Greek Grammar The prepositions κατά, εναντίον and αντί.

Greek Grammar

The prepositions κατά, εναντίον and αντί.

Lesson 57

Recently we learnt how to use the prepositions σε and από. Today I am going to explain to you how to use the prepositions κατά, εναντίον and αντί.

Let’s see first the preposition κατά. Its meaning varies according to the case we have after it. We use the preposition κατά and accusative to express time but not specific time. We know that to express specific time we use the preposition σε. Let’s see some examples:

Θα σου τηλεφωνήσω στις οκτώ. I will call you at eight. But

Θα σου τηλεφωνήσω κατά τις οκτώ. I will call you around eight.

Συνήθως τρώω πρωινό κατά τις επτά. I usually have breakfast at about seven o’clock.

 

We use the preposition κατά and a noun in Accusative to express movement. We can mainly see the preposition used this way in literally texts. For example:

Οι δύο άνδρες τράβηξαν κατά τη θάλασσα. We use the verb τραβάω-ώ here instead of the verb πηγαίνω/I go. So, the two men were going to the sea.

Βάδιζαν κατά το ποτάμι./ They were walking to the river.

In daily life to express movement we prefer the preposition προς.

Πηγαίνουν προς τη θάλασσα./ They are going to the sea.

 

We use κατά and a noun in Accusative to express  opinion.

Κατά τη γνώμη μου/ κατά την άποψή μου/ in my opinion.

Κατά τη γνώμη μου τα ελληνικά είναι πιο δύσκολα από τα αγγλικά./ In my opinion Greek is more difficult than English.

To express someone’s opinion we can also use the preposition κατά and then a proper name in Accusative.

Κατά τον Σωκράτη εάν παντρευτείς μια καλή γυναίκα, θα γίνεις ευτυχισμένος κι αν παντρευτείς μια κακή γυναίκα θα γίνεις φιλόσοφος./ According to Socrates if you get married to a good woman, you will be happy and if you get married to a bad woman, you will become a philosopher.

We use κατά and  a noun in accusative to express duration.

Κατά την παραμονή μου στο ξενοδοχείο σας…../ During my sojourn at your hotel….

Κατά τη συνάντησή μας…../ During our meeting….

Also we often use the phrase κατά τη διάρκεια/”during” and then a noun in Genitive.

Κατά τη διάρκεια των σπουδών μου, δούλευα σε ένα γραφείο./ During my studies I was working in an office.

We use κατά and a noun in accusative to express manner. Let’s see some phrases we often use to express manner.

Κατά γράμμα: to the letter

Εφαρμόζει τον νόμο κατά γράμμα./ He applies the law to the letter.

Κατά τύχη: by chance

Συναντηθήκαμε κατά τύχη./ We met by chance.

Κατ’ ευχήν: according to what someone wished

Ελπίζω όλα να πάνε κατ’ ευχήν./ I hope everything will go as planned/as wished.

Κατά λέξη: word for word

Πες μου κατά λέξη τι σου είπε./ Tell me word for word what he told you.

Κατά λάθος: by mistake

Κατά λάθος το έκανα./ I made it by mistake.    

 

The preposition’s meaning is completely different when after the preposition we have a noun, adjective, participle in  Genitive. In this case the preposition κατά means “against”.

Η Δήμητρα είναι κατά του γάμου./ Dimitra is against marriage.

κατά του καπνίσματος/against smoking

κατά του ρατσισμού/against racism

κατά της βίας/against violence

Instead of the preposition κατά, to show opposition we can use the preposition εναντίον.  After the preposition εναντίον again we have a declinable word in Genitive.

εναντίον του καπνίσματος/ against smoking

εναντίον του ρατσισμού/ against racism

After the preposition εναντίον we can also use the weak forms of the personal pronouns in Genitive.

Γιατί στράφηκες εναντίον μου;/why did you turn against me?/

εναντίον μου/against me

εναντίον σου/against you

εναντίον του/ against him

εναντίον της/ against her

εναντίον του/ against it

εναντίον μας/ against us

εναντίον σας/ against you

εναντίον τους/ against them

 

Let’s go now to the preposition αντί. It has only one meaning, it means “instead of”, but we can use it with several ways.

We can use the preposition αντί and a proper name in Genitive.

Αντί του Γιώργου, ήρθε ο Κώστας./ Instead of George, Kostas came.

We don’t often use it this way. To say the same sentence we can use the word για after the preposition αντί and then a proper name in Accusative.

Αντί για τον Γιώργο, ήρθε ο Κώστας./ Instead of George, Kostas came.

Αfter the preposition αντί and the word για we can also use the strong forms of the personal pronouns in Accusative.

Το συμβόλαιο υπέγραψε η μητέρα μου αντί για εμένα./ My mother signed the contract instead of me.

Let’s see more examples.

Σήμερα αντί για καφέ, θα πιω χυμό/ Today instead of coffee I will drink juice.

We can say the same thing by using a verb after αντί.

  Σήμερα αντί να πιω καφέ, θα πιω χυμό./Today instead of drinking coffee, I will drink juice.

Από εδώ και πέρα αντί να πίνω καφέ, θα πίνω χυμό./From now on instead of drinking coffee I will be drinking juice.

So, we have να after αντί and then a verb expressing a simple or a continuous action, we will talk about it in future, and in the second part of the sentence we have Future Simple or Future Continuous.

 

 

Greek Grammar

The prepositions κατά, εναντίον and αντί.

Lesson 57

Recently we learnt how to use the prepositions σε and από. Today I am going to explain to you how to use the prepositions κατά, εναντίον and αντί.

Let’s see first the preposition κατά. Its meaning varies according to the case we have after it. We use the preposition κατά and accusative to express time but not specific time. We know that to express specific time we use the preposition σε. Let’s see some examples:

Θα σου τηλεφωνήσω στις οκτώ. I will call you at eight. But

Θα σου τηλεφωνήσω κατά τις οκτώ. I will call you around eight.

Συνήθως τρώω πρωινό κατά τις επτά. I usually have breakfast at about seven o’clock.

 

We use the preposition κατά and a noun in Accusative to express movement. We can mainly see the preposition used this way in literally texts. For example:

Οι δύο άνδρες τράβηξαν κατά τη θάλασσα. We use the verb τραβάω-ώ here instead of the verb πηγαίνω/I go. So, the two men were going to the sea.

Βάδιζαν κατά το ποτάμι./ They were walking to the river.

In daily life to express movement we prefer the preposition προς.

Πηγαίνουν προς τη θάλασσα./ They are going to the sea.

 

We use κατά and a noun in Accusative to express  opinion.

Κατά τη γνώμη μου/ κατά την άποψή μου/ in my opinion.

Κατά τη γνώμη μου τα ελληνικά είναι πιο δύσκολα από τα αγγλικά./ In my opinion Greek is more difficult than English.

To express someone’s opinion we can also use the preposition κατά and then a proper name in Accusative.

Κατά τον Σωκράτη εάν παντρευτείς μια καλή γυναίκα, θα γίνεις ευτυχισμένος κι αν παντρευτείς μια κακή γυναίκα θα γίνεις φιλόσοφος./ According to Socrates if you get married to a good woman, you will be happy and if you get married to a bad woman, you will become a philosopher.

We use κατά and  a noun in accusative to express duration.

Κατά την παραμονή μου στο ξενοδοχείο σας…../ During my sojourn at your hotel….

Κατά τη συνάντησή μας…../ During our meeting….

Also we often use the phrase κατά τη διάρκεια/”during” and then a noun in Genitive.

Κατά τη διάρκεια των σπουδών μου, δούλευα σε ένα γραφείο./ During my studies I was working in an office.

We use κατά and a noun in accusative to express manner. Let’s see some phrases we often use to express manner.

Κατά γράμμα: to the letter

Εφαρμόζει τον νόμο κατά γράμμα./ He applies the law to the letter.

Κατά τύχη: by chance

Συναντηθήκαμε κατά τύχη./ We met by chance.

Κατ’ ευχήν: according to what someone wished

Ελπίζω όλα να πάνε κατ’ ευχήν./ I hope everything will go as planned/as wished.

Κατά λέξη: word for word

Πες μου κατά λέξη τι σου είπε./ Tell me word for word what he told you.

Κατά λάθος: by mistake

Κατά λάθος το έκανα./ I made it by mistake.    

 

The preposition’s meaning is completely different when after the preposition we have a noun, adjective, participle in  Genitive. In this case the preposition κατά means “against”.

Η Δήμητρα είναι κατά του γάμου./ Dimitra is against marriage.

κατά του καπνίσματος/against smoking

κατά του ρατσισμού/against racism

κατά της βίας/against violence

Instead of the preposition κατά, to show opposition we can use the preposition εναντίον.  After the preposition εναντίον again we have a declinable word in Genitive.

εναντίον του καπνίσματος/ against smoking

εναντίον του ρατσισμού/ against racism

After the preposition εναντίον we can also use the weak forms of the personal pronouns in Genitive.

Γιατί στράφηκες εναντίον μου;/why did you turn against me?/

εναντίον μου/against me

εναντίον σου/against you

εναντίον του/ against him

εναντίον της/ against her

εναντίον του/ against it

εναντίον μας/ against us

εναντίον σας/ against you

εναντίον τους/ against them

 

Let’s go now to the preposition αντί. It has only one meaning, it means “instead of”, but we can use it with several ways.

We can use the preposition αντί and a proper name in Genitive.

Αντί του Γιώργου, ήρθε ο Κώστας./ Instead of George, Kostas came.

We don’t often use it this way. To say the same sentence we can use the word για after the preposition αντί and then a proper name in Accusative.

Αντί για τον Γιώργο, ήρθε ο Κώστας./ Instead of George, Kostas came.

Αfter the preposition αντί and the word για we can also use the strong forms of the personal pronouns in Accusative.

Το συμβόλαιο υπέγραψε η μητέρα μου αντί για εμένα./ My mother signed the contract instead of me.

Let’s see more examples.

Σήμερα αντί για καφέ, θα πιω χυμό/ Today instead of coffee I will drink juice.

We can say the same thing by using a verb after αντί.

  Σήμερα αντί να πιω καφέ, θα πιω χυμό./Today instead of drinking coffee, I will drink juice.

Από εδώ και πέρα αντί να πίνω καφέ, θα πίνω χυμό./From now on instead of drinking coffee I will be drinking juice.

So, we have να after αντί and then a verb expressing a simple or a continuous action, we will talk about it in future, and in the second part of the sentence we have Future Simple or Future Continuous.