πάω / πηγαίνω (to go) | Greek Grammar

"To go" is two words in Greek, and they are not interchangeable variants. πάω is the short everyday present; πηγαίνω is the full form that supplies the shapes πάω cannot make. Learn only πάω and you will be unable to say "I used to go" or "go on, then."

The two presents

Person	πάω (everyday)	πηγαίνω (full form)
εγώ	πάω	πηγαίνω
εσύ	πας	πηγαίνεις
αυτός / αυτή	πάει	πηγαίνει
εμείς	πάμε	πηγαίνουμε
εσείς	πάτε	πηγαίνετε
αυτοί	πάνε	πηγαίνουν

Both columns are current, ordinary Greek in the present tense; πάω is far commoner in speech, πηγαίνω a shade fuller and steadier in writing. The division of labour starts outside the present.

Which form owns which slot

Slot	Form	Gloss
Everyday present	πάω	I go, I'm going
Imperfect (past continuous)	πήγαινα — πηγαιν- only	I used to go, I was going
Aorist	πήγα — with γ	I went, one completed trip
Dependent (after θα, να)	πάω — same shape as the present	θα πάω, να πάω: one trip
Imperfective after θα, να	πηγαίνω	θα πηγαίνω: I'll be going regularly
Imperative	πήγαινε / πηγαίνετε	go on, off you go
Perfect	έχω / είχα πάει	I have been (there)
Gerund	πηγαίνοντας	on the way, while going
Mediopassive	does not exist
-μένος participle	does not exist
Perfective imperative	does not exist — the command comes from πηγαιν-

Two consequences fall out of that table and they are the reason this verb needs a card of its own.

One. The dependent is spelled exactly like the everyday present, so θα πάω and να πάω show no visible aspect contrast the way θα γράψω does against θα γράφω. The contrast is still there — it just surfaces as a choice of verb: θα πάω (one trip) against θα πηγαίνω (regularly, from now on).

Two. The command slot is on the πηγαιν- side, so there is no imperative built on πα-. For a brisk "go!" Greek has Πήγαινε, and colloquially Άντε or Φύγε (informal). The first-person plural Πάμε! works as "let's go" with no particle at all — that one belongs to ας and the hortative.

Πήγαινα σχολείο με τα πόδια κάθε μέρα, με βροχή και με κρύο.

píyena scholío me ta pódhia káthe méra, me vrochí ke me krío

I walked to school every day, in rain and in cold.

Θα πηγαίνω εγώ τα παιδιά στο σχολείο αυτή τη βδομάδα.

tha piyéno eghó ta pedhiá sto scholío aftí ti vdhomádha

I'll be taking the kids to school this week.

Πήγαινε σιγά, έχει πάγο στον δρόμο.

píyene sighá, échi págho ston dhrómo

Drive slowly, there's ice on the road.

💡

πήγα rhymes with μπήκα, βγήκα and βρήκα and sits in that group in the sound of it — but it is spelled with a γ, not a κ. Say the past tense out loud all you like; when you write it, give that one letter a deliberate second look. The group it rhymes with is laid out on irregular and suppletive aorists.

Government

Frame	Example	Reading
σε accusative	Πάω στο σχολείο.	destination — the default
bare accusative with σπίτι	Πάω σπίτι.	home, with no preposition
με accusative	Πάω με τα πόδια / με το λεωφορείο.	means of getting there
για accusative	Πάω για ψώνια.	the errand you are going on
πάω να + verb	Πάω να δω.	go and do, or be about to
πάω + accusative person	Θα σε πάω εγώ.	take someone somewhere

The destination preposition and its contracted forms (στο, στη, στον) are on σε. A couple of nouns beyond σπίτι behave the same way in this frame — πάω σχολείο, πάω δουλειά (informal) — treating the place as an activity rather than a location.

Πάω για ψώνια το πρωί, θέλεις κάτι;

páo ya psónia to proí, thélis káti;

I'm going shopping in the morning — do you want anything?

Πήγα χθες στο δημαρχείο, αλλά ήταν κλειστά.

pígha chthes sto dhimarchío, alá ítan klistá

I went to the town hall yesterday, but it was closed.

Πάω να κλείσω το παράθυρο και έρχομαι.

páo na klíso to paráthiro ke érchome

I'm just going to shut the window and I'll be right back.

Έχεις πάει ποτέ στα Μετέωρα;

échis pái poté sta Metéora;

Have you ever been to Meteora?

Set phrases

Phrase	Meaning
Πάμε!	Let's go!
Πώς πάει;	How's it going?
πάει καλά	it's going well; also "fair enough"
δεν πάει άλλο	I / we can't take any more
πού το πας;	what are you driving at? (informal)
πάει και τελείωσε	it's over and done with
πάνε χρόνια	it's been years
πάει ο καημένος	he's gone — of someone who has died (informal, euphemistic)

Πώς πάει η καινούρια δουλειά;

pos pái i kenúria dhuliá;

How's the new job going?

Δεν πάει άλλο, πρέπει να ξεκουραστώ.

dhen pái álo, prépi na ksekurastó

I can't keep this up — I need to rest.

Common Mistakes

1. Building the past continuous on πα-. The imperfect lives on the long stem; there is no past tense of πάω that starts with έπα-.

❌ Έπαγα κάθε μέρα στη θάλασσα εκείνο το καλοκαίρι.

Incorrect — the imperfect is πήγαινα, built on πηγαιν-.

✅ Πήγαινα κάθε μέρα στη θάλασσα εκείνο το καλοκαίρι.

píyena káthe méra sti thálasa ekíno to kalokéri

I went to the beach every day that summer.

2. Spelling the aorist by ear. μπήκα, βγήκα, βρήκα take κ; πήγα does not.

❌ Πήκα στο φαρμακείο πριν κλείσει.

Incorrect — the aorist is πήγα, with γ.

✅ Πήγα στο φαρμακείο πριν κλείσει.

pígha sto farmakío prin klísi

I went to the chemist's before it closed.

3. Inventing a command from the short present. Since φάω gives φάε and παίρνω gives πάρε, learners produce a matching short form here. The command slot of this verb is filled from πηγαίνω.

❌ Πάε στο σούπερ μάρκετ και πάρε γάλα.

Incorrect — the command is Πήγαινε (sg) / Πηγαίνετε (pl).

✅ Πήγαινε στο σούπερ μάρκετ και πάρε γάλα.

píyene sto súper márket ke páre ghála

Go to the supermarket and get some milk.

Key Takeaways

πάω owns the everyday present and the dependent (θα πάω, να πάω); πηγαίνω owns the imperfect πήγαινα, the imperative πήγαινε / πηγαίνετε, the imperfective θα πηγαίνω and the gerund πηγαίνοντας.
Because the dependent is spelled like the present, the aspect contrast surfaces as θα πάω (one trip) against θα πηγαίνω (regularly).
Aorist πήγα, with γ — not the κ of μπήκα, βγήκα, βρήκα.
Perfect έχω πάει = "I have been (there)"; no mediopassive and no -μένος participle exist.
Destination with σε (Πάω στο σχολείο) but bare σπίτι; means with με, errand with για, and πάω να
- verb for going to do something.

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