Learn about the present tense stem of verbs
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Brandon: Hello everyone and welcome back to GreekPod101.com. This is Intermediate, Season 1, lesson 5, A Bit of Greek Girlie Gossip. I’m Brandon. |
| Stefania: And I’m Stefania. |
| Brandon: In this lesson, we'll focus on the present tense stem of verbs. |
| Stefania: This conversation takes place at the house where Erató and Natalía live, and the conversation is between the two of them. |
| Brandon: The characters are sisters, so they'll be using informal Greek. Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Ναταλία Α, ήρθες κιόλας από το κομμωτήριο; Καλέ, άλλος άνθρωπος έγινες! |
| Ερατώ Αχ, πολύ μου αρέσουν τα μαλλιά μου ίσια! Μακάρι να ήταν έτσι πάντα! |
| Ναταλία Τότε γιατί κάθε φορά που θέλω να σ' τα ισιώσω μου λες όχι; |
| Ερατώ Γιατί δεν θέλω να κάνω ψαλίδα. |
| Ναταλία Καλά. Έλα να σε βάψω τώρα. Εγώ είμαι έτοιμη. |
| Ερατώ Η μαμά τελικά σου έφτιαξε το φερμουάρ; |
| Ναταλία Ναι. Έκανε εκεί μια πατέντα και τουλάχιστον δεν θα ανοίγει. |
| Ερατώ Πήρα επίσης και τις ψεύτικες βλεφαρίδες. Η κυρία Ελπίδα είπε ότι θα κάνει τα μάτια μας να φαίνονται καλύτερα και μεγαλύτερα στους θεατές. |
| Ναταλία Ναι, το άκουσα κι εγώ αυτό. Λοιπόν, θα σ' τις βάλω μετά. |
| Brandon: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Ναταλία Α, ήρθες κιόλας από το κομμωτήριο; Καλέ, άλλος άνθρωπος έγινες! |
| Brandon: Oh, you are back already from the hair salon? Well, well, you look like a different person! |
| Ερατώ Αχ, πολύ μου αρέσουν τα μαλλιά μου ίσια! Μακάρι να ήταν έτσι πάντα! |
| Brandon: Oh, I like my hair straight so much! If only it were always so! |
| Ναταλία Τότε γιατί κάθε φορά που θέλω να στα ισιώσω μου λες όχι; |
| Brandon: Then why do you say no every time I want to straighten your hair? |
| Ερατώ Γιατί δεν θέλω να κάνω ψαλίδα. |
| Brandon: Because I don't want to have split ends. |
| Ναταλία Καλά. Έλα να σε βάψω τώρα. Εγώ είμαι έτοιμη. |
| Brandon: Alright. Now let me do your make-up. I'm ready. |
| Ερατώ Η μαμά τελικά σου έφτιαξε το φερμουάρ; |
| Brandon: Did mom fix your zipper in the end? |
| Ναταλία Ναι. Έκανε εκεί μια πατέντα και τουλάχιστον δεν θα ανοίγει. |
| Brandon: Yes. She did a trick there and at least it won't be opening. |
| Ερατώ Πήρα επίσης και τις ψεύτικες βλεφαρίδες. Η κυρία Ελπίδα είπε ότι θα κάνει τα μάτια μας να φαίνονται καλύτερα και μεγαλύτερα στους θεατές. |
| Brandon: I also got the fake eyelashes. Mrs. Elpida said it will make our eyes look better and wider to the audience. |
| Ναταλία Ναι, το άκουσα κι εγώ αυτό. Λοιπόν, θα σ' τις βάλω μετά. |
| Brandon: Yeah, I heard that too. Well, I'll apply them on you later. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Brandon: Now this is a very girlie conversation! Actually, I'm wondering… Do men in Greece go to the same hair salons that women do? |
| Stefania: Most hair salons are for both men and women and some even offer nail services, but that's a new trend. There are, however, some hair salons that are men-only. |
| Brandon: What about barbershops? |
| Stefania: There are some, although with time they are becoming more rare. These are men's only places, just like the Greek traditional coffee houses the "καφενείο". Men go there to socialize and chat while getting their hair trimmed. |
| Brandon: Do young people go there too? |
| Stefania: Not really. Usually, it's older men that go – they are more used to a basic style of service. |
| Brandon: Well, I hope this tradition doesn’t die out! Okay, now let’s move on to the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Brandon: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Stefania: κομμωτήριο [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: hair salon |
| Stefania: κομμωτήριο [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Stefania: κομμωτήριο [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Stefania: μαλλί [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: hair, wool |
| Stefania: μαλλί [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Stefania: μαλλί [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Stefania: μακάρι [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: hopefully, if only (expression for wish) |
| Stefania: μακάρι [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Stefania: μακάρι [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Stefania: φορά [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: time (to count instances), direction that something is moving |
| Stefania: φορά [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Stefania: φορά [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Stefania: ισιώνω [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to straighten |
| Stefania: ισιώνω [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Stefania: ισιώνω [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Stefania: ψαλίδα [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: split end, shears, a big difference between the highest and lowest price or value (economics) |
| Stefania: ψαλίδα [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Stefania: ψαλίδα [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Stefania: πατέντα [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: patent, gimmick, trick |
| Stefania: πατέντα [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Stefania: πατέντα [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Stefania: βλεφαρίδα [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: eyelash |
| Stefania: βλεφαρίδα [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Stefania: βλεφαρίδα [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Stefania: θεατής [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: viewer, spectator, casual observer, witness (fig.) |
| Stefania: θεατής [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Stefania: θεατής [natural native speed] |
| And Last: |
| Stefania: λοιπόν [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: so, well (indignation, surprise) |
| Stefania: λοιπόν [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Stefania: λοιπόν [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Brandon: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. What's our first word? |
| Stefania: We have "Μαλλί", meaning "hair" or "wool". We also use this word in many idioms that don't make much sense in English if you translate them word for word. |
| Brandon: Can we have an example? |
| Stefania: OK, how about "έβγαλε μαλλιά η γλώσσα μου"? Literally "my tongue grew hair"! |
| Brandon: "My tongue grew hair"? What does that actually mean? |
| Stefania: Imagine that you're talking-talking-talking to someone trying to convince him of something, but you can't. When you get tired of talking and you want to make that clear to the other person, you can say "Έβγαλε μαλλιά η γλώσσα μου!" |
| Brandon: ΟΚ! Any other examples? |
| Stefania: An easy one, "μαλλί της γριάς". |
| Brandon: Oh I know that one! Cotton candy! Literally "old lady's hair". |
| Stefania: Yes! There are some extra examples in our notes for our listeners, but for now, let's see the next word. "Μακάρι". |
| Brandon: This means "hopefully" or "if only". |
| Stefania: Yes. So this interjection expresses a strong wish or desire and we usually use the "if only" translation when the wish is not realistic, like in our dialogue. |
| Brandon: Oh, the part where Erató wishes she had straight hair. |
| Stefania: Yes. |
| Brandon: So, how do we use this interjection in a sentence? |
| Stefania: Usually with the subjunctive mood of a verb, that is the "να + verb" form. |
| Brandon: Ok. Now, what's our last word? |
| Stefania: "Πατέντα", which means "patent". |
| Brandon: But in our dialogue, it's used differently. |
| Stefania: That’s right. It's used casually as a word for "trick" or "gimmick". We use "πατέντα" when someone comes up with a non-sophisticated but smart idea to temporarily solve a mechanical problem or fix a faulty object. |
| Brandon: Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
| Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn about the present tense stem of verbs and all of the stem categories. Firstly, how do we get the stem from a verb? |
| Stefania: From the dictionary form of a verb we remove the endings -ω, -άω, -ομαι, -ιέμαι, ούμαι, -άμαι and ώμαι with ωμέγα. |
| Brandon: And how many stem categories do we have? |
| Stefania: Depending on the present stem character, that is the final letter or double letter of the stem, we have five stem categories for the first conjugation group of verbs and one for the second group. |
| Brandon: OK. Let's hear them! |
| Stefania: So, for the 1st conjugation we have the stems whose character is a vowel or a double vowel, for example, the verb "ακούω", "to hear". But listeners, please note... the double vowels αυ and ευ are an exception. |
| Brandon: That makes sense. They end in a "v" or an "f" sound when pronounced. |
| Stefania: Correct! Next, we have the stems ending in a labial consonant, like π, β, φ, and also the double letters αυ, ευ, πτ and φτ. |
| Brandon: We call them labial because we pronounce them with our lips. |
| Stefania: Yes, for example, "βάφω", "to paint". Next, we have the stems ending in velar consonants – κ, γ, χ and the double σκ, γγ and χν. |
| Brandon: We call those velar because we pronounce them with our throat. What’s an example? |
| Stefania: Έρχομαι, meaning "to come". For the fourth category, we have verbs whose stem ends in a dental consonant, such as τ(τ), δ, θ, or a sibilant consonant such as σ(σ) and ζ. For example "βάζω", "to put". |
| Brandon: And the last category for the first conjugation is... |
| Stefania: The stems that end in a liquid or nasal consonant, such as λ(λ), ρ, μ, ν, and the double λν and ρν. For example "θέλω". |
| Brandon: For our second conjugation group, there's only one category and this includes stems that end in any consonant. |
| Stefania: Yes. |
| Brandon: Ok, so is this theory useful? |
| Stefania: It is! Because depending on the character there is a set of rules, that we'll see in the next two lessons, that apply to it and force it to change in a specific way in order to form the aorist stem... |
| Brandon: ...And knowing the present and aorist stem of a verb, we can produce all of its forms! |
| Stefania: That's right! Listeners, please study our lesson notes because verb conjugation is not about memorizing endless verb tables, but about knowing a few rules. |
Outro |
| Brandon: Well, that’s all for this lesson, everyone! Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time. |
| Stefania: Γεια χαρά! |
| MARKETING PIECE |
| Stefania: Listeners, do you know the powerful secret behind rapid progress? |
| Brandon: Using the entire system. |
| Stefania: Lesson notes are an important part of this system. |
| Brandon: They include a transcript and a translation of the conversation... |
| Stefania: ...key lesson vocabulary... |
| Brandon: and detailed grammar explanations. |
| Stefania: Lesson notes accompany every audio or video lesson. |
| Brandon: Use them on the site or mobile device or print them out. |
| Stefania: Using the lesson notes with audio and video media, will rapidly increase your learning speed. |
| Brandon: Go to GreekPod101.com, and download the lesson notes for this lesson right now. |
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