The second face of Class Β is the μπορώ type, or Β2. Like all Class Β verbs it stresses the ending — μπορώ, οδηγώ — but where Β1 (αγαπάω) offered you a friendly set of -άω doublets, Β2 offers none at all: its middle persons are -είς / -εί, and there is no colloquial -άω form to fall back on. This is the class of many "learned" verbs (be able, drive, consider, invite), and its rigidity is actually a mercy — one paradigm, no choices. The two things to burn in are the exact endings and the fact that μπορώ, the most useful verb in the group, refuses both ×μποράω and the Β1 "you" form.
The full present of μπορώ
| Person | Form | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| εγώ | μπορώ | boró |
| εσύ | μπορείς | borís |
| αυτός/-ή/-ό | μπορεί | borí |
| εμείς | μπορούμε | borúme |
| εσείς | μπορείτε | boríte |
| αυτοί/-ές/-ά | μπορούν(ε) | borún(e) |
The endings are -ώ, -είς, -εί, -ούμε, -είτε, -ούν(ε). Note that -είς (2sg) and -εί (3sg) both sound like a plain /i/ — borís, borí — exactly the same spelling trap as Class Α's -εις/-ει, and disambiguated the same way: by the person, not the ear. The 3pl has the usual longer everyday variant μπορούνε (borúne) beside μπορούν; that one is (informal), never wrong.
μπορώ is the workhorse of this group, and it almost always leads into a να-clause — "I can do something." That frame (μπορώ να + verb) is on να after modal verbs, and μπορώ's complete set of tenses on its reference page.
Μπορώ να σε πάρω τηλέφωνο λίγο αργότερα;
boró na se páro tiléfono lígho arghótera;
Can I call you a bit later?
Μπορείς να μου κρατήσεις μια θέση δίπλα σου;
borís na mu kratísis mia thési dhípla su;
Can you save me a seat next to you?
Μπορεί να βρέξει το απόγευμα, πάρε μια ομπρέλα.
borí na vréksi to apóyevma, páre mia ombréla
It might rain in the afternoon, take an umbrella.
Τα παιδιά δεν μπορούν να κοιμηθούν με τόση φασαρία.
ta pedhyá dhen borún na kimithún me tósi fasaría
The kids can't sleep with all this noise.
The same endings across the Β2 verbs
Every full Β2 verb takes the identical set. Here are four more common ones — οδηγώ (drive), θεωρώ (consider/think), καλώ (call/invite) and προχωρώ (proceed) — with one wrinkle: after the stem-final γ of οδηγώ, the sound shifts between gh (before ο/ου) and a soft y (before ε/ι), which is why the reading of οδηγείς comes out odhiyís, not odhighís.
| Person | οδηγώ | θεωρώ | καλώ | προχωρώ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| εγώ | οδηγώ | θεωρώ | καλώ | προχωρώ |
| εσύ | οδηγείς | θεωρείς | καλείς | προχωρείς |
| αυτός/-ή/-ό | οδηγεί | θεωρεί | καλεί | προχωρεί |
| εμείς | οδηγούμε | θεωρούμε | καλούμε | προχωρούμε |
| εσείς | οδηγείτε | θεωρείτε | καλείτε | προχωρείτε |
| αυτοί/-ές/-ά | οδηγούν(ε) | θεωρούν(ε) | καλούν(ε) | προχωρούν(ε) |
Οδηγώ εδώ και είκοσι χρόνια και δεν είχα ποτέ ατύχημα.
odhighó edhó ke íkosi chrónia ke dhen ícha poté atíchima
I've been driving for twenty years and never had an accident.
Θεωρώ ότι έχεις απόλυτο δίκιο σ' αυτό.
theoró óti échis apólito dhíkio s' aftó
I think you're absolutely right about this.
Καλούμε όλη την οικογένεια για τα Χριστούγεννα.
kalúme óli tin ikoyénia ya ta Christúyena
We invite the whole family for Christmas.
Προχωρώ σιγά σιγά με τα ελληνικά μου, αλλά προχωρώ.
prochoró sighá sighá me ta eliniká mu, alá prochoró
I'm making slow progress with my Greek, but I'm getting there.
The one that bends the rules: ζω
A handful of one-syllable Β2 verbs — above all ζω (live) — trim their endings slightly. ζω keeps the Β2 stress on the ending but drops a vowel in a couple of places, giving ζω, ζεις, ζει, ζούμε, ζείτε, ζουν(ε). There is no ×ζάω and no ×ζέω; you simply learn this short, high-frequency verb as its own little paradigm.
| Person | Form | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| εγώ | ζω | zo |
| εσύ | ζεις | zis |
| αυτός/-ή/-ό | ζει | zi |
| εμείς | ζούμε | zúme |
| εσείς | ζείτε | zíte |
| αυτοί/-ές/-ά | ζουν(ε) | zun(e) |
Ζω μόνος μου, αλλά δεν νιώθω ποτέ μοναξιά.
zo mónos mu, alá dhen niótho poté monaksiá
I live on my own, but I never feel lonely.
Πόσα χρόνια ζεις πια στην Ελλάδα;
pósa chrónia zis pia stin Eládha;
How many years have you been living in Greece now?
Β2 versus Β1: the -είς / -άς divide
The endings are the whole distinction between the two Class Β subtypes. A Β2 "you" is -είς; a Β1 "you" is -άς. Nothing about the meaning tells you which class a verb is in — you learn it with the verb — but once you know, the ending is fixed. Set them side by side and the contrast is unmistakable:
Ρωτάς αν μπορείς — και ναι, φυσικά και μπορείς.
rotás an borís — ke ne, fisiká ke borís
You're asking if you can — and yes, of course you can.
Here ρωτάς (Β1, -άς) and μπορείς (Β2, -είς) live one word apart and neither could take the other's ending. The rule of thumb for sorting new verbs into Β1 or Β2 is on Class Β subtypes.
Common Mistakes
1. Adding an -άω form to μπορώ. μπορώ is Β2: the "I" form is μπορώ, full stop. ×μποράω does not exist.
❌ Δεν μποράω να το πιστέψω, είναι απίστευτο!
Incorrect — μπορώ is Β2 and has no -άω form: μπορώ.
✅ Δεν μπορώ να το πιστέψω, είναι απίστευτο!
dhen boró na to pistépso, íne apístefto!
I can't believe it, it's incredible!
2. Giving a Β2 verb the Β1 "you" -άς. οδηγώ takes οδηγείς, not ×οδηγάς.
❌ Οδηγάς πολύ αργά, θα χάσουμε το τρένο.
Incorrect — Β2 'you' is οδηγείς, not οδηγάς.
✅ Οδηγείς πολύ αργά, θα χάσουμε το τρένο.
odhiyís polí arghá, tha chásume to tréno
You're driving too slowly, we'll miss the train.
3. Using a Β1 -άει in the 3rd person. "He/she can" is μπορεί, never ×μποράει.
❌ Ο Γιάννης δεν μποράει να έρθει απόψε.
Incorrect — the 3sg of μπορώ is μπορεί.
✅ Ο Γιάννης δεν μπορεί να έρθει απόψε.
o Yánis dhen borí na érthi apópse
Yannis can't come tonight.
4. Treating ζω like a regular Β1 or Β2 verb. It is neither ×ζάω nor ×ζέω; the "I" form is simply ζω.
❌ Ζάω στην Αθήνα εδώ και πέντε χρόνια.
Incorrect — the 1sg is ζω, with no -άω.
✅ Ζω στην Αθήνα εδώ και πέντε χρόνια.
zo stin Athína edhó ke pénde chrónia
I've been living in Athens for five years.
Key Takeaways
- Β2 (the μπορώ type) stresses the ending and takes -ώ, -είς, -εί, -ούμε, -είτε, -ούν(ε) — with no -άω variant anywhere.
- Models: μπορώ, οδηγώ, θεωρώ, καλώ, προχωρώ; the 3pl has an everyday -ούνε variant.
- After a stem-final γ, the sound alternates gh / y (οδηγώ = odhighó, οδηγείς = odhiyís) — a pronunciation detail, not a spelling change.
- ζω is slightly irregular: ζω, ζεις, ζει, ζούμε, ζείτε, ζουν — learn it as its own short paradigm.
- The class boundary is the ending: Β2 -είς vs Β1 -άς. μπορείς, not ×μποράω; οδηγείς, not ×οδηγάς.
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- 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.
- να After Modal VerbsA2 — The everyday frame [modal + να + verb] — θέλω να, μπορώ να, πρέπει να, ξέρω να, πάω να, αρχίζω να — where both verbs are fully conjugated, unlike the single infinitive of English 'want to leave'.