Present Mediopassive: -ούμαι and -άμαι | Greek Grammar

Two mediopassive present patterns remain after the plain -ομαι and the -ιέμαι of the -άω verbs. The first, -ούμαι, belongs to the Β2 verbs — the contract verbs whose active ends in stressed -ώ (θεωρώ, καλώ); it leans formal. The second is tiny but you will use it every single day: a closed handful of -άμαι deponents — θυμάμαι (remember), κοιμάμαι (sleep), φοβάμαι (be afraid), λυπάμαι (be sorry). These four are irregular, high-frequency, and not optional, so this page gives them in full.

The -ούμαι class (Β2 verbs)

Verbs like θεωρώ "I consider" build their mediopassive as θεωρούμαι "I am considered / I am regarded as":

Person	Form	Reading
εγώ	θεωρούμαι	theorúme
εσύ	θεωρείσαι	theoríse
αυτός/-ή/-ό	θεωρείται	theoríte
εμείς	θεωρούμαστε	theorúmaste
εσείς	θεωρείστε	theoríste
αυτοί/-ές/-ά	θεωρούνται	theorúnde

Notice the two vowels: -ού- in the 1st person and the plural (θεωρούμαι, θεωρούμαστε, θεωρούνται), -εί- in the 2nd/3rd singular and 2nd plural (θεωρείσαι, θεωρείται, θεωρείστε). Most verbs of this class — στερούμαι "be deprived of," διαιρούμαι "be divided," καλούμαι "be summoned," κρατούμαι "be detained" — belong to formal and written register (formal). But θεωρούμαι itself is thoroughly everyday:

Θεωρείται ένας από τους καλύτερους γιατρούς στην πόλη.

theoríte énas apó tus kalíterus yatrús stin póli

He's considered one of the best doctors in town.

Θεωρούμαι υπεύθυνος για ό,τι συμβαίνει σε αυτό το τμήμα.

theorúme ipéfthinos ya óti simvéni se aftó to tmíma

I'm held responsible for whatever happens in this department.

The -άμαι deponents: four everyday verbs

Now the ones you cannot avoid. Four of the most common verbs in Greek — remember, sleep, fear, be sorry — belong to a special contracted class ending in -άμαι. They are deponent: they exist only in the mediopassive and have no active form (there is no ×θυμώ, no ×κοιμώ). Their meaning is plainly active. Here is the whole set, side by side:

Person	θυμάμαι (remember)	κοιμάμαι (sleep)	φοβάμαι (fear)	λυπάμαι (be sorry)
εγώ	θυμάμαι	κοιμάμαι	φοβάμαι	λυπάμαι
εσύ	θυμάσαι	κοιμάσαι	φοβάσαι	λυπάσαι
αυτός/-ή/-ό	θυμάται	κοιμάται	φοβάται	λυπάται
εμείς	θυμόμαστε	κοιμόμαστε	φοβόμαστε	λυπόμαστε
εσείς	θυμάστε	κοιμάστε	φοβάστε	λυπάστε
αυτοί/-ές/-ά	θυμούνται	κοιμούνται	φοβούνται	λυπούνται

The irregularity is worth naming precisely, because it is what makes these verbs feel slippery: the stem vowel changes three times down the column. The singular and the 2nd plural keep -α- (θυμάμαι, θυμάσαι, θυμάται, θυμάστε); the 1st plural switches to -ο- (θυμόμαστε); the 3rd plural rounds to -ου- (θυμούνται). There is no deeper logic to internalise — this is a memorise-it paradigm, and because these four verbs come up constantly, the repetition does the memorising for you.

Δεν θυμάμαι πού άφησα τα γυαλιά μου.

dhen thimáme pu áfisa ta yalyá mu

I don't remember where I left my glasses.

Θυμάσαι εκείνο το καλοκαίρι που περάσαμε στη Νάξο;

thimáse ekíno to kalokéri pu perásame sti Nákso;

Do you remember that summer we spent on Naxos?

Θυμόμαστε ακόμα με συγκίνηση τα λόγια της γιαγιάς μας.

thimómaste akóma me singínisi ta lóya tis yayás mas

We still remember our grandmother's words with emotion.

Τα σαββατοκύριακα κοιμάμαι μέχρι τις έντεκα το πρωί.

ta savatokíryaka kimáme méchri tis éndeka to proí

On weekends I sleep until eleven in the morning.

Το μωρό κοιμάται επιτέλους, ας μιλάμε λίγο πιο σιγά.

to moró kimáte epitélus, as miláme lígho pyo sighá

The baby's finally asleep — let's talk a bit more quietly.

Φοβάμαι τα ύψη, γι' αυτό δεν ανεβαίνω στην ταράτσα.

fováme ta ípsi, yaftó dhen anevéno stin tarátsa

I'm afraid of heights, so I don't go up onto the roof terrace.

Μη φοβάσαι, είμαι εδώ δίπλα σου όλη την ώρα.

mi fováse, íme edhó dhípla su óli tin óra

Don't be afraid — I'm right here next to you the whole time.

Λυπάμαι, αλλά δεν μπορώ να σε βοηθήσω αυτή τη φορά.

lipáme, alá dhen boró na se voithíso aftí ti forá

I'm sorry, but I can't help you this time.

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Two of these four have their own reference pages with the past tense, the perfective, and every idiom worth knowing: θυμάμαι and φοβάμαι. Note also a register split for "fear": everyday speech uses φοβάμαι, while a more formal variant φοβούμαι (φοβούμαι, φοβείσαι…) follows the -ούμαι pattern above (formal).

Why "deponent" matters here

Because these verbs live only in the mediopassive, the -άμαι form is not "the passive of θυμώ" — there is no θυμώ to be passive of. θυμάμαι just means "I remember." Trying to build an active out of a feeling of "but the meaning is active, so surely there's an -ω form" is the single trap English speakers fall into. There isn't. The full inventory of Greek deponents, and the historical reason so many verbs of perception and emotion ended up mediopassive-only, is on deponent verbs.

Λυπόμαστε πολύ που φεύγεις, θα μας λείψεις όλους.

lipómaste polí pu févyis, tha mas lípsis ólus

We're really sorry you're leaving — we'll all miss you.

Common Mistakes

1. Adding the -ιέμαι glide to an -άμαι deponent. θυμάμαι is not built like αγαπιέμαι; there is no ×θυμιέμαι.

❌ Δεν θυμιέμαι καθόλου το τηλέφωνό της.

Incorrect — θυμάμαι is an -άμαι deponent, not an -ιέμαι verb: θυμάμαι.

✅ Δεν θυμάμαι καθόλου το τηλέφωνό της.

dhen thimáme kathólu to tiléfonó tis

I don't remember her phone number at all.

2. Keeping -α- in the 3rd plural. The plural of this class rounds to -ούνται, not ×-άνται.

❌ Οι μεγάλοι δεν θυμάνται πάντα πώς είναι να είσαι παιδί.

Incorrect — the 3pl is θυμούνται, with -ού-.

✅ Οι μεγάλοι δεν θυμούνται πάντα πώς είναι να είσαι παιδί.

i megháli dhen thimúnde pánda pos íne na íse pedhí

Grown-ups don't always remember what it's like to be a child.

3. Spelling the singular ending with ε. As everywhere in the mediopassive, -άμαι sounds like /e/ but is written with αι.

❌ Ειλικρινά, δεν θυμάμε αυτή την ιστορία.

Incorrect — the 1sg is θυμάμαι, spelled with αι.

✅ Ειλικρινά, δεν θυμάμαι αυτή την ιστορία.

ilikriná, dhen thimáme aftí tin istoría

Honestly, I don't remember this story.

4. Giving the -ούμαι class the plain -εσαι ending. The Β2 mediopassive 2nd singular is -είσαι, with ει.

❌ Θεωρέσαι υπεύθυνος για την καθυστέρηση.

Incorrect — the -ούμαι class 2sg is θεωρείσαι, with ει.

✅ Θεωρείσαι υπεύθυνος για την καθυστέρηση.

theoríse ipéfthinos ya tin kathistérisi

You're being held responsible for the delay.

Key Takeaways

The -ούμαι class (Β2 verbs like θεωρώ → θεωρούμαι) mixes -ού- (1sg + plural) and -εί- (2sg, 3sg, 2pl); most such verbs are (formal), but θεωρούμαι is everyday.
Four ultra-common -άμαι deponents — θυμάμαι, κοιμάμαι, φοβάμαι, λυπάμαι — must be memorised whole; they exist only in the mediopassive, with active meaning.
Their stem vowel shifts three ways: -α- in the singular and 2pl, -ο- in the 1pl (θυμόμαστε), -ου- in the 3pl (θυμούνται).
They are neither -ομαι nor -ιέμαι verbs: no ×θυμιέμαι, no ×θυμώ — and, as always, the endings are spelled with αι.

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