Conjugation › Greek › Íme
Greek · Verb Tables · Advanced
είμαι (íme) means "to be" in Greek. Present: εγώ (egó) είμαι (íme), εσύ (esí) είσαι (íse), αυτός / αυτή / αυτό (aftós / aftí / aftó) είναι (íne), εμείς (emís) είμαστε (ímaste), εσείς (esís) είστε (íste), αυτοί (aftí) είναι (íne). Below: all 10 tenses we teach, with examples.
Present (imperfective) stem + personal endings. Covers "I write" and "I am writing", habits, general truths and scheduled near-future events. Greek has no separate present continuous.
| εγώ (egó) | είμαι (íme) |
| εσύ (esí) | είσαι (íse) |
| αυτός / αυτή / αυτό (aftós / aftí / aftó) | είναι (íne) |
| εμείς (emís) | είμαστε (ímaste) |
| εσείς (esís) | είστε (íste) |
| αυτοί (aftí) | είναι (íne) |
Imperfective past: augment ε- (when the stress allows) + imperfective stem + past endings. Used for repeated, habitual or ongoing past actions, and for backgrounds ("I used to write", "I was writing").
| εγώ (egó) | ήμουν (ímoun) |
| εσύ (esí) | ήσουν (ísoun) |
| αυτός / αυτή / αυτό (aftós / aftí / aftó) | ήταν (ítan) |
| εμείς (emís) | ήμασταν (ímastan) |
| εσείς (esís) | ήσασταν (ísastan) |
| αυτοί (aftí) | ήταν (ítan) |
θα + present (imperfective) forms. A future action that is ongoing, repeated or habitual ("I will be writing", "I will write every day").
| εγώ (egó) | θα είμαι (tha íme) |
| εσύ (esí) | θα είσαι (tha íse) |
| αυτός / αυτή / αυτό (aftós / aftí / aftó) | θα είναι (tha íne) |
| εμείς (emís) | θα είμαστε (tha ímaste) |
| εσείς (esís) | θα είστε (tha íste) |
| αυτοί (aftí) | θα είναι (tha íne) |
θα + imperfect forms. Present or future hypothetical ("I would write") and polite requests (θα ήθελα, θα μπορούσατε). It is also the normal pattern in the main clause of an open or unlikely condition (Αν μπορούσα, θα έγραφα).
| εγώ (egó) | θα ήμουν (tha ímoun) |
| εσύ (esí) | θα ήσουν (tha ísoun) |
| αυτός / αυτή / αυτό (aftós / aftí / aftó) | θα ήταν (tha ítan) |
| εμείς (emís) | θα ήμασταν (tha ímastan) |
| εσείς (esís) | θα ήσασταν (tha ísastan) |
| αυτοί (aftí) | θα ήταν (tha ítan) |
να + imperfective (present) forms. Ongoing, repeated or general action after a trigger.
| εγώ (egó) | να είμαι (na íme) |
| εσύ (esí) | να είσαι (na íse) |
| αυτός / αυτή / αυτό (aftós / aftí / aftó) | να είναι (na íne) |
| εμείς (emís) | να είμαστε (na ímaste) |
| εσείς (esís) | να είστε (na íste) |
| αυτοί (aftí) | να είναι (na íne) |
να + imperfect. Unreal or regretted wishes for the present or ongoing past ("if only I wrote", "I wish I were writing"). Often introduced by αν or μακάρι.
| εγώ (egó) | να ήμουν (na ímoun) |
| εσύ (esí) | να ήσουν (na ísoun) |
| αυτός / αυτή / αυτό (aftós / aftí / aftó) | να ήταν (na ítan) |
| εμείς (emís) | να ήμασταν (na ímastan) |
| εσείς (esís) | να ήσασταν (na ísastan) |
| αυτοί (aftí) | να ήταν (na ítan) |
Imperfective imperative for ongoing, repeated or general commands ("keep writing", "always write"). Only the 2nd person singular and plural exist. Verbs in -ομαι use the aorist imperative; the present is rare, hence —.
| εγώ (egó) | — |
| εσύ (esí) | να είσαι (na íse) |
| αυτός / αυτή / αυτό (aftós / aftí / aftó) | — |
| εμείς (emís) | — |
| εσείς (esís) | να είστε (na íste) |
| αυτοί (aftí) | — |
μην (μη before most consonants) + present subjunctive forms. The imperative itself cannot be negated: Greek uses μην + 2nd person present for an ongoing prohibition ("stop doing", "don't keep doing"). μην is normal before vowels and κ π τ ξ ψ γκ ντ μπ τσ τζ, μη elsewhere; both are accepted.
| εγώ (egó) | — |
| εσύ (esí) | μην είσαι (min íse) |
| αυτός / αυτή / αυτό (aftós / aftí / aftó) | — |
| εμείς (emís) | — |
| εσείς (esís) | μην είστε (min íste) |
| αυτοί (aftí) | — |
ας + aorist subjunctive. Covers "let me", "let's", "let him / them", also concession ("so be it"). It fills the 1st and 3rd persons that the imperative lacks.
| εγώ (egó) | ας είμαι (as íme) |
| εσύ (esí) | — |
| αυτός / αυτή / αυτό (aftós / aftí / aftó) | ας είναι (as íne) |
| εμείς (emís) | ας είμαστε (as ímaste) |
| εσείς (esís) | — |
| αυτοί (aftí) | ας είναι (as íne) |
Present stem + -οντας (B1 verbs -ώντας, B2 -ώντας). Indeclinable. Expresses a simultaneous action ("while writing", "by writing"). Verbs in -ομαι have no true gerund, hence —.
| όντας (óndas) |
| Είμαστε ήδη στο αεροδρόμιο. ímaste ídi sto aerodrómio. | We are already at the airport. |
| Αν ήμουν στη θέση σου, δεν θα ανησυχούσα. an ímoun sti thési sou, den tha anisihóusa. | If I were in your position, I would not worry. |
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