Greek grammar for beginners comes down to ten ideas: three genders with their articles, four cases, verbs that change their endings, two aspects, να instead of an infinitive, two words for "not", a written stress accent, flexible word order, small pronouns before the verb, and the plural. None of them is hard on its own; together they are most of what makes Greek feel different from English. Each point below is short and links to a grammar note that goes further. In the transliteration the accent marks the stressed syllable, ch sounds like the German ach, d like the th in "this", and th like the th in "think".
1. Three genders, and an article for each
Every Greek noun is masculine, feminine or neuter, and the article tells you which: ο (masculine), η (feminine), το (neuter). The ending usually gives it away too.
| Gender | Greek | Pronunciation | Meaning | Typical endings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | ο φίλος | o fílos | the friend | -ος, -ας, -ης |
| Feminine | η μητέρα | i mitéra | the mother | -α, -η |
| Neuter | το παιδί | to pedí | the child | -ο, -ι, -μα |
"A, an" is ένας, μία (or μια), ένα: ένας καφές, μια μπίρα, ένα νερό. Greek uses the article much more than English, even with names: ο Νίκος, η Ελλάδα. Always learn a noun with its article. See articles and gender.
2. Four cases change the ending
Greek nouns, articles and adjectives change their ending depending on their role in the sentence. There are four cases:
- Nominative for the subject: Ο Νίκος είναι εδώ. (Nikos is here.)
- Accusative for the object and after most prepositions: Βλέπω τον Νίκο. (I see Nikos.)
- Genitive for "of" and possession: το σπίτι του Νίκου (Nikos's house).
- Vocative to call someone: Νίκο, έλα! (Nikos, come!)
Start with nominative and accusative, which you need from the first day: nominative and accusative. The genitive comes next, in the genitive, and the whole system is in the full case system.
3. Verb endings show the person, so the pronoun can go
Greek verbs have no infinitive: the dictionary form is "I write", γράφω. The ending changes for each person, so Greeks usually drop the subject pronoun: γράφω already means "I write".
| Person | Group 1: γράφω | Group 2: μιλάω | Group 2: μπορώ |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | γράφω (gráfo) | μιλάω (miláo) | μπορώ (boró) |
| you (sg.) | γράφεις (gráfis) | μιλάς (milás) | μπορείς (borís) |
| he, she, it | γράφει (gráfi) | μιλάει (milái) | μπορεί (borí) |
| we | γράφουμε (gráfume) | μιλάμε (miláme) | μπορούμε (borúme) |
| you (pl.) | γράφετε (gráfete) | μιλάτε (miláte) | μπορείτε (boríte) |
| they | γράφουν (gráfun) | μιλάνε (miláne) | μπορούν (borún) |
The first conjugation has the stress on the stem (γράφω); the second has it on the ending (μιλάω, μπορώ). Details in the present tense and the second conjugation, and the most useful verbs in the 30 most common Greek verbs.
4. Aspect: the big idea of Greek verbs
This is the one concept English speakers must really get. Most Greek verbs have two stems: one for an action seen as continuous or repeated, and one for an action seen as single and complete. From γράφω: γραφ- and γραψ-.
| Continuous (γραφ-) | Simple (γραψ-) | |
|---|---|---|
| Past | έγραφα = I was writing, I used to write | έγραψα = I wrote |
| Future | θα γράφω = I will be writing, I will write regularly | θα γράψω = I will write (once) |
| After να | να γράφω | να γράψω |
Κάθε μέρα έγραφα ένα γράμμα (every day I wrote a letter, a habit) but χθες έγραψα ένα γράμμα (yesterday I wrote a letter, once). Read aspect: θα γράφω or θα γράψω?, then the two past tenses in the aorist and the imperfect.
5. Να + verb instead of "to"
Because there is no infinitive, "I want to go" is θέλω να πάω, literally "I want that I go". The second verb also takes a person ending: θέλεις να πας; (do you want to go?), πρέπει να φύγουμε (we must leave), μπορώ να κάτσω εδώ; (can I sit here?). Usually you use the simple stem after να, as in point 4. This construction is called the subjunctive; see the subjunctive with να and the verb's little words: θα, να, ας, μη.
6. Two words for "not": δεν and μην
- δεν (den) for ordinary statements and questions: δεν ξέρω (I don't know), δεν έχει νερό; (is there no water?).
- μην or μη (min, mi) after να and in negative commands: μην ανησυχείς (don't worry), σου είπα να μην έρθεις (I told you not to come).
- όχι (óchi) is the answer "no", and is also used to negate a single word: όχι σήμερα (not today).
Questions need no special word order: just add a question mark, which in Greek is ;. See negation and questions.
7. The stress mark matters
Every word of two or more syllables carries one written accent, the τόνος, on the stressed vowel. It is not decoration: it can change the meaning.
| Greek | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| πότε / ποτέ | póte / poté | when? / never |
| γέρος / γερός | yéros / yerós | old man / strong |
| νόμος / νομός | nómos / nomós | law / prefecture |
Stress can also move when a word changes its ending: ο άνθρωπος, του ανθρώπου. Learn it in the stress mark and syllables, and the letters themselves in the Greek alphabet.
8. Word order is flexible
The normal order is subject, verb, object, as in English: Η Μαρία πίνει καφέ. But because the endings show who does what, Greek can move words for emphasis: Καφέ πίνει η Μαρία (It's coffee Maria drinks). Questions keep the same order as statements and use intonation: Η Μαρία πίνει καφέ; Adjectives come before the noun: ένα μεγάλο σπίτι. More in word order.
9. Small pronouns go before the verb
Object pronouns are short, unstressed words placed before the verb: τον ξέρω (I know him), σ' αγαπώ (I love you), μου αρέσει (I like it, literally "it pleases me"), σου το δίνω (I give it to you). Only with a command do they move after the verb: δώσε μου το νερό (give me the water), πες μου (tell me). The same little words also show possession, after the noun: το σπίτι μου (my house), η μητέρα σου (your mother). See me, you, him: με, σε, τον and possessives: το βιβλίο μου.
10. The plural: a few patterns cover most nouns
| Singular | Plural | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ο φίλος | οι φίλοι | i fíli | the friends |
| ο άντρας | οι άντρες | i ándres | the men |
| η μέρα | οι μέρες | i méres | the days |
| η φωνή | οι φωνές | i fonés | the voices |
| το βιβλίο | τα βιβλία | ta vivlía | the books |
| το παιδί | τα παιδιά | ta pediá | the children |
| το όνομα | τα ονόματα | ta onómata | the names |
Adjectives follow the noun's gender and number: οι καλοί φίλοι, οι ωραίες μέρες, τα μικρά παιδιά. See the plural of nouns and adjectives: καλός -ή -ό.
In what order should you learn Greek grammar?
- Weeks 1 to 4: the alphabet, articles and gender, είμαι and έχω, the present tense, negation.
- Months 2 and 3: accusative, the plural, object pronouns, θέλω να, the future with θα.
- Then (A2): the aorist and the imperfect, the genitive, possessives, the imperative.
All grammar notes are listed by level on the grammar page. For a full study plan, see how to learn Greek.
Frequently asked questions
Is Greek grammar hard?
It has more endings than English, but it is regular. The two real challenges are the cases and the verb aspect; everything else is familiar from other European languages.
How many cases does Greek have?
Four: nominative, genitive, accusative and vocative. Ancient Greek also had a dative, which Modern Greek has replaced with σε + accusative.
Does Greek have an infinitive?
No. Modern Greek uses να + a conjugated verb: θέλω να φάω (I want to eat), θέλεις να φας (you want to eat).
Do I need grammar to start speaking Greek?
Not to start: phrases like τι κάνεις; and θα ήθελα έναν καφέ work without analysis. But a little grammar early, especially articles and verb endings, makes progress much faster after the first weeks.
These ten points are taught one by one, with exercises and audio, in our free A1 Greek course. You can start it here.