This was originally posted by panagiotis_ts
Hello everyone! This is the 15th lesson of my series of Greek lessons. Here you'll learn how to ask and tell the time in Greek, the parts of the day, some ways to form negative sentences (other than using "δεν", which I've explained in another lesson) and some useful conjunctions. Remember that I don't write how words are pronounced, because you' ve already learned it in the first lesson.
Let's start with the time. Here is some basic vocabulary:
Τι ώρα είναι; = What time is it?
Είναι ... (η ώρα). = It's ... o'clock.
Είναι ... και πέντε. = It's five past ...
Είναι ... και δέκα. = It's ten past ...
Είναι ... και τέταρτο. = It's a quarter past ...
Είναι ... και είκοσι. = It's twenty past ...
Είναι ... και είκοσι πέντε. = It's twenty-five past ...
Είναι ... και μισή. = It's half past ...
Είναι ... παρά είκοσι πέντε. = It's twenty-five to ...
Είναι ... παρά είκοσι. = It's twenty to ...
Είναι ... παρά τέταρτο. = It's a quarter to ...
Είναι ... παρά δέκα. = It's ten to ...
Είναι ... παρά πέντε. = It's five to ...
Remember that in the gaps, you have to use the feminine form of the number because the number has to agree with the noun "ώρα" (= hour/time). For example, you can't say "Είναι τρία η ώρα" (it's completely wrong), but "Είναι τρεις η ώρα". Remember that this only happens when the number has a feminine form.
When you want to say "at + time", you have to use the preposition "στις". For example:
Το αεροπλάνο φεύγει στις τέσσερις (η ώρα). = The plane leaves at four o'clock.
Η γιορτή είναι στις εφτά και τέταρτο. = The feast is at a quarter past seven.
And now let's see the parts of the day:
το πρωί = the morning/in the morning
το μεσημέρι = the afternoon/in the afternoon
το απόγευμα = the evening/in the evening (17.00-19.00)
το βράδυ = the evening/in the evening (19.01-21.00)
η νύχτα = the night (τη νύχτα = in the night)
So you can make little combinations and say for example "στις έντεκα (η ώρα) το πρωί" (= at eleven o'clock in the morning).
In another lesson I've described how to form a negative sentence in Greek using the little word "δε(ν)" (equivalent of the English "not"). But there are some other words with which you can also form negative sentences (like "never", "no one", etc). Let's see them in Greek.
ποτέ = never
κανένας (or κανείς, acc.: κανένα(ν))/καμία/κανένα = no one (m/f/n)
πουθενά = nowhere
τίποτα (or τίποτε) = nothing
Note that although in English you can't put two negative words in one sentence (for example you can't say "I don't never drink wine" or "It isn't nowhere"), in Greek you can! These sentences above are totally correct in Greek!!! Let's see some examples:
Δεν πίνω ποτέ κρασί. = I never drink wine.
Δεν είναι πουθενά! = It is nowhere!
Δε βλέπω τίποτα. = I see nothing.
Δεν είναι κανείς εκεί. = No one is there.
Also, you can never omit "δε(ν)". "Πίνω ποτέ κρασί" is completely wrong in Greek!
And now let's see some useful conjunctions:
και (or κι) = and
ή = or
αν = if
αλλά = but
μα = but
όμως = but
ωστόσο = however
ενώ = while
λοιπόν = so
ώστε = so that
άρα = so (when you want to make a conlusion)
οπότε = so (when you want to make a conclusion)
πως = that (conjunction, used after verbs like "say", "think", etc) *που = that (same as above)
ότι = that (same as above)
όταν = when
πριν = before
γιατί = because
επειδή = because
διότι = because
I hope that you enjoyed reading this.
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