Hi Bibiana,

Glad to help as always:smile:! And I wish I could change that too, but it's in the video and actually it was made way before I came to GreekPod101:sob:. Since then we have worked much harder to improve our newer series so you can enjoy better content:wink:.

Stefania

Team GreekPod101.com

But then you shouldnt have it here as a sample sentence ;) Its in the video "Η οικογενεια κοιταζει τηλεοραση" and they are not watching the device but some kind of program :)

Thank you very much anyway! You are always so kind and helpful! :thumbsup:

Hi Bibiana,

βλέπω and παρακολουθώ τηλεόραση would both be absolutely correct and standard. Κοιτάζω seems to be used by some people, but to me it sounds wrong, like a misuse of the language out of a bad habit because κοιτάζω feels like you are actually looking/staring at the actual device that is the TV. Like when you go to a store and you look at the TVs to see which one appeals to you so you can buy it, you are not actually watching what they are broadcasting. Then you actually κοιτάζεις τις τηλεοράσεις. So to me the difference is very big. And also κοιτάζω is a purely transitive verb, it takes an object, and it sounds more right to say "κοιτάζω ΤΗΝ τηλεόραση" than "κοιτάζω τηλεόραση". To me it's like it's missing something.

I hope this clears up some confusion,

Stefania

Team GreekPod101.com

One more question... which is the most correct way to say "watch TV"... because I have seen "βλέπω τηλεόραση", "κοιτάζω τηλεόραση" or "παρακολουθώ τηλεόραση"? Or all are correct in the same way?

Euxaristo polu

Hi Ingolf,

A very good question indeed!

Ο αδερφός (or ο αδελφός) is one of these nouns in Greek that are called "dual declension nouns" (διπλόκλιτα):

This happens to some masculine nouns that change their gender from masculine to neuter in the plural (for example ο πλούτος >> τα πλούτη, meaning wealth >>wealths), or they form two plurals (for example ο βράχος >> οι βράχοι and τα βράχια, meaning rock >> rocks). These nouns follow two declensions, thus they are called “dual declension nouns”. Sometimes the dual forms of plural may have different meanings with each other. For example:

ο λαιμός (throat) >> οι λαιμοί (throats) and τα λαιμά (sore throat)

for example: έχω τα λαιμά μου = I have a sore throat

Ο αδερφός, falls into that last category, because although ο αδερφός and οι αδερφοί can only refer to males, τα αδέρφια (that extra neuter plural version) can either refer to male brothers only or brothers and sisters together, so it has a little bit different meaning than the singular form.

I am sure that your next question will be: "Which plural version should I use? :disappointed:".

I would say that the neuter version is the most common one when we speak casually about two or more male brothers and conveniently enough, when we also speak about brothers and sisters together.

We use the term οι αδερφοί a bit more rarely, usually when we refer to expressions such as "Warner Bros.", or "Brothers Grimm", in other words famous male brothers. You can also see the abbreviation of "αδερφοί" in signs of stores in Greece, for example:

ΠΑΠΑΔΟΠΟΥΛΟΙ ΑΦΟΙ ΚΑΙ ΣΙΑ ΟΕ = Papadopoulos Bros. & Co General Partnership

>>

ΠΑΠΑΔΟΠΟΥΛΟΙ ΑΦΟΙ = Papadopoulos Bros.

ΣΙΑ = Co

ΟΕ = General Partnership

I hope that cleared up things a bit! I must say, that was a good observation:thumbsup:

If you have any other questions, please let me know!

Regards,

Stefania,

Team GreekPod101.com

Hello!

I try once more, one sentence disappeared from my last posting.

I understand that αδερςφός (or αδελφός;) is a masculine word. But then I dont understand the sentence

"Τα αδέλφια κάνουν μπάνιο" translated with “the brothers are bathing”.

Should not this sentence start with “oι”?

Ingolf

Hello!

I understand that αδερςφός (or αδελφός;) is a masculine word. But then I dont understand the sentence >, translated with "the brothers are bathing". Should not this sentence start with "oι"?

Ingolf

Hello Ed,

I think you understand "near/far" very well! Your sentences are correct in their structure and I can spot only teeny tiny little mistakes, but nothing serious!

Ετοιμάζουν μεσημεριανό μαζί το απόγευμα. They prepare lunch together in the afternoon.

μεσημεριανό = lunch, while γεύμα = meal

Η Kίνα είναι μακριά από την Ελλάδα. China is far from Greece.

(capital letters on countries)

Το σπίτι μου είναι μακριά από το γραφείο μου. My house is far from my office.

Correct!

Ο μαύρος σκύλος είναι κοντά στον άσπρο σκύλο. The black dog is near the white dog.

(accusative for the white dog)

Ο καφέ και άσπρος σκύλος είναι κοντά στο δέντρο. The brown and white dog is near the tree.

(I am not sure if you meant a dog that is white and brown color, or two different dogs, one white and one brown. In the first case it should be "Ο καφεάσπρος σκύλος είναι κοντά στο δέντρο" and in the second case "Ο καφές και ο άσπρος σκύλος είναι κοντά στο δέντρο")

Το σπίτι μου δεν είναι κοντά στην παραλία. My house is not close to the beach.

Correct again!

Υπάρχουν πολλά βατράχια στη λίμνη.

Correct!

άσπρος and λευκό are the same thing, white.

Google translate is quite reliable but of course not perfect.

For words such as "στο/στην", keep in mind that these are made by:

the preposition "σε" (meaning on, in to, at, by, unto, upon) + article (in genitive or accusative http://screencast.com/t/wQn1vS5Lafev ) or these weak forms of personal pronouns:

http://screencast.com/t/nVMKMeOjrW

More info here:

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Greek_pronouns

What happens is that the "ε" from "σε" gets removed and the two words stick together.

"σε" can also go as it is (as a separate word) in front of these pronouns:

http://screencast.com/t/MjSBeRvzI5Uy

http://screencast.com/t/IlAlvngF4Lo

Regards,

Stefania,

Team GreekPod101.com

Hi,

These are mostly a little off topic. I wanted to practice using near and far to see if I am getting it right.

Ετοιμάζουν γεύμα μαζί το απόγευμα. They prepare lunch together in the afternoon.

Η κίνα είναι μακριά από την Ελλάδα. China is far from Greece.

Το σπίτι μου είναι μακριά από το γραφείο μου. My house is far from my office.

Ο μαύρος σκύλος είναι κοντά στο άσπρος σκύλος. The black dog is near the white dog.

Ο καφέ και άσπρος σκύλος είναι κοντά στο δέντρο. The brown and white dog is near the tree.

Το σπίτι μου δεν είναι κοντά στην παραλία. My house is not close to the beach.

Υπάρχουν πολλά βατράχια στη λίμνη.

Are άσπρος and λευκό the same?

I am still using google translate to help me with things like στο, στην, την etc. as i do not really understand those words yet. But I am not sure how reliable google is.

Thank you for your time-

-Ed

Hi Ed,

You are very welcome! It is rewarding to see all the effort you are doing and how much you are learning!

I will put here only the sentences that needed correction:

Οι άντρες κάνουν ντους το πρωί. The men shower in the morning.

(mind the capital letters at the beginning of every sentence)

Αυτοί κάνουν ντους μαζί κάθε βράδυ. They shower together every evening.

(capital here too, small typo on "ντους" and "βράδυ")

Δεν τρώς πρωινό. You don’t eat breakfast.

(2nd person singular of "eat" is "τρώς", mind the spelling of "πρωινό" that comes from the word "πρωί")

Πίνω καφέ κάθε πρωί και απόγευμα. I drink coffee every morning and afternoon.

(mind the spelling of "πρωί", you need one "και" between "morning" and "afternoon")

Η οικογένεια τρώει όλη μαζί δείπνο κάθε Κυριακή βράδυ. The family eats dinner together every Sunday evening.

(every=κάθε - when we talk about not living things such as days)

Το αγόρι κοιμάται στο κρεβάτι του. The boy is sleeping on his bed.

("his" was missing from the Greek sentence - του)

"Καλησπέρα" is used as a "hello" greeting when you see someone after 12:00 noon until night. "Καλό βράδυ" is a "bye bye" greeting you would say to someone when you want to wish them to have actually a nice evening. So around sunset time or evening time. If it is too late at night and you know that that person is going to sleep, you can say good night as a "bye bye" greeting(καληνύχτα).

βλέπω τηλεόραση = I am watching TV (a program)

"κοιτάζω τηλεόραση" doesn't make any sense unless you say "κοιτάζω την τηλεόραση". In that case it means I am looking at the television set (look at the device, although it might be ON or OFF)

We use "κι" more often in speech, usually when the next word starts with a vowel. Foe example: Κι αυτός >> The sound produced is merged like this "Kya-ftos" instead of "Ke-a-ftos" (Και αυτός). It is for reasons of euphony that this happens.

"μπλε σκούρο" and "σκούρο μπλε" are both correct!

Keep studying hard! It is going well for you!

Stefania,

GreekPod101.com