Before you can conjugate a single Greek verb you have to know which of two conjugation classes it belongs to, because the class decides the endings it takes in every tense. The good news is that the test is almost absurdly simple: look at the "I" form (1st person singular) and listen to where the stress falls. If the stress is off the ending, the verb is Class Α. If the stress is on the ending, it is Class Β. That one observation — γράφω versus αγαπώ — is the whole diagnostic.
The two classes
| Class | Greek name | 1sg ending | Sound of the "I" form | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Α | πρώτη συζυγία (first conjugation) | unstressed -ω | stress on the stem: ΓΡΆ-φω | γράφω, παίζω, τρέχω, διαβάζω, θέλω |
| Β | δεύτερη συζυγία (second conjugation) | stressed -άω/-ώ | stress on the ending: α-γα-ΠΏ | αγαπώ, μιλάω, μπορώ, ζω, οδηγώ |
Class Α is the large, default class — the great majority of Greek verbs, and nearly all newly coined ones, live here. Class Β is a smaller but extremely common group, full of high-frequency verbs (love, speak, be able, ask, live, drive), and it descends from the ancient "contract" verbs, which is why its endings behave a little differently and pull the accent onto themselves.
Class Α in the present: γράφω
| Person | Form | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| εγώ (I) | γράφω | ghráfo |
| εσύ (you sg.) | γράφεις | ghráfis |
| αυτός/-ή/-ό (he/she/it) | γράφει | ghráfi |
| εμείς (we) | γράφουμε | ghráfume |
| εσείς (you pl.) | γράφετε | ghráfete |
| αυτοί/-ές/-ά (they) | γράφουν(ε) | ghráfun(e) |
The stress never moves off ΓΡΆ- throughout. Every Class Α verb behaves identically:
Γράφω το όνομά μου στη λίστα και σου τη δίνω.
ghráfo to ónomá mu sti lísta ke su ti dhíno
I'll write my name on the list and hand it to you.
Ο μικρός διαβάζει ήδη μόνος του, χωρίς βοήθεια.
o mikrós dhiavázi ídhi mónos tu, chorís voíthia
The little one already reads on his own, without help.
Τρέχουμε μαζί κάθε Κυριακή στο πάρκο.
tréchume mazí káthe kiryakí sto párko
We run together every Sunday in the park.
Class Β in the present: αγαπώ
| Person | Form | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| εγώ | αγαπώ (also αγαπάω) | aghapó / aghapáo |
| εσύ | αγαπάς | aghapás |
| αυτός/-ή/-ό | αγαπάει (also αγαπά) | aghapái / aghapá |
| εμείς | αγαπάμε (also αγαπούμε) | aghapáme / aghapúme |
| εσείς | αγαπάτε | aghapáte |
| αυτοί/-ές/-ά | αγαπάνε (also αγαπούν) | aghapáne / aghapún |
Two things are different from Class Α. First, the stress is glued to the ending in every form (α-γα-ΠΏ, α-γα-ΠΆΣ), never on the stem. Second, several persons have two accepted forms — αγαπώ alongside αγαπάω, αγαπάει alongside αγαπά. Those doublets are not a mistake; they are register and rhythm variants (the -άω forms are more colloquial and more common in speech). Which verbs offer which set, and why μπορώ refuses the -άω option entirely, is the whole subject of Class Β subtypes.
Αγαπάς πραγματικά αυτή τη δουλειά ή το κάνεις για τα λεφτά;
aghapás praghmatiká aftí ti dhulyá i to kánis ya ta leftá;
Do you really love this job, or are you doing it for the money?
Μιλάμε αγγλικά στη δουλειά, αλλά ελληνικά στο σπίτι.
miláme angliká sti dhulyá, alá eliniká sto spíti
We speak English at work, but Greek at home.
Μπορείς να με βοηθήσεις λίγο με τις βαλίτσες;
borís na me voithísis lígho me tis valítses;
Can you help me a bit with the suitcases?
The stress test, and why it matters
Put the two "I" forms next to each other and say them aloud:
- γράφω — stress on the first syllable, the ending is a quiet -ω. → Class Α.
- αγαπώ — stress crashes onto the final -ώ. → Class Β.
Why does this one difference matter so much? Because the class is not just about the present tense — it propagates. A Class Α verb like γράφω builds its perfective stem one way (γράφ- → γράψ-), takes the Class Α past endings, and forms its aorist and future on that pattern. A Class Β verb like αγαπώ builds a different perfective stem (αγαπ- → αγαπήσ-) and carries the accent differently all the way through. Knowing the class up front is knowing the skeleton of every form the verb will ever take. The full present paradigms, with all the spelling and pronunciation notes, are on Present active, Class Α and Present active, Class Β.
An English speaker's shortcut
English verbs have no equivalent of this split — write, love, speak and drive all inflect identically (-s in the third person, -ed in the past). So there is nothing to transfer and nothing to unlearn; you simply have to add one piece of information to every verb you meet. In practice this is painless if you always learn the verb in its "I" form with its stress marked — γράφω, αγαπώ, μιλάω, μπορώ — because that form already tells you the class. Learning a bare stem like "γραφ-" or an unaccented "αγαπω" throws away exactly the information you need.
Θέλω να μάθω να οδηγώ πριν το καλοκαίρι.
thélo na mátho na odhighó prin to kalokéri
I want to learn to drive before the summer.
Παίζει πιάνο από τεσσάρων χρονών.
pézi piáno apó tesáron chronón
She's been playing the piano since she was four.
Common Mistakes
1. Writing the accent on the stem of a Class Β verb. If the verb is Class Β, the stress belongs on the ending — always.
❌ Άγαπω πολύ τα παιδιά μου.
Incorrect — Class Β stresses the ending: αγαπώ, not άγαπω.
✅ Αγαπώ πολύ τα παιδιά μου.
aghapó polí ta pedhyá mu
I love my children very much.
2. Giving a Class Α verb the Class Β plural. γράφω takes -ουμε, not -άμε; the -άμε ending belongs to the αγαπώ pattern.
❌ Γραφάμε τα ονόματά μας στον πίνακα.
Incorrect — γράφω is Class Α: the 1pl is γράφουμε, not γραφάμε.
✅ Γράφουμε τα ονόματά μας στον πίνακα.
ghráfume ta onómatá mas ston pínaka
We write our names on the board.
3. Pulling the stress onto the ending of a Class Α verb. Overgeneralising Class Β turns τρέχω into a non-word.
❌ Τρεχώ κάθε πρωί στην παραλία.
Incorrect — τρέχω is Class Α, with the stress on the stem: τρέχω.
✅ Τρέχω κάθε πρωί στην παραλία.
trécho káthe proí stin paralía
I run every morning on the beach.
4. Learning verbs without their stress. A vocabulary list that writes "αγαπω" and "γραφω" unaccented has hidden the single fact that tells you how to conjugate them.
✅ αγαπώ (Β), γράφω (Α), μιλάω (Β), παίζω (Α)
aghapó, ghráfo, miláo, pézo
Always record the accent and the class with the verb.
Key Takeaways
- Every Greek verb is Class Α or Class Β, and the test is the stress on the 1sg: unstressed -ω (γράφω) = Α; stressed -άω/-ώ (αγαπώ) = Β.
- Class Α (γράφω, παίζω, τρέχω, διαβάζω) is the big regular class; the stress stays on the stem throughout the present.
- Class Β (αγαπώ, μιλάω, μπορώ, οδηγώ) keeps the stress on the ending, and several persons have accepted doublets (αγαπώ/αγαπάω) that differ mainly in register.
- The class is lexical — not predictable from meaning — so learn every verb in its accented "I" form.
- The class decides the endings and stems in every tense, which is why it is worth nailing on day one.
Now practice Greek
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Start learning Greek →Related Topics
- Present Tense: Class Α (-ω)A1 — The full present of the big regular verb class — γράφω, παίζω, τρέχω, διαβάζω, μένω, θέλω — with its six stem-stressed endings, the -εις vs -ει spelling trap, and the fact that one Greek form covers both 'I write' and 'I am writing'.
- 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.
- Class Β Subtypes: αγαπάω vs μπορώA2 — Class Β splits into two paradigms that share the stressed ending but part ways in the middle persons: Β1 (αγαπάω/αγαπώ, αγαπάς, αγαπάει) with its everyday -άω doublets, and Β2 (μπορώ, μπορείς, μπορεί) with no -άω option. This page gives both full presents, a rule of thumb for which verb takes which, and the -άς vs -είς test that stops ×μποράω and ×αγαπείς.