In short

Some of the most ordinary Greek verbs do not end in -ω. They end in -ομαι or -άμαι: έρχομαι “I come”, κάθομαι “I sit”, θυμάμαι “I remember”. This second set of endings is called the mediopassive voice (μεσοπαθητική φωνή), and grammatically it is the same machinery Greek later uses to build passives. But with these particular verbs the form means nothing passive at all. Έρχομαι does not mean “I am come” - it just means “I come”. Verbs like this, which exist only in the mediopassive shape, are called deponent verbs (αποθετικά ρήματα).

At A1 the practical consequence is simple: learn the six endings, and learn that a handful of very frequent verbs take them. There is no active twin to fall back on. You cannot say *έρχω, *κάθω or *θυμώ - those forms do not exist in Greek.

The rule

In lesson 6 you learned the active present: γράφω, γράφεις, γράφει, γράφουμε, γράφετε, γράφουν. The mediopassive is a second, parallel set of endings that attaches to the same kind of stem.

1. Two main classes. Which endings a verb takes depends on where the stress sits in the 1st person singular.

• -ομαι class (stress on the stem): έρχομαι, γίνομαι, σκέφτομαι, χρειάζομαι, δέχομαι, κάθομαι. This is by far the larger group.
• -άμαι class (stress on the ending): θυμάμαι, κοιμάμαι, φοβάμαι, λυπάμαι. A small closed set, but every member is high-frequency.

There is a third class, -ιέμαι (αγαπιέμαι “I am loved”, ζητιέμαι), which belongs to the contracted verbs of lesson 6. Recognise the shape; you do not have to produce it yet.

2. Passive form, active meaning. Do not read -ομαι as “something is done to me”. Some mediopassive verbs really are passive in meaning, and you will meet those in lesson 48. The verbs in this lesson are deponents: they wear the passive coat but behave like plain active verbs, and many of them take a normal object.

So the verb’s shape tells you which endings to use, and nothing else. Meaning has to be learned with the word.

3. Stress moves in the 1st person plural. In the -ομαι class the stress sits on the stem in five of the six persons, but jumps one syllable to the right in the “we” form: έρχομαι, έρχεσαι, έρχεται, ερχόμαστε, έρχεστε, έρχονται. Same with κάθομαι → καθόμαστε, σκέφτομαι → σκεφτόμαστε, γίνομαι → γινόμαστε. Write ερχόμαστε with the accent on -ό-, never έρχομαστε.

4. Negation and word order are unchanged. Δεν goes in front exactly as in lesson 7: δεν έρχομαι, δεν θυμάμαι, δεν κάθεσαι. Subject pronouns stay optional (lesson 5): the ending already says who.

Forms & patterns

The -ομαι class: έρχομαι “I come”

The endings alone: -ομαι, -εσαι, -εται, -όμαστε, -εστε, -ονται.

Same endings, four more verbs

Δέχομαι “I accept” runs identically: δέχομαι, δέχεσαι, δέχεται, δεχόμαστε, δέχεστε, δέχονται.

The -άμαι class: θυμάμαι “I remember”

The endings alone: -άμαι, -άσαι, -άται, -όμαστε, -άστε, -ούνται. Note that only the “they” form has -ούνται, and that the “we” form θυμόμαστε has the same -όμαστε ending as the other class.

Same endings, three more verbs

Set against the active endings of lesson 6

For recognition only: the -ιέμαι class

Examples

Common mistakes

• Εγώ έρχω αύριο. -> Εγώ έρχομαι αύριο. Έρχομαι is a deponent: there is no active form *έρχω to build from.
• Κάθω στο τραπέζι. -> Κάθομαι στο τραπέζι. Same reason - *κάθω does not exist in Modern Greek.
• Θυμώ το τηλέφωνό σου. -> Θυμάμαι το τηλέφωνό σου. Θυμάμαι belongs to the -άμαι class; there is no *θυμώ.
• Εσύ έρχεις; -> Εσύ έρχεσαι; The 2nd singular mediopassive is -εσαι, not the active -εις; the two look similar but belong to different sets.
• Αυτοί θυμάνται. -> Αυτοί θυμούνται. The 3rd plural of the -άμαι class is -ούνται, never *-άνται.
• Εμείς έρχομαστε. -> Εμείς ερχόμαστε. The stress shifts one syllable right in the 1st plural: ερχόμαστε, καθόμαστε, σκεφτόμαστε.
• Εσείς κοιμάστε καλά; written κοιμαστε -> Εσείς κοιμάστε καλά; Every polysyllable needs its accent, and here it also shows where the stress falls - κοιμάστε, on the -ά-, not on the stem.
• Δεν γίνεσαι κουρασμένος. -> Δεν κουράζεσαι. / Δεν γίνεσαι δάσκαλος σε μία μέρα. Γίνομαι means “become, happen”; do not use it as a general auxiliary the way English uses “get”.

Tips

• Memorise the six endings as a chant, not as a rule: -ομαι, -εσαι, -εται, -όμαστε, -εστε, -ονται. Every verb of the big class follows it; the only variation you will hear is a more colloquial 2nd plural in -όσαστε (ερχόσαστε) beside -εστε.
• Learn each new verb in its dictionary form. If the entry ends in -ομαι or -άμαι, that is the only shape it has - do not go looking for an active version.
• The -άμαι class is small enough to memorise as a list: θυμάμαι, κοιμάμαι, φοβάμαι, λυπάμαι. Add them as a set of four and you have covered most of what you will meet at A1.
• Watch the pair έρχεστε (you, plural or polite) against ερχόμαστε (we). One syllable and one accent apart, and beginners swap them constantly.
• Both classes share the 1st plural ending -όμαστε (ερχόμαστε, θυμόμαστε), so that one form is free once you know either paradigm.
• Κάθομαι does double duty: “I am sitting” and, with a place, “I live / I’m staying”. Πού κάθεσαι; is a normal way to ask where someone lives.
• Do not try to add “by someone” (από + accusative) to these verbs. Deponents have no agent because they are not really passive; agents belong to the true passives of lesson 48.