Regular Modern Greek Verbs

This page is part of a more general, learner-oriented page on Greek verbs (modern and ancient), which in turn is part of the author’s pages on the grammar of the Greek language.

As mentioned in the general information on Greek verbs, there are various patterns, and sub-patterns (and maybe even sub-sub-patterns) of regular Modern Greek verbs. The only reason a verb is called “regular” is precisely because it belongs to such patterns; when it is alone, in a category by itself, it is called an irregular (visit this page to see modern Greek irregular verbs). Grammarians accept probably only two patterns of verbs in Modern Greek: the contracted and uncontracted ones. This page, being learner-oriented, makes much finer distinctions, recognizing the fact that it is not immediately obvious to the learner what the proper pattern of a verb is, given one grammatical form of it only. Thus, the patterns shown here are the following (the period . stands for “any letter” [usually a consonant]).

1. Uncontracted Verbs: -ω, -α || -.ω, -.α
1.1 -ω, -α || -σω, -σα
1.2 -ω, -α || -ξω, -ξα
1.3 -ω, -α || -ψω, -ψα
2. Contracted Verbs: -ώ/-άω, -ούσα || -.σω, -.σα
2.1 -ώ/-άω, -ούσα || -άσω, -ασα
2.1.1 -ώ/-άω, -ούσα || -άξω, -αξα
2.2 -ώ/-άω, -ούσα || -έσω, -εσα
2.3 -ώ/-άω, -ούσα || -ήσω, -ησα
2.3.1 -ώ/-άω, -ούσα || -ήξω, -ηξα
3. Middle-voice-only Verbs: -.μαι, -.μουν || -.ώ, -.ηκα
3.1 -.μαι, -.μουν || -θώ, -θηκα
3.2 -ομαι, -όμουν || -τώ, -τηκα
3.3 -ομαι, -όμουν || irregular

An example is given for each of the above patterns, with all the forms of the verb in the 1st person summarized in a table, exactly as in the main page on verbs. Underneath the table are listed a number of other verbs that follow the same pattern. These verbs are taken from the list of the 1000 most common Greek verbs. (For information on how this list was obtained, see this footnote.) Each verb is given in the following form:

If multiple forms are listed in a single entry, they are listed by order of decreasing frequency of occurrence in actual usage. Further in this page, grey color indicates very rare forms (used less than 10% of the time). A few occasional exceptional forms (such that the form does not agree with its pattern, but not such that the verb as a whole qualifies as irregular), are marked in red color.

1. Uncontracted Verbs: -ω, -α || -.ω, -.α

These verbs form by far the largest category among the regular verbs in Modern Greek. They form three main sub-patterns, according to whether their subjunctive and past stems end in -σ-, -ξ-, or -ψ-.

1.1 -ω, -α || -σω, -σα

Sub-patterns:
1.1.1 -άζω, -αζα || -άσω, -ασα
1.1.2 -έζω, -εζα || -έσω, -εσα
1.1.3 -ίζω, -ιζα || -ίσω, -ισα

1.1.3.1 -ύζω, -υζα || -ύσω, -υσα

1.1.4 -όζω, -οζα || -όσω, -οσα
1.1.5 -θω, -θα || -σω, -σα
1.1.6 -νω, -να || -σω, -σα

1.1.6.1 -άνω, -ανα || -άσω, -ασα
1.1.6.2 -είνω, -εινα || -είσω, -εισα
1.1.6.3 -ήνω, -ηνα || -ήσω, -ησα
1.1.6.4 -ύνω, -υνα || -ύσω, -υσα
1.1.6.5 -ώνω, -ωνα || -ώσω, -ωσα

1.1.7 -τω, -τα || -σω, -σα
1.1.8 -έω, -εα || -έσω, -εσα
1.1.9 -είω, -εια || -είσω, -εισα
1.1.10 -ούω, -ουα || -ούσω, -ουσα
1.1.11 -ύω, -υα || -ύσω, -υσα
1.1.12 -αύω, -αυα || -αύσω, -αυσα
1.1.13 -εύω, -ευα || -εύσω, -ευσα

Sample verb: define: ορίζω, όριζα || ορίσω, όρισα ||| ορίζομαι οριζόμουν || οριστώ, ορίστηκα || ορισμένο

Further Examples:

1.2 -ω, -α || -ξω, -ξα

Sub-patterns:
1.2.1 -γω, -γα || -ξω, -ξα
1.2.2 -ζω, -ζα || -ξω, -ξα
1.2.3 -κω, -κα || -ξω, -ξα
1.2.4 -νω, -να || -ξω, -ξα
1.2.5 -σσω, -σσα || -ξω, -ξα
1.2.6 -χω, -χα || -ξω, -ξα

Sample verb: open: ανοίγω, άνοιγα || ανοίξω, άνοιξα ||| ανοίγομαι ανοιγόμουν || ανοιχτώ, ανοίχτηκα || ανοιγμένο

Note that the past participle of these verbs is formed by the left-side stem (-ανοιγ-) + -μένο / -μένη / -μένος.

Further Examples:

1.3 -ω, -α || -ψω, -ψα

Sub-patterns:
1.3.1 -βω, -βα || -ψω, -ψα
1.3.2 -πω, -πα || -ψω, -ψα
1.3.3 -πτω, -πτα || -ψω, -ψα
1.3.4 -φω, -φα || -ψω, -ψα
1.3.5 -αύω, -αυα || -άψω, -αψα
1.3.6 -εύω, -ευα || -έψω, -εψα

Sample verb: write: γράφω, έγραφα || γράψω, έγραψα ||| γράφομαι γραφόμουν || γραφτώ, γράφτηκα

Note that the past participle of these verbs is formed by the left-side stem (-γραφ-) + -μένο / -μένη / -μένος. (The -μμ- in γραμμένο is a result of the assimilation of φ in front of μ, thus *γραφμένο becomes γραμμένο.)

Further examples:

2. Contracted Verbs: -ώ/-άω, -ούσα || -.σω, -.σα

These verbs are called “contracted” because their 1st and 3rd person singular, present tense (and only), can appear in two forms: a contracted one, where its ending is -ώ (in the 1st person; the 3rd person ends in -ά or -εί, depending on the pattern — see below), and an uncontracted form, with ending -άω (1st person) and -άει (3rd). The 2nd person is always contracted. Also, some of these verbs, although belonging to the following patterns, appear always contracted (their uncontracted forms have been dropped out of use). In the example-lists below, the contracted form is given first, followed by a slash, followed by the uncontracted ending if the form exists; for example: φορώ / -άω. This means the two forms are: φορώ and φοράω. The 3rd person is also given in its two endings, whenever the uncontracted one exists, separated by a vertical bar, thus: φορώ / -άω | -ά / -άει. (Hence, the 1st & 3rd person forms in this example are: φορώ / φοράω [1st], and φορά / φοράει [3rd].) If a verb appears in contracted form only, this means its uncontracted form is obsolete, or sounds strange to the ears of a native speaker.

There is no rule specifying when to use the contracted or uncontracted form, when both exist. Some grammar books claim that the uncontracted forms are more informal. This is not always true. Although the contracted forms are found slightly more often in literature (esp. poetry), a mixture of forms is used in ordinary speech (including newspaper texts). Often both forms are equally plausible. Forms that are significantly rarer (<10%) than their alternatives are marked in this color. See footnote for explanation of statistics of usage.

Some of these verbs have an alternative imperfect, ending in -αγα. For example, κρατάω / κρατώ has two imperfect forms: the more common κρατούσα, and the less common κράταγα (-αγα, -αγες, -αγε, -άγαμε, -άγατε, -αγαν/-άγανε). This second imperfect is probably restricted to specific regions of Greece, such as Sterea, Thessaly, etc.

Sub-patterns:
2.1 -ώ/-άω, -ούσα || -άσω, -ασα
2.1.1 -ώ/-άω, -ούσα || -άξω, -αξα
2.2 -ώ/-άω, -ούσα || -έσω, -εσα
2.2.1 -ώ | -εί, -ούσα || -έσω, -εσα ||| -ούμαι, -ούμουν || -εστώ, -έστηκα
2.2.2 -ώ / -άω | -ά, -εί / -άει, -ούσα || -έσω, -εσα ||| -ιέμαι, -ιόμουν || -εθώ, -έθηκα
2.3 -ώ/-άω, -ούσα || -ήσω, -ησα
2.3.1 -ώ/-άω, -ούσα || -ήξω, -ηξα

2.1 -ώ/-άω, -ούσα || -άσω, -ασα

The passive-voice ending of these verbs is -έμαι. The last consonant of the stem becomes palatalized, resulting in the insertion of an iota between the stem and the ending, thus making the passive ending appear as -ιέμαι.

The above verb seems not to make much sense in middle voice: the form περάσου! (pass yourself!), although possible, sounds distinctly peculiar to the ears of this author. The second verb in the list below (ξεχνάω / -ώ = forget), however, does have a special middle-voice meaning: ξεχνιέμαι means “I forget my current worries (e.g., by occupying myself with smth. else)”. (Contrast this with the passive-voice meaning of ξεχνιέμαι: “I am forgotten by others”.) Accordingly, its middle imperative is: ξεχάσου, which means: “forget your current worries”. Similarly, the passive and middle voice of verbs in this category often takes on alternative meanings, or does not exist at all.

Further Examples:

2.1.1 -ώ/-άω, -ούσα || -άξω, -αξα

This is a subcategory of 2.1, because the second ending (-άξω, -αξα) is only seemingly different from -άσω, -ασα. It’s just an optical illusion! What happens is that the second stem ends in -κ (-ακ, in this case), which, when combined with the following -σ yields a -ξ- (κ + σ ξ).

Further Examples:

2.2 -ώ/-άω, -ούσα || -έσω, -εσα

There are two subcategories here, differentiated by the way they form the 1st and 3rd person singular, present tense, and the passive voice.

2.2.1 -ώ | -εί, -ούσα || -έσω, -εσα ||| -ούμαι, -ούμουν || -εστώ, -έστηκα

This subcategory usually has only contracted forms (only one member retains uncontracted forms), and contains the very common verb μπορώ (I can), which, as in English, does not have passive forms. The 3rd person singular present tense ends in -εί and the passive ends in -ούμαι. The past participle is formed by the active voice second stem.

Note: These verbs do not have alternative imperfect (in -αγα) (again, there is a single exception).

Further Examples:

Note: μπορεί (3rd person singular of μπορώ = can) also means: “maybe”.

2.2.2 -ώ / -άω | -ά, -εί / -άει, -ούσα || -έσω, -εσα ||| -ιέμαι, -ιόμουν || -εθώ, -έθηκα

This subcategory has the contracted 3rd person ending in either -α or -εί (also with an uncontracted form), and its passive ending in -έμαι, in which case an ι is appended to the stem (making the ending appear as -ιέμαι) that palatalizes the last consonant of the stem. (Note that the verb συγχωρώ = to forgive/pardon, which seems to have a passive ending in -ούμαι, actually follows the patten in 2.3 as an alternative, from which it gets its passive form, συγχωρούμαι.)

Note: The alternative imperfect of these verbs (in -αγα), although it exists, is rather rare.

Further Examples:

2.3 -ώ/-άω, -ούσα || -ήσω, -ησα

This is by far the category with the most members among contracted verbs. Most of them form their passive/middle with the ending -ούμαι, but some take the ending -ιέμαι (as before, the ι doesn’t belong to the ending, but it palatalizes the last consonant of the stem). The verb κρατώ (I hold) has been chosen as full example below, because it displays both possibilities. However, in the “further examples” table, the passive/middle forms are shown explicitly on extra columns. There is a third alternative (but rare) passive/middle ending: -ώμαι (as in απαντώ = answer, reply).

Further Examples:

Note 1: A grayed form or ending means that the form is rare (<10% of its alternative); dashes (--) mean the form does not exist (statistics of appearance according to this footnote); and if the alternative form is not grayed, then the two forms are both frequent, but the first form is slightly more common. A vertical bar (|) separates the first from the third person in the present tense; and a slash (/), as before, separates alternatives.

Note 2: The alternative imperfect is marked only where it exists.

2.3.1 -ώ/-άω, -ούσα || -ήξω, -ηξα

This is a subcategory of 2.3, because the second ending (-ήξω, -ηξα) is only seemingly different from -ήσω, -ησα. What happens is that the second stem has an alternative ending in -κ (-ηκ-, in this case), which, when combined with the following -σ yields a -ξ- (κ + σ ξ). The ending -ήξω, -ηξα, however, is more common than its alternative -ήσω, -ησα.

3. Middle-voice-only and Middle-voice-special Verbs: -.μαι, -.μουν || -.ώ, -.ηκα

This category includes verbs that do not have active-voice forms, and others that do have active forms but acquire a special meaning in their middle-voice version.

Note: many of these verbs are actually irregular, in that their past and subjunctive forms cannot be derived according to some rule from their present and imperfect forms.

Sub-patterns:
3.1 -.μαι, -.μουν || -.θώ, -.θηκα
3.1.1 -άμαι, -όμουν || -ηθώ, -ήθηκα
3.1.2 -έμαι, -όμουν || -ηθώ, -ήθηκα
3.1.3 -ομαι, -όμουν || -θώ, -θηκα
3.1.4 -ούμαι, -ούμουν || -ηθώ, -ήθηκα
3.1.5 -ώμαι, -ώμουν || -ηθώ, -ήθηκα
3.2 -ομαι, -όμουν || -τώ, -τηκα
3.2.1 -ζομαι, -ζόμουν || -στώ, -στηκα
3.3 -ομαι, -όμουν || irregular

3.1 -.μαι, -.μουν || -.θώ, -.θηκα

3.1.1 -άμαι, -όμουν || -ηθώ, -ήθηκα

Note: These verbs have a rare (<10%) alternative form in -.ούμαι, as in 3.1.4, below. However, this form appears in the first person (sing. and pl.) of the present tense only (θυμούμαι-θυμούμαστε, κοιμούμαι-κοιμούμαστε, λυπούμαι-λυπούμαστε, φοβούμαι-φοβούμαστε).

Further Examples:

3.1.2 -έμαι, -όμουν || -ηθώ, -ήθηκα

Further Examples:

3.1.3 -ομαι, -όμουν || -θώ, -θηκα

Further Examples:

Note: The past participle “φερμένο” does not belong to φέρομαι (= I behave), but to another verb: φέρνω / φέρω (= I bring, I fetch), an irregular one (thus it means: “brought”).

3.1.4 -ούμαι, -ούμουν || -ηθώ, -ήθηκα

3.1.5 -ώμαι, -ώμουν || -ηθώ, -ήθηκα

3.2 -ομαι, -όμουν || -τώ, -τηκα

Further Examples:

3.2.1 -ζομαι, -ζόμουν || -στώ, -στηκα

3.3 -ομαι, -όμουν || irregular

Footnotes

1. The list of 1000 most common Greek words (or 1000 most common verbs, etc.), can be obtained from the pages of the Hellenic National Corpus™. To obtain the list do the following counter-intuitive actions: go to the link just given, and do not select the “English Interface” at the bottom, because its search function does not work (as of the last update of this page). On the Greek interface, there are four buttons at the top, just under the main title. The 3rd button reads: Αναζήτηση. Click on it. You are brought to a page with various options. Ignore all of them and look at the bottom, where the next-to-last link reads: Στατιστικά στοιχεία. This will bring you to this page, where you’ll see four links plus some edit-boxes and buttons. The first two links give the 100 and 1000 most common words (each form of a word included), and the next two links give the 100 and 1000 most common entries (where each entry summarizes all forms of a word). Disclaimer: if the above interface is now different, please forgive the obsoleteness of this description!

As an alternative method to understand the frequency of usage, simple Google^TM searches can also be employed. This method gives results that are probably more faithful to the spoken language, because the majority of Greek web pages are written in colloquial Greek, rather than in literary, academic, or technical language.

2. Thanks to Greg Brush for several errata and suggestions he made available to me after reading this page.

3. Note that the passive (and esp. the middle) sense of this verb has an explicitly sexual meaning: “to have sexual intercourse with sb.”, and in particular, to be the recipient of such action. In the first person, middle voice, this is its exclusive meaning. Even the active forms of this verb can take on the corresponding active sense of a sexual act, so be aware of the context in which you use this verb, or see it used. If the context is clear, however, as in “to jump over an obstacle”, this is the normal verb to use, and there is no danger of unwanted connotations.

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