Greek Verb Tenses Explained: Aorist, Future and More

Greek verb tenses are built from just two stems of each verb, one for continuous actions and one for single, completed actions, plus the auxiliary έχω for the perfect tenses. Grammars count eight tenses: present, imperfect, aorist, two futures, perfect, pluperfect and future perfect. Once you understand the two stems, most of them fall into place. 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".

Aspect: the key to Greek tenses

English mostly cares about when something happens. Greek also cares about how you see it: as a process or a repeated habit (continuous aspect), or as one complete event (simple aspect). Each verb has a stem for each: γραφ- and γραψ- for γράφω.

Compare: Όταν ήμουν φοιτητής, έγραφα ποιήματα. (When I was a student, I used to write poems.) Χθες έγραψα ένα ποίημα. (Yesterday I wrote a poem.) The present has only the continuous form, because what is happening now is by nature in progress. The aspect note explains this idea with many examples.

A full table for a regular verb: γράφω

The two past tenses share the same endings: -α, -ες, -ε, -αμε, -ατε, -αν. In speech you will also hear γράφουνε, γράφανε and γράψανε for "they". The pluperfect is the perfect with είχα instead of έχω: είχα γράψει, είχες γράψει...

The past augment ε-

In the past tenses, the stress must fall on the third syllable from the end. When the verb is too short for that, Greek adds a stressed ε- at the front, the augment: γράφω → έγραφα, έγραψα; πίνω → έπινα; κάνω → έκανα. When the stress can fall inside the word, the augment disappears: έγραψα but γράψαμε, έγραφα but γράφατε. Longer verbs never need it: διαβάζω → διάβασα, αγοράζω → αγόρασα, and verbs that start with a vowel do not take it: ακούω → άκουσα. A few common verbs take η- instead: θέλω → ήθελα, ξέρω → ήξερα.

Present and imperfect: continuous actions

The present covers both "I write" and "I am writing": τώρα γράφω ένα email (I'm writing an email now), γράφω κάθε μέρα (I write every day). See the present tense.

The imperfect (παρατατικός) is a past seen from the inside: an action in progress, a habit, or a background. Διάβαζα όταν χτύπησε το τηλέφωνο. (I was reading when the phone rang.) Κάθε καλοκαίρι πηγαίναμε στη Νάξο. (Every summer we used to go to Naxos.) Read the imperfect.

The aorist: the Greek simple past

The aorist (αόριστος) is the most used past tense: one completed action. Χθες έφαγα σουβλάκι. (Yesterday I ate souvlaki.) Πότε ήρθες; (When did you arrive?) Its stem is usually formed by changing the last consonant of the present stem:

The most frequent verbs are irregular and simply have to be learned: πάω → πήγα, έρχομαι → ήρθα, λέω → είπα, βλέπω → είδα, τρώω → έφαγα, πίνω → ήπια, παίρνω → πήρα, βρίσκω → βρήκα. See the aorist, irregular verbs and the 30 most common verbs with their past.

The two futures: θα γράφω and θα γράψω

The future is always θα + a verb form that looks like the present. With the continuous stem, it is an ongoing or repeated future: θα σου γράφω κάθε εβδομάδα (I'll write to you every week). With the simple stem, it is a single event, and this is the form you need most: θα σου γράψω αύριο (I'll write to you tomorrow), θα πάμε στη θάλασσα (we'll go to the sea). Θα + imperfect gives the conditional "would": θα έγραφα (I would write); the polite θα ήθελα (I would like) is built the same way. See yesterday and tomorrow: πήγα, θα πάω and the future tense.

The perfect tenses with έχω

The perfect is έχω + a fixed form ending in -ει, built on the simple stem: έχω γράψει, έχω πάει, έχω δει. Έχεις πάει ποτέ στην Κρήτη; (Have you ever been to Crete?) Δεν έχω τελειώσει ακόμα. (I haven't finished yet.) Greek uses the perfect less than English does: where English says "Have you eaten?", Greeks usually ask with the aorist, Έφαγες;. The pluperfect είχα γράψει (I had written) and the future perfect θα έχω γράψει (I will have written) work the same way. Read the perfect: έχω γράψει and the perfect tenses, both voices.

Imperative and subjunctive

• Imperative: γράψε! / γράψτε! (write!, once) and γράφε! / γράφετε! (keep writing, write regularly). For a negative command, use μη + να-form: μη γράφεις!, μη γράψεις! (don't write!). See the imperative.
• Subjunctive: να + verb, used after θέλω, μπορώ, πρέπει and many others: πρέπει να γράψω ένα email (I have to write an email), μου αρέσει να γράφω (I like writing). It has no tense of its own, only the two aspects. See the subjunctive with να.

Second-conjugation verbs: μιλάω

Verbs stressed on the ending follow the same system, with their own endings in the present and imperfect.

The imperfect endings are -ούσα, -ούσες, -ούσε, -ούσαμε, -ούσατε, -ούσαν. More in the second conjugation. Passive and -μαι verbs have their own forms (γράφομαι, γράφτηκα, θα γραφτώ), covered in active and passive voice and the aorist in both voices.

Frequently asked questions

How many tenses are there in Greek?

Eight in the indicative: present, imperfect, aorist, future continuous, simple future, perfect, pluperfect and future perfect. In everyday speech, the present, aorist, imperfect and the two futures do most of the work.

What is the aorist in Greek?

The simple past for a single, completed action: έγραψα (I wrote), πήγα (I went), είδα (I saw). It is the past tense you will use most.

What is the difference between θα γράφω and θα γράψω?

θα γράφω is a continuous or repeated future (I will be writing, I'll write regularly); θα γράψω is a single event (I will write it). The second is far more common.

Does Greek have a present perfect?

Yes: έχω + -ει form, as in έχω γράψει (I have written). But Greeks use it less than English speakers and often prefer the aorist.

The tenses come one at a time in our course: the present in A1, the future and the aorist at the end of A1, the imperfect in A2. Start with the free A1 Greek course, or begin here.