English normally builds an eventive passive with be plus a participle: is washed, was being washed, has been washed. Greek instead has a synthetic mediopassive voice (μεσοπαθητική φωνή), whose verb has tense-specific shapes — -ομαι in the present, -όμουν in the imperfect, commonly -θηκα for a bounded aorist, and a two-part perfect with έχω + -θεί or a result-state construction with είμαι + -μένος. These are families, not one suffix mechanically carried through every tense: stems change, and some deponents have suppletive perfective forms. The detailed drills live on the pages linked below; here you see how the pieces fit together.
If you have not yet met what the -ομαι voice means — its five overlapping jobs of passive, reflexive, reciprocal, middle and deponent — read Active and Mediopassive Voice first. This page assumes that concept and focuses on the forms across tenses.
The whole voice in one table
Here is the single most useful thing to fix in your head. Take three verbs — reflexive πλένομαι (wash oneself), passive γράφομαι (be written / be registered), and deponent έρχομαι (come) — and compare their third-person singular shapes. The first two display the productive mediopassive pattern; έρχομαι shows why a deponent's perfective principal parts must still be learned individually:
| Tense | Typical shape | πλένομαι (wash oneself) | γράφομαι (be written) | έρχομαι (come, dep.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | -εται | πλένεται | γράφεται | έρχεται |
| Imperfect | -όταν | πλενόταν | γραφόταν | ερχόταν |
| Aorist | -θηκε / variants | πλύθηκε | γράφτηκε | ήρθε |
| Perfect (event) | έχει + -θεί / variant | έχει πλυθεί | έχει γραφτεί | έχει έρθει |
| Perfect (state) | είναι + -μένος | είναι πλυμένος | είναι γραμμένο | — |
Across the rows, the central contrast is clear: present and imperfect use the imperfective family, while the aorist and event perfect use a perfective principal part. The έρχομαι column is the warning against overgeneralizing: its present and imperfect look mediopassive, but its aorist ήρθε and perfect έχει έρθει are suppletive and active-shaped. The dash records a lexical fact about this verb — Standard Greek has no ordinary result-state participle meaning “in the state of having come” — not a ban on result-state participles for all deponents.
Έρχομαι κατευθείαν, μόλις κλείσω τον υπολογιστή.
érchome katefthían, mólis klíso ton ipoloyistí
I'm coming right away, as soon as I shut down the computer.
Ντύνομαι πάντα στα σκούρα τον χειμώνα.
dínome pánda sta skúra ton chimóna
I always dress in dark colours in winter.
Present: -ομαι — internal or open viewpoint
The present is where you meet the voice first, and it splits into spelling classes: plain -ομαι, the -ιέμαι of many -άω verbs, and -ούμαι / -άμαι patterns. Which class a verb takes is mapped on Mediopassive Present Forms. Several present endings contain final written αι pronounced /e/, notably -ομαι, -εσαι, -εται. In the third person, γράφεται “is written” must therefore be distinguished from active second-plural γράφετε “you write.”
Το φαγητό σερβίρεται στις οκτώ ακριβώς, μην αργήσεις.
to fayitó servírete stis októ akrivós, min aryísis
Dinner is served at eight sharp — don't be late.
Οι εγγραφές γίνονται μόνο τις καθημερινές το πρωί.
i engrafés yínonde móno tis kathimerinés to proí
Registrations are done only on weekdays in the morning.
Imperfect: -όμουν — an internal or open past view
Shift the whole thing into the imperfect and the endings become -όμουν, -όσουν, -όταν, -όμασταν, -όσασταν, -ονταν. The form presents a past situation internally or leaves it unbounded, which often corresponds to English was -ing or used to. It can focus on the internal course of one event as well as an open habit. The full paradigm and accent details are on Mediopassive Imperfect (-όμουν).
Όταν ήμουν μικρός, το σπίτι θερμαινόταν με ξύλα.
ótan ímun mikrós, to spíti thermenótan me ksíla
When I was little, the house was heated with wood.
Aorist: -θηκα — the bounded viewpoint
For a past event or finite series packaged as a bounded whole, many verbs switch to the mediopassive aorist in -θηκα, with stem-driven variants such as -φτηκα / -χτηκα / -στηκα. This viewpoint does not by itself assert a single occurrence or a permanent result. Deponents may instead have an active-shaped or suppletive aorist, as έρχομαι → ήρθα shows. The productive pattern is laid out on Mediopassive Aorist (-θηκα).
Το γεφύρι επισκευάστηκε μετά την πλημμύρα του Δεκεμβρίου.
to yefíri episkevástike metá tin plimíra tu Dhekemvríu
The bridge was repaired after December's flood.
Οι δυο τους γνωρίστηκαν στα φοιτητικά τους χρόνια.
i dhio tus ghnorístikan sta fititiká tus chrónia
The two of them met during their university years.
Perfect: two engines, έχω + -θεί and είμαι + -μένος
The perfect is the one slot where the voice offers two constructions with different meanings. The event is reported with έχω + the invariable -θεί form (έχει γραφτεί = it has been written); the resulting state is described with είμαι + the agreeing -μένος participle (είναι γραμμένο = it stands written). The whole passive perfect system across present, past and future is consolidated on the perfect in the passive.
Όλα έχουν ετοιμαστεί για την υποδοχή των καλεσμένων.
óla échun etimastí ya tin ipodhochí ton kalezménon
Everything has been prepared for the guests' reception.
Το δωμάτιο είναι ήδη τακτοποιημένο, μπορείς να ξεκουραστείς.
to dhomátio íne ídhi taktopiiméno, borís na ksekurastís
The room is already tidied up — you can rest.
Why this system feels alien to English
Something subtler is going on than “Greek marks voice with an ending.” In English the eventive passive is one recipe — be + participle — and only be conjugates: is built, was built, has been built. Greek finite mediopassive forms instead change across tense and stem: πλένομαι, πλενόμουν, πλύθηκα. The imperfective stem πλεν- presents an internal or open view, while perfective πλυ- packages an event or finite series as bounded. The separate είμαι + -μένος construction describes a result state rather than serving as the universal eventive-passive recipe.
The rest of the voice
The system above is the skeleton. The subgroup fills in the flesh: the deponent verbs that live only in this voice (έρχομαι, θυμάμαι, κοιμάμαι); the reflexive and reciprocal readings; how to name the agent with από; the -μένος participle itself; and the subtler middle-voice meanings. Use this page as the index; go deep on each page in turn.
Common Mistakes
1. Treating the event passive and result state as interchangeable. Both constructions are grammatical; context decides whether you are scheduling the delivery event or describing the parcel's current state.
✅ Το συμβόλαιο υπογράφεται αύριο το πρωί.
to simvóleo ipoghráfete ávrio to proí
The contract is being signed tomorrow morning. (scheduled event)
✅ Το συμβόλαιο είναι ήδη υπογεγραμμένο από όλους.
to simvóleo íne ídhi ipoyeghraméno apó ólus
The contract is already signed by everyone. (resulting state)
2. Treating χθες as an automatic aorist switch. The aorist packages the whole washing episode as bounded; the imperfect views the same past situation from inside.
✅ Χθες όλα τα ρούχα πλύθηκαν στο χέρι.
chthes óla ta rúcha plíthikan sto chéri
Yesterday all the clothes were washed by hand. (bounded episode)
✅ Χθες, όταν μπήκα, τα ρούχα πλένονταν ακόμα.
chthes, ótan bíka, ta rúcha plénondan akóma
Yesterday, when I came in, the clothes were still being washed. (internal view)
3. Spelling present 1sg -ομαι as -ομε. The final /e/ of this ending is written αι.
❌ Ντρέπομε λίγο να το πω, αλλά δεν κατάλαβα τίποτα.
Incorrect — the 1sg mediopassive ending is -ομαι, spelled with αι: ντρέπομαι.
✅ Ντρέπομαι λίγο να το πω, αλλά δεν κατάλαβα τίποτα.
drépome lígho na to po, alá dhen katálava típota
I'm a bit embarrassed to say it, but I didn't understand a thing.
4. Using the resulting-state form for an ongoing action. Both of the following are correct Greek, but they mean different things — the present ending is the action underway, the -μένος form is the finished state.
Το ψωμί ψήνεται ακόμα, θα είναι έτοιμο σε δέκα λεπτά.
to psomí psínete akóma, tha íne étimo se dhéka leptá
The bread is still baking — it'll be ready in ten minutes. (action underway)
Το ψωμί είναι ψημένο, μπορείς να το κόψεις.
to psomí íne psiméno, borís na to kópsis
The bread is baked — you can slice it. (finished state)
Key Takeaways
- The mediopassive uses tense-specific families: present -ομαι, imperfect -όμουν, commonly aorist -θηκα, event perfect έχω + -θεί, and result state είμαι + -μένος.
- Present and imperfect endings identify the voice, but perfective principal parts can change stems or be suppletive: έρχομαι → ήρθε → έχει έρθει.
- Greek has no single be + participle recipe for the eventive passive; finite mediopassive forms inflect, while είμαι + -μένος describes a result state.
- Use this page as the index; each tense has its own drill page, and the meaning side lives on Active and Mediopassive Voice.
Now practice Greek
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Start learning Greek →Related Topics
- Active and Mediopassive VoiceA2 — Greek marks voice on the verb's ending, not with an auxiliary — active -ω versus the mediopassive -ομαι that covers passive, reflexive, reciprocal, middle and deponent meanings all at once.
- Mediopassive Present FormsB1 — A recognition map from a verb's active conjugation class to its present mediopassive shape — Α → -ομαι, Β1 → -ιέμαι, Β2 → -ούμαι, plus the closed -άμαι deponent set — routing to the three pages that drill each full paradigm.
- Deponent Verbs (-ομαι only)B1 — Verbs with no corresponding active present but an active meaning — έρχομαι (come), κάθομαι (sit), γίνομαι (become), θυμάμαι (remember), φοβάμαι (fear), σκέφτομαι (think), εργάζομαι (work) — their mediopassive present and imperfect, and their unpredictable active-type or mediopassive-type perfective forms.