Learn how to use the sentence pattern "Why...?"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Michael: Hi everyone, I'm Michael. |
| Chrissi: And I'm Chrissi. |
| Michael: And welcome to Must-Know Greek Sentence Structures, Season 1, Lesson 23. Asking for a Reason. |
| Michael: In this lesson, you'll learn how to use a sentence pattern for asking for a reason. |
| PATTERN |
| Michael: For example, |
| Michael: "Why is the house being sold?" |
| Chrissi: Γιατί πουλιέται το σπίτι; (Yatí puliéte to spíti?) |
| Chrissi: [slow] Γιατί πουλιέται το σπίτι; (Yatí puliéte to spíti?) |
| Michael: The pattern for asking for a reason has three elements. First, the interrogative particle meaning "Why". |
| Chrissi: Γιατί (Yatí). |
| Michael: Second, the verb "to be sold" in the 3rd person singular of the present tense meaning "is being sold". |
| Chrissi: πουλιέται (puliéte). |
| Michael: Third, the neuter noun phrase in the nominative as the subject meaning "the house". |
| Chrissi: το σπίτι (to spíti). |
| Michael: Altogether, we have... "Why is the house being sold?" |
| Chrissi: Γιατί πουλιέται το σπίτι; (Yatí puliéte to spíti?) [slow] Γιατί πουλιέται το σπίτι; (Yatí puliéte to spíti?) [normal] Γιατί πουλιέται το σπίτι; (Yatí puliéte to spíti?) |
| Michael: Asking for a reason in Greek has the same structure as in English. |
| Chrissi: We start with the interrogative particle γιατί (yatí) meaning "why." |
| Michael: What follows is a verb in the form that demonstrates to whom or what you are referring to, for example, your subject. After this, comes a complement that will contain more details about what you are asking. For example, it can contain the subject, an object, or a prepositional phrase, among other things. Sometimes the particle "why" and the verb alone may be enough to ask a question without needing a complement. For example, you can say "Why is it being sold?" instead of "Why is the house being sold?" if it is understood in the conversation that you are referring to "the house." For example... |
| Chrissi: Γιατί πουλιέται; (Yatí puliéte?) |
| Michael: So remember, to ask for a reason, start with the interrogative particle… |
| Chrissi: γιατί (yatí)... |
| Michael: meaning "why," continue with a verb, and finish with an optional complement, if needed, that will contain more details about what you are asking — such as the subject, an object, a prepositional phrase, etc. |
| Michael: Here is another example meaning, "Why is the child crying?" First, we have the interrogative particle meaning "Why". |
| Chrissi: Γιατί (Yatí). |
| Michael: Second, we have the verb "to cry" in the 3rd person singular of the present tense meaning "is crying". |
| Chrissi: κλαίει (kléi). |
| Michael: Third, we have the neuter noun phrase in the nominative as the subject meaning "the child". |
| Chrissi: το παιδί (to pedí). |
| Michael: Altogether we have... |
| Chrissi: Γιατί κλαίει το παιδί; (Yatí kléi to pedí?) [slow] Γιατί κλαίει το παιδί; (Yatí kléi to pedí?) [normal] Γιατί κλαίει το παιδί; (Yatí kléi to pedí?) |
| Michael: "Why is the child crying?" |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Γιατί κλαίει το παιδί; (Yatí kléi to pedí?) |
| Michael: How do you say — "Why are you laughing all the time?"? To give you a hint, "all the time" is... |
| Chrissi: συνέχεια (sinéhia). [slow] συνέχεια (sinéhia). [normal] συνέχεια (sinéhia). |
| Michael: "Why are you laughing all the time?" |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Γιατί γελάς συνέχεια; (Yatí yelás sinéhia?) [slow] Γιατί γελάς συνέχεια; (Yatí yelás sinéhia?) [normal] Γιατί γελάς συνέχεια; (Yatí yelás sinéhia?) |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Γιατί γελάς συνέχεια; (Yatí yelás sinéhia?) |
| REVIEW |
| Michael: 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. |
| Michael: "Why is the house being sold?" |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Γιατί πουλιέται το σπίτι; (Yatí puliéte to spíti?) |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Γιατί πουλιέται το σπίτι; (Yatí puliéte to spíti?) |
| Michael: "Why is the child crying?" |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Γιατί κλαίει το παιδί; (Yatí kléi to pedí?) |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Γιατί κλαίει το παιδί; (Yatí kléi to pedí?) |
| Michael: "Why are you laughing all the time?" |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Γιατί γελάς συνέχεια; (Yatí yelás sinéhia?) |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Γιατί γελάς συνέχεια; (Yatí yelás sinéhia?) |
Outro |
|---|
| Michael: Okay. That's all for this lesson. You learned a pattern for asking for a reason, as in... |
| Chrissi: Γιατί πουλιέται το σπίτι; (Yatí puliéte to spíti?) |
| Michael: meaning "Why is the house being sold?" |
| Michael: 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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