Use είμαι to introduce yourself, give your origin and say where someone is. This activity follows people arriving for a Greek class. The main task is to identify who is speaking and how many people the sentence concerns. Read the dialogue before looking at the forms: one person and several people can both use είναι.
Meet the learners
Άννα: Είμαι η Άννα. Είμαι από τη Γαλλία.
Νίκος: Είσαι στην ομάδα Α;
Άννα: Ναι. Εσύ και η Μαρία είστε στην ίδια ομάδα;
Νίκος: Ναι, είμαστε στην ομάδα Α. Η Μαρία είναι στην τάξη.
Άννα: Και ο Πέτρος;
Νίκος: Ο Πέτρος και η Ελένη είναι στο γραφείο.
Anna introduces herself and says she is from France. Nikos asks whether she is in group A. Anna asks whether he and Maria are in the same group. Nikos confirms that they are. Maria is in the classroom; Petros and Eleni are in the office.
Match the person to the form
| Πρόσωπο | είμαι |
|---|---|
| εγώ | είμαι |
| εσύ | είσαι |
| αυτός / αυτή / αυτό | είναι |
| εμείς | είμαστε |
| εσείς | είστε |
| αυτοί / αυτές / αυτά | είναι |
The pronouns show who each form refers to. You do not have to repeat them in every sentence: Είμαι η Άννα already identifies the speaker through the verb. In this dialogue, είστε addresses Nikos and Maria together. It can also address one person politely in another context.
Why is είναι used twice?
Η Μαρία είναι στην τάξη concerns Maria alone. Ο Πέτρος και η Ελένη είναι στο γραφείο concerns two people. Both sentences use είναι. Look at the subject rather than trying to decide singular or plural from this verb form alone. Είμαστε includes the speaker in the group; είστε addresses the other person or people.
Complete four replies
- Anna introduces herself: ___ η Άννα.
- Ask one classmate informally: ___ στην ομάδα Α;
- Nikos speaks for himself and Maria: ___ στην ομάδα Α.
- Talk about Petros and Eleni: Ο Πέτρος και η Ελένη ___ στο γραφείο.
Show the answers
1. Είμαι: Anna speaks about herself. 2. Είσαι: one person is addressed informally. 3. Είμαστε: the group includes Nikos, who is speaking. 4. είναι: the third-person plural shares its form with the third-person singular.
Make a new introduction
Replace Anna’s name with yours in Είμαι η Άννα, adjusting the name and its article where appropriate. Practise the location sentence Είμαι στην τάξη, then imagine speaking for your group: Είμαστε στην τάξη. Keep the location unchanged so you can concentrate on the change of person.
Consult the είμαι and έχω reference, then use your introduction in a short first meeting.