Mediopassive Imperfect (-όμουν) | Greek Grammar

When the mediopassive moves into the past, it splits — exactly as the active does — into an ongoing past and a finished one. This page is about the ongoing side: the imperfect mediopassive, whose trademark ending is -όμουν. It is the voice's was ‑ing / used to form: the house was being heated, I was getting dressed, we used to sit here. You have already seen where it fits in the voice overview — this page gives you the recognition view and the everyday uses, then routes you to the Imperfect Mediopassive page for the complete paradigm and accent drill.

Where -όμουν sits in the system

The single most important thing is the position of -όμουν relative to the tenses around it. Take ντύνομαι (get dressed) and watch the past split in two:

Present	Imperfect (ongoing)	Aorist (finished)
ντύνομαι I get dressed	ντυνόμουν I was getting dressed	ντύθηκα I got dressed

The present -ομαι becomes the imperfect -όμουν for a background, stretched-out action; it becomes the aorist -θηκα for a single, bounded one. That contrast — imperfect vs aorist — is the whole reason both past tenses exist, and it is the same aspectual split English marks with was getting dressed against got dressed. The aorist page owns the -θηκα side; here we stay with -όμουν.

The endings, at a glance

The imperfect mediopassive runs on -όμουν, -όσουν, -όταν, -όμασταν, -όσασταν, -ονταν — a set with no overlap at all with the active -α endings. Two features are worth pinning down for recognition, both explained in full on the Imperfect Mediopassive page:

Every ending except the 3rd plural carries its own stress: ερχόμουν, ντυνόσουν, γινόταν, καθόμασταν, καθόσασταν — the accent sits on the -ό- of the ending however long the verb is.
The 3rd plural -ονταν has no accent of its own, so the stress retreats to the stem: έρχονταν, γίνονταν. The accent visibly jumps between ερχόμουν and έρχονταν.

Ντυνόμουν ακόμα όταν χτύπησε το κουδούνι της πόρτας.

dinómun akóma ótan chtípise to kudhúni tis pórtas

I was still getting dressed when the doorbell rang.

💡

The 3rd-singular -όταν is the workhorse form: γινόταν, ερχόταν, φαινόταν, θερμαινόταν all end in it. If you can hear a story being told in the past — it was getting…, he was coming…, it seemed… — the verb almost certainly ends in -όταν. Reach for that ending first when the subject is "he/she/it."

Job 1: "was being X'd" — the ongoing passive

The imperfect passive describes something that was in the process of being done to the subject over a stretch of past time. English uses was/were being ‑ed.

Το φαγητό μαγειρευόταν σιγά σιγά όλο το πρωί.

to fayitó mayirevótan sighá sighá ólo to proí

The food was cooking slowly all morning.

Εκείνα τα χρόνια το σπίτι φωτιζόταν ακόμα με λάμπες πετρελαίου.

ekína ta chrónia to spíti fotizótan akóma me lámbes petreléu

In those years the house was still lit with oil lamps.

Job 2: "was X-ing oneself / used to" — reflexive, middle and deponent

The very same -όμουν form does the ongoing past of the reflexive/middle readings and — crucially — of the deponents, the verbs that have no active form at all. This is where -όμουν earns its keep in everyday storytelling, because the commonest deponents (καθόμουν, ερχόμουν, γινόταν, φαινόταν, σκεφτόμουν) live here.

Παλιά ονειρευόμουν να γίνω ναυτικός σαν τον παππού μου.

paliá onirevómun na yíno naftikós san ton papú mu

I used to dream of becoming a sailor like my grandfather.

Μικροί, καθόμασταν στην αυλή και ακούγαμε ιστορίες από τη γιαγιά.

mikrí, kathómastan stin avlí ke akúghame istoríes apó ti yayá

As children, we used to sit in the yard and listen to stories from grandma.

Ο καιρός χειροτέρευε και το ταξίδι γινόταν όλο και πιο επικίνδυνο.

o kerós chirotéreve ke to taksídhi yinótan ólo ke pio epikíndhino

The weather was getting worse and the trip was becoming more and more dangerous.

The Β-class contract verbs slot straight in: the -ιέμαι group gives -ιόμουν (αγαπιόμουν, στεναχωριόμουν) and the -άμαι deponents give -όμουν (θυμόμουν, κοιμόμουν, φοβόμουν).

Μικρός φοβόμουν το σκοτάδι και κοιμόμουν με το φως αναμμένο.

mikrós fovómun to skotádhi ke kimómun me to fos anaméno

As a child I was afraid of the dark and slept with the light on.

Παλιά στεναχωριόμουν με το παραμικρό, τώρα όμως το προσπερνάω.

paliá stenachoryómun me to paramikró, tóra ómos to prospernáo

I used to get upset over the tiniest thing, but now I let it go.

The pair to hold apart: -όμουν vs -θηκα

Because English does not force the choice as sharply, this is the pair to internalise. A background state or process that was still going on takes -όμουν; a single event that happened and finished takes -θηκα. They very often sit in the same sentence — one setting the scene, the other breaking into it:

Καθόμουν στο μπαλκόνι όταν ξαφνικά ακούστηκε ένας δυνατός κρότος.

kathómun sto balkóni ótan ksafniká akústike énas dhinatós krótos

I was sitting on the balcony when suddenly a loud bang was heard.

Here καθόμουν (imperfect) is the ongoing backdrop and ακούστηκε (aorist) is the one-off event that cuts across it — precisely the division of labour English makes with was sitting versus was heard.

A note on register

Everyday speech has looser variants of these endings, and none of them is an error — just a notch more colloquial: the singular -όμουνα / -όσουνα (ερχόμουνα) and the 3rd-plural -όντουσαν (ερχόντουσαν) alongside the plain forms (informal). In careful or written Greek, stay with -όμουν … -ονταν; recognise the longer ones when you hear them.

Common Mistakes

1. Using the present -όμαστε where the past -όμασταν is meant. They differ by a single final -ν, and the ear barely separates them.

❌ Χθες το απόγευμα καθόμαστε στην παραλία μέχρι το ηλιοβασίλεμα.

Incorrect — a past scene needs the past ending: καθόμασταν.

✅ Χθες το απόγευμα καθόμασταν στην παραλία μέχρι το ηλιοβασίλεμα.

chthes to apóyevma kathómastan stin paralía méchri to iliovasílema

Yesterday afternoon we sat on the beach until sunset.

2. Using the 1st-singular -όμουν for "he/she/it". The 3rd singular is -όταν.

❌ Ο πατέρας μου ξυπνούσε νωρίς και ετοιμαζόμουν για τη δουλειά.

Incorrect — 'he was getting ready' is the 3sg ετοιμαζόταν, not the 1sg ετοιμαζόμουν.

✅ Ο πατέρας μου ξυπνούσε νωρίς και ετοιμαζόταν για τη δουλειά.

o patéras mu ksipnúse norís ke etimazótan ya ti dhuliá

My father would wake up early and get ready for work.

3. Using the imperfect for a single, finished reaction. A one-off event that reached its end is the aorist -θηκα.

❌ Μόλις άκουσα τα νέα, στεναχωριόμουν πάρα πολύ.

Incorrect — a single, completed reaction takes the aorist: στεναχωρήθηκα.

✅ Μόλις άκουσα τα νέα, στεναχωρήθηκα πάρα πολύ.

mólis ákusa ta néa, stenachoríthika pára polí

The moment I heard the news, I got really upset.

4. Borrowing an active -α ending for a deponent. εργάζομαι is mediopassive-only; its imperfect is εργαζόμουν, never an active form.

❌ Τα καλοκαίρια εργάζα σε ένα εστιατόριο στο νησί.

Incorrect — εργάζομαι is deponent; its imperfect is εργαζόμουν, not an active -α form.

✅ Τα καλοκαίρια εργαζόμουν σε ένα εστιατόριο στο νησί.

ta kalokéria erghazómun se éna estiatório sto nisí

In the summers I worked at a restaurant on the island.

Key Takeaways

The imperfect mediopassive is the ongoing past of the whole voice, ending in -όμουν, -όσουν, -όταν, -όμασταν, -όσασταν, -ονταν — a set separate from the active -α endings.
It carries two everyday jobs: "was being X'd" (passive: μαγειρευόταν) and "was X-ing oneself / used to" (reflexive, middle, and deponent: καθόμουν, γινόταν).
Every ending but one carries its own stress (ερχόμουν, ερχόμασταν); only the 3rd plural -ονταν lets it fall back to the stem (έρχονταν).
Hold it apart from the aorist -θηκα: -όμουν is the background/process, -θηκα is the single finished event — see Mediopassive Aorist.

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