στέκομαι covers physical standing, stopping, pausing over an issue, and supporting somebody. Its frequent command Στάσου! also works as conversational “wait” or “hold on,” with no necessary reference to posture.
Στέκομαι όρθια όλη μέρα στη δουλειά.
stékome órthia óli méra sti dhuliá
I'm on my feet all day at work.
Στάσου ένα λεπτό, ξέχασα τα κλειδιά.
stásu éna leptó, kséchasa ta klidhiá
Hold on a minute; I forgot the keys.
Principal parts
| Slot | Form | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Present | στέκομαι, στέκεσαι, στέκεται, στεκόμαστε, στέκεστε, στέκονται | mediopassive endings, active meaning |
| Imperfect | στεκόμουν | |
| Aorist | στάθηκα | suppletive perfective stem σταθ- |
| Dependent | σταθώ | να σταθώ, θα σταθώ |
| Imperative | στάσου / σταθείτε | irregular and very frequent |
| Perfect | έχω σταθεί | |
| Present participle | στεκούμενος, -η, -ο | descriptive; στεκάμενος (folk-style) |
| Result -μένος form | Does not exist in current Standard Greek | do not infer one from στάθηκα |
| Active twin | στέκω | present stem only; no separate active aorist |
This is mostly a deponent paradigm, but not a perfectly sealed one. Active στέκω exists: physical uses are colloquial or folk-style, while third-person judgement δεν στέκει / δεν στέκουν is fully current. Its defect is temporal: ΛΚΝ marks it present-stem only. Beyond that stem, Greek uses the στάθηκα / σταθώ family, not an invented ×έστεξα.
Η εξήγησή του δεν στέκει καθόλου.
i eksíyisí tu dhen stéki kathólu
His explanation doesn't hold up at all.
Οι δικαιολογίες αυτές δεν στέκουν με τίποτα.
i dhikeoloyíes aftés dhen stékoun me típota
Those excuses simply don't hold up.
The general deponent pattern is explained under deponent verbs; the exceptional command belongs with irregular imperatives.
Aspect separates στεκόμουν from στάθηκα by viewpoint. The imperfect looks inside standing, waiting, or remaining; the aorist presents a stop, a period of support, or an evaluation as a bounded whole. Neither form mechanically means “for a long time” or “once.”
Government
Physical στέκομαι is intransitive. An agreeing nominative adjective describes posture or resulting condition: στέκομαι όρθιος, στάθηκε τυχερός. Position uses expressions such as δίπλα σε, μπροστά σε, and στα πόδια μου.
Στάθηκε δίπλα μου όταν έχασα τη δουλειά.
státhike dhípla mu ótan échasa ti dhuliá
She stood by me when I lost my job.
Μετά την αρρώστια δυσκολεύτηκε να σταθεί στα πόδια του.
metá tin aróstia dhiskoléftike na stathí sta pódhia tu
After the illness, he struggled to get back on his feet.
Use σε + accusative for a topic where discussion pauses or concentrates: στέκομαι σε ένα σημείο. A person who supports you can also be expressed by a genitive clitic: μου στάθηκε.
Do not confuse intransitive στέκομαι with transitive στήνω, “set up, make stand.” Result adjective στημένος belongs to στήνω: a στημένο τραπέζι is a table that has been set up, while a στεκούμενος άνθρωπος is a person who is standing. The lexical families meet historically but remain distinct in current syntax.
Ας σταθούμε λίγο στο τελευταίο σημείο της έκθεσης.
as stathúme lígho sto teleftéo simío tis ékthesis
Let's dwell briefly on the final point of the report.
The copular extension also takes an agreeing nominative: στάθηκε τυχερός, “he proved/luckily happened to be fortunate,” or στάθηκε εμπόδιο, “he stood in the way.” English changes verbs here; Greek keeps the idea of how somebody stood in relation to a situation.
Set phrases
- Στάσου λίγο. — Wait a moment.
- δεν στέκει — it does not hold up / make sense
- στέκομαι στα πόδια μου — stand on my own feet; recover
- μου στάθηκε — stood by me
- στέκομαι εμπόδιο — stand in the way
- όπου βρεθώ κι όπου σταθώ — wherever I go
- το στέκι μας — our regular hangout
Στην κορυφή του λόφου στέκει ένα παλιό εκκλησάκι.
stin korifí tu lófu stéki éna palió eklisáki
A small old church stands at the top of the hill. (folk-style)
Common Mistakes
The bounded past is στάθηκα, not ×στεκόμουν used as a generic past. The direct command is στάσου, not ×στάσε. In conversation, interpret Στάσου! from context before assuming it is about body position.
Key Takeaways
- στέκομαι · στεκόμουν · στάθηκα · σταθώ · στάσου · έχω σταθεί.
- Present-only στέκω is real; judgement δεν στέκει is especially current.
- σε marks the topic dwelt on, while μου στάθηκε means “stood by me.”
Related Topics
- κάθομαι (to sit)A2 — The everyday verb for sitting, staying, and living somewhere, with the κάθισα–έκατσα doublet and the discourse command κάτσε.
- πέφτω (to fall)A2 — The present stem is πεφτ- and the past stem is πεσ- — two different words, not a sound change. Full forms, the πέστε that belongs to two verbs at once, and the genitive clitic in Μου έπεσε το ποτήρι, which is how Greek says 'I dropped it' with no transitive verb at all.
- Principal Parts: Complete IndexA2 — A consolidated index of the principal parts of 151 frequent Modern Greek verbs, including defective and register-limited paradigms.