Greek verb conjugation follows a clear and logical set of rules.

Once you learn the basic patterns, you’ll understand how to express yourself accurately in different tenses.

Every verb in Greek changes its ending depending on who’s performing the action.

This means you rarely need to use subject pronouns like “I” or “you” because the verb itself gives you that information.

In this guide, I’ll break down the most common verb groups and tenses.

Understanding the Greek verb stem and ending

To conjugate a Greek verb, you need to separate the stem from the ending.

The stem is the core part of the word that holds its meaning.

The ending is the part that changes to show who’s doing the action and when it happens.

For example, in the verb διαβάζω (to read), the stem is “διαβάζ-” and the ending is “-ω”.

When you want to say “he reads”, you keep the stem and change the ending.

You can practice identifying stems and endings using a language tool like Talk In Greek.

Present tense conjugation for Group A verbs

Most Greek verbs belong to Group A.

These verbs end in an unaccented “-ω” in their dictionary form.

Common examples include κάνω (to do), έχω (to have), and διαβάζω (to read).

To conjugate these verbs in the present tense, you simply drop the “-ω” and add the correct personal ending.

Here are the standard present tense endings for Group A verbs.

Let’s look at a full conjugation table for the verb κάνω (to do/make).

Here’s an example of this verb in a real conversation.

Present tense conjugation for Group B verbs

The next large category of verbs is Group B.

These verbs end in an accented “-ώ” or “-άω” in their dictionary form.

Common examples include μιλάω (to speak), αγαπάω (to love), and ρωτάω (to ask).

These verbs follow a slightly different vowel pattern in their endings.

Here are the standard present tense endings for Group B verbs.

Let’s conjugate the verb μιλάω (to speak).

Notice how the stress always falls on the ending for Group B verbs.

Here’s how you might use these verbs in daily life.

Simple past tense conjugation basics

The simple past tense in Greek is called the aorist.

You use this tense to talk about completed actions in the past.

Forming the past tense requires changing both the verb stem and the ending.

If the verb stem has only one syllable, you also add an “ε-” to the beginning of the word.

This added vowel at the beginning is called an augment.

The verb γράφω (to write) has a one-syllable stem (“γραφ-”).

In the past tense, the stem changes to “γραψ-”, receives an “έ-” at the front, and takes past tense endings.

Here’s the simple past conjugation for έγραψα (I wrote).

Notice that the “έ-” augment disappears in the “we” and “you (plural)” forms.

This happens because the stress shifts forward, and the augment is only kept if it holds the stress.

Simple future tense conjugation basics

The future tense is much easier to form than the past tense.

In Greek, you don’t use an entirely new set of endings for the future.

Instead, you place the small particle “θα” in front of the verb.

To talk about a single, completed action in the future, you use “θα” plus the simple future stem.

For example, the future stem of γράφω is “γράψ-”.

You just add the normal present tense endings to this new stem.

Here’s the simple future conjugation for θα γράψω (I will write).

Understanding these core patterns will make the rest of Greek grammar much easier to digest.