The Passive Voice in Modern Greek is called «Παθητική Φωνή» and it is used to emphasize the action and not the subject in a sentence. It is also used when the subject is unknown. The Modern Greek Passive Voice is formed differently from English and often puzzles non-native speakers. For example, why does the Greek verb “to sleep” is always in Passive Voice?

Greek verbs can be active, passive, or have both an active and passive form. It is generally easy to distinguish a passive from an active verb. For example, Greek passive verbs in the present tense end in -μαι -σαι -ται -μαστε -στε -νται.

Για παράδειγμα,

«Ο μάγειρας ετοιμάζει το φαγητό. Το φαγητό ετοιμάζεται.»

“The cook is preparing the food. The food is being prepared.”

Here is how to form the Passive Voice in Greek:

You can’t memorize the meaning of every single verb at once. The more you read in Greek, and the more you listen native speakers talk, the easier it will be to understand the use of each verbs in different contexts. Be patient and try not to use the grammatical rules that apply in your native language when forming the Greek Passive Voice.

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by helinika October 2, 2020October 1, 2020