The present tense and the two conjugations
A1 Ενεστώτας: α΄ και β΄ συζυγία 6 / 66
In short
Greek verbs fall into two groups, and the dictionary form (the 1st person singular, not an infinitive - Greek has none) tells you which. If the accent sits before the last syllable, the verb is α΄ συζυγία: γράφω, γράφεις, γράφει, γράφουμε, γράφετε, γράφουν. If the accent sits on the last syllable, it is β΄ συζυγία, which comes in two flavours: αγαπάω/αγαπώ and μπορώ. Learn the six endings of each group and you can run almost any Greek verb in the present. One and the same form covers both “I write” and “I am writing”.
The rule
Two conjugations, told apart by stress. Every present-tense verb in this lesson ends in -ω in the 1st person singular. What differs is where the word is stressed and what follows:
- α΄ συζυγία - the stem carries the accent, and it never moves: γρά-φω, γρά-φεις, γρά-φου-με. The endings themselves are unstressed: -ω, -εις, -ει, -ουμε, -ετε, -ουν(ε).
- β΄ συζυγία - the ending carries the accent in all six persons: α-γα-πώ, μπο-ρείς, μπο-ρού-με. Within β΄ there are two sets, traditionally called β1 (the -άω type: αγαπάω, μιλάω, ρωτάω) and β2 (the -ώ type: μπορώ, οδηγώ, ευχαριστώ).
Nothing in the meaning of a verb predicts its group; you learn the group with the word. That is why vocabulary lists always give the 1st person singular.
β1 has two parallel sets of forms. The long, “uncontracted” set (αγαπάω, αγαπάει, αγαπάνε) is the everyday spoken norm; the contracted set (αγαπώ, αγαπά, αγαπούν) is more formal and more common in writing. Both are standard. Note that 2nd sg. αγαπάς and 2nd pl. αγαπάτε are the same in either set.
One present, three jobs. Greek has no separate progressive tense, so γράφω is both “I write” and “I am writing”. The same form expresses:
- a habit or a general truth: Διαβάζω εφημερίδα κάθε πρωί.
- something happening right now: Τι κάνεις; - Ακούω μουσική.
- a fixed, scheduled future: Αύριο φεύγω για την Αθήνα.
Because the ending already marks the person, the subject pronoun is normally left out; you add it only for contrast or emphasis (see lesson 5).
Four very common verbs - πάω, λέω, τρώω, ακούω - look like α΄ verbs in the 1st and 3rd person singular but contract everywhere else (πας, πάμε, λέτε, τρώνε). Treat them as a memorised block.
Forms & patterns
α΄ συζυγία - stem-stressed
| Person | γράφω “write” | μένω “live, stay” | διαβάζω “read” |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 sg. | γράφω | μένω | διαβάζω |
| 2 sg. | γράφεις | μένεις | διαβάζεις |
| 3 sg. | γράφει | μένει | διαβάζει |
| 1 pl. | γράφουμε | μένουμε | διαβάζουμε |
| 2 pl. | γράφετε | μένετε | διαβάζετε |
| 3 pl. | γράφουν(ε) | μένουν(ε) | διαβάζουν(ε) |
The same six endings run δουλεύω, θέλω, ξέρω, αρχίζω, ανοίγω and hundreds more. The accent stays on the same syllable of the stem throughout: ξέρω, ξέρεις, ξέρουμε.
β1 - the -άω type, ending-stressed
| Person | μιλάω “speak” | ρωτάω “ask” | αγαπάω (long) | αγαπώ (contracted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 sg. | μιλάω | ρωτάω | αγαπάω | αγαπώ |
| 2 sg. | μιλάς | ρωτάς | αγαπάς | αγαπάς |
| 3 sg. | μιλάει | ρωτάει | αγαπάει | αγαπά |
| 1 pl. | μιλάμε | ρωτάμε | αγαπάμε | αγαπούμε |
| 2 pl. | μιλάτε | ρωτάτε | αγαπάτε | αγαπάτε |
| 3 pl. | μιλάνε | ρωτάνε | αγαπάνε | αγαπούν(ε) |
β2 - the -ώ type, ending-stressed
| Person | μπορώ “can” | οδηγώ “drive” | ευχαριστώ “thank” |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 sg. | μπορώ | οδηγώ | ευχαριστώ |
| 2 sg. | μπορείς | οδηγείς | ευχαριστείς |
| 3 sg. | μπορεί | οδηγεί | ευχαριστεί |
| 1 pl. | μπορούμε | οδηγούμε | ευχαριστούμε |
| 2 pl. | μπορείτε | οδηγείτε | ευχαριστείτε |
| 3 pl. | μπορούν(ε) | οδηγούν(ε) | ευχαριστούν(ε) |
The three sets of endings side by side
| Person | α΄ (γράφω) | β1 (αγαπάω / αγαπώ) | β2 (μπορώ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 sg. | -ω | -άω / -ώ | -ώ |
| 2 sg. | -εις | -άς | -είς |
| 3 sg. | -ει | -άει / -ά | -εί |
| 1 pl. | -ουμε | -άμε / -ούμε | -ούμε |
| 2 pl. | -ετε | -άτε | -είτε |
| 3 pl. | -ουν(ε) | -άνε / -ούν(ε) | -ούν(ε) |
Contracted β1 borrows two endings from β2, -ούμε and -ούν(ε); everything else keeps the groups apart.
Four common irregulars
| Person | πάω “go” | λέω “say” | τρώω “eat” | ακούω “hear, listen” |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 sg. | πάω | λέω | τρώω | ακούω |
| 2 sg. | πας | λες | τρως | ακούς |
| 3 sg. | πάει | λέει | τρώει | ακούει |
| 1 pl. | πάμε | λέμε | τρώμε | ακούμε |
| 2 pl. | πάτε | λέτε | τρώτε | ακούτε |
| 3 pl. | πάνε | λένε | τρώνε | ακούν(ε) |
πας, λες and τρως are single syllables, so they take no accent at all.
Examples
| Ελληνικά | English |
|---|---|
| Γράφω ένα γράμμα στη γιαγιά μου. | I am writing a letter to my grandmother. |
| Πού μένεις; | Where do you live? |
| Μένουμε σε ένα μικρό διαμέρισμα. | We live in a small flat. |
| Ο αδελφός μου δουλεύει σε ένα καφέ κοντά στο λιμάνι. | My brother works at a café near the harbour. |
| Θέλετε καφέ ή τσάι; | Would you like coffee or tea? |
| Ξέρεις πού είναι το φαρμακείο; | Do you know where the pharmacy is? |
| Διαβάζουν εφημερίδα κάθε πρωί. | They read a newspaper every morning. |
| Ο δάσκαλός μου μιλάει τρεις γλώσσες. | My teacher speaks three languages. |
| Μιλάμε ελληνικά στο μάθημα. | We speak Greek in class. |
| Η Άννα ρωτάει τον δάσκαλο. | Anna is asking the teacher. |
| Σήμερα μπορώ, αύριο δουλεύω. | Today I can, tomorrow I am working. |
| Σας ευχαριστώ πολύ. | Thank you very much. |
| Το μάθημά μας αρχίζει στις οκτώ. | Our class starts at eight. |
| Κάθε Σάββατο τρώμε έξω και μετά πάμε στη θάλασσα. | Every Saturday we eat out and then go to the sea. |
| Αύριο φεύγω για την Αθήνα. | Tomorrow I am leaving for Athens. |
Common mistakes
- μιλάεις -> μιλάς - β1 verbs never take the α΄ ending -εις; the 2nd person singular is simply -άς.
- μιλάουμε -> μιλάμε - the 1st person plural of β1 is -άμε (or contracted -ούμε), not the α΄ ending -ουμε stuck onto the -α-.
- μποράμε -> μπορούμε - μπορώ is β2, so its plural is -ούμε, -είτε, -ούν; the -α- of β1 belongs to a different verb type.
- οδηγάς -> οδηγείς - οδηγώ is β2 as well; only the dictionary entry tells you whether a stressed -ώ verb follows αγαπάω or μπορώ.
- αγαπείς -> αγαπάς - β1 keeps its -α- in every person, so it never borrows the β2 vowel.
- ξερώ, γραφούμε -> ξέρω, γράφουμε - moving the accent onto the ending turns an α΄ verb into something that does not exist; the stem keeps the stress in all six persons.
- γραφω, μενουμε -> γράφω, μένουμε - a word of two or more syllables must carry its accent; leaving it off is a spelling error, not an informal option.
- είμαι γράφω -> γράφω - there is no “to be + -ing” construction; the single present form already means “I am writing”.
- αυτοί γράφει -> αυτοί γράφουν - the ending must agree with the subject, and a plural subject can never take a singular ending.
Tips
- Learn every verb in its 1st person singular form. That one word encodes the whole paradigm: γράφω (α΄), αγαπάω/αγαπώ (β1), μπορώ (β2).
- Use your ear for the accent: unstressed final syllable in the dictionary form means α΄, stressed final syllable means β΄. Then only the β1/β2 choice is left to memorise.
- For β1, pick a register and stay consistent inside a sentence: the long set (μιλάω, μιλάει, μιλάνε) sounds conversational, the contracted set (μιλώ, μιλά, μιλούν) sounds more formal.
- The extra -ε in the 3rd person plural (γράφουνε, μπορούνε, αγαπούνε) is optional and colloquial; it changes nothing but the flavour.
- Since the ending shows the person, drop the pronoun by default - εγώ, εσύ and the others are for contrast.
- The 2nd person plural does double duty: real plural “you all” and the polite singular εσείς (Μιλάτε αγγλικά; to a stranger).
- Do not try to build a future or an “I have written” from this lesson’s forms: the future puts the particle θα in front of the verb, the perfect uses έχω and no θα at all, and both belong to later lessons, together with the second verb stem they draw on.