επιστρέφω and γυρίζω name the same event and belong to different worlds. Compare Θα γυρίσω σε μια ώρα, which you say to a friend, with ΕΠΙΣΤΡΕΦΩ ΑΜΕΣΩΣ taped to a shop door. Beyond register, it is the verb of the returns desk — γυρίζω hands things back too, but only επιστρέφω names the transaction — and it carries an internal augment that shows up in exactly two tenses.
Principal parts
| Slot | Forms | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Present | επιστρέφω, επιστρέφεις, επιστρέφει, επιστρέφουμε, επιστρέφετε, επιστρέφουν(ε) | |
| Imperfect | επέστρεφα, επέστρεφες, επέστρεφε, επιστρέφαμε, επιστρέφατε, επέστρεφαν | augment in the singular and 3rd plural only |
| Aorist | επέστρεψα, επέστρεψες, επέστρεψε, επιστρέψαμε, επιστρέψατε, επέστρεψαν | φ + σ merge to ψ |
| Dependent | επιστρέψω — θα επιστρέψω, να επιστρέψω | no augment |
| Imperative | επίστρεψε / επιστρέψτε; imperfective επίστρεφε | no augment |
| Perfect | έχω / είχα επιστρέψει | no augment |
| Gerund | επιστρέφοντας | on the way back |
| Mediopassive | επιστρέφομαι, aorist επιστράφηκα / επιστράφηκε | everyday passive: Τα χρήματα επιστράφηκαν |
| -μένος participle | — does not exist | see the learned forms below |
The augment lives in the past and nowhere else
The ε- of επέστρεψα is not part of the stem. It is the ordinary past-tense augment, pushed inside the compound because the prefix επι- got there first, and it obeys the same stress rule every augment obeys: it surfaces only when the stress would otherwise fall too far back, which is why the 1st and 2nd person plural drop it — επιστρέψαμε, not επεστρέψαμε. The internal augment works the mechanism through for the whole class.
The consequence learners over-generalise in both directions: since the augment marks past, it cannot appear where there is no past to mark. θα επιστρέψω, να επιστρέψω, έχω επιστρέψει, επιστρέφοντας and the imperative επίστρεψε are all augmentless.
Επέστρεφε κάθε Κυριακή βράδυ με το τρένο των οκτώ.
epéstrefe káthe Kiriakí vrádhi me to tréno ton októ
He used to come back every Sunday evening on the eight o'clock train.
Δεν επέστρεψε ποτέ στο χωριό όπου γεννήθηκε.
dhen epéstrepse poté sto chorió ópu yeníthike
He never went back to the village where he was born.
Επίστρεψε τα κλειδιά στη ρεσεψιόν πριν φύγεις.
epístrepse ta klidhiá sti resepsión prin fíyis
Hand the keys back in at reception before you leave.
Government
| Frame | Example | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| intransitive + σε / από | Επέστρεψε στην Αθήνα. | come back (formal) |
| accusative + σε + accusative | Επέστρεψα το βιβλίο στη βιβλιοθήκη. | give something back to somebody |
| accusative + genitive clitic | Του τα επέστρεψα. | the recipient as a clitic |
| accusative: money | επιστρέφω τα χρήματα | refund |
| mediopassive | Τα χρήματα επιστράφηκαν. | was refunded, was sent back |
The second and third rows are where the pair separates — not because γυρίζω cannot hand things back (Πότε θα μου τα γυρίσεις; is perfectly ordinary) but because it stays between people and usually wants πίσω propping it up. επιστρέφω needs no adverb and brings the institution with it, which is what makes it the verb of shops, invoices and customer service.
Επέστρεψα το πουκάμισο γιατί μου ερχόταν μικρό.
epéstrepsa to pukámiso yatí mu erchótan mikró
I took the shirt back because it was too small for me.
Αν δεν σας κάνει, μπορείτε να το επιστρέψετε μέσα σε δεκατέσσερις μέρες.
an dhen sas káni, boríte na to epistrépsete mésa se dhekatéseris méres
If it doesn't fit, you can return it within fourteen days.
Τα χρήματα επιστράφηκαν στους πελάτες μέσα σε τρεις εργάσιμες.
ta chrímata epistráfikan stus pelátes mésa se tris erghásimes
The money was refunded to the customers within three working days.
The learned forms it kept instead of a participle
There is no επιστραμμένος, but the verb is old enough to have held on to a set of learned forms that fill the gap in formal writing — a good illustration of what learned doublets do to a paradigm:
| Form | Type | Where you meet it |
|---|---|---|
| οι επιστρέφοντες | learned active participle (formal) | news: returning travellers, returnees |
| τα επιστρεφόμενα | -όμενος participle (academic, legal) | returnable goods, sums to be repaid |
| επιστρεπτέος, -α, -ο | verbal adjective (formal) | επιστρεπτέα προκαταβολή — repayable advance |
| επεστράφη / επεστράφησαν | learned passive aorist (formal, officialese) | court rulings, ministry announcements |
| ανεπιστρεπτί | learned adverb (literary) | irrevocably, past all recall |
Τα ποσά επεστράφησαν στο Δημόσιο μετά από δικαστική απόφαση.
ta posá epestráfisan sto Dhimósio metá apó dhikastikí apófasi
The sums were returned to the State following a court ruling. (formal — a news bulletin or a ministry release, never conversation)
Cavafy's 1912 poem Επέστρεφε is the same verb in an older imperative shape, with the augment that modern prose writes επίστρεφε — worth recognising, not worth copying.
Set phrases
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Επιστρέφω αμέσως. | back in a minute — the sign on the door |
| δικαίωμα επιστροφής | right of return, returns policy |
| επιστρέφω τα χρήματα | refund the money |
| εισιτήριο με επιστροφή | return ticket |
| επιστροφή στα θρανία | back to school |
| Ας επιστρέψουμε στο θέμα μας. | let's get back to the point (formal) |
Στην πόρτα έγραφε Επιστρέφω αμέσως, αλλά περιμέναμε είκοσι λεπτά.
stin pórta éghrafe epistréfo amésos, alá periméname íkosi leptá
The door said 'Back in a minute', but we waited twenty.
Ο υπουργός επιστρέφει στην Αθήνα το απόγευμα.
o ipurghós epistréfi stin Athína to apóyevma
The minister returns to Athens this afternoon.
Ας επιστρέψουμε στο θέμα μας, ξεφύγαμε πολύ.
as epistrépsume sto théma mas, ksefíghame polí
Let's get back to our subject — we've drifted a long way.
Επιστρέφοντας από τη Θεσσαλονίκη, σταματήσαμε στην Κατερίνη.
epistréfondas apó ti Thesaloníki, stamatísame stin Kateríni
On the way back from Thessaloniki we stopped at Katerini.
Key Takeaways
- επιστρέφω · επέστρεφα · επέστρεψα · επιστρέψω · επίστρεψε · έχω επιστρέψει. The aorist is ψ because φ + σ merge.
- The internal augment appears only in the imperfect and aorist, and only where the stress needs it: επέστρεψα but επιστρέψαμε. Never after θα, να or έχω, and never in the imperative.
- Both halves take an object, but επιστρέφω κάτι σε κάποιον is the one commerce uses; γυρίζω leans on πίσω and stays personal.
- Everyday passive επιστράφηκε; the learned επεστράφη belongs to officialese.
- No -μένος participle — the slot is covered by the learned οι επιστρέφοντες, τα επιστρεφόμενα and επιστρεπτέος.
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- γυρίζω (to return/turn)A2 — One verb with two complete presents from two different conjugation classes — γυρίζω and γυρνάω — sharing a single past. The everyday 'come back', the transitive 'turn' and 'give back', the 'wander about' sense, and the one Greek uses for shooting a film.
- Internal and η- AugmentB2 — Why the past of a compound verb lands the augment inside the word (κατάλαβα, ανέβηκα, υπέγραψα) and why a handful of verbs use η- instead of ε- (ήθελα, ήπια, ήρθα) — the two places where the augment, not the stem, is what makes a past tense look irregular.