Most verbs build their perfective stem by the tidy -σ- rule. A small high-frequency set instead swaps in an unpredictable or completely different form, much as English go has went. Such irregularity survives precisely because speakers use these verbs constantly; learn them as principal parts rather than trying to derive them.
Crucially, the aspect system is untouched: these verbs still contrast an imperfective series with a perfective one. What is unpredictable is not only the perfective dependent but sometimes the other principal parts too. Thus βλέπω has θα/να δω, but its aorist is είδα and its imperative δες. Treat those as members of one perfective series, not as four forms mechanically cut from a single stem.
The core list
Learn each as a three-part set: present → bare perfective (the θα/να form) → aorist (I did it).
| Present | Meaning | Perfective (θα / να …) | Aorist (1sg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| βλέπω | see | δω | είδα |
| λέω | say, tell | πω | είπα |
| τρώω | eat | φάω | έφαγα |
| πηγαίνω / πάω | go | πάω | πήγα |
| παίρνω | take, get | πάρω | πήρα |
| βρίσκω | find | βρω | βρήκα |
| μπαίνω | go/come in | μπω | μπήκα |
| βγαίνω | go/come out | βγω | βγήκα |
| δίνω | give | δώσω | έδωσα |
| μένω | stay, live | μείνω | έμεινα |
| πίνω | drink | πιω | ήπια |
| φεύγω | leave | φύγω | έφυγα |
The one-syllable "dependents"
Look at the middle column: δω, πω, βρω, μπω, βγω, πιω, φάω, πάω. Several of the perfective forms shrink to a single syllable. These are the purest example of what the two-stems page calls the dependent form — a form that cannot stand alone as an assertion. βρω does not by itself mean "I find"; it needs a licenser such as θα, να, αν, όταν, ας or μην.
Δεν μπορώ να βρω τα κλειδιά μου πουθενά.
dhen boró na vro ta klidhiá mu puthená
I can't find my keys anywhere.
Θέλω να δω τι θα γίνει στο τέλος της ταινίας.
thélo na dho ti tha yíni sto télos tis tenías
I want to see what happens at the end of the film.
Θα σου πω ένα μυστικό, αλλά μην το πεις πουθενά.
tha su po éna mistikó, alá min to pis puthená
I'll tell you a secret, but don't tell anyone. (πω after θα, πεις after μην)
Κάνε λίγο στην άκρη να μπω κι εγώ.
káne lígho stin ákri na bo ki eghó
Shift over a bit so I can get in too.
Several bare dependents pair with a distinctive -ηκα aorist: βρήκα, μπήκα, βγήκα (found, went in, went out). The others form είδα, είπα, ήπια, έφαγα, πήγα, πήρα — each with its own irregular past that you simply learn.
Είδα μια πολύ καλή ταινία χθες το βράδυ.
ídha mia polí kalí tenía chthes to vrádhi
I saw a really good film last night.
The vowel-swap verbs
A second group keeps most of the stem but changes a vowel — no -σ- suffix in some cases, an unexpected one in others:
- δίνω → δώσω (έδωσα): keeps a -σ-, but the ι becomes ω. "give."
- μένω → μείνω (έμεινα): no -σ- at all; the ε becomes ει. "stay, live."
- παίρνω → πάρω (πήρα): the -ρν- of the present collapses to -ρ-. "take, get."
- φεύγω → φύγω (έφυγα): the ευ of the present becomes υ. "leave."
Πήρα το λεωφορείο γιατί χάλασε το αμάξι.
píra to leoforío yatí chálase to amáksi
I took the bus because the car broke down.
Έμεινα σπίτι όλο το Σαββατοκύριακο με κρύωμα.
émina spíti ólo to savatokíriako me kríoma
I stayed home all weekend with a cold.
Same verb, both stems, one breath
Because the imperfective and perfective forms look so different here, these verbs are the clearest place to hear aspect at work — an internal or open view on the imperfective form, a bounded view on the perfective one:
Κάθε πρωί πίνω καφέ, αλλά σήμερα ήπια και τον δικό σου.
káthe proí píno kafé, alá símera ípia ke ton dhikó su
Every morning I drink coffee, but today I drank yours too. (imperfective πίνω vs perfective ήπια)
Δεν βλέπω τίποτα από δω· άσε με να δω από το παράθυρο.
dhen vlépo típota apó dho· áse me na dho apó to paráthiro
I can't see anything from here — let me look out of the window. (imperfective βλέπω vs perfective δω)
Common Mistakes
1. Regularising a suppletive verb with -σ- or -ξ-. βλέπω does not become ×βλέψω; its perfective is δω.
❌ Θα βλέψω τι μπορώ να κάνω και θα σε ενημερώσω.
Incorrect — βλέπω is suppletive: θα δω.
✅ Θα δω τι μπορώ να κάνω και θα σε ενημερώσω.
tha dho ti boró na káno ke tha se enimeróso
I'll see what I can do and let you know.
2. Confusing prospective να with retrospective να. A future goal takes the dependent βρω. Past indicative after να is nevertheless grammatical when the matrix verb looks back on a hoped-for result.
✅ Ελπίζω να βρω δουλειά μέχρι το καλοκαίρι.
elpízo na vro dhuliá méchri to kalokéri
I hope to find a job by the summer.
✅ Ελπίζω να βρήκες εύκολα το σπίτι.
elpízo na vríkes éfkola to spíti
I hope you found the house easily. (retrospective hope → past indicative)
3. Treating one past occasion as automatically perfective. The aorist packages the meal as a bounded whole; the imperfect presents that same single occasion from inside. The surrounding clause decides which view fits.
✅ Χθες το μεσημέρι έτρωγα ένα σουβλάκι όταν χτύπησε το τηλέφωνο.
chthes to mesiméri étrogha éna suvláki ótan chtípise to tiléfono
Yesterday at lunchtime I was eating a souvlaki when the phone rang. (one event viewed internally)
✅ Χθες το μεσημέρι έφαγα ένα σουβλάκι και έφυγα.
chthes to mesiméri éfagha éna suvláki ke éfigha
Yesterday at lunchtime I ate a souvlaki and left.
Key Takeaways
- The commonest verbs build their perfective series unpredictably, often suppletively rather than with regular -σ-: βλέπω → δω, λέω → πω, τρώω → φάω, βρίσκω → βρω.
- The aspect architecture is normal, but the dependent, aorist and imperative may be separate principal parts: δω — είδα — δες.
- Many dependents shrink to one syllable (δω, πω, βρω, μπω, βγω, πιω) and need a licenser such as θα, να, αν, όταν, ας or μην.
- Several take a -ηκα aorist (βρήκα, μπήκα, βγήκα); the others have individual pasts (είδα, είπα, ήπια, έφαγα, πήγα, πήρα).
Related Topics
- Irregular and Suppletive AoristsB1 — The dozen aorists you cannot derive and must simply know — είδα, είπα, ήρθα, ήπια, πήγα, βρήκα, μπήκα, βγήκα, πήρα, έφαγα, έδωσα, έμεινα — grouped by their shared shape, and precisely because they belong to Greek's most frequent verbs, the highest-value forms in the whole past tense.
- Aorist Subjunctive (να + perfective)B1 — The dependent perfective forms να γράψω, να δω and να φύγω package an action or finite series as bounded and take no past augment; genuinely prior να-clauses with forms such as να πέρασες are a separate pattern.
- Irregular ImperativesB1 — The dozen suppletive commands you cannot derive and simply have to know — έλα, πες, δες, φάε, πιες, βρες, μπες, βγες, ανέβα, κατέβα, κάτσε — with both the singular and the plural for each.