Μάθημα 20 (lesson 20)

Μάθημα 20 (lesson 20)

How to ask someone’s name  and how to say our names in modern Greek.

           

            In modern Greek there are 4 different ways to ask someone’s name or to

            say our names. Even though all of them have a different meaning in Greek,

            we use them with the same way, to ask “What is your name?” or to answer

            “My name is….”.

           

            First way:

            Question:

            Ποιο είναι το όνομά σου; (informal way)

            Ποιο είναι το όνομά σας; (formal way)

            Which is your name?/ What is your name?

            Answer:

            To όνομά μου είναι Ζωή.

            Το όνομά μου είναι Γιώργος.

            My name is Zoi/ My name is George.

            You should remember that the proper names are in Nominative case, so the

            most greek male proper names have at the end a sigma teliko (-ς).

           

            Second way:

            Question:

            Πώς λέγεσαι; (informal way)

            Πώς λέγεστε; (formal way)

            How are you called? 

            Answer:

            Λέγομαι Ζωή.

            Λέγομαι Γιώργος.

           

            The proper names are again in Nominative case.

            Third way:

            Question:

            Πώς ονομάζεσαι; (informal way)

            Πώς ονομάζεστε; (formal way)

            How are you named?

            Answer:

            Ονομάζομαι Ζωή.

            Ονομάζομαι Γιώργος.

           

            Τhe proper names are again in Nominative case.

           

            Forth way:

            Question:

            Πώς σε λένε; (informal way)

            Πώς σας λένε; (formal way)

            How they call you?

            Answer:

            Mε λένε Ζωή.

            Με λένε Γιώργο.

            Αs the verb λέω (I say) is in Active voice, the proper names are in

            Accusative. The female proper names are same in Nominative and

            in Accusative, but the most of the greek male proper names have in

            Nominative at the end a sigma teliko (ς). So if you are a man and you

have a greek name ending in sigma teliko, when you use the forth way

to say your name, you have just to remove the sigma teliko.

·         The foreign names are not declinable words, so the foreign names

are same in all cases.

Λέγομαι Jack.

Me λένε Jack.