οδηγώ / οδηγάω covers driving a vehicle, guiding a person, and leading toward a concrete destination or an abstract result. The contracted Β2 set is style-neutral; the live -άω set is especially common in conversation and in the literal driving sense.
Principal parts
| Slot | Form |
|---|---|
| Present | οδηγώ, οδηγείς, οδηγεί, οδηγούμε, οδηγείτε, οδηγούν(ε) οδηγάω, οδηγάς, οδηγάει, οδηγάμε, οδηγάτε, οδηγάνε(colloquial) |
| Imperfect | οδηγούσα; οδήγαγα(colloquial) |
| Aorist | οδήγησα |
| Dependent | οδηγήσω |
| Perfective imperative | οδήγησε / οδηγήστε |
| Imperfective imperative | οδήγα / οδήγατε(colloquial); plural οδηγείτε |
| Perfect | έχω οδηγήσει |
| Mediopassive | οδηγούμαι · οδηγήθηκα |
| -μένος participle | οδηγημένος |
The two present sets converge on the same perfective οδηγήσ- series. The active aorist follows the regular Class Β pattern; the mediopassive belongs to the -ούμαι class. The family also gives οδηγός (driver/guide), οδήγηση (driving) and οδηγίες (instructions).
Οδήγησα μέχρι τη Λάρισα χωρίς στάση.
odhíyisa méchri ti Lárisa chorís stási
I drove as far as Larissa without stopping.
Δεν έχω οδηγήσει ποτέ σε χιόνι.
dhen écho odhiyísi poté se chióni
I've never driven in snow.
Two live command viewpoints
The colloquial -άω set supplies the live imperfective singular οδήγα. It presents the driving internally as conduct to maintain; να οδηγείς frames the same advice as a standing policy. The perfective οδήγησε packages a bounded instruction. In the plural, both colloquial οδήγατε and neutral οδηγείτε are available; road signs favour the latter. The general viewpoint contrast is described under imperfective active commands.
Οδήγα προσεκτικά όταν βρέχει.
odhígha prosektiká ótan vréchi
Drive carefully when it rains. (colloquial imperfective command)
Να οδηγείς προσεκτικά όταν βρέχει.
na odhiyís prosektiká ótan vréchi
Always drive carefully when it rains.
Οδήγησε πιο αργά, δεν βλέπω τίποτα με την ομίχλη.
odhíyise pio arghá, dhen vlépo típota me tin omíchli
Drive more slowly; I can't see anything in the fog.
Government
The vehicle or person guided is a direct accusative object. σε + accusative marks a destination and, especially in written Greek, a consequence. With no object, the verb describes ability or manner. The destination itself is not a direct object: it remains in a σε or μέχρι phrase. Abstract "lead to" normally favours the contracted οδηγεί σε; the colloquial -άω set is most salient in literal driving.
Οδηγεί φορτηγό και λείπει συχνά από το σπίτι.
odhiyí fortighó ke lípi sichná apó to spíti
He drives a truck and is often away from home.
Με οδήγησε μέχρι την πόρτα και περίμενε να μπω.
me odhíyise méchri tin pórta ke perímene na bo
She walked me to the door and waited for me to go in.
Αυτή η υπόθεση οδηγεί σε λάθος συμπεράσματα.
aftí i ipóthesi odhiyí se láthos simberázmata
This assumption leads to the wrong conclusions. (neutral written register)
The passive is particularly common in reporting: it focuses on the destination or outcome and leaves the escorting or compelling agent unspoken.
Ο τραυματίας οδηγήθηκε στο νοσοκομείο για εξετάσεις.
o travmatías odhiyíthike sto nosokomío ya eksetásis
The injured man was taken to hospital for tests. (news register)
Driving somewhere
Greek can say Οδήγησα ως την Πάτρα when the act of driving matters. When the point is simply how you travelled, everyday speech more often uses πήγα με το αυτοκίνητο: the destination belongs to “go,” while the vehicle appears in a με phrase.
Πήγαμε με το αυτοκίνητο στην Πάτρα και γυρίσαμε το βράδυ.
píghame me to aftokínito stin Pátra ke yirísame to vrádhi
We drove to Patras and came back in the evening.
Set phrases
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| δίπλωμα οδήγησης | driving licence |
| οδηγώ μεθυσμένος | drive drunk |
| οδηγίες χρήσης | instructions for use |
| όλα οδηγούν στο ίδιο συμπέρασμα | everything points to the same conclusion |
| οδηγήθηκε στη φυλακή | was taken to prison (news/formal) |
Common Mistakes
Do not reject the conversational -άω set just because dictionaries often cite the contracted οδηγώ.
✅ Οδηγάω κάθε μέρα για τη δουλειά.
odhigháo káthe méra ya ti dhuliá
I drive for work every day. (colloquial -άω set)
✅ Οδηγώ κάθε μέρα για τη δουλειά, αλλά τα Σαββατοκύριακα παίρνω το μετρό.
odhighó káthe méra ya ti dhuliá, alá ta Savatokíriaka pérno to metró
I drive to work every day, but at weekends I take the metro.
Key Takeaways
- Both οδηγώ / οδηγείς and conversational οδηγάω / οδηγάς are live; they share οδήγησα, να οδηγήσω, έχω οδηγήσει.
- Imperfective οδήγα / οδήγατε / οδηγείτε and perfective οδήγησε / οδηγήστε present different viewpoints; there is no singular command gap.
- A direct object is driven or guided; οδηγώ σε points to a destination or consequence.
Now practice Greek
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Greek →Related Topics
- περνάω/περνώ (to pass/spend)A2 — The widest verb in the class: cross, drop by, hand over, thread, spend an evening, get into university, wear off, be taken for. Principal parts with the -ασα aorist, the six frames that sort the senses out, and the για that takes a nominative when it predicates of the subject.
- σταματάω/σταματώ (to stop)A2 — A labile verb: Σταμάτησα το αυτοκίνητο and Σταμάτησε η βροχή are the same form with no voice switch in between. Principal parts, the σταμάτησα να / σταμάτησα για να pair that English collapses into one 'stop to', and the one live mediopassive, δεν σταματιέται.
- Present Tense: Class Β2 (μπορώ)A2 — The full present of the pure Β2 anchor μπορώ — μπορώ, μπορείς, μπορεί, μπορούμε, μπορείτε, μπορούν — and the -ώ/-είς/-εί set also used by θεωρώ and καλώ. Some lexical verbs additionally waver into a live -άω set, notably οδηγώ/οδηγάω and προχωρώ/προχωράω, so the paradigm and a verb's complete inventory must be kept distinct.
- Aorist: Class ΒA2 — The aorist of second-conjugation (Class Β) verbs — the contract verbs in -άω/-ώ. They are the most regular aorist in Greek: slot a linking vowel before the -σ- and add the past endings — αγάπησα, μίλησα, ρώτησα, περπάτησα. Covers the three linking-vowel families (-ησ-, -ασ-, -εσ-), the stress that rides the antepenult, and the -εύω lookalikes that are really Class Α.
- Manner AdverbsA2 — Use common Greek manner adverbs to say how something happens, place them naturally, and distinguish true adverbs from agreeing μόνος μου.
- Principal Parts: Complete IndexA2 — A consolidated index of the principal parts of 151 frequent Modern Greek verbs, including defective and register-limited paradigms.