INTRODUCTION |
Iro: I’m Iro. |
Judith: Judith here. Absolute Beginner Season 1 Lesson 24; Is It Worth Waiting for this Greek Concert? Hello and welcome back to GreekPod101.com, the fastest, easiest and most fun way to learn Greek. I’m joined in the studio by... |
Iro: Hello everyone, Iro here. |
Judith: In this lesson, you will learn how to use a genitive case. |
Iro: This conversation takes place on a street near the Herodion in Athens. |
Judith: The conversation is between Petros, Ellie and a lady on the street. |
Iro: Petros and Ellie don’t know this lady. Therefore, they will be speaking formal Greek. |
Judith: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation
|
Κυρία:Με συγχωρείτε, μήπως ξέρετε πού είναι η οδός Αμερικής; |
Έλλη:Όχι, λυπάμαι. Δεν είμαι από την Αθήνα ξέρετε και... |
Πέτρος:Έχουμε χάρτη, μισό λεπτό. Λοιπόν, αυτή είναι η οδός Σταδίου; |
Κυρία:Όχι, είναι η οδός Ακαδημίας. |
Έλλη:Α, εδώ είναι η οδός Αμερικής βλέπετε; Είναι πολύ κοντά. |
Κυρία:Ευχαριστώ πολύ παιδιά. |
Πέτρος:Τίποτα. Έλλη, τι κάνεις; Δεν έχουμε χρόνο. |
Έλλη:Κοιτάζω την τιμή των βιβλίων. Μαθαίνω ισπανικά, και αυτά τα βιβλία είναι φτηνά... |
Πέτρος:Όχι τώρα Έλλη, πάμε επιτέλους. |
Έλλη:Είναι μακριά το Ηρώδειο; |
Πέτρος:Όχι πολύ, αλλά δεν έχουμε χρόνο. Πάμε με το μετρό. |
... (μετά, στο Ηρώδειο) |
Πέτρος:Έχει μεγάλη ουρά, και είναι νωρίς ακόμα. |
Έλλη:Θα περιμένουμε για χρόνια τη σειρά μας! |
English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
Κυρία:Με συγχωρείτε, μήπως ξέρετε πού είναι η οδός Αμερικής; |
Έλλη:Όχι, λυπάμαι. Δεν είμαι από την Αθήνα ξέρετε και... |
Πέτρος:Έχουμε χάρτη, μισό λεπτό. Λοιπόν, αυτή είναι η οδός Σταδίου; |
Κυρία:Όχι, είναι η οδός Ακαδημίας. |
Έλλη:Α, εδώ είναι η οδός Αμερικής βλέπετε; Είναι πολύ κοντά. |
Κυρία:Ευχαριστώ πολύ παιδιά. |
Πέτρος:Τίποτα. Έλλη, τι κάνεις; Δεν έχουμε χρόνο. |
Έλλη:Κοιτάζω την τιμή των βιβλίων. Μαθαίνω ισπανικά, και αυτά τα βιβλία είναι φτηνά... |
Πέτρος:Όχι τώρα Έλλη, πάμε επιτέλους. |
Έλλη:Είναι μακριά το Ηρώδειο; |
Πέτρος:Όχι πολύ, αλλά δεν έχουμε χρόνο. Πάμε με το μετρό. |
... (μετά, στο Ηρώδειο) |
Πέτρος:Έχει μεγάλη ουρά, και είναι νωρίς ακόμα. |
Έλλη:Θα περιμένουμε για χρόνια τη σειρά μας! |
English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
Κυρία:Με συγχωρείτε, μήπως ξέρετε πού είναι η οδός Αμερικής; |
Judith:Forgive me, maybe you know where America Street is? |
Έλλη:Όχι, λυπάμαι. Δεν είμαι από την Αθήνα ξέρετε και... |
Judith:No, I'm sorry. I'm not from Athens, you know, and… |
Πέτρος:Έχουμε χάρτη, μισό λεπτό. Λοιπόν, αυτή είναι η οδός Σταδίου; |
Judith:We have a map, just a moment. So, is this Stadium Street? |
Κυρία:Όχι, είναι η οδός Ακαδημίας. |
Judith:No, it's Academy Street. |
Έλλη:Α, εδώ είναι η οδός Αμερικής βλέπετε; Είναι πολύ κοντά. |
Judith:Ah, here's America Street, do you see? It's very close. |
Κυρία:Ευχαριστώ πολύ παιδιά. |
Judith:Thank you very much, guys. |
Πέτρος:Τίποτα. Έλλη, τι κάνεις; Δεν έχουμε χρόνο. |
Judith:It's nothing. Elli, what are you doing? We don't have time. |
Έλλη:Κοιτάζω την τιμή των βιβλίων. Μαθαίνω ισπανικά, και αυτά τα βιβλία είναι φτηνά... |
Judith:I'm looking at the price of the books. I'm learning Spanish, and these books are cheap… |
Πέτρος:Όχι τώρα Έλλη, πάμε επιτέλους. |
Judith:Not now Elli, let's go finally. |
Έλλη:Είναι μακριά το Ηρώδειο; |
Judith:Is the Herodion far? |
Πέτρος:Όχι πολύ, αλλά δεν έχουμε χρόνο. Πάμε με το μετρό. |
Judith:Not very, but we don't have time. Let's go by subway. |
... (μετά, στο Ηρώδειο) |
Judith… (later, at the Herodion) |
Πέτρος:Έχει μεγάλη ουρά, και είναι νωρίς ακόμα. |
Judith:There's a big line, and it's early still. |
Έλλη:Θα περιμένουμε για χρόνια τη σειρά μας! |
Judith:We'll wait years for our turn! |
POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
Judith: Okay. Let’s have a cultural point about this famous place, the Herodion. The Herodion, also known as the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, was built under the Acropolis by the noble Herodes Atticus in memory of his wife in the second century, after Christ. It was used for plays and musical concerts. Iro, what happened then? |
Judith: It almost disappeared over the years, but it was excavated in 1857. It was not until 1950 however, that it was restored. |
Iro: What do you mean restored? So people can look at the sites? There are also things happening there, no? |
Judith: Nowadays, all of the events, musical concerts, plays, ballets, et cetera for the Athens festival are held there. It is open from June to early October. It can hold up to 5,000 people and it is one of the most important ancient theaters. |
VOCAB LIST |
Judith: Okay. Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
Judith: What is the first word? |
Iro: συγχωρώ |
Judith: To forgive. |
Iro: συγχωρώ |
Judith: Next. |
Iro: οδός |
Judith: “Street” or “road.” |
Iro: οδός |
Judith: This word is feminine. Next. |
Iro: Αμερική |
Judith: America. |
Iro: Αμερική |
Judith: Again, feminine. Next. |
Iro: ακαδημία |
Judith: Academy. |
Iro: ακαδημία |
Judith: Again, feminine. Next. |
Iro: κοντά |
Judith: “Near” or “close.” |
Iro: κοντά |
Judith: Next. |
Iro: κοιτάζω |
Judith: To look. |
Iro: κοιτάζω |
Judith: Next. |
Iro: βιβλίο |
Judith: Book. |
Iro: βιβλίο |
Judith: The “book” is neuter. Next. |
Iro: ισπανικά |
Judith: The Spanish Language. |
Iro: ισπανικά |
Judith: Next. |
Iro: επιτέλους |
Judith: “Finally”, “at last.” |
Iro: επιτέλους |
Judith: Next. |
Iro: ουρά |
Judith: “Line” or “queue.” |
Iro: ουρά |
Judith: This word is feminine. Next. |
Iro: νωρίς |
Judith: Early. |
Iro: νωρίς |
Judith: Next. |
Iro: σειρά |
Judith: Turn. |
Iro: σειρά |
Judith: This word is feminine. |
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
Judith: Now let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
Judith: The first phrase we’ll look at is Με συγχωρείτε, “excuse me,” “forgive me”. |
Iro: And I would like to draw your attention to "Οδός" is a trick word. From the -os ending, you’d think it was masculine, but in fact it’s feminine η οδός. |
Lesson focus
|
Judith: The focus of this lesson is the genitive case. It’s time to learn about another Greek case, the genitive. It’s the only case that we hadn’t covered yet. In English the genitive is marked by an apostrophe “S” that you can see in “my father’s car” or “Mike’s toy.” |
Judith: In Greek it’s a little more complicated than just adding an apostrophe and an “S” But not overwhelmingly so. |
Iro: Greek feminine nouns add an “S”, but no apostrophe kind of like in English. And the article η changes to "της." |
Judith: So, "η γυναίκα" becomes "της γυναίκας." "Η φίλη"becomes "της φίλης." |
Iro: This solution is not workable for words that already end in “S.” |
Judith: For example, masculine words that end in -os. Here the genitive is formed by replacing the -os, with "oo" is also the ending for the article. |
Iro: So, "ο δάσκαλος" become "του δασκάλου." |
Judith: The same goes for neuter nouns. No matter if they end in -o or -i. |
Iro: "Το βιβλίο" - "του βιβλίου" and "το παιδί" - "του παιδιού". |
Judith: And something easier to end with. All plural nouns in the genitive use the ending -ων and the article των both spelled with the “omega.” |
Iro: Των γυναίκων, των φίλων, των δασκάλων, των βιβλίων, των παιδιών... |
Judith: That just about does it for today. |
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Iro: See and hear the word of the day. |
Judith: Plus sample phrases and sentences. |
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Iro: Get these easy instructions at GreekPod101.com/Greek-phrases. |
Judith: Okay. See you next time. |
13 Comments
HideHave you ever been to the Herodion in Athens?
Hi Pablo,
Thank you for contacting us.
Please note that the genitive of τρένο is τρένου, so that sentence has an error. It should be: Ο σταθμός του τρένου.
To say them vice versa, or better inverted, you need to maintain the articles with their nouns in the case they are. For example:
[Το βιβλίο] [του δασκάλου]. > Του δασκάλου το βιβλίο.
[Ο σταθμός] [του τρένου]. > Του τρένου ο σταθμός.
However, this order is not the most natural one. It could be used in literature, for example, to sound more dramatic or in songs to make a line rhyme easier with another (a line ending in an /o/ sound instead of /u/.) In the first case, you could say the inverted sentence to emphasize that the book is the teacher's and not someone else's. For example:
― Αυτό το βιβλίο ποιανού είναι;
― Του δασκάλου το βιβλίο είναι.
All the best,
Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com
Hello,
Thanks for the lesson.
What is the difference between genetive cases here:
Το βιβλίο του δασκάλου.
Ο σταθμός του τρένο.
Why δάσκαλος has ου ending but τρένο doesn't?
Can I say them vice versa:
Το βιβλίο του δάσκαλος.
Ο σταθμός του τρένου.
Thank you.
Hi Lori,
Thank you for contacting us.
Ουρά does mean "tail" but it can be used figuratively to mean "queue" because people line up one behind the other forming some sort of tail-like pattern.
I suggest you use this online dictionary as a resource. It has lots of different meanings and examples for each entry so it's super useful and reliable:
https://bit.ly/3dDfFRb
Let us know if you have any other questions.
All the best,
Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com
I have a question on the following line: Έχει μεγάλη ουρά, και είναι νωρίς ακόμα.
When I try to practice it on my own I attempt to look at the English first and say the sentence. For the word "line" I used the word "γραμμή" but you have the word "ουρά". When I looked up that meaning of "ουρά" it has a definition of "tail" so I am confused on the usage.
Γεια σου Stephen,
Σου εύχομαι να πας μια μέρα!
Στεφανία
Team GreekPod101.com
Μου αρέσει πολύ τις cultural insights, μαθαίνω πάντα κάτι νέο για την Ελλάδα. θα ήθελα να πάω μια μέρα.
Hi Elias,
With pleasure!?
Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com
Thank you for the clear explanations Stefania. I appreciate them a lot. ❤️️❤️️❤️️???
Hi Elias,
The genitive case is the most difficult to master and also depending on the noun declension group, there might be some irregularities in the accentuation in the singular and plural. This lesson is not enough to learn to use the case, one needs to study each individual noun/adjective/pronoun/article group and those can be many!
Here's a grammar note about the case in general that might be helpful:
https://www.greekpod101.com/learningcenter/reference/grammar/8?
As for your sentences, the article before the word "book(s)" was always missing. Also mind the accentuation of the plural genitive "γυναικών". Below are the corrected sentences:
της γυναίκας το βιβλίο = the woman’s book
του δασκάλου το βιβλίο = the teacher’s book
του παιδιού το βιβλίο = the child’s book
της γυναίκας τα βιβλία = the woman’s books
How to say the women’s books ? (women is plural) > των γυναικών τα βιβλία
How to say the women’s book? ( book is singular) > των γυναικών το βιβλίο
Keep in mind that the most natural word order for a Greek speaker is the reversed (although both correct):
το βιβλίο της γυναίκας
το βιβλίο του δασκάλου
etc...
The word order of your sentences just puts more emphasis on whose book it is. It's like saying: It is the woman that the book belongs to.
Happy studying!
Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com
Hi Stefania,
The explanation of genitives are not so clear to understand in this lesson. I made some sentences by myself and i am not sure if they are correct. So please take a look at them and correct them if they are wrong.
της γυναίκας βιβλίο = the woman's book
του δασκάλου βιβλίο = the teacher's book
του παιδιού βιβλίο = the child's book
Των γυναίκων βιβλία = the woman's books
How to say the women's books ? (women is plural)
How to say the women's book? ( book is singular)
Thank you. :)