PRONOUNS

Words, which are used in place of nouns and adjectives, are called pronouns. There are eight types of pronouns: personal, possessive, reflexive, emphatic, demonstrative, relative, interrogative and impersonal.  Depending on the type of pronouns, they can be inflected for gender, number and case.  Pronouns, which are inflected, show the same gender and number as the antecedent, but their case is determined by the function of the pronoun within a given phrase.  For example

                        Το σπίτι είναι του Γιάννη-The house is John’s
                        Είναι απίστευτο ότι είναι δικό του-It is unbelievable that it is his.

PERSONAL PRONOUNS

Personal pronouns show the distinctions of person. They are called the first, second and third persons and refer to I, we; you; he, she, it, and they respectively. The declensions of the first and second person pronouns are irregular. Only the second person exists in the vocative case. The pronouns of the first and second persons only inflected for number and case and not for gender. The first person refers to the speaker; the second person refers to the person spoken to; and the third person refers to the person being spoken about.

The personal pronouns show two sets of forms: (1) the strong or emphatic forms, which stand by themselves or carry emphasis in the sentence, and (2) the weak or unemphatic forms, which occur as proclitics when they stand before a verb, or enclitics when they stand after a verb or after other pronouns.

 

The third person pronouns αυτός, -η, -ο is a demonstrative pronoun. The demonstrative pronoun εκείνος can also be used for the third person pronouns.

The genitive forms αυτού, αυτή, αυτού of the personal pronoun αυτός are usually substituted by the forms αυτουνού, αυτηνής, αυτουνού and in the plural either by αυτουνών or αυτωνών.  The plural masculine accusative case show two strong forms αυτούς and αυτουνούς.

The Nominative Case of Personal Pronouns

The nominative form of the personal pronouns do not usually occur as the expressed subject of the verb, since the verb endings already indicate the person of the subject.  The subject personal pronoun forms are used to express contrast or emphasis; they also occur in isolation, as a response to questions. For example,

                        Έχει τρία παιδιά- He (or She) has three children
                        Εμείς ερχόμαστε και αυτόι φεύγουν-We are coming and they are leaving
                        Ποιός έφαγε τώρα; Εγώ-Who ate now? Me

The weak nominative forms of the third person personal pronouns, for example, τος, τη, το, etc, occur mainly as enclitics after the demonstrative particle νά and after the verb είμαι such as in the following examples.

                        Νά τοι-There they are
                        Που είναι τος;-Where is he?  (Που’ναι τος, που ειν’τος, που’ν’τος)

The Genitive Case of Personal Pronouns

The weak or the unemphatic forms of the genitive case of the personal pronouns occur as the indirect object of verbs.  The personal pronouns forms precede the verb and occur unaccented, except to indicate they are not enclitics.

                        Η αδλεφή μου μου έδωσε τη σοκολάτα-My sister game me the chocolate
                        Ο πατέρας τους είδε μες το σπίτι-The father saw them in the house.

If the personal pronoun form is the object of an imperative or of a particle, the personal pronoun follows the verb and occurs unaccented.

                        Γιάννη, πάρε με στο βιβλιοπολείο-John, take me to the bookshop
                        Πες τους κάτι, να χαρείς!-Tell them something, please!

The indirect object following an imperative precedes the direct object, but it may well follow it, for example, φερ’μου το or φερ’το μου (bring it to me).  The more correct form is the former.

The enclitic genitive forms may also occur as objects of adverbs functioning as a preposition. They may also occur in exclamatory and other phrases, for example, μπράβο σου, μαζί σου, οι δυο μας, μόνος μου etc.

The strong form of the genitive case εμένα, εσένα, αυτουνού etc, occurs as the indirect object of the verb to express contrast of emphasis.  They may precede or follow the verb, depending on the sentence structure.  The strong genitive forms are also used in isolation, in response to questions.

Frequently, the strong and weak forms occur together in the same sentence for more emphasis.  The strong precedes the weak form.  For example,

                        Εμένα μου δωρίζει το σπίτι της, όχι εσένα-She’s giving her house to me, not to you.
                        Ο Μάρκος εμένα δε λέει τίποτα-Mark doesn’t tell me anything.

Instead of the emphatic genitive form of the pronoun, prepositional phrases with the emphatic form are often used to express the indirect object. For example,

                        Ο Μαρκος δε λέει τίποτα σε μένα-Mark doesn’t tell me anything
                        Μου δωρίζει το σπίτι της σε μένα, όχι σε σένα-She’s her house to me, not to you.

The Accusative Case of Personal Pronouns

The weak forms of the accusative case of the personal pronouns occur as the direct object of the verb.  They precede the verb and carry no accent mark.  If the personal pronoun is the object of an imperative or participle, the pronoun follows the verb and does not carry an accent mark.  There are of course exceptions.

Of the two feminine third person pronoun forms, τις and τες, the from τις occurs as a proclitic, for example, τις βλέπω, but the form τες occurs only as an enclitic, for example, πείτε τες.

The enclitic accusative forms may also occur after the adverb καλώς (well), the old form of καλά, in greetings and direct address; after the demonstrative νά etc:

                        καλώς τον!-Welcome! (to a male)
                        καλώς την!-Welcome! (to a female)
                        καλώς το!-Welcome! (to a child)
                        νά με-here I am

The strong form of the accusative occurs as the direct object of a verb to express contrast or emphasis.  They may follow or precede the verb, depending on the sentence structure.  The strong accusative forms are also used in isolation, in response to questions.

Frequently, both strong and weak forms occur in the same sentence for more emphasis; the strong form precedes the weak form:

                        Εσένα σε είδε ο γιατρός-The doctor saw you.

            The strong from of the accusative is also the form generally used as the object of a preposition.  The pronoun always follows the preposition.  The pronouns εμένα, εσένα, εμάς and εσάς may also occur without the initial ε-, when the preposition ends in a vowel.

General Notes on Personal Pronouns

The strong forms of the personal pronouns are sometimes followed by the appropriate form of the intensive pronoun ο ίδιος, η ίδια, το ίδιο (-self) for increase emphasis.

                        Εγώ ο ίδιος την είδα-I myself saw her.

The weak form of the personal pronouns, even though they occur more than the strong forms, never stand by themselves as do the strong forms.

                        Ποιόν θέλετε; Εσένα (not σε)-Who do you want? You
                        Ποιόν θέλετε; Εσας (not σας)-Who do you want? You

Often the weak form of the personal pronoun, even though they appear to be superfluous, occurs in the same sentence with the noun to which they refer.  The pronoun may follow the follow the noun for increased emphasis or it may precede it as an anticipatory object, but it always precedes the verb:

                        Το λεξικό το θέλω-I want the dictionary
                        Τον είδα εδώ τον Φώτη-I saw Photis here

The weak forms of the personal pronouns, primarily the neuter forms το, τα are used in idiomatic phrases as the object of verb, sometimes without having any particular noun as an antecedent:

                        τα έχασα-I am confused
                        τα έκανα θάλασσα-I made a mess of things.

Only the weak forms of the personal pronouns are positioned between the particles θα, να, ας and the verb.

                        θα της το έχω δώσει-I will have given it to her
                        να σου την δώσω-I will give her to you
                        ας τα ξεχάσουμε-Let’s forget them

In a negative sentence only the weak forms of the personal pronouns are positioned after the negative particles δε(ν) and μη(ν):

                        δεν το κατάλαβα-I didn’t understand it
                        να μην τους δούμε-Let’s not see them

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS AND ADJECTIVES

In Modern Greek, there are no special pronoun forms denoting possession.  The following are used as possessive pronouns.

The enclitic genitive forms of the personal pronoun, i.e. μου, σου, του etc occur as unemphatic possessive pronouns.  They are not inflected and are always following the noun s they modify, for example, η καρέκλα μου, τα παιδιά μας. If the noun to which the pronoun refers to is modified by an adjective the possessive pronoun frequently occurs between the noun instead of following the noun, η ομορφότερή μου αγάπη (η ομορφότερη αγάπη μου).

Nouns modified by the pronoun μου, σου του, της, μας, σας, and τους are generally precede by the definite article; they may also occur without the article, depending on the context.

                        Ο γαλατάς μου είναι δάσκαλος-My milkman is a teacher
                        Ο δάσκαλος είναι γαλατάς μου-The teacher is my milkman.

The pronouns δικός, -ή/-ιά, -ό μου (σου του etc), the emphatic or the independent possessive pronoun consists of the adjective δικός plus the enclitic genitive forms of the personal pronouns. The adjective δικός is inflected and agrees with the gender, number and case of the modified noun.  The enclitic forms are not inflected; they only mark the person, number and gender (for the third person singular) and possessor.  The pronouns may occur with or without the article.  The pronoun δικός is decline below.

When the pronoun occurs as an adjective, it may precede or follow the modified noun as the following examples indicate:

                        Αυτή είναι η δική μου δουλειά-This is my work.
                        Αυτή είναι η δουλειά η δική μου-This is my work.

In contrast to the pronouns μου, σου, του, etc, the pronouns δικός μου etc are used to indicate emphasis or contrast; it also occur independently

                        Το δικό μου όνομα είναι όμορφο- My name is beautiful
                        Το δικό μου είναι όμορφο- Mine is beautiful

REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

In Modern Greek, the reflexive pronoun is composed of the old pronominal adjective εαυτός ‘self’, mainly of the masculine gender and the accusative singular form of the adjective, plus the enclitic genitive form of the personal pronouns μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, and τους.

                        Του εαυτού της-of/for/to herself
                        Tον εαυτό της-herself

The reflective pronoun is always preceded by thethe masculine article and is inflected as follows

The genitive and accusative plural cases have alternate forms, shown in the table above in the last row.  When εαυτός remains in the singular, the speaker considers the group of people as one.  When εαυτός is plural, the individuals of the group are emphasised.

The genitive case of the reflexive pronoun occurs as the indirect object of verbs, or in construction certain adjectives and prepositions:

                        Ο γέρος μιλά του εαυτού του-the old man is talking to himself
                        κατα του ευατού του-against himself

The accusative case of the reflexive pronoun is the most frequent occurring case; it occurs as the object of verbs and prepositions.

                        Η μητέρα κοιτάζει τον εαυτό της-Mother is looking after herself
                        θέλετε πολλα για τον εαυτό σας-You want a lot for yourselves

The reflexive pronoun ο εαυτός μου may be accompanied by the appropriate form of the intensive pronoun ο ίδιος, η ίδια, το ίδιο ‘self’ for contrast or emphasis:

                        Θέλω την κάμαρη για τον ίδιο τον εαυτό μου-I want the room for myself

RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS

Reciprocity may be expressed by means of phrases composed of the indefinite pronouns (ο) ένας ‘the one, one’ and ο αλλος ‘the other.’  The latter occurs in the genitive or the accusative case, depending on the sentence structure, and it is always preceded by the definite article:

                        Ο ενας τον αλλο-one another, each other
                        Η μια την αλλη-one another, each other
                        Το ενα το αλλο-one another, each other

                        Ο ένας καλοπιανει τον άλλο-One coaxes the other
                        Πιάσ’το ένα χτύπα τον άλλο-Grab one hit the other

Reciprocity is also expressed by the adverbs μεταξύ, αναμεταξύ, ανάμεσα ‘between, amongst’ plus the enclitic genitive forms of the personal pronouns μας, σας and τους.  For example, μεταξύ μας ‘between or amongst ourselves,’ ανάμεσα τους ‘amongst themselves.’

                        Το συζητήσανε μεταξλυ τους-They discussed it amongst themselves

 

EMPHATIC OR INTENSIVE PRONOUNS

Emphatic or intensive pronouns emphasises the noun that it is referring to.  The sentence can stand without the intensive pronouns.

The intensive pronouns include the following:

                        ο ίδιος, η ίδια , το ίδιο
                        μόνος μου, μόνος σου etc
                        μοναχός μου, μοναχός του etc

The adjective ο ίδιος, η ίδια , το ίδιο ‘the same, identical’ may also occur as an intensive or emphatic pronoun meaning ‘myself, you self, himself etc.’  As an intensive pronoun, the adjective always occurs with the article and stands in construction with a pronoun or a noun preceded by the article:

                        Εγώ ο ίδιος-I myself
                        Ο γιατρός ο ίδιος-the doctor himself

The pronoun ο ίδιος follows the declensions pattern of the adjective in -ος, -α, -ο (like ωαίρος) and agrees with the modified noun or pronoun in gender, number and case.

The pronoun ο ίδιος may function as an adjective or it may me nominalised.  When the pronoun occurs as an adjective it may precede or follow the modified pronoun or noun:

                        Εσύ η ίδια μου τα έδωσες-You gave them to me yourself
                        Της είπα στην ίδια για το γάμο-Ι told to her herself about the wedding.

But:                  Βλέπουμε το ίδιο πράγμα-We are seeing the same thing
                        Έχουμε τα ίδια γουστα-We have the same taste.

The adjective μόνος, μόνη, μόνο, ‘alone; only,’ not preceded by the definite article and followed by the enclitic genitive forms of the personal pronouns, μου, σου, του, της, etc, occur as an intensive pronoun μόνος,-η, -ο μου ‘by myself,’ μόνος,-η, -ο σου ‘by yourself,’ μόνος,-η, -ο του ‘by himself, by itself,’ μόνος,-η, -ο της ‘by herself’ etc.

The adjective μόνος follows the declension pattern of the adjective in -ος, -η, -ο (like καλός) and agrees with the modified noun in gender, number and case.  The pronoun μόνος μου stands in construction with a pronoun or a noun preceded by the article.

The pronoun functions generally as an adjective.  It may precede or follow the modified pronoun or noun.  Sometimes the pronoun μόνος μου is preceded by the preposition από:

                        Αυτός μόνος του το είπε-He himself said it
                        Μόνη της το έγραψε το γράμμα η Τασία-Tasia wrote the letter herself

But:                  Είμαστε οι μόνοι που ήρθαμε εδώ-We are the only ones that came here
                        Αυτή είναι η μόνη φόρα-This is the last time.

Instead of the adjective μόνος,-η, -ο, the adjective μονάχος,-η, -ο, or μονaχός,-ή, -ό, ‘alone’ may be combine with μου, σου, του etc to form an intensive pronoun: μονaχός μου ‘by myself, myself,’ μονaχός σου ‘by yourself, yourself’ etc.

                        Ο Γιάννης παίδει μονaχός του-John is playing by himself.

DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS

Demonstrative pronouns are used when one wants to show something. Examples in English include "this" and "that." The Greek demonstrative pronouns are found below:

1) αυτός, αυτή, αυτό. This demonstrative pronoun is used to show a person or a thing, which is close to us and was referred to earlier on. It is translated to this, these and that, those. The pronoun αυτός follows the declension pattern of καλός.  The genitive case shows two alternate forms: αυτού and αυτουνού; αυτής and αυτηνής; and αυτών and αυτωνών.  Also the accusative plural of the masculine shows two forms: αυτούς and αυτουνούς. The pronoun αυτός agrees with modified noun in gender, number and case.  The pronoun does not occur with the article, but it modifies nouns preceded by the article. When the pronoun occurs as an adjective, it may precede or follow the article and the noun.  The pronoun may function as an adjective or it may be normalized.

                        Αυτό το παιδί το αγαπάω-I love this child (this the child I love)
                        Το παιδί αυτό το αγαπάω-I love this child (the child this I love)
                        Αυτή την καρέκλα χρειάζομαι-I need this chair
                        Αυτός θα είναι τρελλός-This man must be crazy

Of the two genitive forms, the forms αυτού, αυτής and αυτών mostly occur as attributive adjectives.  The long forms are used for contrast or emphasis. They occur in isolation or in response to questions:

                        Το θέλω αυτό το βιβλίο-I need this book
                        Το πρόβλημα είναι αυτουνού-The problem is this man’s
                        Ποιανού είναι το κορίτσι; Αυτουνού-Whose is the girl? This man’s

2) (ε)τούτος, (ε)τούτη, (ε)τούτο. This demonstrative pronoun is used to show that something is very close. This is generally pronounced and written without the "ε" and must use the definite article like αυτός does. It can only be translated as this and these. The pronoun τούτος follows the declension pattern of καλός.  The genitive case shows the alternate forms: τούτης and τουτηνής; τούτων and τουτωνών.  Also the accusative plural of the masculine shows two forms: τούτους and τουτουνούς.  In all other aspects, the pronoun τούτος functions as the demonstrative pronoun αυτός.

                        Θέλω τούτο το μολύβι-I want this pencil
                        Τούτο θα πάρω-I will take this

3) εκείνος, εκείνη, εκείνο. This demonstrative pronoun refers to things far in space, time or conception. It is used with the definite articles like αυτός is. Its can only be translated as that and those. The pronoun εκείνος follows the declension pattern of καλός.  The genitive case shows two alternate forms: εκείνου and εκεινού; εκείνης and εκεινής; and εκέινων and εκεινών.  Also the accusative plural of the masculine shows two forms: εκείνους and εκεινούς.  In all other aspects, the pronoun εκείνος functions as the demonstrative pronoun αυτός.

                        Εκείνο το παιδί σε ξέρει καλά- That child knows you well.
                        Θα φάει εκέινη τη πίτα ο Ηλίας-Ilias will eat that pie.

4) τέτοιος, τέτοια, τέτοιο. This demonstrative pronoun refers to quality or property. It is translated in English as similar, alike or such.  The pronoun τέτοιος follows the declension pattern of καλός and agrees with the modified noun in gender, number and case.  Both the pronoun and the modified noun occur without the article: τέτοιος άνθρωπος ‘such a person,’ τέτοιες συζητήσεις ‘such discussions.’  The pronoun τέτοιος functions mostly as an adjective but it may also be normalised.

                        Τέτοιο κρύο δεν το θυμάμαι-I can’t remember so much cold.
                        Αυτοί οι άνθρωποι είναι τέτοιο-These people are this type.

5) τόσος, τόση, τόσο. This demonstrative pronoun refers to quantity.  It translates in English as so much and so many.  The pronoun τόσος follows the declension pattern of καλός and agrees with the modified noun in gender, number and case.  Both the pronoun and the modified noun occur without the article: τόσα όνειρα ‘so many dreams,’ τοσο μέρος ‘so much space.’

The pronoun τόσος function mostly as an adjective, but it may be nominalised.  The neuter form of the pronoun may function also as an adverb.

                        Φάφαμε τόσα ψάρια-We ate so many fish (adjective)
                        Έχω τόσα να σου πω-I have so much to tell you (pronoun)
                        Μη είσαι τόσο γκρινιάρα-Don’t be such a nagger (adverb)

The pronoun τόσος may also occur as a relative antecedent

                        Δεν έφαγα τόσο, όσο περίμενα-I didn’t eat as much as I thought I would.

GENERAL NOTES ON THE DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS

The demonstratives αυτός, τούτος and εκέινος may occur followed by the adverbs εδώ (here) and εκεί (there) for increased emphasis or clarity: αυτός εδώ ‘this one here,’ εκείνος εκεί ‘that one there.’  The pronoun τέτοιος and τόσος may also be strengthened by the particle δα: τέτοις δα, τόσο δα.

The pronouns αυτός and εκείνος may also function as relative antecedents

                        Αυτος που δεν έρχεται, θα μίνει πίσω-He who is not coming will remain behind
                        Εκείνος που πήγε φυλακή, είναι αθώος-He who went to gaol, is innocent
                        Δε θέλω αυτό που θέλεις εσύ-I don’t want what you want.

The phrases να τος ‘here he is,’ να τη ‘here she is’ and να το ‘here it is’ may also serve as demonstrative expressions.

RELATIVE PRONOUNS

A relative pronoun both refers back to a previously mentioned noun or pronoun (often referred to as the antecedent) and introduces a dependent relative clause that modifies this antecedent. The relative pronouns follow:

1) που. This is an indeclinable pronoun, which is very frequently used compared to the following relative pronoun. The same form is used for every gender, number and case.  It is the most commonly used relative pronoun and has many usages.  It means who, that, which or what.  The pronoun may replace the subject and indirect object in a sentence or it may stand for a specifying genitive.  Frequently, when the pronoun refers to an accusative or genitive case, it is accompanied by the appropriate form of the personal pronoun for more clarification:

                        Αυτός είναι ο άνθρωπος που με είδε-He is the man who saw me
                        Τα αυτοκίνητα που έχουμε έιναι παλιά.-The cars that we have are old
                        Να τη κυρία που έδωσες τη γρίπη-There is the lady to whom you gave the flu.
                        Το παιδί έκλεψαν το πδήλατο του μένει δλιπλα μας-The child whose bicycle was stolen lives next door to us.

The pronoun που stands also for a prepositional or adverbial phrase, such as ‘from whom’, ‘for which’, ‘about which’, ‘for whom’, ‘at which’, or ‘where’, ‘when’, etc., depending on the sentence structure.

                        Ο άνθρωπος που δανείστηκα τα χρήματα ήταν ο Πέτρος-The person from whom I borrowed the money was Petros.
                        Ποία ήταν η αιτία που έφυγες από τη δουλεία σου;-Which was the reason for which you quit your job?

2) ο οποίος, η οποία, το οποίο. This relative pronoun follows the declension pattern of ωραίος and it always occurs with the article. It is not very frequently used compared to the previous relative pronoun, που. The pronoun agrees with the modified noun in gender

                        Ο δάσκαλος, ο οποίος διδάσκει τα παιδια μου, είναι καλός-The teacher, who teachers my children, is good.

The pronoun ο οποίος occurs less frequently than the pronoun που. It is generally used instead of που for purposes of clarification. , mainly where που obscures the antecedent, or where the relative pronoun occurs as an object of a preposition (που never occurs as an object of a preposition); the pronoun ο οποίος may also be used to avoid frequent repetition of που in a sentence.

                        Ευχήθηκα καλό ταξίδι στην κόρη το φίλου μου, η οποία  πηγαίνει στο εξωτερικό-I wished a pleasant trip to my friend’s daughter who is going abroad (Here, the pronoun η οποία clarifies that the daughter is taking the trip and not the father.)

3) όποιος, όποια, όποιο. This relative pronoun follows the declension pattern of ωραίος and can be substituted by the word ό,τι, and means whatever or whenever etc. (There is no typographical error here) This relative pronoun follows the declension pattern of ωραίος. The stress remains on the third last syllable.  The accusative masculine singular ends in -ον (όποιον) and the accusative feminine singular may end in -α or -αν (όποια, όποιαν).  The genitive case shows two forms, όποιου and οποιανού, όποιας and οποιανής, όποιων and οποιανών; and the accusative masculine plural shows the forms όποιους and οποιανούς.  The pronoun does not occur with the article.

Όποιος may function as an adjective or may be nominalised.  When it occurs as an adjective, it agrees with the modified noun in gender, number, and case:

                        Όποια χώρα νικίσε, θα είναι καλό-Whichever country wins, is good.
                        Όποιος θέλει, ας φύγει-Whoever wants to leave

4) Ό,τι. This relative pronoun is not inflected and differs in meaning from ότι.  Ό,τι means whatever whereas ότι mean that, which etc.

                        Ό,τι και να πεις, δε με νιάζει-Whatever you say, I don’t care
                        Νομίζουμε ότι πρέπει να φύγουμε από εδώ-We believe that we have too leave from here

Ό,τι may function as an adjective or may be nominalised.  When it occurs as an adjective, it modifies inanimate nouns of any gender, number and case, and when it occurs as a noun, it is considered neuter singular.

                        Κάνετε ό,τι θέλετε-Do whatever you want
                        Ό,τι μέρα και να μου τηλεφωνήσεις, θα με βρεις σπίτι-Whatever day you phone me, you’ll find me home.

5) όσος, όση, όσο. This relative pronoun follows the declension pattern of καλός. It does not occur with the article and it means “as much as” or “as many as.”  The pronoun may function as an adjective or may be nominalised.  When it occurs as an adjective, it agrees with the modified noun in gender, number and case

                        Μείνετε όση ώρα θέλετε-Stay as much as you want
                        Θα αργοράσω όσο κρέας χριάζομαι-I will buy as much meat as I need.
                        Όσο αξίζεις εσύ και η καρδιά σου η χρυσή, δεν αξιζουν μαζί ο ουρανός και όλη η Γη-As much as you and your golden heart are worth, the heavens and all the Earth are not worth.

The relative pronouns όποιος, -α, -ο; όσος, -η, -ο and ό,τι can combine with the indeclinable suffix δήποτε. With this suffix, the only thing that changes from the above words is that "ς" becomes "σ" and ό,τι becomes ότι with the suffix. This suffix makes the meaning more indefinite and is translated into English as -ever.  The variable relative pronouns still change according to gender, number and case with the difference of having the extra suffix.

                        Οποιοσδήποτε ή οποιαδήποτε θέλει να παίξει ας παίξει-Whoever wants to play, can play (specifying men and women)

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

Interrogative pronouns are used when one wants to ask questions. The Greek ones are below:

1) τι. This interrogative is invariable. It occurs:

a) as a noun (neuter singular, nominative or accusative) ‘what’

                        Τι συμβαινει;-What’s happening?
                        Από τι αρρώστησε ο Ανδρέας;-What did Andreas got sick from?
                        Πες μου τι σου είπε;-Tell me what he told you?

b) as an adjective (referring to nouns of every gender, number and case) ‘what kind, what’

                        Τι μέρα είναι σήμερα;-What day is it today?
                        Τι ρόλο παίζει αυτή;-What role does she play?

The pronoun τι, when it indicates quality, is frequently accompanied by the noun είδος or λόγής ‘kind.’

                        Τι είδος σοκολάτα έχετε;-What kind of chocolate do you have?
                        Τι λογής δασκάλα θέλεται;-What kind of teacher do you want?

c) The pronoun may also function as an adverb: ‘how, for (in) what?) etc’

                        Τι καλά!-How nice!
                        Τι ωραίο σπίτι!-What a nice!
                        Τι κρίμα!-What a shame!

2) ποιος, ποια, ποιο. This interrogative pronoun follows the declension pattern of ωραίος. It is generally translated as which and who. The genitive case shows two alternate forms: ποιου and ποιανού; ποιας and ποιανής; ποιών and ποιανών.  Also, the accusative plural of the masculine shows two forms: ποιους and ποιανούς.  The pronoun agrees in gender, number and case with the noun with which it stands in construction: ποιοι ηλικιωμένος, ποια άρρωστη.  The pronoun may function as an adjective or it may be nominalised.

                        Ποιο παιδί λείπει-Which child is absent.
                        Ποιος είναι τέτοια ώρα;-Who is it at this hour?

The short forms of the genitive case occur generally as attributive adjectives.  The long forms, which are slightly more emphatic, function both as adjectives or may be normalised.

                        Ποιανού παιδί είναι αυτό;-Whose child is he?
                        Ποιανής είναι ο καφές;-Whose coffee is this?

Instead of the genitive case of ποιός, the forms τίνος, τίνων ‘which, of which, of what,’ both genitive cases of the old interrogative pronoun τις ‘who, which’ may sometimes be used.  The singular form of τίνος occurs more than the plural form τίνων; both forms modified nouns of genders

                        Ποιανού/Τίνος αυτοκίνητο άρπαξε φωτιά;-Whose car caught on fire.

3) πόσος, πόση, πόσο. This interrogative pronoun follows the declension pattern of ωραίος It is translated as how much and how many.  The pronoun πόσος function as an adjective and it may be nominalised.  The neuter singular form πόσο may also function as an adverb.

                        Πόσα θα πρέπει να πάρω μαζί μου;-How many do I have to take with me?
                        Πόσα σου είπε;-How much did he tell you?

GENERAL NOTES ON THE DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS

The interrogatives are sometimes preceded by the particle σαν to express surprise, amazement or annoyance

                        Σαν ποιόν μιάζει;-Who does he look like?
                        Σαν τι να πούμε;-What should we say?

The compact forms of the phrase που είναι τος ‘where is he’ may serve as interrogative expressions.

                        Που’ν’τος;-Where is he?
                        Που είν’τα παιδιά;-Where’s the children?

IMPERSONAL PRONOUNS

Impersonal pronouns are called those, which are used for a person or a thing, which is not named, because one doesn't want to or does not know the name. There are both inflected and uninflected impersonal pronouns in Greek.  All the inflected impersonal pronouns function as adjectives or may be normalised.  When they occur as adjectives, they agree with the modified noun in gender, number and case.  The inflected pronoun το παν functions only nominally.  Of the uninflected pronouns, the pronoun κάθε occurs only as an attributive adjective, and the pronoun το καθετί functions only as a noun.  The other uninflected pronouns may occur as an adjective or may be nominalised.

1) ένας (κανείς), μια (μία),ένα. This pronoun is translated as one, you, we etc. It has no plural and it is actually the numeral, meaning one, and occurs as the indefinite article. The declension pattern remains the same.  The pronoun occurs with the article, when it is followed or combined with the pronoun ο άλλος.

                        Ένας βγήκε έξω-One came outside
                        Πιάσ’τον ένα, χτύπα τον άλλο-Grab one hit the other

2) κανένας (κανείς), καμια (καμία),κανένα. This personal pronoun is a compound of ένας, following the declension pattern of the indefinite article.

The impersonal pronoun κανένας occurs only in the singular; therefore it modifies a singular noun only.  The pronoun never occurs with the article. Of the two nominative forms, κανένας and κανείς, the latter occurs less frequently and functions mostly as a noun.

a) In an interrogative sentence, the pronoun κανένας means ‘anybody, anyone, any.’

                        Με φώναξε κανείς-Did anyone call me
                        Έχετε καμιά ιδέα-Do you have any idea.

b) In a negative sentence, the pronoun means ‘anyone, anybody, any’ or ‘no one, nobody, none’; it may also mean ‘someone’ depending on the sentence structure.  If the pronoun occurs in isolation, as a response to a question, it always means ‘no one, nobody, none.’

                        Δεν πήγε κανένας εκεί-No one went there
                        Θέλω να μη το βρει κανείς-I want no body to find it
                        Ποιος ήταν στο τηλέφονο; Κανένας-Who was on the phone? No one

c) In an affirmative sentence, κανένας means ‘one, someone, somebody;’ it means ‘about (a),’ when it occurs in a phrase expressing time, measure and value.

                        Κανείς μπορεί να βρει το δρόμο σπίτι-One can find his way home
                        Ζήτα το από κανένα άλλο-Ask for it from someone else
                        Θα τελειώσω σε κανένα μήνα-I will finish in about a month
                        Είμαστε καμιά εικοσιαριά-We are about twenty (people)

d) In an interrogative, negative or affirmative sentence, if a general idea is expressed in the sentence, κανένας means one.

                        Που ξέρει κανείς για το τέτοιο πράγμα;-How does one know about that thing
                        Πρέπει κανείς να’ρθει-Does one have to come

e) The meaning of ‘καμιά φορά’ may be ‘sometimes; ever; never’ depending on the sentence structure.

                        Καμιά φορά πηγαίνω στο γιατρό-I sometimes go to the doctor
                        Καμιά φορά δεν πηγαίνω στο γιατρό-I never go to the doctor
                        Έχεις πάει καμιά φορά στο γιατρό-Have you ever gone to the doctor

f) The abbreviated colloquial form of κανένας, i.e. κάνας and more frequently the abbreviated form κάνα (from κανένα) ‘some, about (a)’ are sometimes used instead of the pronoun κανένας.  They are frequently combined with the numeral δυο ‘two’: κάνα δυο ‘one or two, couple of.’  The form κάνας refers to masculine nouns only, but κάνα refers to all genders and cases in the singular and plural.  Both forms are of limited occurrence.

                        Ήταν εκεί κάνα δυο ώρες-He was there for one or two hours
                        Θα είχαν κάνα δυο παιδιά μαζί τους-They probably had one or two children with them

3) κάποιος, κάποια, κάποιο. This impersonal pronoun is a compound of the pronoun ποιός, follows the declension pattern of καλός, and means ‘some’ and ‘someone.’ The stress always remains on the third to last syllable.  The genitive case has two alternate forms: κάπιου and καπιανού, κάποιας and καποιανής, κάποιων and καποιανών.  The pronoun does not occur with the article:

                        Ειδε κάποις τα παπούτσια μου;-Has someone seen my shoes? (someone specific)
                        Κάποις δε με είδε-Someone did not see me.

4) μερικοί, μερικές, μερικά. This impersonal pronoun follows the declension pattern of καλός in the plural number; therefore it modifies plural nouns only.  It exists only in the plural because it means several.  It is never used with the definite article.

                        Μερικά παιδιά έπαιζαν ποδόσφαιρο-Several kids were playing soccer
                        Είναι με μερικούς φίλους ο Γιώργος-George is with several friends.

5) κάτι. This impersonal pronoun is not inflected and meaning something.  When the pronoun functions as a noun, it is considered neuter singular; when it occurs as an adjective, it modifies plural nouns of all genders.  The pronoun may also occur as an adverb intensity or degree.

                        Έχω κάτι να σου πω-I have something to tell you.
                        Είδα κάτι περίεργο-I saw something strange.
                        «Νοιώθω ότι κάτι μου λείπει» είπε ο παπάς-“I believe there’s something missing from me” says the priest

6) τίποτε (τίποτα). This impersonal pronoun is not inflected and generally means anything, any; something. When the pronoun functions as a noun, it is considered neuter singular and may sometimes occurs with the article, when it is used as an object of the preposition.  When τίποτα functions as an adjective, it does not occur with a singular noun; it only modifies plural nouns of all genders:

                        Πες μου τίποτα-Tell me something
                        Έχεις τίποτα εδώ-Do you have anything here

In a negative sentence, the pronoun means ‘anything; nothing’ depending on the sentence structure.  When pronoun is used in isolation, in response to a question, or independently as a noun, it always means nothing:

                        Δέν ακούω τίποτα-I don’t hear anything
                        Δέν μου έκαναν τίποτα-They didn’t do anything to me
                        Τι είπες; Τίποτα-Did you say something? Nothing

7) κάμποσος, κάμποση, κάμποσο. This impersonal pronoun, a compound of πόσος, follows the declension pattern of καλός and generally means ‘quit a few.’ It is used without the article and does not occur in negative sentences.  The stress generally remains on the third to last syllable, but it may occasionally show on the second to last syllable, especially when the pronoun functions as a noun:

                        Κάμποσοι επιστήμονες διαφωνούν-Several scientist disagree.
                        Υπάρχει κάμποσοι άνθρωπους εδώ.-There are several people here.

8) αρκετός, αρκετή, αρκετό. The impersonal pronoun αρκετός, αρκετή and αρκετό follows the declension pattern of καλός and occurs without an article.  It has more or less the same meaning as κάμποσος.  Generally, αρκετός indicates whether a certain amount is sufficient or not, while κάμποσος refers mostly to quantity, whether it is large or small.  The pronoun functions mostly as an adjective:

                        Έχεις αρκετή ώρα για να κάνεις αυτό που θέλεις;-Do you have enough time to do what you want?
                        Το έχω διαβάσει σε αρκετά βιβλία να είναι αληθινο-I have read it in sufficient amount of books so it can be true.

9) κάθε˙ καθένας, καθεμιά (καθεμία), καθένα. The impersonal pronoun (ο) καθένας, (η) καθεμιά, and (το) καθένα is another compound of ένας and follows the declension pattern of the pronoun κανένας.  It may occur with or without the article; it is mostly used nominally.  The impersonal pronoun κάθε, on the other hand, is invariable and is normally used with a definite article and is used as an adjective. Καθένας is used as a pronoun.  They both mean every or each

                        Το κάθε μωρό γελούσε-Εevery baby was laughing
                        Ο καθένας ζει στο δικό του κόσμο-Everyone is living in his own world.

10) (ο, η ,το) δείνα, (ο, η, το) τάδε. These indefinite pronouns have the same meaning and one frequently finds both in the same sentence.  These pronouns are not inflected, they occur only in the singular.  There article, which is declined, or the modified noun indicate gender and case:

                        Πήγα στο τάδε μέρος-I went to some place
                        Ήρθε ο τάδε για να μιλήσουμε για το τάδε θέμα-So and so came so we can speak about such and such subject.
                        Την τάδε μέρα που θα παντρευτείς θα είμαι εκεί-On any given day, which you get married, I will be there.

11) άλλος, άλλη, άλλο. This impersonal pronoun follows the declension pattern of καλός and means other.  The genitive case shows the alternate forms: άλλου and αλλουνού, άλλης and αλληνής, άλλων and αλλουνών/αλλωνών.  The forms άλλου, άλλης and άλλων function mostly as adjective.  The pronoun may occur with or without the article.  It may also be preceded by the indefinite article or other pronouns such as κανένας, ποιος, τι, ό, τι, κάθε, τίποτα, etc.:

                        Δεν έχω άλλες ιδέες-I don’t have other ideas
                        Ο Παύλος αγόρασε άλλο αυτοκίνητο-Paul bought another car.
                        Το άλλο παιδί ήρθε-The other child came.

12) όλος, όλη, όλο. This impersonal pronoun follows the declension pattern of καλός and means all, whole and entire.  The genitive plural shows two forms: όλων and ολωνών.  The pronoun modifies nouns preceded by the article and generally occurs before or after the article and the noun (όλοι οι άνθρωποι or οι άνθρωποι όλοι ‘all the people’).  When used adjectively in the singular, όλος may also occur between the article and noun (το όλο πράγμα ‘the whole (entire) thing’).  The neuter singular form may also occur adverbially.

                        Όλη η Άθηνα ήταν εκεί-All of Athens was there
                        Περπάτησα όλη τη απόσταση-I walked the entire distance.
                        Όλοι με είδαν εκέι-Everybody saw me there
                        Τα μαζέψανε όλα και ξεφανιστήκανε-The packed up everything and disappeared.

 

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