Learn how to ask someone, "Write it down please"
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| In the previous lesson, we covered how to ask "How do you say this in Greek?" - Πώς λέτε … στα ελληνικά; (Pós léte ... sta eliniká?) Do you remember? |
| Today, because we don't want you to be caught off guard in any kind of situation in Greece, we are going to introduce you to a new phrase that is very important to help you focus your skills, not on the sounds, but on the writing. So let's start this new lesson. |
| In Greek, "Can you write it down?" is Μπορείτε να το γράψετε; (Boríte na to grápsete?) |
| Μπορείτε να το γράψετε; (Boríte na to grápsete?) |
| Let's break it down by syllable: Bo-ri-te na to gra-pse-te? |
| Now let's hear it once again, Μπορείτε να το γράψετε; (Boríte na to grápsete?) |
| The first word, Μπορείτε (Boríte), means "can you." It comes from the verb μπορώ (boró) - "can" and in this case, we use it in the formal (or plural) way of speech. |
| Let's break down this word and hear it one more time, Bo-ri-te. |
| Μπορείτε (Boríte) |
| Next, we have να (na), which means "to" and afterwards there's το (to) - "it." Then, comes the verb γράψετε (grápsete), which in Greek is "write." It comes from the verb γράφω (gráfo) - "to write." |
| γράψετε (grápsete) |
| γράψετε (grápsete) |
| So, to recap here, we have Μπορείτε να το γράψετε; (Boríte na to grápsete?) Literally, this means "Can you write it?" |
| Next, we have another way to express the same meaning. Μπορείτε να μου το γράψετε; (Boríte na mou to grápsete?) - "Can you write it down for me?" |
| Μπορείτε να μου το γράψετε; (Boríte na mou to grápsete?) |
| Let's break it down by syllable: Bo-ri-te na mu to gra-pse-te? |
| Now let's hear it once again, Μπορείτε να μου το γράψετε; (Boríte na mou to grápsete?) |
| The only thing that changes in this sentence is adding μου (mu), which literally translates as "to me." In other words, the sentence means "Can you write it to me." - Μπορείτε να μου το γράψετε; (Boríte na mu to grápsete?) |
| Once you have the written words, you may find that you have no idea how to pronounce them. In Greek, "How is this pronounced?" is Πώς προφέρεται αυτό; (Pós proférete aftó?) |
| Πώς προφέρεται αυτό; (Pós proférete aftó?) |
| You can say this while pointing at the word. |
| Let's break it down by syllable: Pos pro-fe-re-te af-to? |
| Now let's hear it once again, Πώς προφέρεται αυτό; (Pós proférete aftó?) |
| The first word, πώς (pós), means "how." Next, we have προφέρεται (proférete), which in English is "pronounced" and is the passive third person verb of προφέρω (proféro) - "to pronounce." Finally, you have αυτό (aftó), which you know very well, and it is "this." Πώς προφέρεται αυτό; (Pós proférete aftó?) |
| So, to recap here, we have Πώς προφέρεται αυτό; (Pós proférete aftó?) |
| Literally, this means "How is this pronounced?" |
| It might happen that people are not carrying any piece of paper or a pen. So before asking, Μπορείτε να το γράψετε; (Boríte na to grápsete?) try asking, Έχετε χαρτί και μολύβι; (Éhete hartí ke molívi?) - "Do you have paper and pen?" |
| Έχετε χαρτί και μολύβι; (Éhete hartí ke molívi?) |
| Let's break it down by syllable: E-he-te har-ti ke mo-li-vi? |
| Now let's hear it once again, Έχετε χαρτί και μολύβι; (Éhete hartí ke molívi?) |
| The first word, Έχετε (Éhete), means "do you have," and is the second person plural or formal form of the verb έχω (ého) - "to have." Then, you have χαρτί (hartí), which in English is "paper." Let's break it down by syllable and hear it one more time, har-ti. |
| χαρτί (hartí) |
| Then, you have και (ke) - "and," and finally μολύβι (molívi) - "pen." |
| Let's break it down by syllable and hear it one more time, mo-li-vi. |
| μολύβι (molívi) |
| So let's hear the entire sentence now, Έχετε χαρτί και μολύβι; (Éhete hartí ke molívi?) |
| 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. |
| "Can you write it down?" - Μπορείτε να το γράψετε; (Boríte na to grápsete?) |
| Μπορείτε να το γράψετε; (Boríte na to grápsete?) |
| Μπορείτε να το γράψετε; (Boríte na to grápsete?) |
| "Can you write it down for me?” - Μπορείτε να μου το γράψετε; (Boríte na mou to grápsete?) |
| Μπορείτε να μου το γράψετε; (Boríte na mou to grápsete?) |
| Μπορείτε να μου το γράψετε; (Boríte na mou to grápsete?) |
| "How is this pronounced?" - Πώς προφέρεται αυτό; (Pós proférete aftó?) |
| Πώς προφέρεται αυτό; (Pós proférete aftó?) |
| Πώς προφέρεται αυτό; (Pós proférete aftó?) |
| "Do you have paper and pen?" - Έχετε χαρτί και μολύβι; (Éhete hartí ke molívi?) |
| Έχετε χαρτί και μολύβι; (Éhete hartí ke molívi?) |
| Έχετε χαρτί και μολύβι; (Éhete hartí ke molívi?) |
| 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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