Greek news prose separates an event from its source, compresses actions into nouns, and often places the result ahead of the people responsible for it. The short report below is wholly original: it describes a fictional municipality and was written for this lesson, not adapted from a published article. Its grammar follows current (journalistic/formal) usage.
The report
Διευρυμένο ωράριο στις δημοτικές βιβλιοθήκες από τον Σεπτέμβριο
Ανακοινώθηκε χθες η επέκταση του ωραρίου λειτουργίας των τριών βιβλιοθηκών του Δήμου Ακτής, η οποία, σύμφωνα με τη δημοτική αρχή, θα τεθεί σε εφαρμογή στις αρχές Σεπτεμβρίου.
anakinóthike chthes i epéktasi tu oraríu lituryías ton trión vivliothikón tu Dhímu Aktís, i opía, símfona me ti dhimotikí archí, tha tethí se efarmoyí stis archés Septemvríu.
The extension of opening hours at the three libraries of the Municipality of Akti was announced yesterday and, according to the municipal authority, will take effect in early September.
Η απόφαση ελήφθη έπειτα από δημόσια διαβούλευση, στην οποία συμμετείχαν περισσότεροι από οκτακόσιοι κάτοικοι, ενώ προβλέπεται η πρόσληψη έξι συμβασιούχων βιβλιοθηκονόμων.
i apófasi elífthi épita apó dhimósia dhiavúlefsi, stin opía simetíchan perisóteri apó oktakósi kátiki, enó provlépete i próslipsi éksi simvasiúchon vivliothikonómon.
The decision was taken after public consultation, in which more than eight hundred residents participated, while the hiring of six contract librarians is planned.
Ο δήμαρχος δήλωσε ότι το μέτρο αποσκοπεί στη διευκόλυνση φοιτητών και εργαζομένων που δεν μπορούν να χρησιμοποιούν τις βιβλιοθήκες κατά το πρωινό ωράριο.
o dhímarchos dhílose óti to métro aposkopí sti dhiefkólinsi fititón ke erghazoménon pu dhen borún na chrisimopiún tis vivliothíkes katá to proinó orário.
The mayor stated that the measure is intended to make access easier for students and employees who cannot use the libraries during morning hours.
Η χρηματοδότηση φέρεται να έχει εξασφαλιστεί από περιφερειακό πρόγραμμα, χωρίς ωστόσο να έχει δημοσιοποιηθεί ακόμη το συνολικό κόστος.
i chrimatodhótisi férete na échi eksasfalistí apó periferiakó próghrama, chorís ostóso na échi dhimosiopiithí akómi to sinolikó kóstos.
The funding is reported to have been secured through a regional program, although the total cost has not yet been made public.
Όπως διευκρινίζεται στη σχετική ανακοίνωση, η λειτουργία των βιβλιοθηκών τις Κυριακές θα αξιολογηθεί μετά την ολοκλήρωση της εξάμηνης πιλοτικής περιόδου.
ópos dhiefkrinízete sti schetikí anakínosi, i lituryía ton vivliothikón tis Kiriakés tha aksioloyithí metá tin oloklírosi tis eksáminis pilotikís periódhu.
As clarified in the relevant announcement, Sunday opening of the libraries will be evaluated after the completion of the six-month pilot period.
Agentless passives put the result first
Ανακοινώθηκε, ελήφθη, προβλέπεται, διευκρινίζεται, and θα αξιολογηθεί are passive forms without an overt agent. The reader can infer plausible institutions, but the grammar does not name the individual who announced, decided, planned, clarified, or will evaluate. This is useful when the institutional act matters more than its author.
Compare an explicit, less compressed rewrite:
Η δημοτική αρχή ανακοίνωσε χθες ότι θα επεκτείνει το ωράριο των βιβλιοθηκών.
i dhimotikí archí anakínose chthes óti tha epektíni to orário ton vivliothikón.
The municipal authority announced yesterday that it would extend the libraries' opening hours. (more explicit)
The active version answers “who announced?” immediately. The passive makes η επέκταση the grammatical center. The source phrase or dateline may identify the institution elsewhere. The full contrast belongs to agentless and impersonal passives.
Actions packaged as nouns
The paragraph repeatedly turns processes into noun phrases: η επέκταση “the extension,” η πρόσληψη “the hiring,” η διευκόλυνση “the facilitation,” η χρηματοδότηση “the funding,” and η ολοκλήρωση “the completion.” A noun can take an article, a genitive, and modifiers, so it carries several facts without opening another finite clause.
Ο δήμος θα προσλάβει έξι βιβλιοθηκονόμους όταν εγκριθεί ο προϋπολογισμός.
o dhímos tha proslávi éksi vivliothikonómus ótan engrithí o proipoloyizmós.
The municipality will hire six librarians when the budget is approved. (verbal version)
Η πρόσληψη έξι βιβλιοθηκονόμων προβλέπεται στον νέο προϋπολογισμό.
i próslipsi éksi vivliothikonómon provlépete ston néo proipoloyizmó.
The hiring of six librarians is provided for in the new budget. (nominalized/formal)
The noun version sounds institutional and can leave the hiring authority implicit. Formation is not fully predictable; nominalization explains which action nouns must be learned lexically.
Attribution and degrees of commitment
Σύμφωνα με τη δημοτική αρχή attributes a proposition to the authority. Ο δήμαρχος δήλωσε ότι names a speaker. Neither guarantees truth; both identify whose information it is.
Φέρεται να έχει εξασφαλιστεί creates greater distance: somebody reports that the funding has been secured, while the outlet does not present itself as independently confirming that claim. The perfect construction places the reported securing before the report's reference point.
Η χρηματοδότηση φέρεται να εγκρίθηκε κατά τη συνεδρίαση της περασμένης Τρίτης.
i chrimatodhótisi férete na engríthike katá ti sinedhríasi tis perazménis Trítis.
The funding was reportedly approved at last Tuesday's meeting.
Aspect still expresses viewpoint: να εγκρίθηκε presents the reported approval as a bounded event, whereas να εξετάζεται would show a proposal internally as under examination. Φέρεται να supplies evidential distance; aspect does not encode certainty.
Learned vocabulary and layered clauses
Forms such as ελήφθη, αποσκοπεί, and δημοσιοποιηθεί are current but cluster in (formal/journalistic) prose. Speech more readily uses πήραν την απόφαση, θέλει να βοηθήσει, and να γίνει γνωστό.
The report nests relative and adverbial clauses: η οποία... θα τεθεί, στην οποία συμμετείχαν, and χωρίς... να έχει δημοσιοποιηθεί. In sentence two, main ελήφθη carries a relative modifying διαβούλευση and an ενώ-clause adding a planned result.
Common Mistakes
Treating φέρεται να as confirmation
Preserve the report's evidential distance. “Reportedly” or “is reported to” is more accurate than an unqualified assertion.
Η εταιρεία φέρεται να υπέβαλε νέα πρόταση λίγο πριν λήξει η προθεσμία.
i etería férete na ipévale néa prótasi lígho prin líksi i prothezmía.
The company reportedly submitted a new proposal shortly before the deadline expired.
Inventing a person behind every singular passive
An institutional passive can be genuinely agentless. Do not invent a person behind it.
Αποφασίστηκε να συνεχιστεί η πιλοτική λειτουργία έως το τέλος της χρονιάς.
apofasístike na sinechistí i pilotikí lituryía éos to télos tis chroniás.
It was decided that the pilot operation would continue until the end of the year.
Copying the density into ordinary conversation
News packaging is conspicuous in casual speech. Decompress it outside the genre.
Θα κρατήσουν τις βιβλιοθήκες ανοιχτές περισσότερες ώρες για να εξυπηρετούν τον κόσμο.
tha kratísun tis vivliothíkes anichtés perisóteres óres ya na eksipiretún ton kózmo.
They'll keep the libraries open longer so they can serve people. (neutral conversation)
Key Takeaways
- Agentless passives foreground decisions and results without necessarily implying concealment.
- Nominalizations package actions as institutional topics and allow dense genitive modification.
- σύμφωνα με, δήλωσε ότι, and φέρεται να identify different source relationships and commitments.
- Learned vocabulary and layered subordination mark the register; they should be unpacked, not copied mechanically into conversation.
Related Topics
- Journalistic StyleB2 — Decode Greek news through source framing, agentless passives, nominalization, participles, reporting verbs, and headline ellipsis.
- 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.