Once you know a verb is Class Β — stress on the ending, αγαπώ / μπορώ — one more fork is waiting. Class Β is not a single paradigm but two, and they diverge in exactly the persons you use most: the "you" and "he/she/it" forms. The αγαπάω type has an -άς / -άει middle with a whole family of colloquial -άω doublets; the μπορώ type has an -είς / -εί middle and offers no -άω forms at all. Mixing them up produces the two most common Class Β errors there are — ×μποράω and ×αγαπείς — so this fork is worth learning cleanly.
The two subtypes
| Person | Β1 — αγαπάω "love" | Β2 — μπορώ "can" |
|---|---|---|
| εγώ | αγαπάω / αγαπώ | μπορώ |
| εσύ | αγαπάς | μπορείς |
| αυτός/-ή/-ό | αγαπάει / αγαπά | μπορεί |
| εμείς | αγαπάμε / αγαπούμε | μπορούμε |
| εσείς | αγαπάτε | μπορείτε |
| αυτοί/-ές/-ά | αγαπάνε / αγαπούν(ε) | μπορούν(ε) |
Read down the reading column and you can hear the split:
- Β1: aghapáo/aghapó · aghapás · aghapái · aghapáme · aghapáte · aghapáne
- Β2: boró · borís · borí · borúme · boríte · borún
The 1st plural and 2nd plural are nearly the same in both (-ούμε / -άμε, -άτε / -είτε) and the 3rd plural collapses to -ούν(ε). Everything hinges on the singular "you" and "he/she/it": -άς / -άει for Β1 versus -είς / -εί for Β2. That is the pair to memorise.
Β1: αγαπάω, with its everyday doublets
Κοιτάς συνέχεια το κινητό σου, άσ' το λίγο και μίλα μου.
kitás sinéchia to kinitó su, ás to lígho ke míla mu
You keep staring at your phone — put it down for a second and talk to me.
Πεινάω πάρα πολύ, πάμε να φάμε κάτι;
pináo pára polí, páme na fáme káti;
I'm really hungry, shall we go grab something to eat?
Τα παιδιά γελάνε με τα αστεία του παππού.
ta pedhyá yeláne me ta astía tu papú
The kids are laughing at Grandpa's jokes.
Notice the doublets. For the "I" form you can say αγαπάω or αγαπώ; for "he loves," αγαπάει or αγαπά; for "they love," αγαπάνε or αγαπούν. These are not errors and neither one is more "correct" — the choice is register and rhythm. The -άω / -άει / -άνε forms are more colloquial and dominate everyday speech; the shorter -ώ / -ά / -ούν forms are a touch more formal and commoner in writing. Use whichever you like, but keep the -άς in the "you" form fixed — that one has no variant.
Με ρωτάς κάθε μέρα το ίδιο πράγμα και σου απαντάω το ίδιο.
me rotás káthe méra to ídhio prághma ke su apandáo to ídhio
You ask me the same thing every day and I give you the same answer.
Β2: μπορώ, with no -άω anywhere
Δεν μπορώ να κοιμηθώ όταν κάνει τόση ζέστη.
dhen boró na kimithó ótan káni tósi zésti
I can't sleep when it's this hot.
Οδηγείς πολύ προσεκτικά, μου δίνεις σιγουριά.
odhiyís polí prosektiká, mu dhínis sighuriá
You drive very carefully — it makes me feel safe.
Ζούμε στο ίδιο κτίριο εδώ και δέκα χρόνια.
zúme sto ídhio ktírio edhó ke dhéka chrónia
We've lived in the same building for ten years.
Σε ευχαριστώ πολύ που με περίμενες.
se efcharistó polí pu me perímenes
Thank you so much for waiting for me.
There is no ×μποράω, ×μποράς, ×οδηγάω. The Β2 verb never touches the -άω/-άς/-άει set. This is the asymmetry to burn in: Β1 offers you a choice, Β2 does not.
Which verbs take which?
There is no watertight rule — the subtype is a lexical property you ultimately learn per verb — but there is a strong tendency that gets you most of the way, rooted in each verb's history:
| Β1 (-άω, -άς, -άει) | Β2 (-ώ, -είς, -εί) | |
|---|---|---|
| Flavour | everyday, physical, "folk" verbs | often learned, abstract or literary-origin verbs |
| Examples | μιλάω (speak), ρωτάω (ask), κοιτάω (look), πεινάω (be hungry), διψάω (be thirsty), γελάω (laugh), περπατάω (walk), σταματάω (stop), τραγουδάω (sing), βοηθάω (help), ξεχνάω (forget), χτυπάω (hit) | μπορώ (can), οδηγώ (drive), ζω (live), θεωρώ (consider), τηλεφωνώ (phone), συμφωνώ (agree), χρησιμοποιώ (use), προχωρώ (proceed), παρακαλώ (please/beg), ευχαριστώ (thank) |
The tendency is real but leaky: a handful of verbs waver, and a few (like ζητάω/ζητώ, τραβάω/τραβώ) even lean Β1 in the "you" form (ζητάς, τραβάς) while allowing a Β2-flavoured "I" form (ζητώ, τραβώ). When in doubt, the 2nd person singular is the honest witness: if a native says -άς, the verb is Β1; if -είς, it is Β2. That single form settles it.
A spelling consequence: -άς versus -είς
Because Β1 writes -άς with an α and Β2 writes -είς with the digraph ει, the class you assign a verb has a direct spelling payoff. Both of these are pronounced with a plain vowel (milás, borís), so the ear cannot tell you which to write — only the class can. Get the class right and the spelling is automatic; get it wrong and you produce a genuine misspelling.
Μιλάς ελληνικά πολύ καλά, αλλά δεν μπορείς ακόμα να διαβάσεις γρήγορα.
milás eliniká polí kalá, alá dhen borís akóma na dhiavásis ghríghora
You speak Greek very well, but you can't read quickly yet.
Two "you" forms in one sentence: μιλάς (Β1, α) and μπορείς (Β2, ει). Neither could borrow the other's ending.
A note on the contracted deponents (θυμάμαι and friends)
A small group of very common verbs — θυμάμαι (remember), κοιμάμαι (sleep), φοβάμαι (be afraid), λυπάμαι (be sorry) — is Class Β but exists only in the mediopassive, with a special contracted set (-άμαι, -άσαι, -άται…). They are cousins of these subtypes but are handled with the passive endings, not here; see mediopassive personal endings and deponent verbs.
Δεν θυμάμαι αν κλείδωσα την πόρτα το πρωί.
dhen thimáme an klídhosa tin pórta to proí
I can't remember if I locked the door this morning.
Common Mistakes
1. Giving a Β2 verb the Β1 -άω ending. μπορώ has no -άω form; ×μποράω does not exist.
❌ Δεν μποράω να έρθω αύριο.
Incorrect — μπορώ is Β2: it has no -άω form. Say μπορώ.
✅ Δεν μπορώ να έρθω αύριο.
dhen boró na értho ávrio
I can't come tomorrow.
2. Giving a Β1 verb the Β2 -είς ending. αγαπάω keeps -άς, not -είς.
❌ Αγαπείς πολύ τη μουσική, το βλέπω.
Incorrect — αγαπάω is Β1: the 'you' form is αγαπάς.
✅ Αγαπάς πολύ τη μουσική, το βλέπω.
aghapás polí ti musikí, to vlépo
You really love music, I can tell.
3. Making μπορώ take -άς. The whole Β2 singular is -ώ/-είς/-εί; ×μποράς is out.
❌ Μποράς να μου δώσεις το αλάτι;
Incorrect — Β2 'you' is μπορείς, not μποράς.
✅ Μπορείς να μου δώσεις το αλάτι;
borís na mu dhósis to aláti;
Can you pass me the salt?
4. Treating the Β1 doublets as if only one were correct. αγαπάω and αγαπώ are both right; do not "fix" a native's -άω to -ώ.
✅ Ο μπαμπάς τραγουδάει / τραγουδά στο ντους.
o babás traghudhái / traghudhá sto dus
Dad sings in the shower. (both forms are standard)
Key Takeaways
- Class Β has two paradigms: Β1 (αγαπάω/αγαπώ, -άς, -άει) and Β2 (μπορώ, -είς, -εί).
- The split lives in the singular "you" and "he/she/it": -άς/-άει (Β1) vs -είς/-εί (Β2). The plurals nearly coincide.
- Β1 offers colloquial doublets (-άω/-ώ, -άει/-ά, -άνε/-ούν) that differ by register; Β2 has no -άω forms at all.
- Rule of thumb: everyday physical verbs tend to be Β1 (μιλάω, ρωτάω, πεινάω); learned/abstract verbs tend to be Β2 (μπορώ, οδηγώ, θεωρώ) — but the 2sg is the reliable test.
- The class also decides the -άς vs -είς spelling, which the ear cannot supply.
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Start learning Greek →Related Topics
- Present Tense: Class Β1 (αγαπάω/-ώ)A1 — The full present of the everyday Β1 contract verbs — αγαπάω/αγαπώ, μιλάω, ρωτάω, περπατάω, κοιτάω, ξεχνάω, περνάω — with the -άω/-ώ doublet in the 'I' and 'they' forms, the fixed -άς 'you' ending, and the crossover error ×αγαπείς that spells it as if it were Class Α.
- Present Tense: Class Β2 (μπορώ)A2 — The full present of the μπορώ type — μπορώ, μπορείς, μπορεί, μπορούμε, μπορείτε, μπορούν — plus οδηγώ, θεωρώ, καλώ and the slightly irregular ζω, with the -είς/-εί endings that never allow an -άω variant and the crossovers ×μποράω and ×μπορείς-for-Β1 that this class forbids.
- The Two Conjugations: -ω and -άω/-ώA1 — Every Greek verb belongs to one of two conjugation classes, and the stress on the 'I' form tells you which: unstressed -ω (γράφω, the big regular class) or stressed -άω/-ώ (αγαπώ). This page sets the two presents side by side and shows why the class is a fact you learn with the word.