Greek news language compresses events, backgrounds agents, and carefully grades responsibility for information. A report may open with Ανακοινώθηκε ότι..., attribute a claim through σύμφωνα με πηγές, turn a verb into a noun such as η διεξαγωγή, or use φέρεται να to avoid presenting an allegation as established fact. These are genre resources, not a separate grammar used by every journalist in every article.
Agentless and impersonal passives
News reports often make the event or result the grammatical center and omit the doer when it is unknown, recoverable, institutionally unimportant, or named elsewhere. A third-person singular passive plus a clause is especially common: ανακοινώθηκε ότι..., αποφασίστηκε να..., εκτιμάται ότι....
Ανακοινώθηκε ότι τα σχολεία θα παραμείνουν κλειστά λόγω της κακοκαιρίας.
anakinóthike óti ta scholía tha paramínun klistá lógho tis kakokerías.
It was announced that schools will remain closed because of the bad weather. (news/official)
Αποφασίστηκε να παραταθεί η προθεσμία υποβολής των δηλώσεων.
apofasístike na paratathí i prothezmía ipovolís ton dhilóseon.
It was decided to extend the deadline for submitting the declarations. (news/official)
The passive does not itself prove that a journalist is hiding responsibility. Sometimes the institution is obvious from the preceding sentence; sometimes the decision matters more than the individual official. A critical reader still asks who announced or decided, but that is an evidential question, not a grammatical accusation.
The impersonal and agentless passive page contrasts these written patterns with everyday subjectless third-person plural forms such as ανακοίνωσαν “they announced.”
Source framing with σύμφωνα με
Σύμφωνα με + accusative means “according to.” It places the source before the proposition, separating what the outlet observes directly from what a ministry, witness, document, or unnamed source reports. Πηγές “sources” is often modified to show proximity: κυβερνητικές πηγές, αστυνομικές πηγές, πηγές της έρευνας.
Σύμφωνα με πηγές της πυροσβεστικής, δεν κινδύνευσαν κατοικημένες περιοχές.
símfona me piyés tis pirozvestikís, dhen kindhínefsan katikiménes periochés.
According to fire-service sources, no residential areas were endangered. (news)
Σύμφωνα με την έκθεση, οι εκπομπές μειώθηκαν για τρίτη συνεχόμενη χρονιά.
símfona me tin ékthesi, i ekpombés mióthikan ya tríti sinechómeni chroniá.
According to the report, emissions fell for a third consecutive year.
An unnamed source is not automatically unreliable, and a named report is not automatically true. The phrase attributes the information; evaluating the source requires the rest of the article.
Nominalization: events packaged as things
Journalistic and institutional prose frequently turns actions into noun phrases: διεξάγονται οι εκλογές becomes η διεξαγωγή των εκλογών, and υπογράφηκε η συμφωνία becomes η υπογραφή της συμφωνίας. Nominalization helps a writer make the event a topic and attach dates, causes, or evaluations compactly.
Η διεξαγωγή των εκλογών προγραμματίζεται για τις αρχές Ιουνίου.
i dhieksaghoyí ton ekloghón proghramatízete ya tis archés Iuníu.
The holding of the elections is being scheduled for early June. (journalistic/formal)
Οι εκλογές θα διεξαχθούν στις αρχές Ιουνίου, αν εγκριθεί το χρονοδιάγραμμα.
i ekloyés tha dhieksachthún stis archés Iuníu, an engrithí to chronodhiághrama.
The elections will be held in early June if the timetable is approved. (more verbal)
The noun version sounds more institutional and leaves the event available as the subject of another predicate. It can also suppress participants: η έγκριση του σχεδίου may be understood as “the plan's approval,” but the noun phrase alone does not name who approved it. The detailed syntax is on nominalization.
Learned vocabulary and participles
News Greek draws on the learned stratum because it is compact and conventional in public affairs. Active participles in -ων/-ουσα can replace relative clauses, while -όμενος/-ούμενος forms present an ongoing process or name an institutional participant.
Η ισχύουσα ρύθμιση προβλέπει εξαίρεση για τις μικρές επιχειρήσεις.
i ischíusa ríthmisi provlépi ekséresi ya tis mikrés epichirísis.
The provision currently in force provides an exemption for small businesses. (news/legal)
Οι συμμετέχοντες στη σύνοδο συμφώνησαν να συνεχίσουν τις διαπραγματεύσεις.
i simetéchondes sti sínodho simfónisan na sinechísun tis dhiapraghmatéfsis.
The participants in the summit agreed to continue negotiations. (news)
Everyday Greek can say η ρύθμιση που ισχύει and όσοι συμμετείχαν. The participles are not necessarily more accurate; they package the same roles in fewer words and signal an institutional register. Learned vocabulary often clusters with them: αρμόδιος, νομοθεσία, διεξαγωγή, υποβολή, εν λόγω.
Reporting forms and degrees of commitment
Three common forms make different evidential commitments:
- φέρεται να + verb: the subject is reported or alleged to have done something; the outlet presents the claim as reported rather than asserting it on its own authority (journalistic);
- εικάζεται ότι...: an explanation is conjectured from available information (formal/news);
- δηλώνει ότι...: a named person states the following proposition; the verb attributes the words without guaranteeing their truth.
Ο επιχειρηματίας φέρεται να απέκρυψε εισοδήματα από τις φορολογικές αρχές.
o epichirimatías férete na apékripse isodhímata apó tis foroloyikés archés.
The businessman is alleged to have concealed income from the tax authorities. (journalistic)
Εικάζεται ότι η πυρκαγιά ξεκίνησε από βραχυκύκλωμα στην αποθήκη.
ikázete óti i pirkayiá ksekínise apó vrachikíkloma stin apothíki.
It is speculated that the fire started from a short circuit in the warehouse. (news)
Η υπουργός δηλώνει ότι δεν θα επιβληθούν νέα μέτρα φέτος.
i ipuryós dhilóni óti dhen tha epivlithún néa métra fétos.
The minister states that no new measures will be imposed this year.
In φέρεται να απέκρυψε, the perfective form presents alleged concealment as a bounded event. If a report presents ongoing conduct from within, an imperfective form is possible. Aspect encodes viewpoint, not certainty: φέρεται να supplies the evidential distancing.
Headline ellipsis
Headlines compete for space and attention. Greek may omit an article before a new headline noun phrase, leave out an easily recoverable verb, or use a compact prepositional frame. This is genre ellipsis: the missing material is inferred from familiar headline patterns, not removed freely from ordinary syntax.
Νέες αυξήσεις στα καύσιμα από τον Ιούνιο
nées afksísis sta káfsima apó ton Iúnio
New fuel-price increases from June. (headline)
Στη Βουλή σήμερα το νομοσχέδιο για την ενέργεια
sti Vulí símera to nomoschédhio ya tin enéryia
Energy bill in Parliament today. (headline; verb omitted)
The second headline invites a verb such as συζητείται “is being debated” or κατατίθεται “is being submitted,” but only the article or article context identifies the intended event. In body prose, restore a finite clause:
Το νομοσχέδιο για την ενέργεια συζητείται σήμερα στη Βουλή.
to nomoschédhio ya tin enéryia sizitíte símera sti Vulí.
The energy bill is being debated in Parliament today. (news body)
Articles are not simply “optional in headlines.” Definite or previously known referents often retain them, and omission can change information structure. Likewise, not every verb can vanish: readers must be able to recover a plausible news event from genre and context.
An annotated news sentence
Σύμφωνα με κυβερνητικές πηγές, εξετάζεται η διεξαγωγή των εκλογών στις αρχές Ιουνίου, χωρίς να έχει ληφθεί οριστική απόφαση.
símfona me kivernitikés piyés, eksetázete i dhieksaghoyí ton ekloghón stis archés Iuníu, chorís na échi liftí oristikí apófasi.
According to government sources, holding the elections in early June is under consideration, without a final decision having been made.
This one sentence layers four news cues:
- σύμφωνα με κυβερνητικές πηγές attributes the information without naming an individual;
- passive εξετάζεται backgrounds the decision-makers;
- nominalization η διεξαγωγή των εκλογών packages “hold the elections” as the topic being considered;
- χωρίς να έχει ληφθεί οριστική απόφαση prevents a proposal from being misread as a settled plan.
A strong reading strategy is to decompress the sentence: “Government sources say that officials are considering holding elections in early June, but nobody has made a final decision.” This restores participants for understanding without pretending the original named them.
Abbreviations and dense reference
News also assumes readers can expand forms such as π.χ., κ.λπ., organization initials, and date abbreviations. Their dots, capitals, and spoken readings are lexical; the abbreviations page gives the spelling system. Do not let an unfamiliar initialism distract you from identifying the main predicate and source frame first.
Common Mistakes
Reading φέρεται να as a confirmed fact
The construction explicitly marks reported or alleged information. Preserve that distance in translation and summary.
✅ Η εταιρεία φέρεται να εξετάζει την πώληση δύο θυγατρικών.
✅ I etería férete na eksetázi tin pólisi dhío thighatrikón.
The company is reportedly considering the sale of two subsidiaries.
Assuming every passive deliberately conceals an agent
Agent suppression may reflect genre focus or information already supplied. Look beyond the sentence before assigning motive.
✅ Σύμφωνα με το πανεπιστήμιο, η έρευνα χρηματοδοτήθηκε από ευρωπαϊκό πρόγραμμα.
✅ Símfona me to panepistímio, i érevna chrimatodhotíthike apó evropaikó próghrama.
According to the university, the research was funded by a European program.
Copying headline ellipsis into full prose
A headline fragment is licensed by layout and genre. Restore articles and a finite verb in an ordinary paragraph.
✅ Από τον Ιούνιο αναμένονται νέες αυξήσεις στις τιμές των καυσίμων.
✅ Apó ton Iúnio anaménonde nées afksísis stis timés ton kafsímon.
New increases in fuel prices are expected from June. (full news sentence)
Treating δηλώνει as endorsement by the outlet
Δηλώνει attributes a claim to its speaker. The reporter may later confirm, challenge, or contextualize it.
✅ Ο δήμαρχος δηλώνει ότι το έργο θα ολοκληρωθεί εγκαίρως.
✅ O dhímarchos dhilóni óti to érgho tha oloklirothí engéros.
The mayor states that the project will be completed on time.
Key Takeaways
- Agentless passives foreground events and decisions; source phrases tell you whose information is being reported.
- Nominalization and learned participles compress clauses into institutional noun phrases.
- Φέρεται να, εικάζεται ότι, and δηλώνει ότι mark different relations to evidence and source responsibility.
- Headline ellipsis is genre-constrained; restore ordinary articles and verbs in body prose.
- Read news by locating the source, main predicate, participants, and degree of certainty before translating word by word.
Related Topics
- Impersonal and Agentless PassivesB2 — The two routes Greek uses to keep the doer out of the sentence: mediopassive forms in signs, notices and reports — including completed agentless events such as Ανακοινώθηκε and Δόθηκε — and the everyday subjectless third-person plural (Μου έκλεψαν το πορτοφόλι, Λένε ότι…).
- NominalizationC1 — Turn Greek clauses, qualities, times, phrases, and actions into noun phrases through articles and lexical derivation.
- Text: A News ArticleB2 — Read an original Greek news paragraph through source framing, agentless passives, nominalization, reporting verbs, learned vocabulary, and layered subordination.
- Abbreviations and Their Full StopsB1 — π.χ., κ.λπ., κ.ά., βλ., δηλ., π.Χ./μ.Χ., κ., τ.μ., ΔΕΗ — what each one stands for, how it is read out loud, and the spelling rules behind the dots: every cut element keeps its stop, the sentence-final stop is never doubled, and initialisms are written both with and without their dots.