Saying What You Want in Greek - Grammar

Lesson Transcript

Let's look at the sentence pattern.

Do you remember how the character said,

"I'd like a more interesting painting."

Θα ήθελα έναν πιο ενδιαφέροντα πίνακα. (Tha íthela énan pio endiaféronda pínaka.)

We'll practice two sentence patterns in this lesson:

First, the question form:

Τι είδους + [noun] + θα θέλατε;

(Ti ídus + noun + tha thélate?)

"What kind of [item] would you like?"

This is a polite and formal way to ask someone what they prefer.

We heard:

Τι είδους πίνακα θα θέλατε; (Ti ídus pínaka tha thélate?)

"What kind of painting would you like?"

Let's break it down:

Τι είδους (Ti ídus), a fixed phrase, meaning "what kind of"

This phrase is used to ask about the type or category of an object. It always stays the same, regardless of gender or number.

Πίνακα (Pínaka), the genitive singular form of the masculine noun πίνακας (pínakas), meaning "painting."

In Greek, after είδους (Ídus), the noun typically appears in the genitive case. That's why we say πίνακα (pínaka) instead of the nominative πίνακας (pínakas).

Θα θέλατε (Tha thélate), the second person plural conditional form of the verb θέλω (thélo), meaning "would you like"

This is the polite or formal way to ask what someone would like. It uses the future particle θα (tha) and the imperfect form θέλατε (thélate), which is commonly used to express wishes or polite requests.

Altogether:

Τι είδους πίνακα θα θέλατε; (Ti ídus pínaka tha thélate?)

"What kind of painting would you like?"

Second, the answer:

Θα ήθελα + [article] + [adjective] + [noun]

(Tha íthela + article + adjective + noun)

"I would like a [kind of item]."

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

Θα ήθελα έναν πιο ενδιαφέροντα πίνακα. (Tha íthela énan pio endiaféronda pínaka.)

"I'd like a more interesting painting."

Let's break it down:

Θα ήθελα (Tha íthela) — "I would like"

This is the first person singular conditional form of the verb θέλω (thélo), meaning "to want." It's polite and commonly used for making requests.

Έναν (énan) — the masculine singular accusative definite article, meaning "a"

This form is used because the noun πίνακα (pínaka) is masculine and in the accusative case.

Πιο ενδιαφέροντα (pio endiaféronta) — meaning "more interesting"

This is the comparative form of the adjective ενδιαφέρων (endiaféron), meaning "interesting." It matches the gender (masculine), number (singular), and case (accusative) of the noun it modifies.

Πίνακα (pínaka) — the accusative singular form of the masculine noun πίνακας (pínakas), meaning "painting"

Because it is the object of the sentence, it appears in the accusative case.

Altogether:

Θα ήθελα έναν πιο ενδιαφέροντα πίνακα.

(Tha íthela énan pio endiaféronta pínaka.)

"I'd like a more interesting painting."

The adjective and article both agree in gender and case with the noun. This is essential in Greek grammar for correct sentence construction.

In Greek, adjectives must match the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.

This means the adjective changes its ending depending on the noun.

When you're saying what kind of thing you want, like a painting or a chair, the adjective will adjust to agree with that noun.

Now let's look at some speaking examples.

Τι είδους αυτοκίνητο θα θέλατε; (Ti ídous aftokínito tha thélate?)

"What kind of car would you like?"

Can you see how the pattern applies here?

Let's break it down.

Τι είδους (Ti ídus), a fixed phrase, meaning "what kind of,"

followed by

αυτοκίνητο (aftokínito), a neuter noun, meaning "car,"

θα θέλατε (tha thélate), the second person plural conditional form of θέλω "to want," meaning "would you like."

Altogether:

"What kind of car would you like?"

Here's another example

Θα ήθελα έναν γρήγορο υπολογιστή. (Tha íthela énan grígoro ipologistí.)

"I'd like a fast computer."

Θα ήθελα έναν γρήγορο υπολογιστή. (Tha íthela énan grígoro ipologistí.)

"I'd like a fast computer."

Let's try one more,

Τι είδους φίλο θα θέλατε; (Ti ídous fílo tha thélate?)

"What kind of friend would you like?"

Τι είδους φίλο θα θέλατε; (Ti ídous fílo tha thélate?)

"What kind of friend would you like?"

Now you know how to say what you want in Greek.

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

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