Present Mediopassive: -ομαι | Greek Grammar

Every Class Α verb you have met so far — the ones whose dictionary form ends in -ω (γράφω, πλένω, ετοιμάζω) — has a second self, a form that ends in -ομαι. This is the present mediopassive, and it is where a huge slice of everyday Greek lives: "I get washed," "it is written," "I'm coming," "it's getting cold." For an English speaker the first hurdle is purely psychological — a verb listed in the dictionary as έρχομαι looks exotic, but it is as ordinary as come. Learn this one paradigm and you can read the passive, the reflexive, and a whole family of common verbs that exist in no other shape.

The paradigm

Take πλένω "I wash (something)." Swap the active -ω set for the mediopassive -ομαι set and you get πλένομαι "I wash myself / I am washed":

Person	Active	Mediopassive	Reading
εγώ	πλένω	πλένομαι	plénome
εσύ	πλένεις	πλένεσαι	plénese
αυτός/-ή/-ό	πλένει	πλένεται	plénete
εμείς	πλένουμε	πλενόμαστε	plenómaste
εσείς	πλένετε	πλένεστε	pléneste
αυτοί/-ές/-ά	πλένουν	πλένονται	plénonde

The endings are -ομαι, -εσαι, -εται, -όμαστε, -εστε, -ονται. Notice that the stress sits on the same syllable as in the active everywhere except the 1st plural, where it jumps onto the ending: πλενόμαστε, not ×πλένομαστε (Greek cannot stress the fourth syllable from the end, so it is forced forward). The full endings set, present and past side by side, lives on mediopassive personal endings; this page is about what the present does.

What one form, three meanings

The mediopassive is not "the passive" the way English has one. A single form like πλένεται can mean three different things, and context decides which:

1. Passive — the subject is acted on. γράφεται = "it is (being) written."

Πώς γράφεται το όνομά σου στα ελληνικά;

pos ghráfete to ónomá su sta eliniká;

How is your name written/spelled in Greek?

Αυτό το βιβλίο διαβάζεται εύκολα σε μια νύχτα.

aftó to vivlío dhyavázete éfkola se mya níchta

This book reads easily in a single night.

2. Reflexive — the subject does the action to itself. πλένομαι = "I wash myself," ντύνομαι = "I dress myself."

Πλένομαι πάντα με κρύο νερό το καλοκαίρι.

plénome pánda me krío neró to kalokéri

I always wash with cold water in the summer.

Ντύνομαι γρήγορα και φεύγω σε πέντε λεπτά.

dínome ghríghora ke févgho se pénde leptá

I get dressed quickly and leave in five minutes.

3. Deponent — the verb has no active form and its meaning is simply active. έρχομαι = "I come," γίνομαι = "I become."

Έρχεσαι μαζί μας για καφέ ή έχεις δουλειά;

érchese mazí mas ya kafé i échis dhulyá;

Are you coming with us for coffee, or do you have work?

💡

Don't try to translate the voice. Read πλένεται and ask what the sentence is about: a shirt (τα ρούχα πλένονται = the clothes are washed → passive), a child (το παιδί πλένεται = the child washes itself → reflexive), a verb like έρχεται that only exists here (→ deponent). Same endings, meaning from context.

Deponents: normal verbs that only live here

The reason an A2 learner cannot postpone the mediopassive is that some of the commonest verbs in the language are deponent — mediopassive in shape, active in meaning, with no -ω form at all. You cannot say ×έρχω "I come" or ×κάθομαι's non-existent active ×κάθω "I sit." The forms that exist are έρχομαι, κάθομαι, γίνομαι, σκέφτομαι.

Πού κάθεσαι; Δεν σε βλέπω πουθενά μέσα στο πλήθος.

pu káthese; dhen se vlépo puthená mésa sto plíthos

Where are you sitting? I can't see you anywhere in the crowd.

Τον χειμώνα γίνεται πολύ κρύο εδώ πάνω στο βουνό.

ton chimóna yínete polí krío edhó páno sto vunó

In winter it gets very cold up here on the mountain.

Σκέφτομαι σοβαρά να αλλάξω δουλειά του χρόνου.

skéftome sovará na alákso dhulyá tu chrónu

I'm seriously thinking of changing jobs next year.

Τα ξαδέρφια μου έρχονται από τη Θεσσαλονίκη το Σαββατοκύριακο.

ta ksadhérfya mu érchonde apó ti Thesaloníki to savatokíryako

My cousins are coming from Thessaloniki this weekend.

The 1st-plural stress shift is easy to hear once you listen for it:

Καθόμαστε στην ίδια παρέα εδώ και δέκα χρόνια.

kathómaste stin ídhya paréa edhó ke dhéka chrónya

We've been in the same group of friends for ten years now.

The complete deponent inventory — including the special contracted -άμαι group (θυμάμαι, κοιμάμαι, φοβάμαι) and why these verbs never developed an active — is on deponent verbs. Which passive stem each ordinary verb takes (some go to -ιέμαι or -ούμαι rather than plain -ομαι) is mapped on passive present classes.

The αι you can hear but must not write as ε

Look hard at four of the endings: -ομαι, -εσαι, -εται, -ονται. Every one of them ends in the sound /e/ — plénome, plénese, plénete, plénonde — yet every one is spelled -αι, never -ε. This is a fixed rule of the mediopassive, and it is one of the most reliable places to trip, because your ear gives you nothing to go on. Why Greek writes some /e/ sounds αι and others ε is untangled on spelling the /e/ sound; for these endings, take it as a flat rule: mediopassive → αι.

The consequence is a genuine trap. The mediopassive 3rd singular -εται and the active 2nd plural -ετε are perfect homophones. γράφεται ("it is written," mediopassive) and γράφετε ("you-plural write," active) are pronounced identically — ghráfete — and only the last two letters, seen not heard, tell them apart.

Αυτή η λέξη γράφεται με δύο λάμδα και ένα ήτα.

aftí i léksi ghráfete me dhío lámdha ke éna íta

This word is written with two lambdas and one eta.

Common Mistakes

1. Writing the 1st-singular ending -ομαι as -ομε. The ear says /e/, but the mediopassive is fixed with αι.

❌ Σκέφτομε να πάω διακοπές τον Αύγουστο.

Incorrect — the 1sg mediopassive ending is -ομαι, spelled with αι: σκέφτομαι.

✅ Σκέφτομαι να πάω διακοπές τον Αύγουστο.

skéftome na páo dhyakopés ton Ávghusto

I'm thinking of going on holiday in August.

2. Confusing -εται (mediopassive 3sg) with -ετε (active 2pl). Both spellings are real forms of γράφω, so neither is "wrong Greek" — but each means something different, and the ear cannot separate them. If you mean "is written," you need the αι spelling.

Το όνομά μου γράφετε με ήτα, όχι με γιώτα.

to ónomá mu ghráfete me íta, óchi me yóta

Read literally this says 'you (pl) write my name with an eta' — for 'my name is written' you need the mediopassive γράφεται, with αι.

Το όνομά μου γράφεται με ήτα, όχι με γιώτα.

to ónomá mu ghráfete me íta, óchi me yóta

My name is written with an eta, not an iota.

3. Inventing an active form for a deponent. κάθομαι has no -ω twin; ×κάθω does not exist.

❌ Κάθω στο μπαλκόνι κάθε βράδυ και διαβάζω.

Incorrect — κάθομαι is deponent (mediopassive only): κάθομαι στο μπαλκόνι.

✅ Κάθομαι στο μπαλκόνι κάθε βράδυ και διαβάζω.

káthome sto balkóni káthe vrádhi ke dhyavázo

I sit on the balcony every evening and read.

4. Leaving the accent back in the 1st plural. The stress is forced onto the ending: -όμαστε.

❌ Έρχομαστε σε λίγο, μας περιμένετε;

Incorrect — the 1pl stress must move to the ending: ερχόμαστε.

✅ Ερχόμαστε σε λίγο, μας περιμένετε;

erchómaste se lígho, mas periménete;

We're coming shortly — will you wait for us?

Key Takeaways

Every Class Α verb has a mediopassive present in -ομαι, -εσαι, -εται, -όμαστε, -εστε, -ονται, replacing the active -ω set.
One form carries three meanings — passive (γράφεται "is written"), reflexive (πλένομαι "I wash myself"), and deponent (έρχομαι "I come") — decided by context.
A large group of everyday verbs (έρχομαι, κάθομαι, γίνομαι, σκέφτομαι) is deponent: mediopassive only, active in meaning.
The endings -ομαι/-εσαι/-εται/-ονται sound like /e/ but are always spelled αι, which makes -εται (mediopassive 3sg) and -ετε (active 2pl) exact homophones.
The stress jumps to the ending in the 1st plural (πλενόμαστε, ερχόμαστε) and nowhere else.

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