κάνω (to do/make) | Greek Grammar

A lookup card for the verb you will reach for more often than any other content verb in Greek. κάνω earns its page for two reasons: it is the flagship verb with no formal aspect contrast, and it is the workhorse of dozens of everyday expressions where English has a dedicated verb and Greek just says noun + κάνω.

Every form κάνω has

Slot	Forms	Gloss
Present	κάνω, κάνεις, κάνει, κάνουμε, κάνετε, κάνουν(ε)	do, make, be (of weather)
Imperfect	έκανα, έκανες, έκανε, κάναμε, κάνατε, έκαναν(ε)	was doing, used to do
Aorist	έκανα — the very same word	did, made
Dependent (after θα, να, ας)	κάνω — identical to the present	θα κάνω, να κάνω
Imperative	κάνε / κάντε (also κάνετε)	do it, make it
Perfect	έχω / είχα κάνει	have done, had done
Gerund	κάνοντας	doing, by doing
Passive participle	καμωμένος — made, built	from the older stem κάμ-

There is no ×έκανσα and no ×κάνσω. Learners build them because the ordinary Greek perfective adds a -σ- (γράφω → έγραψα, ακούω → άκουσα), but κάνω never took that route. The old stem κάμ- did survive elsewhere: it gives the participle καμωμένος — mostly met inside καλοκαμωμένος "well-built," while the everyday "made" is φτιαγμένος — and, in the south and on Crete, the living regional forms έκαμα and να κάμω (regional: Crete, Cyprus and the islands).

κάνω also has no passive of its own worth using: κάνομαι is marginal, and the meaning "be done, be made, get done" is supplied lexically by a different verb, γίνομαι.

Η δουλειά έγινε σωστά και στην ώρα της.

i dhuliá éyine sostá ke stin óra tis

The job was done properly and on time.

No aspect contrast — only adverbs disambiguate

Every other Greek verb forces you to choose a stem after θα and να, and gives you two different pasts. κάνω gives you one of each: κάνω is both present and dependent, έκανα is both imperfect and aorist. Nothing in the shape of the verb tells you whether a past event was a single bounded act or a repeated habit — you have to read it off the adverbs, exactly as the aspect choice guide describes for the rest of the system.

Παλιά έκανα γιόγκα τρεις φορές την εβδομάδα.

paliá ékana yóga tris forés tin evdhomádha

I used to do yoga three times a week.

Χθες έκανα γιόγκα για πρώτη φορά και πονάω παντού.

chthes ékana yóga ya próti forá ke ponáo pandú

Yesterday I did yoga for the first time and I ache all over.

💡

This is a rare piece of good news: with κάνω you cannot pick the wrong stem, because there is only one. Front-load the adverb instead — παλιά, κάθε…, συνήθως for the habit, χθες, μια φορά, τελικά for the single act — and the sentence reads unambiguously.

What κάνω takes

A direct object in the accusative (Κάνω τα μαθήματά μου), and the person affected as a weak genitive pronoun (Τι μου έκανες;) or σε + accusative for a full noun (Τι έκανες στο παιδί;). Beyond that, four frames carry most of its work:

Weather — impersonal third singular with a bare noun. This is the Greek default for ambient conditions:

Κάνει τέτοια ζέστη που δεν βγαίνω καθόλου το μεσημέρι.

káni tétia zésti pu dhen vyéno kathólu to mesiméri

It's so hot that I don't go out at all at midday.

Price — κάνει is the everyday "costs," more common in shops than κοστίζει:

Πόσο κάνουν αυτά τα δύο μαζί;

póso kánun aftá ta dhío mazí;

How much are these two together?

Pretence — κάνω τον + accusative, "play the, act the":

Μην κάνεις τον έξυπνο μαζί μου, σε ξέρω χρόνια.

min kánis ton éksipno mazí mu, se kséro chrónia

Don't play clever with me, I've known you for years.

Duration — κάνω + a time expression, "it took":

Κάναμε τρεις ώρες από την Αθήνα μέχρι τη Λαμία.

káname tris óres apó tin Athína méchri ti Lamía

It took us three hours from Athens to Lamia.

Greek's biggest light verb

Learning κάνω is learning fifty expressions at once, because Greek routinely says noun + κάνω where English has one dedicated verb: κάνω μπάνιο (bathe/swim), κάνω μια βόλτα (go for a walk), κάνω παρέα (hang out with), κάνω λάθος (be wrong), κάνω πλάκα (be joking), κάνω κράτηση (book), κάνω πίσω (back down). The full family is on light verbs.

Κάνω μπάνιο στη θάλασσα μέχρι τον Οκτώβρη.

káno bánio sti thálasa méchri ton Októvri

I swim in the sea right up to October.

Πάμε να κάνουμε μια βόλτα στην παραλία;

páme na kánume mia vólta stin paralía;

Shall we go for a walk on the beach?

Κάνουμε παρέα από το γυμνάσιο.

kánume paréa apó to yimnásio

We've been friends since secondary school.

Έκανα λάθος, συγγνώμη — νόμιζα ότι ήταν δικό σου.

ékana láthos, sighnómi — nómiza óti ítan dhikó su

I made a mistake, sorry — I thought it was yours.

Τα έκανα θάλασσα στις εξετάσεις και πρέπει να ξαναδώσω.

ta ékana thálasa stis eksetásis ke prépi na ksanadhóso

I made a total mess of the exams and I have to resit.

δεν κάνει is the impersonal "it isn't done, it won't do" — a mild prohibition:

Δεν κάνει να μπαίνεις με τα παπούτσια στο σπίτι.

dhen káni na bénis me ta papútsia sto spíti

You shouldn't come into the house with your shoes on.

Common Mistakes

1. Inventing a perfective with -σ-. The rule that builds έγραψα and άκουσα does not apply here: there is no ×έκανσα for the past and no ×κάνσω after θα or να.

❌ Χθες έκανσα μια βόλτα στο κέντρο.

Incorrect — κάνω has no sigmatic aorist; the past is έκανα.

✅ Χθες έκανα μια βόλτα στο κέντρο.

chthes ékana mia vólta sto kéndro

Yesterday I went for a walk in the centre.

2. Reaching for είμαι when you mean the weather. Both verbs occur with κρύο, but they say different things: κάνει κρύο is the ambient weather, είναι κρύο is a property of a particular thing. English "it's cold" collapses the two, so make the choice deliberately.

Κάνει κρύο, πάρε ένα μπουφάν.

káni krío, páre éna bufán

It's cold out — take a jacket.

Πρόσεχε, το πιάτο είναι κρύο — να το ζεστάνω;

prósiche, to piáto íne krío — na to zestáno;

Careful, the dish is cold — shall I warm it up?

Key Takeaways

κάνω / έκανα is the whole verb: present = dependent, imperfect = aorist. There is nothing to choose and nothing to derive.
Consequently only adverbs mark habit against single act — the verb itself stays silent.
No ×έκανσα, no ×κάνσω, and no usable passive: γίνομαι supplies "be done."
καμωμένος and the regional έκαμα / να κάμω are the surviving traces of the older stem κάμ-.
Treat κάνω as a light verb: when you want a verb Greek may not have, check first whether it is noun + κάνω.

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