1. Subject pronouns
| Greek | English |
|---|---|
| εγώ | I |
| εσύ | you (one person, informal) |
| αυτός / αυτή / αυτό | he / she / it |
| εμείς | we |
| εσείς | you (several people, or one person politely) |
| αυτοί / αυτές / αυτά | they (masculine / feminine / neuter) |
2. The verb “to be”
Modern Greek does not use an infinitive like English “to be.” Instead, dictionaries list verbs in the “I” form: είμαι means “I am.”
| Subject pronoun | Verb | English |
|---|---|---|
| εγώ | είμαι | I am |
| εσύ | είσαι | you are (singular) |
| αυτός / αυτή / αυτό | είναι | he / she / it is |
| εμείς | είμαστε | we are |
| εσείς | είστε | you are (plural / polite) |
| αυτοί / αυτές / αυτά | είναι | they are |
The pronoun can be left out: Είμαι already means “I am.” Use the pronoun when you want to make the subject clear or emphasise it. Είναι can mean “he/she/it is” or “they are,” depending on the context.
3. Four adjectives
The adjective’s form matches the gender of the person or noun it describes.
| English | Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Neuter singular |
|---|---|---|---|
| ready | έτοιμος | έτοιμη | έτοιμο |
| tired | κουρασμένος | κουρασμένη | κουρασμένο |
| happy | χαρούμενος | χαρούμενη | χαρούμενο |
| sad | λυπημένος | λυπημένη | λυπημένο |
Είμαι κουρασμένη.
I’m tired. (A woman speaking.)
Αυτός είναι έτοιμος.
He is ready.
Το παιδί είναι χαρούμενο.
The child is happy.
Use the neuter form with το παιδί, whether the child is a boy or a girl.
4. With εδώ and καλά
- εδώ — here
- καλά — well / fine
Είμαστε εδώ.
We are here.
Είμαι καλά.
I am well.
Αυτοί είναι εδώ.
They are here. (A masculine or mixed-gender group.)
Εδώ and καλά stay the same with every subject.
5. Questions
For a yes/no question, keep the same word order and use a questioning tone. The Greek question mark is ;.
Είσαι έτοιμος;
Are you ready? (To one man, informally.)
Είστε καλά;
Are you OK? (To several people, or one person politely.)
6. Negatives
Put δεν before the verb to say “not.”
Δεν είμαι λυπημένη.
I’m not sad. (A woman speaking.)
Το παιδί δεν είναι εδώ.
The child isn’t here.
7. Practice exercises
Translate into Greek. Use the gender or number indicated.
-
I am here.
-
You are ready. (To one woman, informally.)
-
He is tired.
-
The child is sad.
-
We are fine.
-
Are you here? (To several people.)
-
They are not here. (A masculine group.)
-
I am not ready. (A woman speaking.)
-
Are you tired? (To one man, informally.)
-
She is not here.
Show answers
Suggested answers; subject pronouns can often be omitted.
- Είμαι εδώ.
- Είσαι έτοιμη.
- Αυτός είναι κουρασμένος.
- Το παιδί είναι λυπημένο.
- Είμαστε καλά.
- Είστε εδώ;
- Αυτοί δεν είναι εδώ.
- Δεν είμαι έτοιμη.
- Είσαι κουρασμένος;
- Αυτή δεν είναι εδώ.