Reporting Commands and Requests | Greek Grammar

A direct command uses an imperative such as Φύγε! “Leave!” Its report instead presents the requested action with να: Μου είπε να φύγω “He told me to leave.” The dependent verb identifies who must act.

From an imperative to να + dependent verb

The basic transformation is reporting verb + recipient + να + verb. Neutral λέω marks the recipient with a weak genitive: μου είπε “told me,” του είπε “told him,” μας είπε “told us.”

Ο πατέρας μού είπε: «Κλείσε καλά την πόρτα».

o patéras mu ípe: «klíse kalá tin pórta»

My father told me, ‘Shut the door properly.’

Ο πατέρας μού είπε να κλείσω καλά την πόρτα.

o patéras mu ípe na klíso kalá tin pórta

My father told me to shut the door properly.

In the direct command, κλείσε is a second-person imperative addressed to “you.” In the report, the same addressee is the speaker, so the dependent form is first-person κλείσω. English hides this person change inside the infinitive to close; Greek spells it out on the verb.

Η Άννα είπε στον Κώστα: «Περίμενε έξω».

i Ána ípe ston Kósta: «perímene ékso»

Anna said to Kostas, ‘Wait outside.’

Η Άννα είπε στον Κώστα να περιμένει έξω.

i Ána ípe ston Kósta na periméni ékso

Anna told Kostas to wait outside.

The understood subject of να περιμένει is normally the recipient, Kostas. Naming the recipient prevents the third-person ending from becoming ambiguous.

💡

Do not search for a Greek equivalent of English “to” in told me to leave. Modern Greek has no productive infinitive here: να introduces a personal verb, so να φύγω, να φύγεις, να φύγει identify who is to leave.

Reporting requests, proposals, advice, and orders

The reporting verb shows how much authority or politeness the original speech carried. These frames are not interchangeable in tone.

Verb and register	Usual frame	Force
λέω (neutral)	λέω σε κάποιον / του λέω να...	tell
ζητάω/ζητώ (neutral; both forms standard)	ζητάω από κάποιον / του ζητάω να...	ask, request
προτείνω (neutral)	προτείνω σε κάποιον / του προτείνω να...	suggest, propose
συμβουλεύω (neutral)	συμβουλεύω κάποιον να...	advise
διατάζω (formal/strong)	διατάζω κάποιον να...	order

Ζητάω and ζητώ are a genuine present-tense doublet; neither is incorrect. Διατάζω occurs naturally in military, legal, workplace, and narrative contexts but sounds excessively authoritarian for an ordinary favor.

Της ζήτησε να περιμένει λίγα λεπτά στη γραμματεία.

tis zítise na periméni lígha leptá sti ghramatía

He asked her to wait a few minutes at reception.

Μας πρότεινε να πάμε με το τρένο για να μην οδηγήσουμε νύχτα.

mas prótine na páme me to tréno ya na min odhiyísume níchta

She suggested that we take the train so we wouldn’t drive at night.

Ο γιατρός με συμβούλεψε να ξεκουραστώ για δύο μέρες.

o yatrós me simvúlepse na ksekurastó ya dhío méres

The doctor advised me to rest for two days.

Ο αξιωματικός τούς διέταξε να απομακρυνθούν αμέσως.

o aksiomatikós tus dhiétakse na apomakrinthún amésos

The officer ordered them to move away immediately.

Λέω, ζητάω/ζητώ, and προτείνω can use a weak genitive recipient, though their full-NP frames differ as the table shows. Συμβουλεύω and διατάζω take a direct accusative object. This government is lexical; English him conceals the distinction.

Negative commands use να μη(ν)

A direct negative command already uses μη(ν), never δεν. The report keeps the same subjunctive negator after να. The final -ν stays before a vowel or a stop and drops elsewhere: να μην ανοίξω, να μην κλείσω, but να μη φύγω.

Η Μαρία μού είπε: «Μην ανοίξεις το παράθυρο».

i María mu ípe: «min aníksis to paráthiro»

Maria told me, ‘Don’t open the window.’

Η Μαρία μού είπε να μην ανοίξω το παράθυρο.

i María mu ípe na min aníkso to paráthiro

Maria told me not to open the window.

Μου ζήτησαν να μη φύγω πριν τελειώσει η συνάντηση.

mu zítisan na mi fígho prin teliósi i sinándisi

They asked me not to leave before the meeting ended.

💡

The pair is structural: indicative clauses take δεν (and may take θα), while a reported command takes να + μη(ν). The choice between μη and μην is phonological, not a formal–informal distinction.

Aspect preserves the kind of instruction

The perfective dependent form packages an event or finite series as a bounded whole: να φύγω, να κλείσω, να τελειώσει την αναφορά. The imperfective presents the instruction from within, often as ongoing or openly habitual: να προσέχω, να παίρνω το φάρμακο κάθε πρωί. Reporting changes the frame, not the event viewpoint.

Ο φυσιοθεραπευτής μού είπε να περπατάω λίγο κάθε μέρα.

o fisiotherapeftís mu ípe na perpatáo lígho káthe méra

The physiotherapist told me to walk a little every day.

Η υπεύθυνη μάς είπε να στείλουμε την αίτηση μέχρι την Παρασκευή.

i ipéfthini mas ípe na stílume tin étisi méchri tin Paraskeví

The coordinator told us to send the application by Friday.

Ο προϊστάμενος μάς είπε να τηλεφωνήσουμε και στους τέσσερις πελάτες πριν το μεσημέρι.

o proistámenos mas ípe na tilefonísume ke stus téseris pelátes prin to mesiméri

The supervisor told us to call all four clients before noon. (a finite series packaged as a whole)

The first instruction is an open daily habit, so περπατάω is imperfective. The second presents sending the application as a bounded goal; its deadline supports that reading but does not mechanically cause it. Τηλεφωνήσουμε shows that a finite series can also be perfective. See aspect choice after να for the full system.

Common Mistakes

1. Putting a command after statement ότι. A commanded action requires the να-frame.

❌ Ο υπεύθυνος μού είπε ότι να περιμένω στην είσοδο.

Incorrect — a reported command takes να directly, without statement ότι.

✅ Ο υπεύθυνος μού είπε να περιμένω στην είσοδο.

o ipéfthinos mu ípe na periméno stin ísodho

The person in charge told me to wait at the entrance.

2. Using δεν inside a να-clause. Reported negative commands take μη(ν).

❌ Μου είπε να δεν κλείσω τον υπολογιστή.

Incorrect — δεν cannot negate the dependent clause after να.

✅ Μου είπε να μην κλείσω τον υπολογιστή.

mu ípe na min klíso ton ipoloyistí

She told me not to shut down the computer.

3. Keeping third person when the advised person is “me.” Συμβουλεύω controls the understood subject of its να-clause.

❌ Ο γιατρός με συμβούλεψε να ξεκουραστεί εγώ για δύο μέρες.

Incorrect — explicit εγώ requires the first-person form ξεκουραστώ.

✅ Ο γιατρός με συμβούλεψε να ξεκουραστώ όλο το Σαββατοκύριακο.

o yatrós me simvúlepse na ksekurastó ólo to Savatokíriako

The doctor advised me to rest all weekend.

4. Leaving the ordered person in the nominative. Διατάζω takes that person as an accusative object.

❌ Ο διοικητής διέταξε τον φρουρός να αποχωρήσει.

Incorrect — τον requires the accusative noun φρουρό.

✅ Ο διοικητής διέταξε τον φρουρό να αποχωρήσει.

o dhiikitís dhiétakse ton fruró na apochorísi

The commander ordered the guard to leave.

Key Takeaways

Turn an imperative into να + personal dependent verb.
Match the verb’s person to whoever must act.
Use να μη(ν) for negatives and preserve the instruction’s aspect.

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