The imperfect (ο παρατατικός) is Greek's imperfective past — the tense for was writing and used to write, for the background of a story and for anything you did over and over. This page builds it for Class Α, the large regular -ω group (γράφω, παίζω, διαβάζω); the stressed Class Β verbs in -άω/-ώ (αγαπώ → αγαπούσα, μιλώ → μιλούσα) build their imperfect on a different pattern and have their own page. The recipe here is short and it reuses something you already own: take the present (imperfective) stem, add the past endings, and let a small prefix called the augment carry the stress where the word needs it. Once you have this pattern you can put almost any Α verb into the past-continuous.
How the imperfect is built
Three pieces:
- the augment ε- (a stressed prefix, added only when the word needs an extra syllable up front — more below);
- the imperfective stem — this is simply the present stem (γράφ-, παίζ-, διαβάζ-), not the perfective/aorist stem;
- the past active endings -α, -ες, -ε, -αμε, -ατε, -αν.
That second point is the one to hold onto. The imperfect is built on the same stem as the present — γράφω → έγραφα, παίζω → έπαιζα. The aorist ("I wrote", one finished act) switches to a different, perfective stem (γράφω → έγραψα), and that stem swap is the whole engine of Greek aspect. The two pasts are compared side by side on aspect in the past; here we stay on the imperfect.
The endings
| Person | Ending |
|---|---|
| εγώ (I) | -α |
| εσύ (you sg.) | -ες |
| αυτός/-ή/-ό (he/she/it) | -ε |
| εμείς (we) | -αμε |
| εσείς (you pl./formal) | -ατε |
| αυτοί/-ές/-ά (they) | -αν(ε) |
These are the past active endings, and they are shared with the aorist — only the stem in front of them differs. (The 3rd plural has a longer colloquial twin -ανε: έγραφαν ~ έγραφανε, both fine, the -ανε form (informal).)
The full paradigm: γράφω → έγραφα
| Person | Form | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| εγώ | έγραφα | éghrafa |
| εσύ | έγραφες | éghrafes |
| αυτός/-ή/-ό | έγραφε | éghrafe |
| εμείς | γράφαμε | ghráfame |
| εσείς | γράφατε | ghráfate |
| αυτοί/-ές/-ά | έγραφαν | éghrafan |
Παλιά έγραφα γράμματα στη γιαγιά μου κάθε μήνα.
paliá éghrafa ghrámata sti yayá mu káthe mína
I used to write letters to my grandma every month.
Τι έγραφες τόση ώρα στο κινητό σου;
ti éghrafes tósi óra sto kinitó su;
What were you writing on your phone all that time?
The augment: why έγραφα but γράφαμε
Look at where the accent sits: έγραφα, έγραφες, έγραφε, έγραφαν — but γράφαμε, γράφατε with no prefix at all. That is not random. Greek insists the imperfect be stressed on the third syllable from the end (the antepenult). Count the syllables:
- έγραφα would be just γρά-φα — only two syllables, and there is no third-from-last to land the accent on. So the language bolts on a syllable at the front, the augment ε-, giving έ-γρα-φα, and the stress falls neatly on it.
- γράφαμε is already γρά-φα-με — three syllables. The antepenult is right there inside the word, so no augment is needed; the stress sits on γρά and the prefix would be redundant.
That is the whole logic: the augment appears exactly where the word is otherwise too short — the singular and the 3rd plural — and vanishes in the 1st and 2nd plural, which are already long enough. English has nothing like this; our past tense (wrote, was writing) never grows a prefix to hold an accent. The deeper mechanics — verbs whose stem starts with a vowel, the historic η- augment, when the augment survives in careful speech but drops in casual speech — are all on the dedicated augment page.
The same pattern across every Α verb
Swap in any Class Α stem and nothing about the machinery changes. Here are παίζω (play) and διαβάζω (read/study):
| Person | παίζω → έπαιζα | διαβάζω → διάβαζα |
|---|---|---|
| εγώ | έπαιζα (épeza) | διάβαζα (dhiávaza) |
| εσύ | έπαιζες (épezes) | διάβαζες (dhiávazes) |
| αυτός/-ή/-ό | έπαιζε (épeze) | διάβαζε (dhiávaze) |
| εμείς | παίζαμε (pézame) | διαβάζαμε (dhiavázame) |
| εσείς | παίζατε (pézate) | διαβάζατε (dhiavázate) |
| αυτοί/-ές/-ά | έπαιζαν (épezan) | διάβαζαν (dhiávazan) |
Notice διαβάζω never grows an augment prefix even in the singular: διά-βα-ζα is already three syllables, so the stress simply retreats to the antepenult (διάβαζα, versus present διαβάζω) and no ε- is added. Verbs with a stem this long behave the same way throughout — δουλεύω → δούλευα, αγοράζω → αγόραζα, καθαρίζω → καθάριζα.
Όταν ήμουν μικρός, έπαιζα ποδόσφαιρο κάθε απόγευμα στην αλάνα.
ótan ímun mikrós, épeza podhósfero káthe apóyevma stin alána
When I was little, I used to play football every afternoon on the empty lot.
Διάβαζα εφημερίδα κάθε πρωί με τον καφέ μου.
dhiávaza efimerídha káthe proí me ton kafé mu
I used to read the newspaper every morning with my coffee.
Πού δούλευες πριν έρθεις εδώ, στο κέντρο;
pu dhúleves prin érthis edhó, sto kéndro;
Where were you working before you came here, in the centre?
Two small sub-patterns to recognise
A couple of very common verbs take a historic η- augment instead of ε-: θέλω → ήθελα (I wanted / used to want), ξέρω → ήξερα (I knew). And a set of vowel-final Α verbs slips a -γ- in before the ending: λέω → έλεγα (I was saying), τρώω → έτρωγα (I was eating), ακούω → άκουγα (I was listening). These are worth memorising as whole forms; the full list and the reason behind each lives on the augment page.
Ήθελα να σου τηλεφωνήσω χθες, αλλά το ξέχασα τελείως.
íthela na su tilefoníso chthes, alá to kséchasa telíos
I wanted to call you yesterday, but I completely forgot.
Οι γείτονες άκουγαν μουσική μέχρι αργά χθες το βράδυ.
i yítones ákoughan musikí méchri arghá chthes to vrádhi
The neighbours were listening to music until late last night.
Έλεγε πάντα ότι θα γράψει ένα βιβλίο κάποτε.
éleye pánda óti tha ghrápsi éna vivlío kápote
He always used to say he'd write a book someday.
What it means, and where to go next
Every one of these forms lands on the same English range: was ‑ing, used to, or would (habitual). Έγραφα is "I was writing" (a stretch of time), "I used to write" (a habit), or "I would write" (repeated). Which reading is meant comes from context and time-words — and choosing the imperfect over the one-and-done aorist is a skill in itself, laid out with the four core uses on using the imperfect. The single most important companion form is the imperfect of είμαι (ήμουν, "I was"), which anchors most past descriptions and has its own page: the imperfect of είμαι.
Έπινε τον καφέ του σιγά σιγά και κοίταζε έξω απ' το παράθυρο.
épine ton kafé tu sighá sighá ke kítaze ékso ap to paráthiro
He was sipping his coffee slowly and looking out the window.
Common Mistakes
1. Keeping the augment in the 1st/2nd plural. The prefix exists only to hold the stress; where the word is already long enough (γράφαμε, γράφατε), there is no ε-.
❌ Παλιά εγράφαμε γράμματα, τώρα στέλνουμε μηνύματα.
Incorrect — the 1st plural takes no augment: γράφαμε.
✅ Παλιά γράφαμε γράμματα, τώρα στέλνουμε μηνύματα.
paliá ghráfame ghrámata, tóra stélnume minímata
We used to write letters, now we send texts.
2. Reaching for the aorist when the past is a habit or a background. έγραψα is "I wrote (once, finished)"; for a repeated or ongoing past you need the imperfect stem.
❌ Κάθε καλοκαίρι έγραψα καρτ ποστάλ από το νησί.
Incorrect — a yearly habit is imperfective, so the imperfect: έγραφα.
✅ Κάθε καλοκαίρι έγραφα καρτ ποστάλ από το νησί.
káthe kalokéri éghrafa kart postál apó to nisí
Every summer I used to write postcards from the island.
3. Blending the past ending with an extra syllable. The endings are a clean set; forms like ×έγραφασα splice two endings together and do not exist.
❌ Χθες όλη μέρα έγραφασα την εργασία μου.
Incorrect — there is no such ending; the 1st singular is έγραφα.
✅ Χθες όλη μέρα έγραφα την εργασία μου.
chthes óli méra éghrafa tin erghasía mu
Yesterday I was writing my assignment all day.
4. Using the present 3rd-plural ending -ουν for the past. "They were playing" needs the past ending -αν, not the present -ουν.
❌ Τα παιδιά έπαιζουν στην αυλή όταν άρχισε η βροχή.
Incorrect — the past 3rd plural is -αν: έπαιζαν.
✅ Τα παιδιά έπαιζαν στην αυλή όταν άρχισε η βροχή.
ta pedhiá épezan stin avlí ótan árchise i vrochí
The kids were playing in the yard when the rain started.
Key Takeaways
- The Class Α imperfect = present (imperfective) stem
- past endings -α, -ες, -ε, -αμε, -ατε, -αν — γράφω → έγραφα, παίζω → έπαιζα, διαβάζω → διάβαζα.
- The stem is the present stem, not the aorist's perfective stem; that stem difference is what separates έγραφα ("was writing") from έγραψα ("wrote").
- The stressed augment ε- appears only where the word would otherwise be too short to stress the antepenult — the singular and 3rd plural (έγραφα, έγραφαν) — and is absent in the 1st/2nd plural (γράφαμε, γράφατε).
- Long-stemmed verbs (διαβάζω, δουλεύω) never take a prefix; the stress just retreats one syllable inward (διάβαζα, δούλευα).
- A few verbs use an η- augment (θέλω → ήθελα) or insert -γ- (λέω → έλεγα); the imperfect maps to English was ‑ing / used to / would.
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Start learning Greek →Related Topics
- Using the ImperfectA2 — The four jobs the imperfect (παρατατικός) does — the ongoing background of a past scene, a repeated or habitual past, the description of past states and settings, and a softened, polite request — each set against the single-event aorist and mapped onto English 'was doing / used to do / would do'.
- The Augment in the ImperfectB1 — Why the stressed ε- appears on έγραφα and έπαιζα but vanishes in γράφαμε and παίζατε — the augment's real job of hosting the antepenultimate stress, plus its behaviour on compound verbs and its absence on Class Β.
- 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.