Learn the key pattern to ask for clarification
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| Let's take a closer look at the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Giannis introduces himself? |
| "Nice to meet you. I'm Giannis." |
| Χαίρω πολύ. Είμαι ο Γιάννης. (Héro polí. Íme o Yánis. ) |
| First is χαίρω πολύ (héro polí). "Nice to meet you." Χαίρω πολύ. (Héro polí.) |
| First is χαίρω (héro), "[I] am glad." Χαίρω (héro). Χαίρω (héro). |
| Next is πολύ (polí), "very." Πολύ (polí). Πολύ (polí). |
| Together, Χαίρω πολύ (héro polí), literally, "I'm glad very," but it translates as "Nice to meet you." Χαίρω πολύ. |
| Next is είμαι (íme), "[I] am." Είμαι. Είμαι. |
| Note: είμαι (íme) is a shortened form of εγώ είμαι (egó íme), "I am." In Greek, εγώ, "I," is usually omitted, as it can be understood from context. |
| Είμαι (íme) is also the dictionary form of the verb "to be." Είμαι |
| Next is ο Γιάννης (o Yánis). "Giannis." Ο Γιάννης. |
| Let’s start with the name Γιάννης (Yánis). "Giannis." Γιάννης. Γιάννης. |
| In Greek, all nouns have grammatical gender and case, and are either singular or plural. Γιάννης (Yánis) is masculine and singular, and in the nominative case — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence. |
| Before this is ο (o). Think of it like "the" in English. Ο. Ο. |
| Ο (o) is also masculine, singular, nominative to agree with Γιάννης. |
| Note: in this phrase, the article ο (o) does not have a corresponding English translation. |
| Together, it's Είμαι ο Γιάννης. (Íme o Yánis.) "I'm Giannis." |
| All together, Χαίρω πολύ. Είμαι ο Γιάννης. (Héro polí. Íme o Yánis.) |
| "Nice to meet you. I'm Giannis." |
| Χαίρω πολύ. Είμαι ο Γιάννης. (Héro polí. Íme o Yánis.) |
| Sasha can’t catch his name. |
| Do you remember how she asks, |
| "Excuse me, can you repeat that?" |
| Συγγνώμη, μπορείς να το επαναλάβεις αυτό; (Signómi, borís na to epanalávis aftó?) |
| First is συγγνώμη (signómi), literally "apology," but translates as "pardon," or "excuse me," in this context. Συγγνώμη. Συγγνώμη. |
| Note: συγγνώμη (signómi) is appropriate for both informal and formal situations. |
| Next is μπορείς να το επαναλάβεις (borís na to epanalávis), "you can repeat." Μπορείς να το επαναλάβεις. |
| This starts with μπορείς (borís), "[you] can." Μπορείς. Μπορείς. |
| Note: "you" is understood from the context. |
| Μπορείς (borís) is from the verb, μπορώ (boró), "to be able." Μπορώ. |
| Next is να το επαναλάβεις (na to epanalávis), which means something like "you repeat" in this context. να το επαναλάβεις. |
| Last is αυτό (aftó), literally "this," but translates as "that" in this context. Αυτό. Αυτό. |
| Συγγνώμη, μπορείς να το επαναλάβεις αυτό; |
| Finally, do you remember how Giannis says, |
| "I'm Giannis." |
| Hint, you’ve heard it before. |
| Είμαι ο Γιάννης. (Íme o Yánis.) |
| "I'm Giannis." |
| Είμαι ο Γιάννης. (Íme o Yánis.) |
| In this lesson, you learned how to ask for clarification in an informal situation: |
| Συγγνώμη, μπορείς να το επαναλάβεις αυτό; (Signómi, borís na to epanalávis aftó?) |
| "Excuse me, can you repeat that?" |
| To ask for clarification in a formal situation: |
| Με συγχωρείτε, μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε αυτό; (Me sinhoríte, boríte na to epanalávete aftó?) |
| "Excuse me, can you repeat that?" |
| Με συγχωρείτε, μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε αυτό; (Me sinhoríte, boríte na to epanalávete aftó?) |
| Note the two changes in the formal form. |
| First, με συγχωρείτε (me sinhoríte) replaces συγγνώμη (signómi). |
| Με συγχωρείτε (me sinhoríte), "Excuse me," formal form. |
| Με συγχωρείτε. Με συγχωρείτε. |
| Second, μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε (boríte na to epanalávete) replaces μπορείς να το επαναλάβεις (borís na to epanalávis). |
| Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε (boríte na to epanalávete), literally "can [you all] to it repeat," translates as "can you repeat" when using formal Greek. Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε. |
| Note, the second person plural is used for formal situations when addressing a single person. |
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