Learn all the possible forms of the word λίγο
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Intro |
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| Hi, everybody! Stefania here. Welcome to Ask a Teacher, where I’ll answer some of your most common Greek questions. |
| The Question |
| The question for this lesson is “Why does the word λίγο sometimes have different forms?” |
| Explanation |
| Just like with the word πολύ (polí) that we saw in the previous lesson, λίγο (lígo) has two types as well. |
| First, there's the adverb λίγο (lígo), meaning "(a) little" or "a bit." |
| And second, there's the declinable adjective ο λίγος, η λίγη, το λίγο (o lígos, i líyi, to lígo) in the masculine, feminine, and neuter gender respectively, meaning "(a) little (bit)/some" for non measurable things, like the noun "love" for example, and "(a) few" for countable things. |
| Let's go into more detail. First, let's see the first type, where λίγο (lígo) is an adverb. |
| In this case it is not declined and it can be used in combination with verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and participles. |
| Some examples are, |
| Βρέχει λίγο. (Vréhi lígo.) (verb + λίγο) "It's raining a little." |
| Περπατάς λίγο γρήγορα. (Perpatás lígo grígora.) (λίγο + adverb) "You walk a bit fast." |
| Το φαγητό είναι λίγο πικάντικο. (To fayitó íne lígo pikándiko.) (λίγο + adjective) "The food is a bit spicy." |
| Ήταν λίγο λυπημένος. (Ítan lígo lipiménos.) (λίγο + participle) "He was a bit sad." |
| This adverb can also be expressed in the diminutive form λιγάκι (ligáki) to mean "a little bit." For example, Η θάλασσα είναι λιγάκι κρύα. (I thálasa íne ligáki kría.) (λιγάκι + adjective) "The sea is a little bit cold." |
| Here are some more sample sentences. |
| Περίμενέ με λίγο. (Perímené me lígo.) |
| "Wait for me a little." |
| And, |
| Δεν είναι λίγο ακριβό; (Den íne lígo akrivó?) |
| "Isn't it a bit expensive?" |
| In the second case, where λίγο (lígo) is an adjective, it is declined in all 3 genders, masculine, feminine, and neuter, and it is always used to define a noun, so it always needs to "agree" with the noun's gender, number and case. |
| Let's see some examples. |
| Υπάρχει λίγος κόσμος εδώ. (Ipárhi lígos kózmos edó.) (masculine) "There are a few people here." |
| Πέφτει λίγη βροχή. (Péfti líyi vrohí.) (feminine) "It's raining a little." |
| Τρώμε λίγο φαγητό. (Tróme lígo fayitó.) (neuter) "We are having some food." |
| Η εταιρεία αυτή έχει λίγους υπαλλήλους. (I etería aftí éhi lígus ipalílus.) (masculine) "This company has a few employees." |
| Έχω λίγες φούστες στην γκαρνταρόμπα μου. (Ého líges fústes stin gardaróba mu.) (feminine) "I have a few skirts in my wardrobe." |
| Καταλαβαίνω λίγα ελληνικά. (Katalavéno líga eliniká.) (neuter) "I understand a little Greek." |
| Here are some more sample sentences. |
| Ρίξε λίγο αλάτι παραπάνω στη σούπα. (Ríxe lígo aláti parapáno sti súpa.) |
| "Add a little bit more salt to the soup." |
| And: |
| Πάρε λίγες κόλλες χαρτί και μοίρασέ τες. (Páre líyes kóles hartí ke mírasé tes.) |
| "Take a few sheets of paper and pass them around." |
| Basically, if you are not sure which type of λίγο (lígo) to use, just think of the word that it will be defining. If it is a noun, then you need to use the adjective type in the correct form. If it will be used to define any other word, then you need to use the indeclinable adverb. |
Outro |
| How was the lesson? Pretty interesting, right? |
| Do you have any more questions? Leave them in the comments below and I’ll try to answer them! |
| Γεια χαρά! (Ya hará!) |
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