Riding the Bus: Part 2

Learn how to find out whether the bus you're going to ride will stop at your destination

Dialogue

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

In the previous lesson, we covered how to get a bus ticket. So now that you have your ticket, get ready to jump on the bus and start the tour. But wait a moment, before you get on the bus, you need to confirm if it's going to your destination. We can accomplish this by asking the driver, Συγγνώμη, πηγαίνετε… (Signómi, piyénete…) - "Excuse me, do you go to...," and then add in a destination.

Συγγνώμη, πηγαίνετε… (Signómi, piyénete…)

You have Συγγνώμη (Signómi), which you know well by now. Then, you have πηγαίνετε (piyénete), which is the honorific plural of the verb πηγαίνω (piyéno) - "to go."

Let's break down this sentence and hear it one more time.

Συγγνώμη, πηγαίνετε... (Signómi, piyénete...?)

Συγγνώμη, πηγαίνετε… (Signómi, piyénete…?)

Another way of asking if the bus is going past somewhere is to ask the driver Συγγνώμη, περνάτε από …. (Signómi, pernáte apó...?)

Here, we have just replaced πηγαίνετε (piyénete) - "do you go" with the word περνάτε (pernáte) - "do you pass."

Συγγνώμη, περνάτε από …. (Signómi, pernáte apó...?)

Let's imagine now that you are in Thessaloníki and you have to go to Λευκός Πύργος (Lefkós Pírgos) - "The White Tower," a very famous landmark of Thessaloníki. What would you ask the bus driver? Another way of asking if the bus stops is by saying Συγγνώμη, περνάτε από τον Λευκό Πύργο; (Signómi, pernáte apó ton Lefkó Pírgo?) - "Excuse me, do you pass by The White Tower?"

Συγγνώμη, περνάτε από τον Λευκό Πύργο; (Signómi, pernáte apó ton Lefkó Pírgo?)

In this sentence, you have the same structure as the other one, but the verb changes. Instead of πηγαίνετε (piyénete), which means "to go," we have περνάτε (pernáte), which means "to stop by, to pass."

Let's break it down by syllable and hear it one more time.

Συγγνώμη, περνάτε από τον Λευκό Πύργο; (Signómi, pernáte apo ton Lefkó Pírgo?)

Asking if the bus stops somewhere is Συγγνώμη, σταματάτε στον Λευκό Πύργο; (Signómi, stamatáte ston Lefkó Pírgo?)

Again, all that changes is the verb, which we changed to σταματάτε (stamatáte) - "do you stop." Συγγνώμη, σταματάτε στον Λευκό Πύργο; (Signómi, stamatáte ston Lefkó Pírgo?) - "Excuse me, do you stop at the White Tower?"

Imagine that you are visiting a city for the first time, you have no idea of the distances between your favorite destinations, and you need to ask the bus driver how long the bus takes. Πόση ώρα κάνει για…(Pósi óra káni ya (your destination)?) - "How long does it take to...?"

Πόση ώρα κάνει για… (Pósi óra káni ya…?)

Πόση ώρα (Pósi óra) is the Greek phrase for "how long" and is made up of πόση (pósi), which you have seen in the previous lesson. In English, we can translate it as "how much/how long." Then, you have ώρα (óra), which means "time" or "hour."

Let's break down these words and hear it one more time. Πόση ώρα (Pósi óra)

Πόση ώρα (Pósi óra)

We use κάνει (káni) in Greek to translate the English phrase meaning "it does." This is followed by the word for "to" - για (ya).

Let's break down these two words and hear it one more time. κάνει για…(káni ya)

κάνει για…(káni ya)

Finally, all you have to do is add the place you want to go! It's as simple as that!

Okay, to close out today's lesson, we'd like for you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for shouting it out loud. You'll have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so Καλή τύχη (kalí týchi), which means "good luck!" in Greek.

"Excuse me, do you go to..." - Συγγνώμη, πηγαίνετε… (Signómi, piyénete…)

Συγγνώμη, πηγαίνετε… (Signómi, piyénete…)

"Excuse me, do you pass by the White Tower?" - Συγγνώμη, περνάτε από τον Λευκό Πύργο; (Signómi, pernáte apo ton Lefkó Pírgo?)

Συγγνώμη, περνάτε από τον Λευκό Πύργο; (Signómi, pernáte apo ton Lefkó Pírgo?)

"Excuse me, do you stop at the White Tower?" - Συγγνώμη, σταματάτε στον Λευκό Πύργο; (Signómi, stamatáte ston Lefkó Pírgo?)

Συγγνώμη, σταματάτε στον Λευκό Πύργο; (Signómi, stamatáte ston Lefkó Pírgo?)

"How long does it take to...?" - Πόση ώρα κάνει για…(Pósi óra káni ya…?)

Πόση ώρα κάνει για…(Pósi óra káni ya…?)

All right, that's going to do it for today!

Remember to stop by GreekPod101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. Αντίο! (Antío!)

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