Every Greek perfect — έχω γράψει, είχα γράψει, θα έχω γράψει — hangs on one small word that never changes: γράψει. Greek grammar calls it the απαρέμφατο (aparémfato), literally "the un-defined form," and it is worth a page of its own because getting it right is 90% of getting the perfect right. Learn how this one form is built and you can build the perfect of any verb in the language.
What it is: one frozen form after έχω
The απαρέμφατο is the invariable form that sits after the auxiliary έχω in the perfect tenses. It always ends in -ει, and — this is the whole point — it is genuinely frozen. It does not agree with the subject, it does not care about tense, it does not inflect for anything. All the grammatical work is done by the auxiliary; the -ει word just names the action.
Έχω δει αυτό το έργο δύο φορές στο θέατρο.
écho dhi aftó to érgho dhío forés sto théatro
I've seen this play twice at the theatre.
Δεν μας έχει πει ακόμα την αλήθεια.
dhen mas échi pi akóma tin alíthia
He still hasn't told us the truth.
It comes from the perfective stem + -ει
The -ει form is not something new to memorize per verb. It is built on the verb's perfective stem — the same stem you already use for the aorist and the simple future — with a fixed -ει glued on. Take the aorist, strip its augment and its personal ending, and add -ει:
| Present | Aorist (1sg) | Perfective stem | απαρέμφατο (-ει) |
|---|---|---|---|
| γράφω | έγραψα | γράψ- | γράψει |
| διαβάζω | διάβασα | διαβάσ- | διαβάσει |
| μιλάω | μίλησα | μιλήσ- | μιλήσει |
| αγοράζω | αγόρασα | αγοράσ- | αγοράσει |
| πληρώνω | πλήρωσα | πληρώσ- | πληρώσει |
Notice the shape: the απαρέμφατο is exactly the 3rd-person singular of the perfective subjunctive (να γράψει, να μιλήσει), just detached from its να and frozen there. That is a genuinely useful shortcut — if you can say να γράψει ("that s/he write"), you already know the perfect form έχω γράψει.
Πού έχεις βάλει τα κλειδιά; Τα ψάχνω μισή ώρα.
pu échis váli ta klidhiá; ta psáchno misí óra
Where have you put the keys? I've been looking for them for half an hour.
Έχω πληρώσει ήδη τον λογαριασμό, μην ανησυχείς.
écho plirósi ídhi ton loghariazmó, min anisichís
I've already paid the bill, don't worry.
It never inflects — for anything
English participles at least vary by verb (written, gone, seen), and other languages make the perfect participle agree with the subject. Greek does neither. The same -ει form serves all six persons, both numbers, and every gender. Watch it hold perfectly still while everything around it changes:
| Person / subject | Perfect of πάω ("go") |
|---|---|
| εγώ | έχω πάει |
| εσύ | έχεις πάει |
| η Μαρία | έχει πάει |
| εμείς | έχουμε πάει |
| τα παιδιά | έχουν πάει |
Τα παιδιά έχουν φάει, μπορούμε να φύγουμε ήσυχοι.
ta pedhiá échun fái, borúme na fíghume ísichi
The kids have eaten, we can leave with an easy mind.
Η Μαρία δεν έχει γυρίσει ακόμα από τη δουλειά.
i María dhen échi yirísi akóma apó ti dhuliá
Maria hasn't come back from work yet.
Plural subject, feminine subject, second person — φάει, γυρίσει, πάει never budge. The moment you feel tempted to "make it agree," stop: the -ει form has exactly one shape, forever.
One boundary worth naming, so you know where this page stops: mediopassive verbs build their own απαρέμφατο, on the passive perfective stem and with a stressed -εί — κουράζομαι → έχω κουραστεί, γράφομαι → έχει γραφτεί, πλένομαι → έχω πλυθεί. It is every bit as invariable as the active one; building it is the business of the perfect passive.
Έχω κουραστεί πολύ αυτή την εβδομάδα, θέλω δύο μέρες ύπνο.
écho kurastí polí aftí tin evdhomádha, thélo dhío méres ípno
I've got very tired this week — I need two days' sleep.
The irregular ones — memorize a short list
A handful of very common verbs build a suppletive perfective stem — one that doesn't look like the present at all — and their -ει forms inherit that irregularity. These are the same verbs that are irregular in the aorist, so if you know the aorist you already half-know these. They are short, monosyllabic, and among the most frequent words you will ever use:
| Present | Aorist (1sg) | απαρέμφατο | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| βλέπω | είδα | δει | see |
| λέω | είπα | πει | say, tell |
| τρώω | έφαγα | φάει | eat |
| πίνω | ήπια | πιει | drink |
| βρίσκω | βρήκα | βρει | find |
| μπαίνω | μπήκα | μπει | go/come in |
| βγαίνω | βγήκα | βγει | go/come out |
| έρχομαι | ήρθα | έρθει | come |
| πάω | πήγα | πάει | go |
Έχουμε πάει σε εκείνο το νησί ξανά, αλλά όχι το χειμώνα.
échume pái se ekíno to nisí ksaná, alá óchi to chimóna
We've been to that island before, but not in winter.
Δεν είχαν μπει ακόμα στην αίθουσα όταν άρχισε η ομιλία.
dhen íchan bi akóma stin éthusa ótan árchise i omilía
They hadn't yet gone into the hall when the talk began.
Αφού έχεις πιει, δώσε μου εσύ τα κλειδιά — οδηγώ εγώ.
afú échis pi, dhóse mu esí ta klidhiá — odhighó eghó
Since you've been drinking, give me the keys — I'll drive.
There is only one -ει form, and it is always perfective
A point that trips up learners coming from languages with a rich participle system: Greek's -ει form has no imperfective counterpart. Because it is built on the perfective stem, it can only ever present the action as a single completed whole. There is no "έχω γράφει" meaning "I have been writing (on and off)." The perfect in Greek always says "the action is done, sealed"; if you want the "have been doing" idea of an ongoing, still-running activity, Greek reaches instead for the plain present (Γράφω εδώ και δύο ώρες, "I've been writing for two hours"). So the -ει form is doubly fixed: fixed in shape and fixed in aspect.
Έχω τελειώσει το πρώτο μέρος, τώρα ξεκινάω το δεύτερο.
écho teliósi to próto méros, tóra ksekináo to dhéftero
I've finished the first part; now I'm starting the second.
A trap: when the -ει form looks like the present
For a small set of verbs the perfective stem happens to be identical to the present stem, so the -ει form comes out looking exactly like the present 3rd-person singular. The clearest case is κάνω ("do/make"): its -ει form is κάνει, spelled and pronounced the same as κάνει "s/he does." Only the auxiliary tells you which is which — κάνει alone is "s/he does," έχει κάνει is "s/he has done." Do not let the familiar look fool you into dropping the έχω.
Δεν έχει κάνει τίποτα κακό, μην τον μαλώνεις άδικα.
dhen échi káni típota kakó, min ton malónis ádhika
He hasn't done anything wrong — don't scold him unfairly.
Why it looks like an infinitive — because it was one
If the απαρέμφατο feels oddly like an infinitive to you, your instinct is historically correct. Ancient Greek had a full infinitive (γράφειν, "to write"), and Modern Greek lost it entirely, replacing it everywhere with να-clauses — except here. Fossilised inside the perfect, one old infinitive form survived, worn down to this fixed -ει shape. That is why it carries no person: infinitives never did. But do not mistake it for a working infinitive: you cannot use γράψει on its own to mean "to write." It exists only welded to έχω, είχα or θα έχω.
Common Mistakes
1. Trying to make the -ει form agree in number. A plural subject does not pluralize the απαρέμφατο; only έχουν changes.
❌ Τα παιδιά έχουν φάνε ήδη.
Incorrect — the -ει form never pluralizes: έχουν φάει.
✅ Τα παιδιά έχουν φάει ήδη.
ta pedhiá échun fái ídhi
The kids have already eaten.
2. Using the imperfective (present) stem instead of the perfective one. The perfect is built on the perfective stem, so γράφω gives γράψει, not ×γράφει.
❌ Έχω γράφει τρία γράμματα σήμερα.
Incorrect — the -ει form uses the perfective stem: έχω γράψει.
✅ Έχω γράψει τρία γράμματα σήμερα.
écho ghrápsi tría ghrámata símera
I've written three letters today.
3. Regularizing a suppletive verb. βλέπω does not give ×βλέψει; its perfective stem is suppletive, so the form is δει.
❌ Δεν έχω βλέψει ποτέ κάτι τέτοιο.
Incorrect — βλέπω is suppletive: δεν έχω δει.
✅ Δεν έχω δει ποτέ κάτι τέτοιο.
dhen écho dhi poté káti tétio
I've never seen anything like it.
4. Using the -ει form as a free-standing infinitive. It is not a substitute for "to + verb"; outside the perfect you still need να + a conjugated verb.
❌ Θέλω δει τι έγινε στο τέλος.
Incorrect — δει isn't a free infinitive; use να: θέλω να δω.
✅ Θέλω να δω τι έγινε στο τέλος.
thélo na dho ti éyine sto télos
I want to see what happened in the end.
Key Takeaways
- The απαρέμφατο is the invariable -ει form that follows έχω/είχα/θα έχω in every perfect tense.
- It is built on the perfective stem + -ει and is identical in shape to the 3sg perfective subjunctive (να γράψει → έχω γράψει).
- It never inflects — same form for every person, number and gender (έχω/έχουμε/είχαν πάει).
- The common suppletives mirror the aorist: δει (βλέπω), πει (λέω), φάει (τρώω), πιει (πίνω), βρει (βρίσκω), μπει / βγει, έρθει, πάει.
- It is the one fossil of the lost infinitive — welded to an auxiliary, never usable on its own.
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Start learning Greek →Related Topics
- The Present Perfect (έχω γράψει)B1 — έχω plus the invariable -ει form reports a completed action whose result or relevance reaches into the present — Έχω διαβάσει το βιβλίο ('I've read the book'), Δεν έχω πάει ποτέ στην Κρήτη ('I've never been to Crete'). It overlaps with English 'have done', but Greek leans on the plain aorist far more, and a stated time forces the aorist outright.
- Irregular Perfective StemsB1 — The commonest Greek verbs — see, say, eat, go, take, find, give, drink, come in, go out — build their perfective stem suppletively, swapping in a whole new form (βλέπω → δω, λέω → πω, τρώω → φάω) instead of adding -σ-. There is no rule; because these are the highest-frequency verbs, memorising the twelve or so pairs is one of the best-value things you can do in Greek.
- No Infinitive: The να-ClauseA2 — Modern Greek has no infinitive at all — there is no single word for 'to go'. In its place stands να plus a fully conjugated verb, which agrees with its own subject, so 'I want to leave' and 'I want you to leave' differ only by that verb's ending.
- The Perfect in the PassiveB2 — Greek has two ways to build a perfect in the passive voice — είμαι + the agreeing -μένος participle for a resulting STATE (η πόρτα είναι κλεισμένη), and έχω + the invariable passive απαρέμφατο in -εί for the EVENT (έχει γραφτεί, έχω κουραστεί) — plus how to form that -θεί/-στεί/-φτεί word and why one agrees while the other never does.