Language/Modern-greek-1453/Grammar/Moods
The citation form of the Greek verb is denoted by the 1st person singular of the simple present tense.
Some verbs refer to something that is happening NOW:
εγώ ποτίζω τώρα τα λουλούδια : now I water the flowers.
Different grammar that exists in all foreign languages, try to apply the principles of linguistics.
The results of the particular study of the Greek language suggest new terms. Some verbs refer
to something happening NOW:
εγώ ποτίζω τώρα τα λουλούδια: now i water the flowers.
Other verbs in the state that happened YESTERDAY:
Χθες πότισα τα λουλούδια: Yesterday, I watered the flowers.
And other verbs in situation that will occur TOMORROW:
Αύριο εγώ θα ποτίσω τα λουλούδια: Tomorrow, I will water the flowers.
This is why the verbs are 8 tense, some of which speak NOW, others of YESTERDAY and others of TOMORROW.
We distinguish times in three stages: the past, the present and the future.
In Greek eight verbal modes are used (with the exception of the imperative, the participle, the subjunctive etc.):
To determine types of an act and how they are used, check the following tables:
1) Present times
a) Ενεστώτας: present generally describes an action, an event or condition that takes place in the present.
Όλο το πρωί καθαρίζω το σπίτι. (τώρα-συνέχεια)
Every morning I clean the house.
b) Παρακείμενος: present perfect is the tense that connects the past with the present.
The verb in the present perfect expresses an action completed some time in the past with consequences that reach the present.
Τώρα που ήρθες, έχω καθαρίσει ήδη το σπίτι. (έχει τελειώσει τώρα)
Now that you've come, I've already cleaned the house.
2) The times of the future
a) εξακολουθητικός μέλλοντας: the future continuous is used to express duration or repetition in the future.
Όλο το πρωί θα καθαρίζω το σπίτι.
All morning I will have cleaned the house.
b) στιγμιαίος μέλλοντας: the simple future describes an action or event that will take place in the future without being interested in its duration.
eg :
Αύριο το πρωί θα καθαρίσω το σπίτι. (μέλλον-κάποια στιγμή)
Tomorrow morning I'm going to clean the house
a) συντελεσμένος μέλλοντας: the future perfect refers to the future and shows that the action or the event described by the verb will
be completed in the future before another action, event or a certain point of time.
eg :
Όταν θα έρθεις, εγώ θα έχω καθαρίσει το σπίτι.
When you come, I will have cleaned the house.
3) Times past
a) Παρατατικός: the Imperfect tense express duration and repetition in the past. The Imperfect tense stresses. Therefore it is used to indicate a habitual action or event occurred in the past.
χτες όλο το πρωί καθάριζα το σπίτι
all morning I cleaned the house
b) Αόριστος: the simple past is used to describe an action, an event or condition that occurred in the past .The action or the event described was completed at some point.
Eg :
Χτες το πρωί καθάρισα το σπίτι.
yesterday I cleaned the house or yesterday I cleaned the house
c) υπερσυντέλικος: the past perfect is used to describe an action or event that occurred in the past, that the action described by the verb was
completed before another past action or a certain point of time.
Eg :
Όταν ήρθες, εγώ είχα καθαρίσει το σπίτι.
By the time you came I had cleaned the house
The three moods in Modern Greek
| The indicative - «οριστική» | The subjunctive - «υποτακτική» | The imperative «προστακτική» | The participle « μετοχή » |
| This mood represents reality and it is used to give information about a situation, an operation or event. A negation is formed with the particle «δεν» which preceded the verb.
Eg: 1. Πηγαίνω στο σχολείο : I go to school 2. Ο Γιάννης δεν γύρισε ακόμα : John did not return yet |
The subjunctive mood denotes an expression of will. When we are influenced by something, are afraid of something, desire, suggest, propose, recommend, wish, fear, allow, admit, imply something, the subjunctive is used. This mood is formed by the usage of the particles «να» and «ας» and a verb-form. In negative utterances the particle «μην» is put between «να» or «ας» and the verb-form.
Eg : 1. Θέλω να παίξουμε I want that we play 2. Δέν μπορώ νά μήν πάω! I can't not go |
This mood is used to give orders or instructions by asking, demanding or requiring people to do things. For negative expressions the subjunctive is employed, because the imperative cannot be negated.
Eg : 1. Βγες έξω! : Go away! 2. (Να) μη φορέσεις αυτό το παντελόνι! Don't wear that trousers! |
a)shows us how the verb is described, like the adverbial participle
Eg : Οι κληρωμένοι λαχνοί ανακοινώθηκαν The drawn lottery tickets were announced b) gives a property to a noun, like an adjective, here for the explanation Thus, the participle could be both a form of the verb and an adjective, moreover the word participle also means that it consists of two forms. The inflections of the Modern Greek adjectives derived from active and passive participles and some participles from Ancient Greek verbs. Eg : 1.Δε θέλω να τα δω ανακατωμένα, όπως την προηγούμεναi φορά. : I don't want it to be seen mixed, like the previous time 2. Σήμερα ήμουν πολύ αγχωμένος στο σχολείο. Today I was very stressed in school |
The infinitive « απαρέμφατο »
The infinitive in the Greek language is an intransitive verbal form which means: what does not reveal the face of its subject.
The infinitive in modern Greek is not used alone, but with the auxiliary verb "to have" for the formation of completed verbal tenses:
eg :
έχει λύσει :
it has solved
έχει γράψει :
it has written
έχει λυθεί :
it has been solved . |- |
Summary of All Tenses
| Παρελθοντικοί :
Grammatical tenses of past |
Παροντικοί :
Nature of the activity |
Μελλοντικοί : indicative mood « future » |
| Παρατατικός :
Past Continuous / imparfait |
Ενεστώτας : simple present / présent | εξακολουθητικός μέλλοντας :
future continuous / futur |
| Αόριστος :
simple past / passé simple |
Παρακείμενος :
present perfect / passé composé |
στιγμιαίος μέλλοντας : simple future / futur proche |
| Υπερσυντέλικος :
past perfect / Plus-que-parfait
|
|
συντελεσμένος μέλλοντας :
future perfect / futur antérieur
|