Use this quick reference when a label in a verb table is unfamiliar. Each explanation includes a Greek example.
- Conjugation
- The way a verb changes its endings, and a group of verbs with similar patterns. γράφω — I write; γράφεις — you write. See the groups.
- Person and number
- Who the verb refers to, and whether the subject is singular or plural: γράφω — I write; γράφουμε — we write.
- Stem
- The part of a verb to which endings are added. A verb can use different stems: γράφ- in γράφω, but γράψ- in θα γράψω.
- Tense
- A verb form or combination associated with time: γράφω — I write; έγραψα — I wrote; θα γράψω — I will write.
- Aspect: continuous and simple
- How an action is presented. Continuous shows it unfolding or recurring: έγραφα — I was writing / used to write. Simple views it as a whole: έγραψα — I wrote. The technical terms are imperfective and perfective. Perfective is not the same as the perfect tense.
- Imperfect
- A past form used for ongoing or repeated situations: έγραφα κάθε μέρα — I used to write every day.
- Simple past (aorist)
- A past form that presents an action as a whole: χθες έγραψα ένα μήνυμα — yesterday I wrote a message.
- Perfect tenses
- Forms relating a completed action to a reference point: έχω γράψει — I have written; είχα γράψει — I had written; θα έχω γράψει — I will have written. Past perfect is also called pluperfect.
- Mood
- A grammatical category used for different kinds of expression. The tables distinguish indicative, subjunctive and imperative.
- Indicative
- Forms used in ordinary statements and questions: γράφεις — you write / are you writing? Intonation and context help distinguish the question.
- Subjunctive
- Forms commonly introduced by να, for example θέλω να φύγω — I want to leave. Continuous and simple forms express different aspects: να γράφω versus να γράψω. “Simple” here does not mean past.
- Imperative
- A form used to give an instruction or make a request: γράψε το όνομά σου — write your name; γράψτε — write, addressed to several people or politely to one.
- Active and middle/passive
- Sets of verb forms: γράφω — I write; γράφεται — it is written. Form alone does not determine meaning: έρχομαι means I come, despite its middle/passive ending.
- Deponent
- A verb used in middle/passive forms without a corresponding everyday active set with the same meaning. θυμάμαι — I remember — is an example. Do not invent an active counterpart just because the ending looks passive.
- Impersonal
- A verb used without a personal subject in its impersonal construction, normally in third-person forms: πρέπει να φύγω — I must leave, literally “it is necessary that I leave”. The verb after να changes with the person: πρέπει να φύγουμε — we must leave.
- Participle
- A verb-related form that can describe an accompanying action or a state. γράφοντας means while writing; γραμμένος, γραμμένη, γραμμένο mean written and change to agree with what they describe. Context determines the construction.
- Irregular verb
- A verb with forms that cannot all be predicted from a common pattern: βλέπω — I see; είδα — I saw. Learn the useful forms together.
- Register: everyday, formal or literary
- The style or setting in which a form is used. A form labelled formal or literary may be valid but unsuitable for ordinary conversation. Follow the entry’s usage notes.
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