Learn how to use the sentence pattern "Which...?"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Hi everyone, I'm John. |
| Chrissi: And I'm Chrissi. |
| John: And welcome to Must-Know Greek Sentence Structures, Season 1, Lesson 13. Asking About a Choice. |
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn how to use a sentence pattern for asking about a choice. |
| PATTERN |
| John: For example, |
| John: "Which mobile phone do you prefer?" |
| Chrissi: Ποιο κινητό προτιμάς (εσύ); (Pio kinitó protimás (esí)?) |
| Chrissi: [slow] Ποιο κινητό προτιμάς (εσύ); (Pio kinitó protimás (esí)?) |
| John: The pattern for asking about a choice has four elements. First, the neuter interrogative pronoun in the accusative meaning "which". |
| Chrissi: Ποιο (Pio). |
| John: Second, a neuter noun in the accusative meaning "mobile phone". |
| Chrissi: κινητό (kinitó). |
| John: Third, the verb "to prefer" in the 2nd person singular meaning "you prefer" but since we're using it as a question, it means "do you prefer". |
| Chrissi: προτιμάς (protimás). |
| John: And last, the strong personal pronoun in the nominative meaning "you". |
| Chrissi: (εσύ); ((esí)?). |
| John: Altogether, we have... "Which mobile phone do you prefer?" |
| Chrissi: Ποιο κινητό προτιμάς (εσύ); (Pio kinitó protimás (esí)?) [slow] Ποιο κινητό προτιμάς (εσύ); (Pio kinitó protimás (esí)?) [normal] Ποιο κινητό προτιμάς (εσύ); (Pio kinitó protimás (esí)?) |
| John: There are many ways to ask about a choice in Greek. In this lesson, we are going to examine a particular pattern that can be used with transitive verbs that require an object in the accusative case. |
| This pattern follows an O-V-S structure, meaning that the object comes first. In this case, the choice we are talking about, then the verb, and then the subject. |
| You can begin your sentence with one of the interrogative pronouns we saw in the previous lesson, but this time in the accusative case since the pronoun will be defining the object. |
| Chrissi: In the singular, those are: ποιον (pion), ποια(ν) (pia(n)), ποιο (pio) for the masculine, feminine, and the neuter gender respectively meaning "whom" or "which (one)" depending on the context. |
| John: Next, comes a complement which will include the object in the accusative. This can be a noun phrase in the accusative or even a prepositional phrase with the preposition "of"... |
| Chrissi: από (apó)... |
| John: ..that further specifies the choice we are asking about. This complement, however, is optional if the object can be understood by the context. |
| Then, comes the transitive verb conjugated in the person and number that agrees with the subject, for example, the person we are referring to. |
| John: Finally, we can have another optional complement that may include our subject usually in the form of a noun phrase in the nominative case. Mentioning a subject in the complement, however, might not be necessary if it is understood by the context. Sometimes, the interrogative pronoun and the verb alone are enough to make a question about someone's choice. For example, |
| Chrissi: Ποιο προτιμάς; (Pio protimás?) |
| John: "Which one do you prefer?" instead of... |
| Chrissi: Ποιο κινητό προτιμάς (εσύ); (Pio kinitó protimás (esí)?) |
| John: "Which mobile phone do you prefer?" So remember, to ask about a choice, you need to use an interrogative pronoun meaning "who" or "which (one)" in the accusative case, followed by an optional complement — such as a noun phrase in the accusative case as well, or a prepositional phrase with the preposition "of". Then use a transitive verb in the form that agrees with the subject, and close with another complement if it's necessary. |
| John: Here is another example meaning, "Whom do you chose? (masculine form)" First, we have the masculine interrogative pronoun in the accusative meaning "whom". |
| Chrissi: Ποιον (Pio). |
| John: Second, we have the verb "to choose" in the 2nd person singular meaning "you choose," but since we're using it in a question, it means "do you choose". |
| Chrissi: διαλέγεις (dialéyis). |
| John: Altogether we have... |
| Chrissi: Ποιον διαλέγεις; (Pion dialéyis?) [slow] Ποιον διαλέγεις; (Pion dialéyis?) [normal] Ποιον διαλέγεις; (Pion dialéyis?) |
| John: "Whom do you chose? (masculine)" |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Ποιον διαλέγεις; (Pion dialéyis?) |
| John: How do you say — "Which exit do we take for the village?"? To give you a hint, "exit (in the accusative)" is... |
| Chrissi: έξοδο (éxodo). [slow] έξοδο (éxodo). [normal] έξοδο (éxodo). |
| John: "Which exit do we take for the village?" |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Ποια έξοδο παίρνουμε για το χωριό; (Pia éxodo pérnume ya to horió?) [slow] Ποια έξοδο παίρνουμε για το χωριό; (Pia éxodo pérnume ya to horió?) [normal] Ποια έξοδο παίρνουμε για το χωριό; (Pia éxodo pérnume ya to horió?) |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Ποια έξοδο παίρνουμε για το χωριό; (Pia éxodo pérnume ya to horió?) |
| REVIEW |
| John: Let's review the sentences from this lesson. I will tell you the English equivalent of the phrase and you are responsible for shouting it out loud in Greek. Here we go. |
| John: "Which mobile phone do you prefer?" |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Ποιο κινητό προτιμάς (εσύ); (Pio kinitó protimás (esí)?) |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Ποιο κινητό προτιμάς (εσύ); (Pio kinitó protimás (esí)?) |
| John: "Whom do you chose? (masculine)" |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Ποιον διαλέγεις; (Pion dialéyis?) |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Ποιον διαλέγεις; (Pion dialéyis?) |
| John: "Which exit do we take for the village?" |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Ποια έξοδο παίρνουμε για το χωριό; (Pia éxodo pérnume ya to horió?) |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Ποια έξοδο παίρνουμε για το χωριό; (Pia éxodo pérnume ya to horió?) |
Outro |
|---|
| John: Okay. That's all for this lesson. You learned a pattern for asking about a choice, as in... |
| Chrissi: Ποιο κινητό προτιμάς (εσύ); (Pio kinitó protimás (esí)?) |
| John: meaning "Which mobile phone do you prefer?" |
| John: You can find more vocab or phrases that go with this sentence pattern in the lesson notes. So please be sure to check them out on GreekPod101.com. Thanks everyone, see you next time! |
| Chrissi: Γεια χαρά! |
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