τελειώνω (to finish) | Greek Grammar

τελειώνω is the workhorse of the productive -ώνω class and the closing bracket to αρχίζω: where αρχίζω constrains the verb that follows it, τελειώνω changes its own meaning according to what follows it. Three frames, three readings, one form — and a spelling that catches native writers as often as learners.

Principal parts

Slot	Form
Present	τελειώνω, τελειώνεις, τελειώνει, τελειώνουμε, τελειώνετε, τελειώνουν
Imperfect	τελείωνα, τελείωνες, τελείωνε, τελειώναμε, τελειώνατε, τελείωναν
Aorist	τελείωσα, τελείωσες, τελείωσε, τελειώσαμε, τελειώσατε, τελείωσαν
After θα / να	τελειώσω, τελειώσεις, τελειώσει, τελειώσουμε, τελειώσετε, τελειώσουν
Command	τελείωσε / τελειώστε · imperfective τελείωνε / τελειώνετε
Perfect / pluperfect	έχω / είχα τελειώσει
Participle	τελειωμένος — finished, used up
Gerund	τελειώνοντας

No augment anywhere: the word is long enough on its own, and the accent stays inside the -ειω- in every person of the past.

The -ώνω class

This is the reason to learn τελειώνω early rather than late. -ώνω is one of the two or three genuinely productive verb classes in modern Greek — new verbs still get made this way — and every one of them builds its aorist the same undramatic way, by putting -σα straight onto the ω.

Present	Aorist	Meaning
τελειώνω	τελείωσα	finish
μεγαλώνω	μεγάλωσα	grow up; raise
σηκώνω	σήκωσα	lift, pick up
δυναμώνω	δυνάμωσα	get stronger; turn up
πληρώνω	πλήρωσα	pay

Μεγάλωσα σε ένα χωριό κοντά στα Ιωάννινα.

meghálosa se éna chorió kondá sta Ioánina

I grew up in a village near Ioannina.

What τελειώνω does not have

×τελείωσαμε	does not exist — the plural pushes the accent forward onto the ω: τελειώσαμε, τελειώσατε, against singular τελείωσα
an -ώνω aorist in ξ or ψ	does not exist — the whole class takes plain -ωσα: μεγάλωσα, σήκωσα, δυνάμωσα
a passive of "finish"	does not exist — "it was finished" is simply Τελείωσε. τελειώνομαι is a real word, but it is the (formal) "become perfect", not this verb's passive. The adjective τελειωμένος does belong here

Τελείωσα τη δουλειά νωρίς και πρόλαβα τον αγώνα.

telíosa ti dhuliá norís ke prólava ton aghóna

I finished work early and made it in time for the match.

Τελείωσε το μάθημα και βγήκαν όλοι τρέχοντας.

telíose to máthima ke vyíkan óli tréchondas

The class ended and everyone ran out.

Government

Frame	Example	Reading
accusative object	Τελείωσα το βιβλίο.	finished it
no object	Τελείωσε το γάλα.	it ran out / it ended
με accusative	Τελείωσα με αυτόν.	done with him — and it is final
accusative — an institution	Τελείωσα το πανεπιστήμιο.	graduated (αποφοίτησα is the formal option)
να verb	Τελείωσα να τρώω.	possible, but Greek reaches for the noun: Τελείωσα το φαγητό

Τελείωσε το γάλα, θα πάρω στον γυρισμό.

telíose to ghála, tha páro ston yirizmó

We're out of milk — I'll pick some up on the way back.

Τελείωσα με αυτή την ιστορία, δεν θέλω να την ξανακούσω.

telíosa me aftí tin istoría, dhen thélo na tin ksanakúso

I'm done with this whole business — I don't want to hear about it again.

Τελείωσε το πανεπιστήμιο πέρσι και ψάχνει ακόμα δουλειά.

telíose to panepistímio pérsi ke psáchni akóma dhuliá

She graduated last year and is still looking for work.

Τελείωνε!

The perfective command τελείωσε tells someone to finish a specific thing. The imperfective τελείωνε is a different social act: it is what you shout up the stairs at somebody who has been getting ready for forty minutes. (informal) — it means wrap it up, get a move on, and it is far more common than its perfective partner.

Τελείωνε, μας περιμένουν κάτω μισή ώρα!

telíone, mas periménun káto misí óra

Hurry up and finish — they've been waiting downstairs half an hour!

Set phrases

Phrase	Meaning
δεν τελειώνει ποτέ	it goes on for ever
τελείωσαν τα λεφτά	the money ran out
όλα τελείωσαν	it's all over
Τελείωσε! (informal)	That's that. End of story.
τελειώνω τη δουλειά	get the job done; knock off for the day
τελειώνοντας…	in closing… (formal, in speeches)

Τελείωσαν τα λεφτά πριν από το τέλος του μήνα.

telíosan ta leftá prin apó to télos tu mína

The money ran out before the end of the month.

Common Mistakes

Writing ×τελιώνω. The verb belongs to the τέλειος family and keeps its ει, even though ει and ι sound identical here. It is a spelling native writers slip on too.

❌ Τελιώνω σε δέκα λεπτά και φεύγουμε.

Incorrect — the spelling is τελειώνω, with ει.

✅ Τελειώνω σε δέκα λεπτά και φεύγουμε.

telióno se dhéka leptá ke févghume

I'll be finished in ten minutes and then we can go.

Finishing against stopping is a real fork rather than an error. τελειώνω says the thing reached its end; σταματάω says you broke off, wherever you happened to be. Both sentences below are good Greek about the same book, and they say opposite things about whether you know how it ends.

Τελείωσα το βιβλίο χθες το βράδυ.

telíosa to vivlío chthes to vrádhi

I finished the book last night.

Σταμάτησα να το διαβάζω στη μέση.

stamátisa na to dhiavázo sti mési

I stopped reading it halfway through.

Key Takeaways

τελειώνω · τελείωνα · τελείωσα · να τελειώσω · τελείωσε / τελειώστε · έχω τελειώσει · τελειωμένος.
It is the model of the productive -ώνω class, whose aorist is a plain -ωσα throughout: μεγάλωσα, σήκωσα, πλήρωσα.
Labile: Τελείωσα τη δουλειά / Τελείωσε η δουλειά. There is no passive of "finish" to reach for.
Frames worth memorising as a set: accusative (finished it) · no object (it ended, or it ran out) · με (done with someone) · an institution (graduated).
Τελείωνε! — the imperfective command, and the everyday one: get a move on.
Spelling: ει, from τέλειος. And the accent stays on the -ειω-: τελείωσα, τελειώσαμε.

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