The small words ό,τι and ότι.

The small words ό,τι and ότι.

Lesson 45

            Today we will talk about the words ότι and ό,τι.

            Τhe word ότι without comma is a conjuction introducing a dependent

            sentence, a sentence incapable of standing alone as a complete sentence.

            When the conjuction ότι without comma introduces a dependent sentence,

            the verb of the independent sentence is in general a verb of saying, showing,

            perceiving, knowing. The most popular of them are:

            ξέρω: I know

            γνωρίζω:  I know

            νομίζω: I think

            θεωρώ: I consider

            πιστεύω: I believe

            υποθέτω: I suppose

            λέω: I say

            αναφέρω: I mention

            γράφω: I write

            διαβάζω: I read

            μαθαίνω: I learn/I hear

            ειδοποιώ: I notify, I inform

            καταλαβαίνω: I understand

            ανακοινώνω: I announce

            αντιλαμβάνομαι: I perceive

            δείχνω: I show

            βλέπω: I see

            νιώθω: I feel

            παρατηρώ: I notice, I observe

            Also we can use the conjuction ότι without comma after an impersonal phrase:

            Είναι γνωστό ότι……/It is known that……

            Είναι βέβαιο ότι……./It is certain that….

            Or after phrases like:

            Είμαι σίγουρος ότι……./I am sure that……

            Έχω την πληροφορία ότι……/I have the information that…..

            Έχω τη γνώμη ότι…../I have the opinion that……

So, the conjuction ότι without comma can be translated into English like

“that”. Let’s see some examples:

Ξέρω ότι δε μ’αγαπάς/I know that you don’t love me.

We can use instead of the conjuction ότι without comma, the conjuction πως

without accent mark. Ξέρω ότι δε μ’αγαπάς/I know that you don’t love me.

Nομίζω ότι ο Κώστας χρειάζεται τη βοήθειά σου/Νομίζω πως ο Κώστας

χρειάζεται τη βοήθειά σου./I think that Kostas needs your help.

The word ό,τι with comma is a relative pronoun introducing relative

dependent sentences and it means οτιδήποτε (whatever,anything).

For example:

Θα μαγειρέψω ό, τι θέλεις./ I will cook whatever you want.

Όταν κάποιος είναι πλούσιος μπορεί να αγοράσει ό, τι θέλει/When someone

is rich he can buy whatever he wants.

Δεν μπορείς να επιστρέφεις στο σπίτι ό, τι ώρα θέλεις./You can not come

back home any time/ whenever you want.

So the word ότι without comma is a conjuction which means “that” and we

can use instead of it the conjuction πως without accent mark.

The word ό, τι with comma is a relative pronoun and we can use instead of

it the word οτιδήποτε which means “whatever”.