INTRODUCTION |
Iro: I’m Iro. |
Judith: Judith here. Absolute Beginner Season 1 Lesson 13 You’re on Greek Time. |
Iro: Hello Everyone. I’m Iro and welcome to GreekPod101.com. |
Judith: With us, you’ll learn to speak Greek fun and effective lessons. |
Iro: We also provide you with cultural insights. |
Judith: And tips you won’t find in a text book. In this lesson, you will learn how to tell the time in Greek. |
Iro: This conversation takes place at a hotel in Athens. |
Judith: The conversation is between Ellie and Petros. |
Iro: The speakers are a couple. Therefore, they will be speaking informal Greek. |
Judith: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
DIALOGUES |
Έλλη: Είναι δέκα παρά πέντε. Φεύγω. Πάω στην Ακρόπολη. |
Πέτρος: Πάμε για καφέ; Και πηγαίνεις στην Ακρόπολη στις έντεκα ή στις δώδεκα. |
Έλλη: Στις δώδεκα κάνει πολλή ζέστη. |
Πέτρος: Καλά... Τότε πάω για καφέ και μετά στο φίλο μου το Βασίλη. Έχουμε ραντεβού στις έντεκα και μισή. |
Έλλη: Πάμε για φαγητό στις δύο-δυόμιση |
Πέτρος: Είναι λίγο νωρίς. Πάμε στις τρεις |
Έλλη: Πολύ αργά... Καλά. Το βράδυ έχουμε τη συναυλία στο Ηρώδειο. |
Πέτρος: Ωχ, τι ώρα |
Έλλη: Στις εννιά, αλλά πρέπει να είμαστε εκεί στις οκτώ και τέταρτο, οκτώ και είκοσι... |
Πέτρος: Έχει ποδόσφαιρο στις εννιά και μισή. Μήπως... |
Έλλη: Πέτρο!!! |
Πέτρος: Καλά, καλά... |
English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
Έλλη: Είναι δέκα παρά πέντε. Φεύγω. Πάω στην Ακρόπολη. |
Πέτρος: Πάμε για καφέ; Και πηγαίνεις στην Ακρόπολη στις έντεκα ή στις δώδεκα. |
Έλλη: Στις δώδεκα κάνει πολλή ζέστη. |
Πέτρος: Καλά... Τότε πάω για καφέ και μετά στο φίλο μου το Βασίλη. Έχουμε ραντεβού στις έντεκα και μισή. |
Έλλη: Πάμε για φαγητό στις δύο-δυόμιση |
Πέτρος: Είναι λίγο νωρίς. Πάμε στις τρεις |
Έλλη: Πολύ αργά... Καλά. Το βράδυ έχουμε τη συναυλία στο Ηρώδειο. |
Πέτρος: Ωχ, τι ώρα |
Έλλη: Στις εννιά, αλλά πρέπει να είμαστε εκεί στις οκτώ και τέταρτο, οκτώ και είκοσι... |
Πέτρος: Έχει ποδόσφαιρο στις εννιά και μισή. Μήπως... |
Έλλη: Πέτρο!!! |
Πέτρος: Καλά, καλά... |
English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
Έλλη: Είναι δέκα παρά πέντε. Φεύγω. Πάω στην Ακρόπολη. |
Judith: It's five to ten. I'm leaving. I'm going to the Acropolis. |
Πέτρος: Πάμε για καφέ; Και πηγαίνεις στην Ακρόπολη στις έντεκα ή στις δώδεκα. |
Judith: Shall we go for coffee? And you go to the Acropolis at eleven or twelve. |
Έλλη: Στις δώδεκα κάνει πολλή ζέστη. |
Judith: At twelve it's very hot. |
Πέτρος: Καλά... Τότε πάω για καφέ και μετά στο φίλο μου το Βασίλη. Έχουμε ραντεβού στις έντεκα και μισή. |
Judith: Well... Then I'm going for coffee and then to my friend Vasilis's. We have a meeting at eleven-thirty. |
Έλλη: Πάμε για φαγητό στις δύο-δυόμιση |
Judith: Shall we go for food at two, two-thirty? |
Πέτρος: Είναι λίγο νωρίς. Πάμε στις τρεις |
Judith: That's a little early. Shall we go at three? |
Έλλη: Πολύ αργά... Καλά. Το βράδυ έχουμε τη συναυλία στο Ηρώδειο. |
Judith: Too late... Well. In the evening, we have the concert at the Odeon. |
Πέτρος: Ωχ, τι ώρα |
Judith: Oh, what time? |
Έλλη: Στις εννιά, αλλά πρέπει να είμαστε εκεί στις οκτώ και τέταρτο, οκτώ και είκοσι... |
Judith: At nine, but we have to be there at a quarter past eight, eight-twenty... |
Πέτρος: Έχει ποδόσφαιρο στις εννιά και μισή. Μήπως... |
Judith: There's soccer at nine-thirty. Maybe... |
Έλλη: Πέτρο!!! |
Judith: Peter!!! |
Πέτρος: Καλά, καλά... |
Judith: Fine, fine... |
POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
Judith: Okay. What can we say about the time in Greece? |
Iro: Greece, like the United States uses the 12-hour clock and not the 24-hour one. |
Judith: What about meal times? |
Iro: Meal times in Greece depends on whether or not you work, study, are retired or work in the public or private sector. Greeks usually skip breakfast. Instead, they just have a coffee and have a snack later at work. |
Judith: What time would you say are you having lunch? |
Iro: Lunch time is generally from 2:00 to 4:00. |
Judith: It’s not like in Spain where people just take a nap afterwards? |
Iro: Well, not all of them, but a lot of Greeks love to take a siesta after 3 o’clock when they get back home after they finish work. |
Judith: Are there particular times that I should be aware of? |
Iro: Yes. You know, there is noise pollution that is a serious problem especially in big cities. Therefore, citizens must keep their homes quiet by law during the certain times of the day and night. |
Judith: Like what times? |
Iro: For example, at night, after 11:00pm, you should be somehow quiet. You can’t have a load music in your apartment or walk with your heels or screaming or moving furniture, et cetera. People have the right to call the police if you don’t stop. |
Judith: Okay, I see. That’s pretty similar to Germany actually. Is it the same on Sundays? I mean, are there more restrictions on Sundays? |
Iro: Actually they don’t have to, because somehow, most of the people are quieter on Sundays. |
VOCAB LIST |
Judith: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is... |
Iro: παρά |
Judith: Minus. |
Iro: παρά |
Judith: Next. |
Iro: φεύγω |
Judith: To leave. |
Iro: φεύγω |
Judith: Next. |
Iro: τότε |
Judith: Then. |
Iro: τότε |
Judith: Next. |
Iro: φίλος |
Judith: Friend. |
Iro: φίλος |
Judith: This word is masculine. Next. |
Iro: ραντεβού |
Judith: “Appointment” or “rendezvous”. |
Iro: ραντεβού |
Judith: This word is neuter. Next. |
Iro: λίγο |
Judith: A little. |
Iro: λίγο |
Judith: Next. |
Iro: νωρίς |
Judith: Early. |
Iro: νωρίς |
Judith: Next. |
Iro: αργά |
Judith: Late. |
Iro: αργά |
Judith: Next. |
Iro: συναυλία |
Judith: “Concert”, “show”. |
Iro: συναυλία |
Judith: This word is feminine. Next. |
Iro: πρέπει |
Judith: “It is necessary”, “must” |
Iro: πρέπει |
Judith: This word is never conjugated. If you say “I must” it’s still πρέπει. Next. |
Iro: εκεί |
Judith: There. |
Iro: εκεί |
Judith: Next. |
Iro: τέταρτο |
Judith: Quarter. |
Iro: τέταρτο |
Judith: Next. |
Iro: ποδόσφαιρο |
Judith: Soccer. |
Iro: ποδόσφαιρο |
Judith: This word is neuter. Next. |
Iro: μισή |
Judith: Half. |
Iro: μισή |
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
Judith: Okay. Let’s take a closer look at the usage for some of the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
Iro: The first word we’ll look at is "πάω". This is another way to say "πηγαίνω", “to go”. |
Judith: The meaning of the two verbs is the same and they’re used in many of the same situations. The main advantage of "πάω" is that it’s shorter. So it comes up more often in colloquial talk. |
Iro: The name "Πέτρος" change to simply, "Πέτρο" when you’re addressing him. Similarly, the names Νίκος, Γιώργος, Σπύρος and even Βασίλης also lose their final “S”. Petros's friend’s full name is Βασίλης even though he’s addressed as Βασίλη. |
Judith: "στο φίλο μου το Βασίλη" means “to my friend Vassilis” the construction is a bit different than in English. A word by word translation of the Greek "στο φίλο μου το Βασίλη" is “to the friend my, the Vassilis”, “to my friend Vassilis”. |
Iro: "Ηρώδειο" is what Athenians call the Odeum of Herodes Atticus. It’s an ancient marble theater near the Acropolis and it is still being used for musical performances. |
GRAMMAR POINT |
Judith: The focus of this lesson is telling time. If you aren’t completely comfortable with the Greek numbers yet, you have another opportunity to practice them now. Knowing the numbers is essential for today’s topic which is telling time. |
Iro: To indicate the full hour, just say "στις," as in "στις πέντε". |
Judith: At 5 o’clock. |
Iro: You may want to add the word "ακριβώς". |
Judith: Exactly. |
Iro: To mean “at 5’oclock sharp”. "Στις πέντε ακριβώς". |
Judith: If it is some minutes after the full hour simply use "και," as in "στις πέντε και δέκα", “at 5:10.” |
Iro: However, if it’s approaching the next hour already, use "παρά" minus as in "στις έξι παρά δέκα". |
Judith: “At 10 to 6:00” that is 5:50. Additionally, you should the words ‘τέταρτο’ and ‘μισή’. |
Iro: Στις πέντε και τέταρτο |
Judith: “At quarter past five” that is 5:15. |
Iro: Στις έξι παρά τέταρτο |
Judith: “At quarter to six” 5:45. So και τέταρτο is “quarter past” and παρά τέταρτο is “quarter to”. |
Iro: Στις πέντε και μισή |
Judith: “At half past five” 5:30. |
Iro: Know that in colloquial speech, people often say, "στις πεντέμιση" instead. Leaving out the "και" and combining "πέντε" and "μισή." Similarly, 12:30 is δωδεκάμιση, 1:30 is μιάμιση, 2:30 is δυόμιση and so on. |
Judith: That just about does it for today. |
Iro: Looking for a word definition? Find exactly what you’re looking for with the Instant Word Finder. Search the word dictionary in the top right corner of our site to find the word you’re looking for. You can search in English or Greek. |
Judith: We will also display related audio lessons in our archive. Add the word directly to your word bank. |
Iro: Enjoy yourself with My Word Bank Flashcards. |
Judith: Go to GreekPod101.com and try it now. |
Outro
|
Judith: We hope you enjoyed this lesson. See you next week! |
Iro: Γεια σας! |
33 Comments
HidePlease tell us what time is it now! In Greek, of course!
Γεια σου Ράλιτζα!
Εδώ είναι δώδεκα και μισή ακριβώς :)
Γεια χαρά!
Στεφανία
Team GreekPod101.com
Γεια σου ,
εδώ είναι δέκα παρά τέταρτο.
Γεια χαρά,
Ράλιτζα
Γεια σου Ντέιλ,
ελπίζω να σε δω σύντομα λοιπόν στο Premium Plus πρόγραμμα!
Γεια χαρά,
Στεφανία
Team GreekPod101.com
Τέλεια! -Dale
Hi Dale,
I'm really honoured to receive such positive feedback from you! Thank you! It really motivates me to keep doing what I do 😄
If you really want to go for it, you can upgrade and see if you will get assigned to me (I'm also a P+ tutor). If not, you can always email the company (contactus@greekpod101.com) and request to be assigned to me.
As for the types of questions you are describing, that's what the P+ service is for. The good thing is that for longer explanations, audio messages can be exchanged so communication is easier.
I would be very happy to have you as my student! The choice is yours 😉
Kind regards,
Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com
Hello again, Stephania,
On a slightly different issue, currently I'm a Premium member only, and I've been thinking of upgrading to Premium Plus.
The company said I would be assigned a tutor with whom I could correspond. That sounds fine to me, but you probably realize that the kinds of questions I have tend to get into pretty detailed matters of grammar and syntax. You've been able to field them admirably because you're so well trained in Ancient Greek, as well as being a native speaker of Modern Greek.
What I'm getting at is that I'm not sure that just any native speaker would be a right fit for me at the Premium Plus level. Now if if YOU'RE the Greek Pod 101 tutor, I'd have no hesitations at all about upgrading.
What's your sense of this?
Dale
Hi Dale,
It's fascinating to see how languages, their dialects, and writing systems evolve overtime!
Cheers,
Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com
Hello Stephania,
Thanks so much for the very interesting reply. Cypriot Greek has always been a special case -- even the Greeks of the 5th century thought their Greek was different.
70 years ago, when scholars finally cracked Linear B and proved it was an early form of Greek, they were using the remains of ancient Cypriot Greek for clues.
Dale
Hi, Dale,
No need to say sorry. I'm here to answer questions!
Yes, it should be "Τότε πάω για καφέ και μετά στον φίλο μου τον Βασίλη".
You can say it any way you want it, either pronouncing the final ν or not. It won't make a difference to the next door Greek. In fact, people won't even pay attention to that. However, if you are talking to an actor, a singer, or a TV news presenter (these are people that are trained to have proper pronunciation) they might notice you articulate words more and therefore sound more well-spoken.
So what happened to those ancient endings? Aha! Great question!
Unfortunately, the final ν tends to get lost as the centuries pass by so now, in modern Greek, it's almost a relic. However, there are other Greek dialects, such as the Cypriot one, that still have preserved some of the tendencies of ancient Greek because they are more tied to it, including the final ν. If you hear Cypriot Greek, even if you don't understand much, you will notice many words end in ν making the speech sound very nasalized.
Here's an example of how a Greek Cypriot speaks, taken from a Greek TV reality show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAdeXhx6HII
All the best,
Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com
Hello again, Stephania,
Thanks you for your answer to my question about the final n of the masculine accusative singular in the other lesson.
Just to make sure I have it right, would
"Τότε πάω για καφέ και μετά στο φίλο μου το Βασίλη
be Τότε πάω για καφέ και μετά στον φίλο μου τον Βασίλη in writing?
If I were to say it that way to a native speaker, would it carry a feeling of precision, or maybe even erudition?
Sorry to be so nit-picky, but I'm really interested in what happened to the ancient case endings!
Thanks as always,
Dale