Questioning Prepositional Objects | Greek Grammar

English has two ways of asking this question and uses the untidy one almost all the time: With whom did you go? is what you write, Who did you go with? is what you say, with the preposition stranded at the far end of the sentence. Greek has only the tidy one. The preposition moves to the front with its question word and the two are never separated — Με ποιον πήγες; — and a Greek sentence ending in a bare preposition is not a marked or informal option, it is not a sentence.

The rule: the preposition and the question word travel together

Think of με ποιον, σε ποια, από τι, για ποιο as single units. Question formation in Greek moves a phrase to the front of the clause, and a preposition plus its object is one phrase; there is no operation in the language that tears the two apart.

Με ποιον πήγες στη συναυλία;

me pion píyes sti sinavlía;

Who did you go to the gig with?

Σε ποιον έδωσες τα κλειδιά;

se pion édhoses ta klidhiá;

Who did you give the keys to?

Για ποιο πράγμα μαλώνατε πάλι;

ya pio prághma malónate páli;

What were you two arguing about this time?

Με τι το καθάρισες, με ξίδι;

me ti to kathárises, me ksídhi;

What did you clean it with — vinegar?

There is also a mechanical reason, and it is worth internalising because it makes the rule feel inevitable rather than arbitrary. The form is ποιον, not ποιος — accusative. What makes it accusative is the preposition. Strand the preposition at the end and the accusative in front is left with nothing to explain it; the sentence loses its own grammar. Which case each preposition assigns is not a question in everyday Greek — they all take the accusative, as set out on prepositions with the accusative.

💡

When you catch yourself about to build a question with a preposition, write the stiff English version in your head first — with whom, to whom, about what, from where — and translate that word for word. English's formal register happens to have exactly Greek's word order, so the version you would never say out loud in English is the one that comes out right in Greek.

If there is a noun, the whole phrase goes to the front

The unit that moves is the entire prepositional phrase, question word and noun together. Nothing is left behind mid-sentence.

Με ποιο λεωφορείο θα πας στο κέντρο;

me pio leoforío tha pas sto kéndro;

Which bus are you taking into town?

Σε ποια στάση κατεβαίνεις;

se pia stási katevénis;

Which stop do you get off at?

Από ποιον γιατρό πήρες τη γνωμάτευση;

apó pion yatró píres ti ghnomátefsi;

Which doctor did you get the assessment from?

One small piece of housekeeping: σε does not fuse with a question word. The contraction that gives στον, στη, στο happens only in front of the definite article, so a question keeps the two words apart — σε ποιον, σε ποια, σε τι.

Prepositions in front of question adverbs too

The same fronting covers πού (where), πότε (when) and πόσο (how much). English strands these just as happily — Where are you from?, How long until…? — and Greek does not.

Από πού είσαι, από την Κρήτη;

apó pu íse, apó tin Kríti;

Where are you from — Crete?

Από πότε δουλεύεις εκεί;

apó póte dhulévis ekí;

How long have you been working there? (literally: since when)

Ως πότε θα λείπεις; Να ποτίζω τα φυτά;

os póte tha lípis; na potízo ta fitá;

How long are you away for? Shall I water the plants?

Για πού; ("where to?") is worth learning as a chunk, and the fuller Για πού το 'βαλες; is a very common (informal) way of asking someone where they think they are off to.

Γιατί is για + τι, welded shut

The Greek for why is not an independent word with its own history — it is the preposition για ("for") plus τι ("what"), fused into one. For what? became why, and the spelling followed: modern Greek writes it solid, γιατί, and the same form doubles as the conjunction because.

Γιατί δεν μου το είπες νωρίτερα;

yatí dhen mu to ípes norítera;

Why didn't you tell me sooner?

The fusion has a practical consequence. Because για τι would be heard as γιατί, Greek avoids the bare two-word sequence when it means "about what" and reaches for a noun to hang the question on instead: Για ποιο πράγμα; in ordinary speech, Για ποιον λόγο; in a more formal or pointed one.

Για ποιον λόγο δεν με ειδοποίησες;

ya pion lógho dhen me idhopíises;

For what reason did you not let me know? (formal, and pointed)

A one-word answer has to bring the preposition back

This is the part that gives learners away long after the question itself has been mastered. English answers Who did you go with? with a bare George — the preposition is already spent, sitting at the end of the question. Greek does not work that way. A fragment answer has to match the shape of the question, and that means repeating the preposition.

Με ποιον πήγες; — Με τον αδερφό μου.

me pion píyes; — me ton adherfó mu

Who did you go with? — My brother.

Από πού πήρες αυτά τα κεράσια; — Από τη λαϊκή.

apó pu píres aftá ta kerásia; — apó ti laikí

Where did you get these cherries? — The market.

This is not a politeness convention; it is the same constituency rule as the fronting. The answer is the phrase that fills the question's gap, and the gap in Με ποιον πήγες; is a whole με-phrase, not a bare noun.

Indirect questions keep the same order

Nothing changes when the question is embedded in a bigger sentence. The preposition still leads.

Δεν ξέρω με ποιον μιλούσε τόση ώρα στο τηλέφωνο.

dhen kséro me pion milúse tósi óra sto tiléfono

I don't know who he was on the phone to all that time.

Με ρώτησε από πού είμαι και πόσο μένω εδώ.

me rótise apó pu íme ke póso méno edhó

He asked me where I'm from and how long I've lived here.

The parallel machinery in relative clauses — ο άνθρωπος με τον οποίο μίλησα — works on the same principle and is on relatives after prepositions; embedded questions in general are on indirect questions.

Common Mistakes

1. Stranding the preposition, English-style. This is the single most common structural error in the whole Interrogative subgroup.

❌ Ποιον πήγες με στο πάρτι;

Incorrect — the preposition cannot be left at the end; it fronts with the question word: Με ποιον πήγες;

✅ Με ποιον πήγες στο πάρτι, με την Άννα;

me pion píyes sto párti, me tin Ána;

Who did you go to the party with — Anna?

2. Dropping the preposition altogether because you cannot find a slot for it. The verb still governs it: μιλάω wants για, ρωτάω wants για, εξαρτάται wants από.

❌ Ποιο πράγμα μιλάς;

Incorrect — μιλάω takes για, and the question has to carry it: Για ποιο πράγμα μιλάς;

✅ Για ποιο πράγμα μιλάς; Δεν καταλαβαίνω τίποτα.

ya pio prághma milás; dhen katalavéno típota

What are you talking about? I don't understand a thing.

3. Stranding από in the one question every learner asks on day one.

❌ Πού είσαι από;

Incorrect — από leads: Από πού είσαι;

✅ Από πού είσαι; Η προφορά σου δεν μου λέει τίποτα.

apó pu íse; i proforá su dhen mu léi típota

Where are you from? I can't place your accent at all.

4. Answering with a bare noun. The question asked for a με-phrase, so the answer has to be one.

❌ Με ποιον έφυγες; — Τον Νίκο.

Incorrect as an answer — the fragment must repeat the preposition: Με τον Νίκο.

✅ Με ποιον έφυγες; — Με τον Νίκο, είχε αυτοκίνητο.

me pion éfiyes; — me ton Níko, íche aftokínito

Who did you leave with? — With Nikos, he had the car.

Key Takeaways

The preposition fronts with its question word, always: Με ποιον πήγες;, Σε ποιον το έδωσες;, Για ποιο πράγμα μιλάς; Greek has no equivalent of English stranding.
The preposition is what puts the question word in the accusative (ποιον, ποια, ποιο), which is why it cannot be left behind.
With a noun, the entire phrase moves: Με ποιο λεωφορείο;, Σε ποια στάση;, Από ποιον γιατρό;
The rule covers question adverbs too: Από πού;, Από πότε;, Ως πότε;, and the (informal) Για πού το 'βαλες;
γιατί is the frozen fusion of για + τι; for "about what" Greek says Για ποιο πράγμα; or the more formal Για ποιον λόγο;
A one-word answer repeats the preposition: Με ποιον πήγες; — Με τον αδερφό μου, never a bare noun.
Indirect questions keep the same order: Δεν ξέρω με ποιον μιλούσε.

Now practice Greek

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Greek →