The Aorist in Modern Greek

The Modern Greek perfective past, explained simply

The aorist (in Greek αόριστος, "indefinite") is one of the two past tenses in Modern Greek. It expresses an action that is completed, punctual or viewed as a whole. In this article you'll learn how to form it, conjugate it, and most importantly when to use it — including the crucial difference with the imperfect.

1. What is the aorist for?

The aorist describes a past action seen as a whole, without focusing on its duration. It's the equivalent of English simple past when you're not thinking about repetition or background.

• Χθες έγραψα ένα γράμμα. — Yesterday I wrote a letter. (punctual)
• Ταξίδεψα στην Ελλάδα τρεις φορές. — I traveled to Greece three times. (overall)
• Διάβασα όλο το βιβλίο. — I read the whole book. (completed)

2. Aorist vs imperfect: the essential distinction

The classic mistake for English speakers is to translate every past with the aorist. Modern Greek actually distinguishes two pasts according to aspect:

Aorist (perfective)	Imperfect (παρατατικός — durative)
Completed, punctual, overall action	Ongoing, habitual, repeated action
Έγραψα — I wrote (and finished)	Έγραφα — I was writing
Χθες δούλεψα οχτώ ώρες.	Όταν ήρθες, δούλευα.

3. How to form the aorist

The aorist is built in three steps:

1. A specific aorist stem (often different from the present)
2. An optional augment ε- at the beginning
3. The endings -α, -ες, -ε, -αμε, -ατε, -αν

The aorist stem

Most Modern Greek verbs have an aorist stem that differs from the present. Common transformations:

• -ζω → -σα: διαβάζω → διάβασα (to read → I read)
• -νω → -σα: μένω → έμεινα (to stay → I stayed)
• -βω, -φω, -πω → -ψα: γράφω → έγραψα (to write → I wrote)
• -κω, -χω, -γω → -ξα: τρέχω → έτρεξα (to run → I ran)

The augment ε-

The augment ε- is added before the verb only when the stress falls on this syllable (mainly the three singular persons and the third person plural). For longer verbs (3+ syllables) the augment disappears:

• Short: γράφω → έγραψα (augment appears)
• Long: διαβάζω → διάβασα (no augment, stress is enough)

4. Type conjugation: γράφω (to write) in the aorist

Person	Form	Translation
εγώ	έγραψα	I wrote
εσύ	έγραψες	you wrote
αυτός / αυτή / αυτό	έγραψε	he / she wrote
εμείς	γράψαμε	we wrote
εσείς	γράψατε	you (pl.) wrote
αυτοί / αυτές / αυτά	έγραψαν	they wrote

Note that the augment ε- disappears in the first two plural persons (γράψαμε, γράψατε) because the stress falls elsewhere.

5. Conjugating a verb in -ώ: αγαπώ (to love)

Verbs in -ώ follow a slightly different pattern: their aorist stem adds -ησ- (or sometimes -ασ-, -εσ-) before the endings.

Person	Form
εγώ	αγάπησα
εσύ	αγάπησες
αυτός	αγάπησε
εμείς	αγαπήσαμε
εσείς	αγαπήσατε
αυτοί	αγάπησαν

6. "Punk verbs" — irregular aorists to memorize

Some very common verbs have a completely irregular aorist. They follow none of the previous rules and simply have to be memorized:

Present	Aorist (1st sg.)	Meaning
πηγαίνω	πήγα	to go
βλέπω	είδα	to see
λέω	είπα	to say
τρώω	έφαγα	to eat
πίνω	ήπια	to drink
δίνω	έδωσα	to give
παίρνω	πήρα	to take
μπαίνω	μπήκα	to enter
βγαίνω	βγήκα	to exit
ξέρω	ήξερα*	to know

* ξέρω is a special case: it has no real aorist; the imperfect ήξερα doubles as overall past.

7. Time markers that signal the aorist

Some adverbs or time expressions almost always indicate an aorist:

• χθες — yesterday
• πέρυσι — last year
• μια φορά — once
• ξαφνικά — suddenly
• τότε — then (at that precise moment)
• πριν δύο μέρες / χρόνια — two days / years ago

8. Common mistakes to avoid

• Mixing up aorist and imperfect: review section 2 and practice both tenses on ConjuGrec.
• Forgetting the augment on short verbs (γράφω → writing "γράψα" instead of έγραψα).
• Keeping the augment in the plural when the stress shifts: it's γράψαμε, not "εγράψαμε".
• Regularizing irregular verbs: say είδα (I saw), not "έβλεψα".

345 verbs, 9 tenses, 4 game modes — free to start.

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