6.7.

2020 Keeping It in the Greek Family - GreekPod101

P.S. Want to get the newest Greek learning resources?Every month, our members get a bundle of ... Click Here
For More News!

NOW STUDYING LESSON

Level 1 Greek 28

Keeping It in the Greek Family

Learn how to use adjectives in Modern Greek

Mark Complete

DIALOGUE VOCABULARY LESSON NOTES LESSON TRANSCRIPT COMMENTS

Dialogue - Greek Hide

Main English Romanization All

Main

Πέτρα, αυτή είναι η αδελφή μου, η Κωσταντίνα που ζει μαζί μας και τα παιδιά μου: ο
A:
Γιώργος, ο Γιάννης και η Ελένη.

B: Γεια. Είμαι η Πέτρα.

Κωσταντίνα Παπαδοπούλου: Καλώς ήρθες στην Αθήνα και στο σπίτι μας!

B: A, τα παιδιά είναι σχεδόν ενήλικες! Πόσο είναι τώρα;

https://www.greekpod101.com/lesson/beginner-3-keeping-it-in-the-greek-family/?lp=130 1/12
6.7.2020 Keeping It in the Greek Family - GreekPod101

Κωσταντίνα Παπαδοπούλου: Ο μεγάλος γιος της Δανάης είναι 18, ο μικρός είναι 15 και η
κόρη της είναι 16.

English

Petra, this is my sister Kostantina who lives with us and my children—Giorgos,

A:
Yannis, and Eleni.

B: Hi. I'm Petra.

C: Welcome to Athens and to our home!

B: Oh, your kids are almost grown-ups! How old are they now?

C: Danai's older son is 18, the younger is 15 and her daughter is 16.

Romanization

Pétra, aftí íne i adelfí mu, i Kostandína pu zi mazí mas ke ta pediá mu: o Yiórgos, o
A:
Yiánis ke i Eléni.

B: Ya. Íme i Pétra.

C: Kalós írthes stin Athína ke sto spíti mas!

B: A, ta pediá íne schedón enílikes! Póso íne tóra?

C: O megálos yos tis Danáis íne 18, o mikrós íne 15 ke i kóri tis íne 16.

Vocabulary Hide

English Romanization

γιός
yos
son
3 EXAMPLES ▾

Καλώς ήρθες
https://www.greekpod101.com/lesson/beginner-3-keeping-it-in-the-greek-family/?lp=130 2/12
6.7.2020 Keeping It in the Greek Family - GreekPod101

Kalos irthes
welcome
1 EXAMPLE ▾

μεγάλος
megalos
big, elder
1 EXAMPLE ▾

μου
mu
my
2 EXAMPLES ▾

σπίτι
spíti
home, house
3 EXAMPLES ▾

τώρα
tóra
now
4 EXAMPLES ▾

πόσο
póso
how much
2 EXAMPLES ▾

κόρη
kóri
daughter
6 EXAMPLES ▾

αυτή
avtí
this
3 EXAMPLES ▾

αδερφή
aderfí
sister
2 EXAMPLES ▾

https://www.greekpod101.com/lesson/beginner-3-keeping-it-in-the-greek-family/?lp=130 3/12
6.7.2020 Keeping It in the Greek Family - GreekPod101

παιδί
paidi
child
1 EXAMPLE ▾

Add to Flashcard Deck

Add to Word Bank

Slideshow

Take Quiz

Lesson Notes Hide

Grammar

The Focus of This Lesson Is Adjectives and Their Use in Modern Greek.
Ο μεγάλος μας γιος είναι 18
O megalos mas gios einai 18
"Our older son is eighteen."

Adjectives are one of the most important parts of speech in Greek or in any other language.
Although we can probably go through a basic conversation without using any adjectives, such a
conversation would sound unnatural and strained, so it is best to start using some adjectives
right away! For this first introduction to adjectives, we use in our dialogue μεγάλος (megalos)
and μικρός (mikros), which respectively mean "big" and "small," but which also mean "old" and
"young," depending on the context; such is the case in our dialogue where one of the
characters says ο μεγάλος μας γιος είναι 18 και ο μικρός 15 (o megalos mas gios einai 18 kai o
mikros 15). Literally, this phrase would translate as "our big/old son is eighteen and our
small/young fifteen," but since we form this particular expression in English using the
comparative degree (old-er, young-er), when translating the dialogue we use "Our older son is
eighteen and our younger son is fifteen." Remember, though, that in Greek we just use the plain
form of the adjective (what is called the "positive degree").

In Greek, as in English, the adjective goes after the article and before the noun. So we will say
ένα κόκκινο αυτοκίνητο (ena kokkino autokinito - "a red car"), ένας ψηλός άντρας (enas psilos
antras - "a tall man"), or ένα ενδιαφέρον βιβλίο (ena endiaferon vivlio - "an interesting book"). If
there is a verb, the verb goes first and then the adjective and the noun follow.

https://www.greekpod101.com/lesson/beginner-3-keeping-it-in-the-greek-family/?lp=130 4/12
6.7.2020 Keeping It in the Greek Family - GreekPod101

For Example:

1. Εγώ έχω ένα κόκκινο αυτοκίνητο (Ego echo ena kokkino autokinito)
"I have a red car."
2. Εγώ χαιρετάω έναν ψηλό άντρα (Ego cheraitao enan psilo antra)
"I am greeting a tall man."
3. Εγώ διαβάζω ένα ενδιαφέρον βιβλίο (Ego diabazo ena endiaferon vivlio)

"I am reading an interesting book."

Finally, when we use a personal pronoun (as in our dialogue), the pronoun can be either at the
end of the sentence or between the adjective and the noun. Both of the following sentences
mean "our older son is eighteen" - the word μας, (mas) is a personal pronoun in the first person
plural-i.e., "our":

1. Ο μεγάλος μας γιος είναι 18 ( O megalos mas gios einai 18)

2. Ο μεγάλοςγιος μας είναι 18 (O megalos gios mas einai 18)

Adjectives, like articles and nouns, are gendered and declinable in Greek. This might prove to
be a bit of a challenge, but for the moment we will keep things as simple as possible and see
only the first case, the nominative in the singular number and the masculine gender. In the
following table, we have put a few adjectives and nouns in this case so you can get acquainted
with how things look and sound (the o before each adjective/noun is the masculine definite
article in the nominative case, but more about that in a future lesson!).

Sample Sentences

GREEK ROMANIZATION "ENGLISH"

Ο μεγάλος γιος O megalos gios "the older son"

Ο μικρός ανιψιός O mikros anipsios "the younger nephew"

Ο λευκός τοίχος O leukos toichos "the white wall"

Ο φορητός υπολογιστής O foritos ypologistis "the portable computer"

https://www.greekpod101.com/lesson/beginner-3-keeping-it-in-the-greek-family/?lp=130 5/12
6.7.2020 Keeping It in the Greek Family - GreekPod101

Ο νόστιμος μουσακάς O nostimos mousakas "the tasty moussaka"

Ο κεντρικός δρόμος O kentrikos dromos "the main street"

Ο λεπτομερής χάρτης O leptomeris chartis "the detailed map"

Ο αρχαίος ναός O archaios naos "the ancient temple"

Ο ξύλινος φράχτης O ksilinos frachtis "the wooden fence"

Ο ηλεκτρικός φούρνος O ilektrikos fournos "the electric oven"

Ο πλαστικός χάρακας O plastikos charakas "the plastic ruler"

Ο ελληνικός στρατός O ellinikos stratos "the Greek army"

Cultural Insights

Typical Greek Families

Like most western countries, the Greek family nowadays follows the "nuclear" pattern; that is, it
consists of a couple and its (usually) one or two children. But, like most Mediterranean and
Middle Eastern countries (both cultures that have a long history of interaction with Greece), the
extended family is still a big part of most people's everyday reality. If you ever attend a Greek
wedding, you will invariably notice that the biggest part of the (usually enormous!) guest list is
composed of all kinds of aunts and uncles and cousins, many of them living in some village and
having little or no contact with the marrying couple.

Because the family (nuclear and extended) tends to be very protective, young Greeks rarely
leave their homes before they are in their mid-twenties or early thirties, and even after that, they
usually keep very strong ties with their family. It's not uncommon for them to rent a place in the

https://www.greekpod101.com/lesson/beginner-3-keeping-it-in-the-greek-family/?lp=130 6/12
6.7.2020 Keeping It in the Greek Family - GreekPod101

same building or across the street from where their parents live, and they always drop by for a
chat or a meal.

Download as PDF

Lesson Transcript Hide

INTRODUCTION

Fay: Hello, and welcome to GreekPod101.com, Beginner Season 1, Lesson 3 – Keeping It in

the Greek Family. I’m Fay. I’m joined in the studio by…

Chrissi: Hi, Chrissi here.

Fay: What are we learning in this lesson?

Chrissi: We are looking at adjectives and how they are used in Modern Greek.

Fay: The conversation takes place at the home of Peter's Greek hosts.

Chrissi: It’s among the main character, Petra Gordon, her Greek friend, Danai Papadopoulo,
and Danai’s sister, Kostantina Papadopoulos.

Fay: Since the characters are friends, the conversation is in informal language.

Chrissi: Let’s listen.

Lesson conversation

Δανάη Παπαδόπουλος: Πέτρα, αυτή είναι η αδελφή μου, η Κωσταντίνα που ζει μαζί μας και τα
παιδιά μου

Show All

Download as PDF

https://www.greekpod101.com/lesson/beginner-3-keeping-it-in-the-greek-family/?lp=130 7/12
6.7.2020 Keeping It in the Greek Family - GreekPod101

57 Comments Hide

😄😞😳😁😒😎😠😆😅😜😉😭😇😴😮😈❤👍

Leave a comment...

Name (required)

Email (will not be published)

Submit Comment

Pinned Comment

GreekPod101.com
TUESDAY AT 06:30 PM

How many people do you have in your family?

GreekPod101.com
WEDNESDAY AT 08:32 AM

Hi Giorgo!

Thank YOU for your kind comment!

Cheers,

Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com

https://www.greekpod101.com/lesson/beginner-3-keeping-it-in-the-greek-family/?lp=130 8/12
6.7.2020 Keeping It in the Greek Family - GreekPod101

GIORGO DOS SANTOS

MONDAY AT 08:23 PM

Very nice lesson❤

GreekPod101.com
THURSDAY AT 06:33 AM

Παρακαλώ, Alain!

Στεφανία
Team GreekPod101.com

GreekPod101.com
THURSDAY AT 06:31 AM

Hi Alain,

Thank you for your feedback.

This is something we are aware of due to the fact that a voice actor might have to make multiple
recordings at once, so not all adjectives that happen to be used for the first person might match
the voice actor's gender. It is something we try to avoid but at times it's inevitable. We
appreciate your comment though and this is something we are definitely taking into account.

Kind regards,

Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com

Alain Côté
THURSDAY AT 06:18 AM

Ευχαριστώ Στεφανία! Not easy to absorb and distinguish in speech, but very clear, thank you.

Alain

Alain Côté
THURSDAY AT 06:15 AM

In the first example sentence under "τώρα", it would be very helpful is either the voice was a
woman's voice or if the adjective was in the masculine (απασχολημένος) to avoid the confusion
as to why a man is saying he is busy in the femine gender!

GreekPod101.com
THURSDAY AT 06:00 AM

https://www.greekpod101.com/lesson/beginner-3-keeping-it-in-the-greek-family/?lp=130 9/12
6.7.2020 Keeping It in the Greek Family - GreekPod101

Hi Alain,

There's the interrogative adverb πού with an accent mark meaning "where", and there's the
conjunction που without an accent mark meaning "that". For example. "Ο άντρας που μίλησε..."
= "The man that spoke...".

In the dialogue, που has the second meaning although it has been translated as "who". If you
change "who" with "that" the meaning would be the same. It's just that in English the sentence
sounds more natural the way it is now.

I hope it's clearer now.

Kind regards,

Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com

Alain Côté
THURSDAY AT 05:50 AM

Hello! In the first sentence of the dialogue, it seems that the word που is used to reflect the idea
of "who" in "my sister, who lives with us...". I am confused, I thought που meant "where" as in
"που ειναι η τοαλέττα;" Is there something I am missing?

Thanks!

GreekPod101.com
MONDAY AT 04:18 PM

Γεια σου Τζέισον!

Yes, "I am the Jason" is correct. Mind the accent though. It goes over έ: Τζέισον.

Γεια χαρά,

Στεφανία
Team GreekPod101.com

Τζείσον
THURSDAY AT 02:23 PM

Γεια σου!

Just want to make sure - I should always say: Είμαι ο Τζείσον. I am the Jason, correct?

https://www.greekpod101.com/lesson/beginner-3-keeping-it-in-the-greek-family/?lp=130 10/12
6.7.2020 Keeping It in the Greek Family - GreekPod101

Ευχαριστώ!

Show More Comments

LEARN GREEK

Dashboard

Lesson Library

Flashcards

Vocabulary Lists

Greek Resources

My Teacher

Mobile App

ABOUT US

Our Method

Our Story

Meet the Team

What People Say

In the News

Languages We Teach

Schools & Businesses

Blogs

Affiliate Program

HELP CENTER

Welcome

First Steps

How to Save Lessons

Subscription & Pricing

https://www.greekpod101.com/lesson/beginner-3-keeping-it-in-the-greek-family/?lp=130 11/12
6.7.2020 Keeping It in the Greek Family - GreekPod101

Top FAQs

Tech Support

Lessons & Methodology

Contact Us

FOLLOW US

Like 14K

COPYRIGHT © 2020 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. GREEKPOD101.COM

PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS OF USE

https://www.greekpod101.com/lesson/beginner-3-keeping-it-in-the-greek-family/?lp=130 12/12