στέλνω is the flagship of the stem-alternation verbs — the group where the root vowel itself carries the grammar — and that page is where the pattern is taught. This card does the other half of the job: στέλνω is also a ditransitive, a verb with a thing and a person in the same sentence, and it is the one you will need on day one to say you sent somebody a message. Learn it beside δίνω: the same two-object frame, completely different stem behaviour.
Three stems
| Stem | Where it turns up | Forms |
|---|---|---|
| στελν- — imperfective | present, imperfect, gerund, and the present mediopassive | στέλνω, έστελνα, στέλνοντας, στέλνεται / στέλνονται |
| στειλ- — perfective | aorist, dependent, imperative, perfect | έστειλα, (θα/να) στείλω, στείλε / στείλτε, έχω στείλει |
| σταλ- — passive perfective | passive aorist, its dependent, the -μένος participle | στάλθηκα, να σταλθώ, σταλμένος |
Three vowels, one verb: ε · ει · α. Two details the table will not tell you. The present passive sits with the imperfective stem, not with σταλ- — Τα δέματα στέλνονται τη Δευτέρα — so the third stem is the perfective passive's alone. And officialese keeps a fourth form alive: εστάλη "was sent" (formal), which you will meet in letters from public bodies and in formal reporting.
Το γράμμα στάλθηκε πριν από δύο εβδομάδες και δεν έχει φτάσει.
to ghráma stálthike prin apó dhío evdhomádhes ke dhen échi ftási
The letter was sent two weeks ago and still hasn't arrived.
Το πακέτο ήταν ήδη σταλμένο όταν άλλαξε διεύθυνση.
to pakéto ítan ídhi stalméno ótan álakse dhiéfthinsi
The parcel had already gone out when she changed address.
What στέλνω does not have
| ×στείλθηκα | does not exist — the passive is built on σταλ-, never on the ει-grade: στάλθηκα, στάλθηκε |
| an accusative recipient | does not exist in the standard language — the person is a genitive (σου, του) or σε
|
| a separate verb for "text someone" | does not exist — στέλνω μήνυμα covers SMS, WhatsApp and everything after it |
Government
| Frame | Example | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| accusative — the thing | Έστειλα ένα μήνυμα. | always accusative |
| genitive clitic — the person | Σου έστειλα μήνυμα. | the everyday recipient |
| genitive full noun — the person | Έστειλα του Γιάννη τα χαρτιά. | (formal), and only before the thing |
σε
| Το έστειλα στον Γιάννη. | the safe default with full nouns |
σε
| Έστειλα το δέμα στην Αθήνα. | destination, not recipient |
για
| Τον έστειλαν για ψώνια. | the errand |
| two clitics | Σου το έστειλα. | genitive first, always |
The two-clitic cluster is fixed: genitive before accusative, both in front of the verb, nothing allowed between them. The rules live on double clitics, and the case division on two objects.
Σου έστειλα το αρχείο πριν μια ώρα, δεν το πήρες;
su éstila to archío prin mia óra, dhen to píres;
I sent you the file an hour ago — didn't you get it?
Στείλε μου ένα μήνυμα μόλις φτάσεις, να μην ανησυχώ.
stíle mu éna mínima mólis ftásis, na min anisichó
Text me as soon as you get there so I don't worry.
Έστειλα το δέμα στην Αθήνα με κούριερ, φτάνει αύριο.
éstila to dhéma stin Athína me kúrier, ftáni ávrio
I sent the parcel to Athens by courier — it gets there tomorrow.
Τον έστειλαν για ψώνια και γύρισε με λάθος πράγματα.
ton éstilan ya psónia ke yírise me láthos prághmata
They sent him out to do the shopping and he came back with the wrong things.
Σου το έστειλα με μέιλ χθες το πρωί.
su to éstila me méil chthes to proí
I emailed it to you yesterday morning.
Τον έστειλα ένα δέμα για τα γενέθλιά του.
ton éstila éna dhéma ya ta yenéthliá tu
I sent him a parcel for his birthday. (regional: northern Greece — the standard form is Του έστειλα.)
Where the genitive noun sits
With a full noun in the genitive, position is meaning. Put it in front of the thing and it is the recipient; put it behind and Greek reads it as a possessor. Both sentences below are correct; they are about different papers.
Έστειλα του Γιάννη τα χαρτιά που ζητούσε.
éstila tu Yáni ta chartiá pu zitúse
I sent Yannis the papers he'd asked for. (formal — recipient)
Έστειλα τα χαρτιά του Γιάννη στη νέα διεύθυνση.
éstila ta chartiá tu Yáni sti néa dhiéfthinsi
I sent Yannis's papers to the new address. (possessor)
Set phrases
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| στέλνω μήνυμα / μέιλ / γράμμα | text, email, write to |
| στέλνω χαιρετίσματα | send regards |
| στέλνω λεφτά | send money home |
| τον έστειλαν σπίτι | they sent him home — off work, or off the pitch |
| στέλνω κάποιον στον διάολο (informal, rude) | tell someone where to go |
| στάλθηκε ειδοποίηση | a notice was sent (formal) |
Της έστειλα χαιρετίσματα από όλους μας.
tis éstila cheretízmata apó ólus mas
I passed on everyone's regards to her.
Key Takeaways
- Three stems: στελν- (στέλνω, έστελνα, στέλνοντας, στέλνονται), στειλ- (έστειλα, στείλω, στείλε, έχω στείλει), σταλ- (στάλθηκε, σταλμένος). The class is on stem alternation.
- The present passive stays on στελν- — στέλνεται, στέλνονται. Only the perfective passive moves to σταλ-.
- εστάλη (formal) survives in officialese for "was sent".
- The thing sent is accusative; the person is a genitive (clitic always, full noun in (formal) register) or σε
- accusative — which also marks the destination.
- Two clitics cluster genitive first: Σου το έστειλα.
- A full-noun genitive must come before the thing, or it will be read as a possessor.
Now practice Greek
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Start learning Greek →Related Topics
- δίνω (to give)A2 — Three stems doing three jobs — διν- for the present, δωσ- for έδωσα and δώσω, δοθ- for the passive δόθηκε and δοσμένος — and the two recipient frames that make δίνω the verb where Greek's double-object system first bites: Του έδωσα το βιβλίο beside Το έδωσα στον Γιάννη. Plus δίνω εξετάσεις, where Greek gives the exam English takes.
- φέρνω (to bring)A2 — φέρνω moves a thing towards the speaker — which is why Greek needs three verbs where English has bring and take: φέρνω here, πηγαίνω there, παίρνω away with you. Principal parts (note the aorist έφερα, one ν away from the imperfect έφερνα), the frames, and the mediopassive φέρομαι, which has quietly become a different verb meaning 'behave'.
- Stem-Alternation Verbs (στέλνω→έστειλα)B2 — In στέλνω → έστειλα → στάλθηκε the root vowel itself is doing the grammar: ε in the present, ει in the perfective, α in the passive. This page works through the whole alternating set — στέλνω, πλένω, σπέρνω, δέρνω, μένω, φεύγω, πεθαίνω, φέρνω — with their dependents, commands and participles, and explains why these dependents (στείλω, πλύνω, μείνω) are more dangerous than δω or πω.
- Two Objects: Case AssignmentB1 — What happens when a verb has both a thing and a person — the thing is always accusative, the person is genitive or σε — plus the fixed genitive-before-accusative order of a double clitic, the second accent in Δώσε μού το, and the word-order trap that turns an indirect object into a possessor.
- Two Clitics TogetherB1 — Greek stacks the indirect and the direct object in front of the verb as a single block — Μου το έδωσε, Σου τα άφησα, Της την πήρε — in the fixed order genitive then accusative, the mirror image of English 'gave it to me'. The order, the everyday clusters worth memorising whole, and why nothing may ever slip between the two little words.