After είμαι, the verb you will reach for most is έχω "I have." Its form holds no surprises — it is a completely regular Class Α verb, conjugated exactly like γράφω or θέλω. What earns it a page of its own is its frequency and its jobs: it marks possession, it turns up in the colloquial "there is/are," it powers a fistful of set expressions, and — most importantly for where your Greek is heading — it is the auxiliary that builds every perfect tense.
The paradigm
| Person | Form | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| εγώ | έχω | écho | I have |
| εσύ | έχεις | échis | you have (sg) |
| αυτός/-ή/-ό | έχει | échi | he / she / it has |
| εμείς | έχουμε | échume | we have |
| εσείς | έχετε | échete | you have (pl/formal) |
| αυτοί/-ές/-ά | έχουν(ε) | échun(e) | they have |
The χ is a raspy /kh/ sound, so έχω is écho, never "eh-oh." The 3rd plural has an optional extra -ε — έχουν or έχουνε — the fuller έχουνε being a touch more colloquial (informal); both are correct. Beyond that, if you can conjugate one regular -ω verb, you can conjugate this one. The full reference, with the past and every idiom, is on the έχω reference page.
Possession
The bread-and-butter use. Unlike είμαι, the thing possessed is a direct object and goes in the accusative:
Έχω δύο αδέρφια, έναν αδερφό και μια αδερφή.
écho dhío adhérfya, énan adherfó ke mya adherfí
I have two siblings, a brother and a sister.
Έχεις ώρα να τα πούμε έναν καφέ το απόγευμα;
échis óra na ta púme énan kafé to apóyevma;
Do you have time to catch up over a coffee this afternoon?
Η Μαρία έχει ένα μικρό σπίτι στο νησί.
i María échi éna mikró spíti sto nisí
Maria has a small house on the island.
Έχουμε τρεις γάτες και έναν σκύλο στο σπίτι.
échume tris ghátes ke énan skílo sto spíti
We have three cats and a dog at home.
Οι γείτονες έχουν καινούριο αυτοκίνητο.
i yítones échun kenúryo aftokínito
The neighbours have a new car.
Watch out: age is not έχω
Many languages say "I have twenty years" for age, and it is tempting to reach for έχω. Greek does not: age is expressed with είμαι plus χρονών — Είμαι είκοσι χρονών "I'm twenty years old." Keep έχω for things you possess, not years you have lived. (For the full agreement of the copula, see the present of είμαι.)
The colloquial existential: έχει "there is/are"
In everyday speech, an impersonal έχει means "there is" or "there are." It is always in the 3rd singular, no matter how many things it introduces, and what follows is in the accusative:
Έχει πολύ κόσμο στην παραλία σήμερα.
échi polí kózmo stin paralía símera
There are lots of people at the beach today.
Έχει φαγητό στο ψυγείο αν πεινάς.
échi fayitó sto psiyío an pinás
There's food in the fridge if you're hungry.
This existential έχει is (informal); in more careful or written Greek you would use υπάρχει / υπάρχουν "there is / there are" instead. But in speech, "Έχει κόσμο" is exactly what you will hear.
Set expressions
έχω sits at the heart of several everyday idioms — and notice that English often uses "to be" where Greek uses "to have":
Τι έχεις; Σε βλέπω λίγο στενοχωρημένο σήμερα.
ti échis; se vlépo lígho stenochoriméno símera
What's wrong? You look a little upset today.
Here Τι έχεις; literally "what do you have?" is the ordinary way to ask "what's the matter?" Another: έχω δίκιο "I'm right" (literally "I have right"), έχεις δίκιο "you're right."
The big one: the perfect auxiliary
The reason έχω matters far beyond A1 is that it is the auxiliary verb of the perfect. Greek builds "I have done" the same way English does — έχω plus a fixed non-changing form of the main verb (the perfect infinitive): έχω γράψει "I have written," έχω πάει "I have gone/been," έχω δει "I have seen." The main verb never conjugates; only έχω changes for person:
Έχω πάει τρεις φορές στην Κρήτη, τη λατρεύω.
écho pái tris forés stin Kríti, ti latrévo
I've been to Crete three times — I adore it.
That second element (γράψει, πάει, δει) is a special perfective form you meet later; the whole machine is laid out on the present perfect. For now, just register that έχω wears two hats: a full verb "have," and a helper that builds compound tenses.
Negation
Negate with δεν in front, exactly like any other verb:
Δεν έχω χρόνο τώρα, σε παίρνω τηλέφωνο αργότερα.
dhen écho chróno tóra, se pérno tiléfono arghótera
I don't have time now — I'll call you later.
Έχετε τραπέζι για τέσσερις απόψε;
échete trapézi ya téseris apópse;
Do you have a table for four this evening?
Common Mistakes
1. Using έχω for age. Age takes είμαι + χρονών, not έχω.
❌ Έχω είκοσι πέντε χρονών και σπουδάζω ιατρική.
Incorrect — age is expressed with είμαι: Είμαι είκοσι πέντε χρονών.
✅ Είμαι είκοσι πέντε χρονών και σπουδάζω ιατρική.
íme íkosi pénde chronón ke spudházo yatrikí
I'm twenty-five years old and I study medicine.
2. Making the existential έχει agree in the plural. It is impersonal and stays 3rd singular.
❌ Έχουν πολύ κόσμο στο κέντρο κάθε Σάββατο.
Incorrect — the existential is impersonal, always singular: Έχει πολύ κόσμο.
✅ Έχει πολύ κόσμο στο κέντρο κάθε Σάββατο.
échi polí kózmo sto kéndro káthe Sávato
There are lots of people in the centre every Saturday.
3. Dropping the -ς that marks "you." έχει is "he/she has"; "you have" is έχεις, with -ς.
❌ Εσύ έχει δίκιο, δεν το είχα σκεφτεί έτσι.
Incorrect — the 2nd singular is έχεις: εσύ έχεις δίκιο.
✅ Εσύ έχεις δίκιο, δεν το είχα σκεφτεί έτσι.
esí échis dhíkyo, dhen to ícha skeftí étsi
You're right, I hadn't thought of it that way.
4. Conjugating the second verb in the perfect. After έχω, the main verb stays in its fixed perfect form; it never takes present endings.
❌ Έχω γράφω το γράμμα, θα το στείλω αύριο.
Incorrect — the perfect is έχω + the fixed form γράψει: έχω γράψει.
✅ Έχω γράψει το γράμμα, θα το στείλω αύριο.
écho ghrápsi to ghráma, tha to stílo ávrio
I've written the letter — I'll send it tomorrow.
Key Takeaways
- έχω is a regular Class Α verb: έχω, έχεις, έχει, έχουμε, έχετε, έχουν(ε).
- Its core sense is possession (with the object in the accusative), and it drives idioms where English uses "be" — Τι έχεις; "what's wrong?", έχεις δίκιο "you're right."
- Colloquial impersonal έχει = "there is/are," always singular (informal); formal Greek prefers υπάρχει.
- Age uses είμαι, never έχω (Είμαι είκοσι χρονών).
- Its biggest job is as the perfect auxiliary: έχω + a fixed form (έχω γράψει "I have written"), where the second verb never changes.
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Start learning Greek →Related Topics
- έχω (to have)A1 — The complete inventory of έχω on one card — present, the ει- past είχα, future, imperative and gerund — the slots it leaves empty (no aorist, no perfective stem, no perfect of itself, no passive), and the genuinely ambiguous έχω να construction.
- 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.
- Imperfect of έχω (είχα)A2 — The single past of έχω — είχα, είχες, είχε, είχαμε, είχατε, είχαν — covering everything English does with 'had,' and doubling as the auxiliary that builds the pluperfect (είχα γράψει).