The Greek verb can feel like a jungle of forms until you see the map. This page lays out one verb — γράφω (to write) — across every tense in one table, so that whenever you meet a form in the wild you can place it instantly. The good news for an English speaker: behind the dozen forms there are really just three building tools. Learn what each tool does and the whole system snaps into shape.
The three tools
Almost every Greek verb form outside the plain present and past is built by adding one of three little words in front of the verb:
- θα builds the futures and conditionals — θα γράψω (I'll write), θα έγραφα (I would write).
- να builds the subjunctive — the all-purpose form that replaces the English infinitive: θέλω να γράψω (I want to write).
- έχω (the verb "to have") builds the perfects — έχω γράψει (I have written).
That is the entire architecture. Everything else is which stem and which endings go after the tool — and that is driven by aspect, covered on its own aspect overview page.
The whole grid
Here is γράφω laid out in the first person singular ("I …"). Each row is a form you will meet constantly.
| Form | Greek (1sg) | English | Built with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | γράφω | I write / I'm writing | bare verb |
| Imperfect (past) | έγραφα | I was writing / used to write | bare verb, past endings |
| Aorist (past) | έγραψα | I wrote | perfective stem, past endings |
| Continuous future | θα γράφω | I'll be writing | θα + present |
| Simple future | θα γράψω | I'll write | θα + perfective |
| Conditional | θα έγραφα | I would write | θα + imperfect |
| Present perfect | έχω γράψει | I have written | έχω + γράψει |
| Pluperfect | είχα γράψει | I had written | είχα + γράψει |
| Future perfect | θα έχω γράψει | I'll have written | θα + έχω + γράψει |
| Subjunctive (imperfective) | να γράφω | (that) I write / be writing | να + present |
| Subjunctive (perfective) | να γράψω | (that) I write | να + perfective |
Notice the pattern in the right-hand column. The perfects are always έχω / είχα / θα έχω plus one unchanging form, γράψει (this frozen form is the aparémfato). The futures are always θα plus a full verb. The subjunctive is always να plus a full verb. There is nothing else to build.
Aspect runs down the middle
Look again at two rows that both translate as "I'll write": θα γράφω and θα γράψω. Greek forces you to choose. θα γράφω pictures the writing as ongoing or repeated ("I'll be writing", "I'll write regularly"); θα γράψω pictures it as one complete act ("I'll write it"). The same split appears in the subjunctive (να γράφω vs να γράψω) and in the past (έγραφα vs έγραψα).
This choice — imperfective vs perfective — is the single most important thing about the Greek verb, and it has its own aspect overview. For now just register that most cells in the grid actually come in two aspect-flavours; the table shows the futures and the subjunctive in both.
Γράφω ένα μήνυμα στη μητέρα μου.
ghráfo éna mínima sti mitéra mu
I'm writing a message to my mother.
Χθες έγραψα τρία μέιλ πριν κοιμηθώ.
chthes éghrapsa tría méil prin kimithó
Yesterday I wrote three emails before going to bed.
Παλιά έγραφα γράμματα με το χέρι.
paliá éghrafa ghrámata me to chéri
I used to write letters by hand.
The θα forms: futures and conditionals
θα is a single particle that never changes. Put it in front of a perfective verb for a one-off future (θα γράψω), in front of a present verb for an ongoing future (θα γράφω), and in front of an imperfect for a conditional or a "would" (θα έγραφα). The full logic is on the future overview.
Αύριο θα γράψω το τεστ των μαθηματικών.
ávrio tha ghrápso to test ton mathimatikón
Tomorrow I'll take the maths test.
Όσο ταξιδεύω, θα γράφω στο ημερολόγιό μου.
óso taksidhévo, tha ghráfo sto imerolóyió mu
While I travel, I'll be writing in my diary.
The έχω forms: the three perfects
The perfects all pair an auxiliary with the invariant γράψει. Present έχω γράψει = "I have written"; past είχα γράψει = "I had written"; and θα stacked on top gives θα έχω γράψει = "I'll have written". Because the invariant part never moves, all you conjugate is the little auxiliary. See the perfect overview.
Έχω γράψει ήδη το μισό βιβλίο.
écho ghrápsi ídhi to misó vivlío
I've already written half the book.
Όταν ήρθες, είχα γράψει τα πάντα.
ótan írthes, ícha ghrápsi ta pánda
By the time you came, I had written everything.
Μέχρι το βράδυ θα έχω γράψει την αναφορά.
méchri to vrádhi tha écho ghrápsi tin anaforá
By tonight I'll have written the report.
The να forms: the subjunctive
να plus a verb is Greek's answer to the English infinitive and to "that + subjunctive". It carries wishes, purpose and obligation, and it too takes an aspect choice. This is a whole world of syntax, opened up on the subjunctive overview.
Πρέπει να γράψω στον δάσκαλο σήμερα.
prépi na ghrápso ston dháskalo símera
I need to write to the teacher today.
Common Mistakes
1. Stacking έχω with the wrong second form. The perfect uses the invariant γράψει, never a conjugated verb.
❌ Έχω έγραψα το γράμμα.
Incorrect — the perfect is έχω + the invariant γράψει, not έχω + a past tense.
✅ Έχω γράψει το γράμμα.
écho ghrápsi to ghráma
I've written the letter.
2. Putting θα with a past tense to mean the plain future. θα + imperfect is the conditional ("would"), not the future.
❌ Αύριο θα έγραφα το γράμμα.
Incorrect for the future — θα έγραφα is the conditional 'I would write'; the future is θα γράψω.
✅ Αύριο θα γράψω το γράμμα.
ávrio tha ghrápso to ghráma
Tomorrow I'll write the letter.
3. Putting a past tense in a volitional να-clause. You can't "want" a completed past — after θέλω να the verb is a non-past form (να γράψω), not the aorist.
❌ Θέλω να έγραψα ένα ποίημα.
Incorrect — θέλω να takes a non-past verb: να γράψω, not the past έγραψα.
✅ Θέλω να γράψω ένα ποίημα.
thélo na ghrápso éna píima
I want to write a poem.
Key Takeaways
- Three tools build the system: θα (futures/conditionals), να (subjunctive), έχω (perfects).
- The perfects are an auxiliary + the invariant γράψει (έχω γράψει, είχα γράψει, θα έχω γράψει).
- Most non-present cells come in two aspects — ongoing (γράφω-stem) vs complete (γράψω-stem).
- Learn a verb's five key parts and you can build every form on this map.
Now practice Greek
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Start learning Greek →Related Topics
- Aspect in the Past: Imperfect vs AoristA2 — The past is where aspect bites first and hardest. Greek has two past tenses for the same verb: the imperfect (έγραφα — was writing, used to write, the background) and the aorist (έγραψα — wrote, a single completed event). The signature pattern is a long imperfect frame cut across by a sudden aorist — Διάβαζα όταν χτύπησε το τηλέφωνο — and it lines up almost exactly with the Spanish imperfect/preterite split.
- The Future With θαA2 — Greek builds its entire future out of one tiny, unchanging particle — θα — set in front of a finite verb: θα γράψω, θα πάω, θα σε δω. This hub explains where θα sits, how it negates, why the verb behind it decides whether the future is simple or continuous, and how the same particle later builds the conditional and expresses probability.
- The Perfect TensesB1 — Greek builds every perfect analytically — the auxiliary έχω (or its past είχα, or θα έχω) plus one invariable form, the -ει απαρέμφατο. Only the auxiliary conjugates; the second word never changes, which is exactly what makes the whole system easy once you have that one form.