

Singular

Case G reek Romanization "English"

το κρέας Nom inative to kreas "the meat"

του κρέατος G enitive tou kreatos "the meat's"

το κρέας Accusative to kreas "the meat"

Vocative κρέας kreas "meat"

Plural

Case G reek Romanization "English"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #23 - NOW, WHERE WAS I T I N GREECE? 11 τα κρέατα Nom inative ta kreata "the meats"

των κρεάτων G enitive ton kreaton "the meats'"

τα κρέατα Accusative ta kreata "the meats"

Vocative κρέατα kreata "meats"

Some general notes about nouns of the third declension (i.e., neuter-gendered nouns):

All neuter nouns have three identical cases in both numbers: the nominative, the • accusative, and the vocative.

• All neuter nouns form their genitive plural with the ending -ων (- on).

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Navigating Athens

We have mentioned in a previous lesson that Athens is not a friendly city for users of public transportation. In this lesson, we will uncover one more sad truth: it is even worse for car drivers! There are many alleys (like the one mentioned in our dialogue), the direction of many smaller streets can change from one year to the other (meaning some right turns you remember might not be still there after a while), and there are cars parked literally everywhere, blocking the view and not allowing drivers to see the names of the streets or who is coming from the next corner. Add to that a rather limited road-sign plan from the local and central government, not to mention the sheer number of other cars waiting for you to turn, park, or ask for directions, and you have a total mess! Luckily, most Greeks are very helpful when you ask for directions, so at least you won't get lost. However, there is a good chance you will arrive late, so make sure to start early. Taking a taxi is not going to make things easier; some areas of Athens are such labyrinths that even taxi drivers don't get by without a GPS that they consult all the time.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #23 - NOW, WHERE WAS I T I N GREECE? 12 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #24 Cheaper and Better in Greece

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 4 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 7 Grammar 13 Cultural Insight

# 24

1. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Το φαγητό σ' αυτό το μέρος είναι από τα νοστιμότερα που έχω δοκιμάσει!

2. Κωσταντίνα Παπαδοπούλου: Ναι, είναι από τα καλύτερα εστιατόρια που ξέρουμε. Και αρκετά φτηνότερο από άλλα της περιοχής.

3. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Καλύτερο και φτηνότερο –εξαιρετικός συνδυασμός!

4. Δανάη Όμως ο περισσότερος κόσμος πιστεύει ότι όταν κάτι είναι Παπαδοπούλου: ακριβότερο είναι πάντα καλύτερο.

ROMANIZATION

1. Pétra Górdon: To fagitó s' aftó to méros íne apó ta nostimótera pu ého dokimási!

2. Kostandína Ne, íne apó ta kalítera estiatória pu xérume. Ke arketá ftinótero apó Papadopúlu: ála tis periohís.

3. Pétra Górdon: Kalítero ke ftinótero –exeretikós sindiasmós!

4. Danái Ómos o perisóteros kósmos pistévi óti ótan káti íne akrivótero íne Papadopúlu: pánda kalítero.

ENGLISH

1. Petra Gordon: The food in this place is among the best I've tasted.

2. Kostantina Yes, it's one of the best restaurants we know. And quite cheaper Papadopoulou: than others in the area.

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #24 - CHEAPER AND BETTER I N GREECE 2 3. Petra Gordon: Better and cheaper—great combination!

4. Danai Still, most people believe that when something is more expensive, it Papadopoulou: is always better.

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

νοστιμότερο nostimotero tastier adjective neuter

ξέρουμε kseroume we know verb

συνδυασμός sindiasmós combination noun masculine

φτηνότερο ftinotero cheaper adjective neuter

καλύτερο kalytero better adjective neuter

δοκιμάζω dokimazo I try, taste verb

εξαιρετικός eksairetikos great, superb adjective masculine

he/she/it πιστεύει pisteuei believes verb

όταν ótan when conjunction

ακριβότερο akrivotero more expensive adjective

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Το φαγητό της είναι νοστιμότερο Υπ άρχουν πολλά πράγματα που απ ό το δικό μου. δε ν ξέρουμε. To fagito tis einai nostimotero apo to diko mou. Yparchoun polla pragmata pou den kseroume.

"Her food is tastier than mine." "There are many things we don't know."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #24 - CHEAPER AND BETTER I N GREECE 3 Ξέ ρε ις τον συνδυασμό για το Δε ν μου αρέσει ο συνδυασμός χρηματοκιβώτιο; π ορτοκάλι με σοκολάτα. Ksereis ton syndyasmo gia to chrimatokivotio? Den mu arési o sindiasmós portokáli me sokoláta. "Do you know the safe's combination?" "I do not like the combination of orange and chocolate."

Δε ν υπάρχει κάποιο φτηνότερο Έχε ις καμιά καλύτερη ιδέα; ξ ε νοδοχε ίο; Echeis kamia kalyteri idea?

Den yparchei kapoio ftinotero ksenodocheio? "Do you have a better idea?" "Isn't there a cheaper hotel?"

Θα δοκιμάσω να τον πάρω Ο καφές αυτός είναι εξαιρετικός! τηλέ φω νο. O kafes autos einai eksairetikos!

Tha dokimaso na ton paro tilefono. "This coffee is great!" "I'll try to call him."

Πισ τε ύε ι ό,τι του πεις. Θα έρθω όταν τελειώσω. Pisteuei o,ti tou peis. Tha ertho otan teleioso.

"He believes anything you tell him." "I will come when I'm finished."

Όταν κάνει μπάνιο, σιγοτραγουδά Όταν μεγαλώσω θα πάω να ζήσω όπ ε ρα. σ ε ένα παραθαλάσσιο χωριό. O eortázon mas kérase tártes me fráula. Ótan megalóso tha páo na zíso se éna parathalásio horió. "When he takes bath he slowly sings opera." "When I grow up, I will go to live at a coastal village."

Αυτό το ρολόι είναι ακριβότερο από αυτό που έχετε στη βιτρίνα. Auto to roloi einai akrivotero apo auto pou echete sti vitrina.

"This watch is more expensive than the one you have in the window."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

We can better translate the expression "Do you have a better idea" in Greek with the

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #24 - CHEAPER AND BETTER I N GREECE 4 expression Έχεις καμιά καλύτερη ιδέα; (Echeis kam ia kalyteri idea?) Although the translation is almost literal, there is one word in there that we use idiomatically in Greek; it's the pronoun καμιά (kamia), which literally means "none." There are several situations when everyday Greek makes uses use of these negative pronouns κανένας (kanenas), καμία or καμιά (kamia), and κανένα (kanena) - all meaning "none," but each is for one of the three genders; masculine, feminine, and neuter, respectively- in the place of the English "a"/"an," "any," or "some."

For Example:

1. Ξέρεις κανένα καλό εστιατόριο εδώ κοντά; Ksereis kanena kalo estiatorio edo konta? "Do you know any good restaurants near here?"

2. Λέω να πάω καμιά βόλτα. Leo na pao kamia volta. "I'm thinking of going for a walk."

3. Θα έρθει κανένας συνάδελφός σου στο πάρτυ; Tha erthei kanenas synadelfos sou sto party? "Are any of your co-workers coming to the party?"

We can write all these examples with the corresponding indefinite pronouns κάποιος (kapoios), κάποια (kapoia), and κάποιο (kapoio) - "some" or "someone" in the three genders- or ένας (enas), μία or μια (mia), and ένα (ena) - "a"/"an" in the three genders.

For Example:

1. Ξέρεις κάποι καλό εστιατόριο εδώ κοντά; Ksereis kapoio kalo estiatorio edo konta? "Do you know any good restaurants near here?"

2. Λέω να πάω μια βόλτα. Leo na pao mia volta "I'm thinking of going for a walk."

3. Θα έρθει κάποιος συνάδελφός σου στο πάρτυ; Tha erthei kapoios synadelfos sou sto party? "Are any of your co-workers coming to the party?"

The sentences in this second set are grammatically correct, and we can use them instead of

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #24 - CHEAPER AND BETTER I N GREECE 5 the ones in the first set, but the ones in the first set are more natural. We suggest you get used to using the negative pronouns instead; your Greek will sound much better!

We can translate the verb dokim az o both as "I try" (i.e., when shopping or when attempting something new) and as "I taste" (i.e., when eating). The context provides us with information regarding when the one or the other meaning is conveyed.

For Example:

1. Το πρώτο πουκάμισο που δοκίμασες σου πήγαινε καλύτερα. To proto poukamiso pou dokimases sou pigaine kalytera. "The first shirt you tried was a better fit."

2. Δοκίμασα ένα καταπληκτικό τζιζκέικ. Dokimasa ena katapliktiko cheesecake. "I tried an amazing cheesecake."

In a previous lesson, we mentioned the conjunction ότι (oti), which corresponds to the English "that" - είπα ότι θα το κάνω και θα το κάνω eipa( oti tha to kano kai tha to kano) means "I said that I'll do it, and I will"- and we also mentioned that there is a similar word, ό,τι (o,ti), which has a different meaning. In one of our sample sentences in this lesson, we use this second o,ti; it's the phrase Πιστεύει ό,τι του πεις (Pisteuei o,ti tou peis), which means "He believes anything you tell him." This ό,τι (o,ti) is a relative pronoun, and we can use it as a substitute for οτιδήποτε (otidipote), meaning "anything."

For Example:

1. Μπορείς να παραγγείλεις οτιδήποτε υπάρχει στον κατάλογο. Mporeis na paraggeileis otidipote yparchei ston katalogo. "You can order anything that's on the menu."

2. Κάνε οτιδήποτε πρέπει να κάνεις. Kane otidipote prepei na kaneis. "Do anything you need to do."

3. Μπορείς να παραγγείλεις ό,τι υπάρχει στον κατάλογο. Mporeis na paraggeileis o,ti yparchei ston katalogo. "You can order anything that's on the menu."

4. Κάνε ό,τι πρέπει να κάνεις. Kane o,ti prepei na kaneis. "Do anything you need to do."

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #24 - CHEAPER AND BETTER I N GREECE 6 As we mentioned in the previous lesson, these words are very similar, so their correct use is sometimes challenging even for native speakers.

We have translated the temporal conjunction όταν (otan) as "when." Note that this corresponds to the English conjunction "when" ("I will come when I'm finished") and not the interrogative adverb "πότε" (Πότε θα έρθεις; "When will you come?") or the relative adverb "που" (Η Τετάρτη είναι η μέρα που πηγαίνω στο γυμναστήριο "Wednesday is the day when I go to the gym").

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is Com paring Adjectives with the Comparative Degree. Φτηνότερο από άλλα Ftinotero apo alla "Cheaper than others."

In this lesson (and the next), we will be focusing on how to compare adjectives, starting with the comparative degree. When two or more nouns share a quality or an attribute, there are occasions when one has this quality or attribute to a different degree than the other. On those occasions, the adjectives we use to describe this quality or attribute take different forms to express this phenomenon; we call these forms "degrees of the adjective." Greek adjectives have three degrees: the positive, the comparative, and the superlative. The first one (i.e., the positive degree) is their normal form: that is, the form we usually use to express the particular quality or attribute.

For Example:

1. Αυτό το αυτοκίνητο είναι γρήγορο. Auto to autokinito einai grigoro. "This car is fast."

2. Αυτό το φαγητό είναι νόστιμο. Auto to fagito einai nostimo. "This food is tasty."

3. Αυτό το βιβλίο είναι ενδιαφέρον. Auto to vivlio einai endiaferon. "This book is interesting."

All the above are absolute statements of quality; in other words, adjectives are in a positive degree. But when we want to express that one noun has a particular attribute to a greater or

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #24 - CHEAPER AND BETTER I N GREECE 7 lesser degree, we will use the form called the comparative degree.

For Example:

1. Αυτό το αυτοκίνητο είναι πιο γρήγορο από εκείνο. Auto to autokinito einai pio grigoro apo ekeino. "This car is faster than that one."

2. Αυτό το φαγητό είναι νοστιμότερο από το άλλο. Auto to fagito einai nostimotero apo to allo. "This food is tastier than the other."

3. Αυτό το βιβλίο είναι πιο ενδιαφέρον από τα άλλα. Auto to vivlio einai pio endiaferon apo ta alla. "This book is more interesting than the others."

Since this lesson focuses on the comparative degree, we will leave the superlative for the next one; for now, just remember that it exists!

As is the case with English, Modern Greek too has two ways of forming the comparative degree of an adjective; one is periphrastically (i.e., with the use of more than one word), and one is with the use of a suffix at the end of the adjective. Interestingly, the periphrastic way is easier because we always form it with the addition of the quantitative adverb πιο (pio), which is equivalent to the English comparative adverb "more."

For Example:

1. Η ξανθιά ηθοποιός είναι πιο όμορφη από την καστανή. I ksanthia ithopoios einai pio omorfi apo tin kastani. "The blonde actress is more beautiful than the brunette."

2. Η δεύτερή του ταινία είναι πιο τρομαχτική από την πρώτη. I deuteri tou tainia einai pio tromaktiki apo tin proti. "His second movie is more scary than the first."

3. Το χρυσό δαχτυλίδι είναι πιο ακριβό από το ασημένιο. To xryso dachtylidi einai pio akrivo apo to asimenio. "The gold ring is more expensive than the silver one."

There is an important different with English, though: in English, we do not use "more" with all adjectives: the phrase "this car is more fast than the other" is not grammatically wrong, but it

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #24 - CHEAPER AND BETTER I N GREECE 8 isn't natural English; instead, we will use "this car is faster than the other." In Greek, however, even the adjectives that have a comparative degree that we can create with the use of a suffix (see below) sound perfectly natural if we form their comparative with the use of πιο (pio).

As we mentioned above, besides using the quantitative adverb pio, many adjectives have a single-word comparative degree that we create with the suffix/ending -τερος (- teros), -τερη (-teri), and -τερο (- tero) for masculine, feminine, and neuter, respectively.

For Example:

1. Ο παίχτης με το νούμερο 10 είναι πιο ψηλός από αυτόν με το νούμερο11. O paiktis me to noumero 10 einai pio psilos apo auton me to noumero 11. "The player with the number ten is more tall than the one with the number eleven."

2. Ο παίχτης με το νούμερο 10 είναι ψηλότερος από αυτόν με το νούμερο 11. O paiktis me to noumero 10 einai psiloteros apo auton me to noumero 11. "The player with the number ten is taller than the one with the number eleven."

3. Το φόρεμά της φαίνεται πιο λευκό στη φωτογραφία. To forema tis fainetai pio leuko sti fotografia. "Her dress looks more white in the picture."

4. Το φόρεμά της φαίνεται λευκότερο στη φωτογραφία. To forema tis fainetai leukotero sti fotografia. "Her dress looks whiter in the picture."

In the examples above, the adjectives ψηλός (psilos), meaning "tall," and λευκό (leuko), meaning "white," form their comparative both periphrastically with πιο (pio) - πιο ψηλός (pio psilos), πιο λευκό (pio leuko) - and with the suffix ψηλότερος (psiloteros), λευκότερο (leukotero).

Remember that not all adjectives have a single-word comparative degree; the adjective endiaferon, meaning "interesting," is a typical example: as in English, there's no "interesting- er," so in Greek too there is no ενδιαφέρον-ότερος (endiaferon-oteros)!

In the tables that follow, we have included various common adjectives and their comparative degree. For the ones that a single-word comparative degree exists, we have included it; for the others, we just use a double minus symbol ("--"). All adjectives are in their masculine gender, as is usually given in Greek dictionaries; feminine and neuter genders of the adjective follow the same rules.

Positive Degree

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #24 - CHEAPER AND BETTER I N GREECE 9 G reek Romanization "English"

κόκκινος kokkinos "red"

μαύρος mauros "black"

φωτεινός foteinos "bright"

σκοτεινός skoteinos "dark"

μικρός mikros "small"

νόστιμος nostimos "tasty"

ψηλός psilos "tall"

κοντός kontos "short"

βαρύς varys "heavy"

ελαφρύς elafrys "light"

ενδιαφέρων endiaferon "interesting"

βαρετός varetos "boring"

γρήγορος grigoros "fast"

αργός argos "slow"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #24 - CHEAPER AND BETTER I N GREECE 10 Comparative Degree

G reek Romanization "English"

πιο κόκκινος pio kokkinos "more red" (κοκκινότερος) (kokkinoteros) ("redder")

πιο μαύρος pio mauros "more black" (μαυρίτερος) (mauriteros) ("blacker")

πιο φωτεινός pio foteinos "more bright" (φωτεινότερος) (foteinoteros) ("brighter")

πιο σκοτεινός pio skoteinos "more dark" (σκοτεινότερος) (skoteinoteros) ("darker")

πιο μικρός pio mikros "more small" (μικρότερος) (mikroteros) ("smaller")

πιο νόστιμος pio nostimos "more tasty" (νοστιμότερος) (nostimoteros) ("tastier")

πιο ψηλός pio psilos "more tall" (ψηλότερος) (psiloteros) ("taller")

πιο κοντός pio kontos "more short" (κοντότερος) (kontoteros) ("shorter")

πιο βαρύς pio varys "more heavy" (βαρύτερος) (varyteros) ("heavier")

πιο ελαφρύς pio elafrys "more light" (ελαφρύτερος) (elafryteros) ("lighter")

πιο ενδιαφέρων pio endiaferon "more interesting" (--) (--) (--)

πιο βαρετός pio varetos "more boring" (βαρετότερος) (varetoteros *) (--)

πιο γρήγορος pio grigoros "more fast" (γρηγορότερος) (grigoroteros) ("faster")

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #24 - CHEAPER AND BETTER I N GREECE 11 πιο αργός pio argos "more slow" (αργότερος) (argoteros) ("slower")

* Although the form varetoteros exists, it sounds somehow unnatural, so most people would say "more boring."

As you can see from the table above, depending on the adjective's ending, the suffix/ending - τερος (-teros) can become -ότερος (- oteros), -ύτερος (- yteros), and -έστερος (- esteros). The rule is:

• For adjectives in -ος (- os), the suffix becomes -ότερος (- oteros)

• For adjectives in -ύς (- ys), the suffix becomes -ύτερος (- yteros)

• For adjectives in -ης, -ες (- es), the suffix becomes -έστερος (- esteros)

There are four notable exceptions to the above rules; that is, adjectives that are irregular. Since they are very common, we mention their positive and comparative degrees in the following tables:

Positive Degree

G reek Romanization "English"

καλός kalos "good"

μεγάλος megalos "big"

κακός kakos "bad"

πολύς polys "much"

Comparative Degree

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #24 - CHEAPER AND BETTER I N GREECE 12 G reek Romanization "English"

πιο καλός pio kalos "more good" (καλύτερος) (kalyteros) ("better")

πιο μεγάλος pio megalos (μεγαλύτερος) (megalyteros) "bigger"

πιο κακός pio kakos "more bad" (χειρότερος) (cheiroteros) ("worse")

πιο πολύς pio polys (περισσότερος) (perissoteros) "more"

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Prices in G reece

The cost of living in a country is not an easy subject to tackle, so we will not pretend to do it adequately. There is one thing we can say though: gone are the days when Greece was supposed to be a cheap place to spend your holidays in. Especially after the creation of the Euro and Greece's inclusion in the Eurozone, prices are pretty much the same as in all western European countries and, according to some accounts, even more expensive, especially in some very popular consumer products, notorious among which is coffee (which is rather strange, considering how much coffee Greeks drink!). So if you are traveling to Greece, be prepared to spend the same kind of money that you would spend in Italy, Spain, or France. There is one upside, though: depending on where in the country you will travel (and sometimes even in Athens), you can still find some great and very cheap restaurants. Ask a Greek friend about any neighborhood tavernaki (literally, "small taverna"; the Greek word taverna comes from the same origin as the English word "tavern" but means a "traditional-style restaurant"), and you won't be disappointed. The service will be very casual, but the taste and the prices will surprise you!

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #24 - CHEAPER AND BETTER I N GREECE 13 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #25 The Best Greece Has to Oﬀer!

CONTENTS

2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 4 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 6 Grammar 13 Cultural Insight

# 25

1. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Βεβαίως, το πιο νόστιμο ελληνικό φαγητό που έχω φάει, είναι της Δανάης!

2. Δανάη Ευχαριστώ! Αλλά είναι το λιγότερο που μπορώ να κάνω αυτόν τον Παπαδοπούλου: καιρό. Η δουλειά στο γραφείο μου τρώει τις περισσότερες ώρες της ημέρας.

3. Κώσταντίνα Παπαδοπούλου: Παρ' όλα αυτά, θα συμφωνήσω με την Πέτρα—το φαγητό σου είναι το καλύτερο!

4. Δανάη Σταματήστε—έχω γίνει κατακόκκινη! Παπαδοπούλου:

ROMANIZATION

1. Pétra Górdon: Vevéos, to pio nóstimo elinikó fagitó pu ého fái, íne tis Danáis!

2. Danái Efharistó! Alá íne to ligótero pu boró na káno aftón ton keró. Ι duliá Papadopúlu: sto grafío mu trói tis perisóteres óres tis iméras.

3. Kóstandína Par' óla aftá, tha simfoníso me tin Pétra—to fagitó su íne to kalítero! Papadopúlu:

4. Danái Stamatíste—ého yíni katakókini! Papadopúlu:

ENGLISH

1. Petra Gordon: Of course, the most delicious Greek food I've tasted is Danai's!

CONT'D OVER

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #25 - THE BES T GREECE HAS TO OFFER! 2 2. Danai Thank you. But it's the least I can do these days. My work in the Papadopoulou: office takes up most hours of my day.

3. Kostantina Still, I will agree with Petra—your cooking is the best! Papadopoulou:

4. Danai Stop it—I'm blushing! Papadopoulou:

VOCABULARY

Greek Romanization English Class Gender

περισσότερες perissoteres more/most adjective feminine

συμφωνώ symfono I agree verb

γίνομαι ginomai to become

conjunctive Παρ' όλα αυτά par' ola auta still, regardless adverb

βεβαίως vevéos certainly adverb

λιγότερο ligotero less/least adjective neuter

ημέρα imera day noun feminine

σταματάω stamatáo to stop verb

κατακόκκινος katakokkinos blood-red adjective

SAMPLE SENTENCES

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #25 - THE BES T GREECE HAS TO OFFER! 3 Τις περισσότερες ημέρες μένω στο Δε συμφωνώ με την πρότασή του. γραφε ίο ως τις 7:00. De symfono me tin protasi tou.

Tis perissoteres imeres, meno sto grafeio os tis 7:00. "I don't agree with his proposal."

"Most days, I stay at the office until 7:00."

Όπ οτε ακούω τέτοια πράγματα Όσ ο περισσότερο μελετάς, τόσο γίνομαι έξω φρενών καλύτε ρος γίνεσαι. Opote akouo tetoia pragmata ginomai ekso frenon Oso perissotero meletas, toso kalyteros ginesai.

"Whenever I hear such things I become "The more you practice, the better you very angry." become."

Παρ' όλα αυτά, δεν έχει πειστεί Βε βαίω ς τον ειδοποίησα αμέσως. ακόμα. Vevaios ton eidopoiisa amesos.

Par' ola auta den echei peistei akoma. "Of course, I notified him immediately." "He still isn't convinced yet."

Χρε ιάζ ε ται λιγότερο από μια Τις περισσότερες ημέρες μένω στο ε βδομάδα; γραφε ίο ως τις 7:00. Chreiazetai ligotero apo mia evdomada? Tis perissoteres imeres, meno sto grafeio os tis 7:00. "Will it take less than a week?" "Most days, I stay at the office until 7:00."

Τώ ρα δε μας σταματάει τίποτα. Σταμάτησ ε στο κόκκινο φανάρι. Tora de mas stamataei tipota. Stamátise sto kókkino fanári.

"Nothing stops us now." "He stopped in front of the red light."

Φ ορούσ ε ένα κατακόκκινο φόρεμα. Forouse katakokkino forema.

"She was wearing a blood-red dress."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

In our dialogue, we have the expression "My work in the office takes up most hours of my day." The most careful readers might have noticed that the corresponding Greek expression

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #25 - THE BES T GREECE HAS TO OFFER! 4 uses the verb τρώω (troo), meaning "to eat": Η δουλειά στο γραφείο μου τρώει τις περισσότερες ώρες της ημέρας (I douleia sto grafeio mou troei tis perissoteres ores tis imeras). This is an idiomatic use of the verb τρώω (troo), meaning "XYZ takes a big amount of time" (you can think of it as "it eats up"), and we can use it either with the personal pronoun μου (mou), σου (sou), or του (tou), meaning "my," "your," or "his," respectively, or not.

For Example:

1. Θα μου φαέι μια εβδομάδα για να το κάνω. Tha mou faei mia ebdomada gia na to kano. "It will take me a week to do it."

2. Έφαγε έναν μήνα και ακόμα είναι στην αρχή. Efage enan mina kai akoma einai stin archi. "He has spent a month, and he's still at the beginning."

3. Έφαγα όλες τις διακοπές στην Αθήνα. Efaga oles tis diakopes stin Athina. "I spent all my vacation time in Athens."

The word κατακόκκινος (katakokkinos) means "very red"; that's why we have translated it as "blood red." Actually, it is the superlative degree of the adjective κόκκινος (kokkinos), meaning "red," but we will talk in detail about that in our main grammar point. Here, we would like to point out that it's also an idiom meaning that someone is blushing (i.e., he has become red from shame or shyness) or that someone is very irritated (i.e., he has become red from anger). We can convey the same meaning with the verb κοκκινίζω (kokkinizo), meaning "I become red" or "I redden."

For Example:

1. Σταμάτα, θα κοκκινίσω. Stamata, tha kokkiniso. "Stop it, I'll blush." (literally, "I'll become red.")

2. Σταμάτα, έχω κοκκινίσει. Stamata, echo kokkinisei. "Stop it, I'm blushing." (literally, "I have become red.")

In one of our sample sentences Όσο περισσότερο μελετάς, τόσο καλύτερος γίνεσαι (Oso perissotero meletas, toso kalyteros ginesai), we have translated the verb μελετάω (m eletao) as "practice" ("The more you practice, the better you become"). Μελετάω

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #25 - THE BES T GREECE HAS TO OFFER! 5 (Meletao) actually means "I study/I'm studying," but there are many occasions in Greek when it is better rendered in English as "practice." The most obvious case is with musical instruments: Greeks don't say Εξασκούμαι στο πιάνο κάθε μέρα (Eksaskoumai sto piano kathe mera) - the verb εξασκούμαι (eksaskoumai) is a better word for "I practice"- but rather say Μελετάω πιάνο κάθε μέρα (Meletao piano kathe mera) - meaning literally, "I study piano every day"- when they want to say that they practice the piano every day.

The expression παρ' όλα αυτά (par' ola auta) literally means "besides all these." In our dialogue, we have translated it as "still" (in the sense of "regardless"). It is a very useful everyday expression, and we suggest memorizing it: it will give your Greek a very natural feel. Like the English "still," we can use it as a standalone phrase when you have more to say but the situation doesn't allow it.

For Example:

1. Του είπα ό,τι είχα να του πω, μου είπε την άποψή του και κλείσαμε το τηλέφωνο. Παρ'όλα αυτά... Tou eipa o,ti eicha na tou po, mou eipe tin apopsi tou kai kleisame to tilefono. Par' ola auta... "I told him what I had to tell him, he told me his opinion, and we hang up. Still..."

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is the Superlative Degree of Adjectives.

Τ ο πιο νόστιμο ελληνικό φαγητό

To pio nostim o elliniko fagito

"the m ost delicious G reek food"

In this second lesson on adjective comparison, we will focus on the superlative degree. As we mentioned in our previous lesson, there are occasions when we need to compare a particular quality or attribute of a noun; we express such qualities or attributes with adjectives, so adjectives need to take different forms to express any differences that occur. These different forms are called "degrees" of the adjectives. And Modern Greek has three such degrees: positive, comparative, and superlative. The positive degree is the normal state of the adjective (i.e., just the expression of the quality/attribute), the comparative degree is the form the adjective takes when expressing that noun A has the particular attribute in a greater degree than noun B, and the superlative degree is the form the adjective takes when it expresses that noun A has the particular attribute in a degree much greater than any similar noun.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #25 - THE BES T GREECE HAS TO OFFER! 6 For Example:

1. Αυτό το βουνό είναι ψηλό. Auto to bouno einai psilo. "This mountain is tall." (positive)

2. Αυτό το βουνό είναι ψηλότερο από το άλλο. Auto to bouno einai psilotero apo to allo. "This mountain is taller than the other." (comparative)

3. Αυτό το βουνό είναι το ψηλότερο απ'όλα. Auto to bouno einai to psilotero ap' ola. "This mountain is the tallest of all." (superlative)

The superlative degree in Greek can be of two kinds:

The relative superlative is when it indicates that the noun mentioned has the particular quality/ attribute in the highest degree in the when compared to all similar nouns.

For Example:

1. Το Έβερεστ είναι το ψηλότερο βουνό στον κόσμο. To Everest einai to psilotero vouno ston kosmo. "Everest is the highest mountain in the world."

The absolute superlative is when it indicates that the noun mentioned has the particular quality/attribute in the highest degree but without comparing it.

For Example:

1. Αυτό το αυτοκίνητο είναι κατάμαυρο. Auto to autokinito einai katamauro. "This car is pitch black."

If you have studied our lesson about the comparative degree, forming the relative superlative will come very easily: all we need to do is add the definite article before the comparative degree of the adjective - it does not matter whether we form the comparative degree periphrastically or with the suffix/ending -τερος (teros)

For Example:

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #25 - THE BES T GREECE HAS TO OFFER! 7 1. Αυτό το σπίτι είναι πιο μεγάλο από εκείνο. Auto to spiti einai pio megalo apo ekeino. "This house is bigger than that one." (comparative) Αυτό το σπίτι είναι το πιο μεγάλο από όλα. Auto to spiti einai to pio megalo apo ola. "This house is the biggest of all." (superlative)

2. Αυτό το κρασί είναι πιο γλυκό από εκείνο. Auto to krasi einai pio gluko apo ekeino. "This wine is sweeter than that." (comparative) Αυτό το κρασί είναι το πιο γλυκό από όλα. Auto to krasi einai to pio gluko apo ola. "This wine is the sweetest of all." (superlative)

3. Αυτό το αυτοκίνητο είναι γρηγορότερο από εκείνο. Auto to autokinito einai grigorotero apo ekeino. "This car is faster than that one." (comparative) Αυτό το αυτοκίνητο είναι το γρηγορότερο από όλα. Auto to autokinito einai to grigorotero apo ola. "This car is the fastest of all." (superlative)

4. Αυτό το φαγητό είναι νοστιμότερο από εκείνο. Auto to fagito einai nostimotero apo ekeino. "This food is tastier than that." (comparative) Αυτό το φαγητό είναι το νοστιμότερο από όλα. Auto to fagito einai to nostimotero apo ola. "This food is the tastiest of all." (superlative)

The absolute superlative is a little more complicated because we can create it in different ways:

By adding the suffix -τατος (- tatos), which can be either -ότατος (- otatos) or -ύτατος (- ytatos), depending on whether the adjective ends in -ος (- os) or -υς (- ys)

For Example:

1. Positive: ακριβός (akrivosi) "expensive"; superlative: ακριβότατος (akrivotatos) "most expensive"

2. Positive: φτηνός (ftinos) "cheap"; superlative: φτηνότατος (ftinotatos) "cheapest"

3. Positive: βαθύς (vathys) "deep"; superlative: βαθύτατος (bathytatos) "deepest"

4. Positive: πλατύς (platys) "wide"; superlative: πλατύτατος (platytatos) "most wide"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #25 - THE BES T GREECE HAS TO OFFER! 8 By adding the adverb πολύ (poly), meaning "very," before the positive degree of the adjective

For Example:

1. Positive: μαύρος (mauros) "black"; superlative: πολύ μαύρος (poly mauros) "very black"

2. Positive: δυνατός (dynatos) "strong"; superlative: πολύ δυνατός (poly dynatos) "very strong"

3. Positive: καλός (kalos) "good"; superlative: πολύ καλός (poly kalos) "very good"

4. Positive: μεγάλος (megalos) "big"; superlative: πολύ μεγάλος (poly megalos) "very big"

By creating a compound with the use of the adjective όλο (olo), meaning "all," the preposition κατά (kata), literally meaning "against" but in this context meaning "completely," and the Ancient Greek adjective παν (pan), meaning "all" or "everything."

For Example:

1. Positive: λευκός (leukos), "white"; superlative: ολόλευκος (ololeukos) "all white"

2. Positive: ψηλός (psilos) "tall"; superlative: πανύψηλος (panypsilos) "very tall"

3. Positive: πράσινος (prasinos) "green"; superlative: καταπράσινος (kataprasinos) "completely green"

It's worth noting that not all the above ways to form a superlative fit all adjectives. Even more so, some absolute superlatives are grammatically correct, but they sound unnatural even to very well-educated Greeks; this means that unless you know that an absolute superlative is indeed used, choose to use the relative superlative instead. For example, even though most adjectives signifying a color have an absolute superlative that we usually form with kata- and occasionally with olo-, the adjectives μπλε (mple), meaning "blue," μοβ (mov), meaning "purple," and ροζ (roz), meaning "pink," and a few others don't, probably because they are not Greek words; instead, they come from French.

In the table that follows, we show some common adjectives in all three degrees (positive, comparative, and superlative); we form the comparative degrees both periphrastically and in their one-word form, and we form the superlative degrees in both the relative and the absolute type. We have used the masculine gender of the adjectives since this is the one used in dictionaries; we form the feminine and neuter genders in exactly the same way.

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #25 - THE BES T GREECE HAS TO OFFER! 9 Type G reek Romanization "English"

Positive κίτρινος kitrinos "yellow"

πιο κίτρινος/ pio kitrinos/ κιτρινότερος Comparative kitrinoteros "more yellow"

ο πιο κίτρινος / o pio kitrinos/ κατακίτρινος Superlative katakitrinos "the most yellow"

Positive λευκός leukos "white"

πιο λευκός/ pio leukos/ λευκότερος Comparative leukoteros "whiter"

ο πιο λευκός/ o pio leukos/ κατάλευκος Superlative kataleukos "whitest"

Positive ακριβός akrivos "expensive"

πιο ακριβός/ pio akrivos/ ακριβότερος Comparative akrivoteros "more expensive"

ο πιο ακριβός/ o pio akrivos/ πανάκριβος Superlative panakrivos "most expensive"

Positive φτηνός ftinos "cheap"

πιο φτηνός/ φτηνότερος Comparative pio ftinos/ftinoteros "cheaper"

ο πιο φτηνός/ φτηνότατος Superlative o pio ftinos/ftinotatos "cheapest"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #25 - THE BES T GREECE HAS TO OFFER! 10 Positive ασφαλής asfalis "safe"

πιο ασφαλής/ pio asfalis/ ασφαλέστερος Comparative asfalesteros "safer"

ο πιο ασφαλής/ o pio asfalis/ ασφαλέστατος Superlative asfalestatos "safest"

Positive παχυντικός pachyntikos "fattening"

πιο παχυντικός/ pio pachyntikos/ παχυντικότερος Comparative pachyntikoteros "more fattening"

ο πιο παχυντικός/ o pio pachyntikos/ παχυντικότατος Superlative pachyntikotatos "most fattening"

Positive δυνατός dynatos "strong"

πιο δυνατός/ pio dynatos/ δυνατότερος Comparative dynatoteros "stronger"

ο πιο δυνατός/ o pio dynatos/ παντοδύναμος Superlative pantodynamos "strongest"

Positive σιγανός siganos "quiet"

πιο σιγανός/ pio siganos/ σιγανότερος Comparative siganoteros "quieter"

ο πιο σιγανός/ o pio siganos/ σιγανότατος Superlative siganotatos "quietest"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #25 - THE BES T GREECE HAS TO OFFER! 11 Positive επιτυχημένος epitychimenos "successful"

πιο επιτυχημένος Comparative pio epitychimenos "more successful"

ο πιο επιτυχημένος Superlative o pio epitychimenos "most successful"

Positive χαλαρωτικός chalarotikos "relaxing"

πιο χαλαρωτικός Comparative pio chalarotikos "more relaxing"

ο πιο χαλαρωτικός Superlative o pio chalarotikos "most relaxing"

As we mentioned in the previous lesson (about the comparative degree), there are some very common adjectives that are irregular. These irregularities continue in the superlative degree, and in the table that follows, we have included the most useful of these adjectives in all three degrees and all forms:

Type G reek Romanization "English"

Positive καλός kalos "good"

πιο καλός pio kalos "more good" Comparative (καλύτερος) (kalyteros) ("better")

ο πιο καλός o pio kalos (ο άριστος OR ο (ο aristos OR o Superlative "best" κάλλιστος) kalistos)

Positive μεγάλος megalos "big"

πιο μεγάλος pio megalos Comparative (μεγαλύτερος) (megalyteros) "bigger"

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #25 - THE BES T GREECE HAS TO OFFER! 12 ο πιο μεγάλος o pio megalos Superlative (ο μέγιστος) (ο megistos) "biggest"

Positive μικρός mikros "small"

πιο μικρός pio mikros Comparative (μικρότερος) (mikroteros) "smaller"

ο πιο μικρός o pio mikros Superlative (ο ελάχιστος) (ο elachistos) "smallest"

Positive κακός kakos "bad"

πιο κακός pio kakos "more bad" Comparative (χειρότερος) (cheiroteros) ("worse")

ο πιο κακός o pio kakos Superlative (ο χείριστος) (ο cheiristos) "the worst"

Positive πολύς polys "much"

πιο πολύς pio polys Comparative (περισσότερος) (perissoteros) "more"

ο πιο πολύς o pio polys Superlative (ο περισσότερος) (o perissoteros) "most"

Positive λίγος ligos "little"

πιο λίγος pio ligos Comparative (λιγότερος) (ligoteros) "less"

ο πιο λίγος o pio ligos Superlative (ο ελάχιστος) (o elachistos) "least"

As you can see from the table, there are two adjectives with the same absolute superlative: λίγος (ligos), meaning "little," and μικρός (mikros), meaning "small": both have as an absolute superlative the word ελάχιστος (elachistos).

CULTURAL INSIGHT

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #25 - THE BES T GREECE HAS TO OFFER! 13 Verbal and Physical Exaggeration

Most Westerners coming to Greece for the first time agree: when Greeks talk among themselves, they seem to argue. And indeed, the average social behavior in Greece is quite a few notches up from what most people in Western countries are used to: Greeks talk loudly, they make many gestures, and they tend to use exaggerated expressions quite liberally. Truth be told, this is the norm in most countries around the Mediterranean; Italians, for example, seem too loud even to Greeks! Still, when you talk with Greeks, remember that people are used to loud voices and feel uncomfortable when faced with what in Europe appears to be politeness but to their ears sounds meek. Even people in tourist services (waiters, hotel receptionists, tour guides, etc.) tend to behave this way, so don't consider their behavior rude. This is especially true in the provinces (islands, villages, etc.) where people might seem somehow...rustic (it is, but this doesn't mean they're impolite!). Part of this behavior is body contact: Greeks tend to hug and kiss more often than what most Westerners might feel comfortable with. If you decide to spend more than a couple of weeks in Greece, you might need to make some changes to what you consider your physical comfort zone!

GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #25 - THE BES T GREECE HAS TO OFFER! 14 Intro 12 I'm OK in Greece; are you OK? 1 This Is Greek Athens—Or Is It? 13 What Do You Have in Greece? 2 Take the Last Greek Train to Athens 14 To Have and Have Not in Greece 3 Keeping It in the Greek Family 15 Everybody in Greece Has Them 4 Lunch...Before Lunch in Greece? 16 What, No Greek Breakfast? 5 Oh, This Is Greek Lunch! 17 Weren't You Just in Greece? 6 Greek Millions and Billions 18 Not Even for an E-mail from Your Greek Friend? 7 How Long Is Your Lunch Break in Greece, 19 This Greek Place Is Really Old... Again? 20 The Greek Kids Are All Right 8 Any Greek Calls? 21 Are the Greeks Hiding Something? 9 The British Call This Greek Place a 'Pub' 22 Enough Greek Culture: Let's Get Some Lunch! 10 How Many Greek Beers Is 'Too Much' 23 Now, Where Was It in Greece? Beer? 24 Cheaper and Better in Greece 11 Ready or Not, We're Leaving for Greece! 25 The Best Greece Has to Offer!