Talking About Transportation in Greek - Grammar

Lesson Transcript

Let's look at the sentence pattern.

Do you remember how the character said,

"I'll go by train."

Θα πάω με το τρένο. (Tha páo me to tréno.)

This sentence follows the pattern here:

πάω + με + [means of transport]

páo + me + [means of transport]

"I go / I'm going / I will go by…"

This pattern is simple and useful for talking about how you travel in Greek.

The verb πάω (páo) means "I go," and με (me) means "by."

Most means of transport in Greek are singular neuter nouns and therefore take το (to), for example:

το λεωφορείο (to leoforío), "the bus,"

το αυτοκίνητο (to aftokínito), "the car,"

and so on.

The phrase for 'on foot' is με τα πόδια. Be careful: because πόδια (feet) is plural, it uses the plural article τα, not the singular article το.

Let's see how the line from the dialogue uses the pattern.

Θα πάω με το τρένο. (Tha páo me to tréno.)

"I'll go by train."

Θα πάω (Tha páo), the simple future tense of the verb πάω (páo), meaning "I will go,"

followed by

με (me), meaning "by,"

το τρένο (to tréno), meaning "the train."

You can replace το τρένο (to tréno) with any other vehicle or means of transport.

If you want to be more specific about when you are going somewhere or doing something, you can use the structure:

στις + [time]

(stis + [time]),

which means "at [a specific time]."

This pattern helps clarify exactly when something will happen.

Take this sentence as an example:

Θα συναντηθώ μαζί τους στις επτά.

(Tha sinandithó mazí tus stis eptá.)

"I will meet them at seven."

The word στις (stis) introduces the specific time.

επτά (eptá), or "seven."

Even though the word for "hours" (ώρες) is not stated, it's understood from context, and that's why τις (tis),

the feminine plural article is used.

So στις is actually σε (se, "at") plus τις (tis, "the"), agreeing with the implied feminine plural noun ώρες.

Using στις makes your plans clear and precise.

Instead of simply saying you're going somewhere, you can now say exactly when you will go—perfect for making appointments or planning daily routines.

Now let's look at some speaking examples.

Πάω στο κέντρο με το μηχανάκι στις 9 η ώρα. (Páo sto kéntro me to michanáki stis ennéa i óra.)

"I go to the city center by scooter at 9 o'clock."

Can you see how the pattern applies here?

Let's break it down:

Πάω (Páo) means "I go,"

followed by

στο κέντρο (sto kéntro), meaning "to the center,"

με (me), meaning "by,"

followed by

το μηχανάκι (to michanáki), meaning "the scooter,"

and finally

στις 9 η ώρα (stis ennéa i óra), meaning "at 9 o'clock."

We're combining direction, transportation, and time in one fluent sentence. The same pattern works with other vehicles too.

Here's another example

Πάω στο γραφείο με το μετρό στις 8:30 το πρωί. (Páo sto grafío me to metró stis októ kai triaánda to proí.)

"I go to the office by metro at 8:30 in the morning."

Πάω στο γραφείο με το μετρό στις 8:30 το πρωί. (Páo sto grafío me to metró stis októ kai triaánda to proí.)

"I go to the office by metro at 8:30 in the morning."

Let's try one more,

Πάω στο πανεπιστήμιο με το λεωφορείο στις 10. (Páo sto panepistímio me to leoforío stis déka.)

"I go to the university by bus at 10."

Πάω στο πανεπιστήμιο με το λεωφορείο στις 10. (Páo sto panepistímio me to leoforío stis déka.)

"I go to the university by bus at 10."

Now you know how to talk about means of transportation in Greek.

...and now let's move on to the practice.

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