Greek for English speakers Street · Lesson 5

The accusative

Accusative case in Greek — Έχω πολύ καιρό να δω τον Γιάννη! (It's been too long since I've seen Yannis!) — with accusative for names.

Conversation

  1. Kyle Kyle

    Ο ξάδερφος μου ο Γιάννης έρχεται από την Ελλάδα!

    O ksadherfos mu o Yanis erhyete apo tin Eladha!

    My cousin Yannis is coming from Greece!

  2. Meera Meera

    Τέλειο! Έχω πολύ καιρό να δω τον Γιάννη!

    Telio! Eho poli kero na dho ton Yanni!

    That's great! It's been too long since I have seen Yannis !

    Tip: most masculine accusative endings will drop the final -ς. "O Γιάννης" will become: "τον Γιάννη" and "Ο Καναδάς" will turn to "τον Καναδά"

  3. Kyle Kyle

    Θα μετακομίσει στον Καναδά σε λίγο.

    Tha metakomisi ston Kanadha se ligo.

    True, he'll move to Canada soon.

  4. Meera Meera

    Ο Καναδάς είναι τέλειος αυτήν την εποχή!

    O Kanadhas ine telios aftin tin epohyi.

    Canada is amazing this time of the year!

Common questions

Quick answers about this lesson's grammar and vocabulary.

How does the accusative work in Greek?

Direct object case. Names lose -ς in accusative for masculine: ο Γιάννης → τον Γιάννη. Articles also change: ο → τον, η → την.

What does έχω πολύ καιρό να ...; mean?

'It's been a long time since I ...'. Έχω καιρό να σε δω = 'long time no see' (literally 'I have time not to see you').

Greek for cousin?

Ο ξάδερφος (masculine), η ξαδέρφη (feminine). Plural: τα ξαδέρφια. Common family relationship in Greek.

Test yourself

Pick the English translation for each line from this lesson. Wrong answers are pulled from other Greek lessons.

4 quick questions on what you just heard.