Lesson 4.1: To Be and To Have

Two important verbs are έχω, to have, and είμαι, to be.

έχω - I have

The first-conjugation verb έχω is regular in the present tense (this is covered in the next lesson).

Verb Table

Audio recording: Modern_greek_1j.ogg
NOTE: This recording was made by a non-native speaker of Greek.
We would be grateful to any native speaker who could redo it.

είμαι- I am

To be in English is expressed in the active voice, but the Greek είμαι is passive, and doesn't have an active form. The ending -μαι is a typical, regular ending for passive verbs. Although we won't be concerned with passive constructions until later, είμαι is so important that you need to get it under your belt right away.

Verb Tables

Audio recording: Modern_greek_1k.ogg
NOTE: This recording was made by a non-native speaker of Greek.
We would be grateful to any native speaker who could redo it.

Summary

• We have introduced the verb έχω - to have.
• We have introduced the verb είμαι - to be.
• We have learnt theses verbs in the present tense.

Exercises

Now try the exercises here.