Conjugations

The verbs we'll use for practice are:

• Κάνω (I make, I do)
• Γράφω (I write)
• Δίνω (I give)
• Παίρνω (I take)
• Βλέπω (I see)
• Αγοράζω (I buy)
• Έχω (I have)
• Ξέρω (I know)

The verbs we'll examine in detail are γράφω and βλέπω, meaning I write and I see.

Present Tense

To conjugate these verbs, you must first get the root or stem of the verb by dropping the final ω. You then add the correct ending for the subject, as shown in the table below.

The present tense in Greek does double duty as both simple present and continuous present tense. That is, if you say:

Αυτός γράφει ένα γράμμα.

You may translate it as either “He writes a letter” or “He is writing a letter,” depending on your meaning. There's no distinction between these forms in present tense.

Τhe name for present tense in Greek is: Ενεστώτας 

If you've forgotten what the words εγώ, εσύ, etc. mean, those are pronouns, and you may review them below.

Pronouns have person, which tell us who's talking or whom we're talking about. Here's a chart of the English pronouns:

Notice that English does make a nod to gender in the third person singular. Now, here's the corresponding table in Greek:

You'll note that first and second person don't have different forms for masculine (m), feminine (f), and neuter (n). That's because when two people are talking with one another (using “I” and “you”) their gender is known, and they don't need any different forms to give them a hint.

Next time we will continue with Shortcut Conjugation and Future Before Past Tense

Acknowledgments www.langintro.com/greek/grammar