Language/Modern-greek-1453/Grammar/Simple-past-and-future-tense

Modern Greek (1453-) → Grammar → Simple past and future tense

As a language teacher with 20 years of experience, I am excited to introduce you to the simple past and future tense in Modern Greek (1453-). In this lesson, you will learn how to construct simple past and future tense to express actions that happened in the past and actions that will happen in the future. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to incorporate these tenses into your Greek conversations and improve your overall fluency in the language.

Simple past tense

The simple past tense in Greek is formed by adding the suffix -ασ in the end of the verb stem for the first and second person singular, and the suffix -ε for the third person singular and all plural forms (first, second, and third person). Here is a table that shows the conjugation of the verb λέω (to say) in the simple past tense:

Modern Greek (1453-)	Pronunciation	English
είπα	ípa	I said
είπες	ípes	You said (singular)
είπε	ípe	He/She/It said, You said (plural)
είπαμε	ípame	We said
είπατε	ípate	You said (plural)
είπαν	ípan	They said

Here are a few examples:

• Είπα πως θέλω να πάω στην παραλία. (I said that I want to go to the beach.)
• Είπες ψέματα. (You lied.)
• Ο καθηγητής είπε μια αστεία ιστορία. (The professor told a funny story.)

Simple future tense

The simple future tense in Greek is formed by adding the suffix -ω in the end of the verb stem for all persons (first, second, and third person). Here is a table that shows the conjugation of the verb θέλω (to want) in the simple future tense:

Modern Greek (1453-)	Pronunciation	English
θα θέλω	tha thélo	I will want
θα θες	tha thes	You will want (singular)
θα θέλει	tha thélei	He/She/It will want, You will want (plural)
θα θελήσουμε	tha thelísoyme	We will want
θα θελήσετε	tha thelísete	You will want (plural)
θα θέλουν	tha théloyn	They will want

Here are a few examples:

• Θα θέλω να πάω στην παραλία αύριο. (I will want to go to the beach tomorrow.)
• Θα θελήσετε να φάτε σήμερα βράδυ στο εστιατόριο; (Do you want to eat tonight at the restaurant?)
• Θα θέλουν να μάθουν Ελληνικά. (They will want to learn Greek.)

Exceptions

As with any language, there are some exceptions to the above rules. Some common irregular verbs that do not follow the regular conjugation patterns in the simple past and future tense include:

• έρχομαι (to come)
• πηγαίνω (to go)
• έχω (to have)

It is important to memorize the conjugation of these verbs separately.

Practice

• Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in the simple past tense:

1. Εγώ ____ (τρώω) όλη την πίτα.
2. Εσύ ____ (δίνεις) τα δώρα;
3. Αυτός ____ (κάνει) πάντα την ίδια δουλειά.
4. Εμείς ____ (πινούμε) καφέ κάθε πρωί.
5. Εσείς ____ (διαβάζετε) την εφημερίδα κάθε μέρα;
6. Αυτοί ____ (βλέπουν) τηλεόραση τώρα.

• Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in the simple future tense:

1. Εγώ ____ (μαγειρεύω) μια κοτόπουλο αύριο.
2. Εσύ ____ (πηγαίνεις) σήμερα στο γήπεδο;
3. Αυτός ____ (κοιμάται) πολλές ώρες αύριο.
4. Εμείς ____ (φεύγουμε) για τις διακοπές σε μια εβδομάδα.
5. Εσείς ____ (εργάζεστε) από τις 9 το πρωί έως τις 5 το απόγευμα.
6. Αυτοί ____ (πηγαίνουν) στο θέατρο το Σάββατο.

Sources

• Modern-greek-1453 Grammar - Verbs Conjugation Groups
• Modern-greek-1453 Grammar - Greek voices verbs Φωνή και ...

Related Lessons

• Pronoms interrogatifs
• Sentense Structure
• Greek voices verbs Φωνή και συζυγίες ρημάτων
• Pronoms possessifs
• Passive voice
• Prepositions and conjunctions
• Definite and Indefinite Article
• The paronyms
• Pronouns and verbs