Modern Greek III: Likes and Dislikes, PLUS MORE CLASSICAL VOCABULARY IN MG
θέλω I want δεν θέλω I don't want. This is the same verb as AG θέλω also found as εθέλω
θέλετε έναν καφέ Do you want a coffee? οχι, δεν θέλω No, I don't want (it).
με ζάχαρη ῞ With sugar? όχι, όχι ζάχαρη. No, no sugar
μου αρέσει I like, literally to me is pleasing, δεν μου αρεσει I don't like with singular subject of what one likes
μου αρέσουν I don't like with plural subject δεν μου αρέσουν
Some things should be obvious. First, the idea of not with a verb is expressed by "δεν", while "no" and not with nouns, adjectives, etc is όχι (ancient ου, ουκ, ουχ).
Second, αρέσει etc, from a similar word in AG, means to be pleasing to. Unfortunately MG lacks a dative case so the genitive μου is used.
The verb forms should seem familiar to elementary students of AG. Here is the present tense of θέλω. Note that the 1st psg, 1 ppl and 2nd ppl are identical to AG forms.
θέλω θέλουμε
θέλεις θέλετε
θέλει θέλουν
Many Greek regular verbs are conjugated like θέλω, including έχω (have) , κάνω (do, make) , καταλαβαίνω (understand), μένω (remain).
Please note that MG does not have infinitives. Instead of saying I want to eat something, you have to say "I want that I eat, you want that you eat, etc. The verb is the aorist subjunctive forms, which are quite easy for regular verbs. "That" is indicated b
What sort of things will you be asking for or expressing like or dislike of?
A coffee ένας καφές έναν καφέ
Medium sweet (some but not a lot of sugar) μέτριος, μέτρια, μέτριο
the milk το γάλα
juice ο χύμός
coca cola κόκακόλα
water το νερό
red wine το κόκκινο κρασί
white wine το άσπρο κρασί
a beer μία βἰρρα but just as often βύρρα, which is pronounced the same
These are the nominative singular forms but when you want something, you are asking for it in the accusative case as the stated or implied direct object. Ιn MG many nouns are the same in nominative case, and sometimes the articles. This is true of all neuter nouns, masculine nouns in -oς. However when a noun begins with a vowel, or letters like k, t, p, x, the ancient -n is usually kept in the article.
AG had no indefinite article (a, an) but MG uses the number one: ένας, μία, ένα. So when we ask for a coffee, it is:
έναν καφέ, a juice: ένα χυμό but neuter nouns stay the same: κόκκινο κρασί
You may also say Give me δώστε μου or bring us φέρτε μας:
Audio
More MG Vocabulary from Classical Greek. Try to pronounce them before I supply audio
C&G Lessons 1 & 2
ἀδελφός
ἀδελφή
παύω
πέμπω
το ποτάμι < ποταμός
άνθρωπος
από
μικρὀς
μεγάλος, η, ο
φίλος φίλη
ἀξιος
δίκαιος
πὀλεμος
μακρύς < μακρός
Present.
-CK
Is ‘no thank you’ a phrase in Greek? Something like “οχι ευχαριστο”?
-CK
CK/CC: Not exactly but close. We say it as one phrase almost as one word, while they tend to be a bit more distinct. Θα θέλατε έναν καφέ; Όχι, ευχαριστώ.
I was looking more closely at the AG vocabulary that kept it’s meaning in MG and I saw that under ‘αδελφος’ (brother) was ‘αδελφη.’ Would αδελφη be sister because it has a feminine ending? Would the same go for ‘φιλος’ and ‘φιλη’?
-CC
Right in both counts.
Φιλος in AG is bot adjective and noun.
I have another question: if you were, say, ordering something and you said “δωστε μου το κοκιννο κρασι” where would you say παρακαλω? Would it be before the verb like in English or right after the verb or at the end of the sentence? Or do Greeks not use ‘please’ like we do?
-CC
God question, easy answer. Generally, the παρακαλω is at the end, occasionally in the middle or at the beginning, but while we use “please” as a way of getting someone’s attention, Greeks would start with συγνώμη, pardon. Since you are interested, I’ll post a separate little post with a bit more MG and suggestions. We should have hired Ian Flanders to teach everyone coming on the trip a little MG. I am quite sure he knows nore and speaks it better than I do.