Learn how to use the sentence pattern "Whose...?"
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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 14. Asking About Ownership. |
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn how to use a sentence pattern for asking about ownership. |
| PATTERN |
| John: For example, |
| John: "Girls, whose brownish bag is this?" |
| Chrissi: Κορίτσια, ποιανής είναι αυτή η καφετιά τσάντα; (Korítsia, pianís íne aftí i kafetiá tsánda?) |
| Chrissi: [slow] Κορίτσια, ποιανής είναι αυτή η καφετιά τσάντα; (Korítsia, pianís íne aftí i kafetiá tsánda?) |
| John: The pattern for asking about ownership has four elements. First, the feminine noun in the vocative meaning "girls". |
| Chrissi: Κορίτσια (Korítsia). |
| John: Second, the feminine interrogative pronoun in the genitive meaning "whose". |
| Chrissi: ποιανής (pianís). |
| John: Third, the verb "to be" in the 3rd person singular meaning "is". |
| Chrissi: είναι (íne). |
| John: And last, a feminine noun phrase in the nominative meaning "this brownish bag". |
| Chrissi: αυτή η καφετιά τσάντα (aftí i kafetiá tsánda). |
| John: Altogether, we have... "Girls, whose brownish bag is this?" |
| Chrissi: Κορίτσια, ποιανής είναι αυτή η καφετιά τσάντα; (Korítsia, pianís íne aftí i kafetiá tsánda?) [slow] Κορίτσια, ποιανής είναι αυτή η καφετιά τσάντα; (Korítsia, pianís íne aftí i kafetiá tsánda?) [normal] Κορίτσια, ποιανής είναι αυτή η καφετιά τσάντα; (Korítsia, pianís íne aftí i kafetiá tsánda?) |
| John: In this pattern, we are going to see for the first time how to address someone. Addressing someone is very common when asking a question, and in Greek this is done by using someone's name or a noun phrase in the vocative case. The word or phrase to address someone is called a vocative expression and in this pattern, it is our first element. |
| After the vocative expression, which is actually optional, you will need to use an interrogative pronoun in the genitive case meaning "whose". |
| Chrissi: In the singular those are — ποιου or τίνος (piu / tínos) — for both the masculine and the neuter gender, and ποιας (pias) for the feminine gender. In colloquial speech, the more casual forms ποιανού (pianú) for both the masculine and the neuter gender, and ποιανής (pianís) for the feminine gender may be used instead. The pronoun needs to be in the genitive because it's the case that expresses ownership. |
| John: Next we'll need the verb "to be" followed by a noun phrase in the nominative which will be the subject, for example, it will be the item whose owner we are asking about. Remember, the verb "to be" always needs to agree in person and number with the subject. |
| Chrissi: Κορίτσια, ποιανής είναι αυτή η καφετιά τσάντα; (Korítsia, pianís íne aftí i kafetiá tsánda?) |
| John: So remember, to ask to whom somethings belongs, you can start with an optional vocative expression followed by an interrogative pronoun in the genitive case meaning "whose," then the verb "to be," and close with a noun phrase in the nominative to express the subject. |
| John: Here is another example meaning, "Whose coffee is this?" First, we have the masculine interrogative pronoun in the genitive meaning "whose". |
| Chrissi: Τίνος (Tínos). |
| John: Second, we have the verb "to be" in the 3rd person singular meaning "is". |
| Chrissi: είναι (íne). |
| John: Third, we have the masculine noun phrase in the nominative meaning "this coffee". |
| Chrissi: ο καφές αυτός (o kafés aftós). |
| John: Altogether we have... |
| Chrissi: Τίνος είναι ο καφές αυτός; (Tínos íne o kafés aftós?) [slow] Τίνος είναι ο καφές αυτός; (Tínos íne o kafés aftós?) [normal] Τίνος είναι ο καφές αυτός; (Tínos íne o kafés aftós?) |
| John: "Whose coffee is this?" |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Τίνος είναι ο καφές αυτός; (Tínos íne o kafés aftós?) |
| John: How do you say — "Whose earring is this?"? To give you a hint, "earring" is... |
| Chrissi: το σκουλαρίκι (to skularíki). [slow] το σκουλαρίκι (to skularíki). [normal] το σκουλαρίκι (to skularíki). |
| John: "Whose earring is this?" |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Ποιας είναι το σκουλαρίκι; (Pias íne to skularíki?) [slow] Ποιας είναι το σκουλαρίκι; (Pias íne to skularíki?) [normal] Ποιας είναι το σκουλαρίκι; (Pias íne to skularíki?) |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Ποιας είναι το σκουλαρίκι; (Pias íne to skularíki?) |
| 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: "Girls, whose brownish bag is this?" |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Κορίτσια, ποιανής είναι αυτή η καφετιά τσάντα; (Korítsia, pianís íne aftí i kafetiá tsánda?) |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Κορίτσια, ποιανής είναι αυτή η καφετιά τσάντα; (Korítsia, pianís íne aftí i kafetiá tsánda?) |
| John: "Whose coffee is this?" |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Τίνος είναι ο καφές αυτός; (Tínos íne o kafés aftós?) |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Τίνος είναι ο καφές αυτός; (Tínos íne o kafés aftós?) |
| John: "Whose earring is this?" |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Ποιας είναι το σκουλαρίκι; (Pias íne to skularíki?) |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Ποιας είναι το σκουλαρίκι; (Pias íne to skularíki?) |
Outro |
|---|
| John: Okay. That's all for this lesson. You learned a pattern for asking about ownership, as in... |
| Chrissi: Κορίτσια, ποιανής είναι αυτή η καφετιά τσάντα; (Korítsia, pianís íne aftí i kafetiá tsánda?) |
| John: meaning "Girls, whose brownish bag is this?" |
| 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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