τρώω (to eat) | Greek Grammar

τρώω is the cleanest case of suppletion in Greek: τρω- and φαγ- have not a letter in common, and the seam between them falls exactly where aspect falls. On top of that it is a vowel-final stem, so even its present tense is irregular — and a γ keeps reappearing from the older form τρώγω the moment you step outside it.

The two halves

Slot	Form	Note
Present	τρώω, τρως, τρώει, τρώμε, τρώτε, τρώνε	contracted throughout — the endings have no vowel of their own
Imperfect	έτρωγα, έτρωγες, έτρωγε, τρώγαμε, τρώγατε, έτρωγαν	the γ of the older τρώγω comes back
Aorist	έφαγα, έφαγες, έφαγε, φάγαμε, φάγατε, έφαγαν	the augment drops once the stress has somewhere to sit
Dependent (after θα, να)	φάω, φας, φάει, φάμε, φάτε, φάνε	contracts just like the present
Imperative	φάε / φάτε
Perfect / pluperfect	έχω / είχα φάει
Gerund	τρώγοντας	the γ again
Mediopassive	τρώγομαι, τρώγεται	"it's edible"; τρώγομαι με κάποιον = bicker with someone
Passive aorist	φαγώθηκα
-μένος participle	φαγωμένος	of a person: "having eaten", not "eaten"
Present forms ×τρώεις, ×τρώουμε	do not exist — in this class the 2sg and 1pl contract: τρως, τρώμε
Perfective stem on τρω-	does not exist — no ×έτρωσα, no ×να τρώσω

Παλιά τρώγαμε όλοι μαζί το μεσημέρι, τώρα ο καθένας ό,τι προλάβει.

paliá tróghame óli mazí to mesiméri, tóra o kathénas ó,ti prolávi

We all used to eat together at midday; now it's whatever each of us can grab.

Ήρθαμε φαγωμένοι, μη μαγειρεύεις τίποτα.

írthame faghoméni, mi mayirévis típota

We've already eaten, don't cook anything.

Τρώγονται συνέχεια για ασήμαντα πράγματα.

tróghonde sinéchia ya asímanda prághmata

They bicker constantly over trivial things.

Eating with no object

The habit worth copying is how often τρώω stands alone. Έφαγες; is a complete question — "have you eaten?" — and it is one of the most ordinary things a Greek says to someone who has just walked in. English needs a filler ("have you eaten anything?", "did you have lunch?"); Greek does not, and adding one where it is not wanted is what makes a learner's sentence sound assembled rather than spoken.

Έφαγες τίποτα ή να σου ζεστάνω κάτι;

éfaghes típota i na su zestáno káti;

Have you eaten, or shall I heat something up for you?

Φάγατε ήδη ή να σας περιμένουμε;

fághate ídhi i na sas periménume;

Have you eaten already, or should we wait for you?

Φάε πρώτα και μετά συζητάμε.

fáe próta ke metá sizitáme

Eat first, and then we'll talk about it.

💡

Two forms in that little paradigm are monosyllables and take no accent: τρως and φας. The eye wants to write ×τρώς because the word feels stressed, but Greek only marks a stress it needs to place, and a one-syllable word has nowhere else to put it.

Government

Frame	Example	Note
accusative	Έφαγα ένα τοστ.	the ordinary object
nothing at all	Έφαγες;	fully idiomatic — see above
meal nouns, no article	τρώω πρωινό / μεσημεριανό / βραδινό	the meal, not a portion of it
σε accusative	Τρώμε στη δουλειά.	the place
genitive clitic	Μου έφαγε το φαγητό.	the person it was done to
με τρώει + nominative	Με τρώει η πλάτη μου.	it itches — the body part is the subject

The last two rows are worth separating carefully, because they use different cases for the person. With a genitive clitic, something of yours has been eaten — food, money, or time (Μου έφαγε δύο ώρες, "it ate two hours of my time"). With με τρώει the person is accusative and the itching body part is the grammatical subject, exactly as in μου αρέσει the thing liked is the subject.

Δεν τρώω πρωινό ποτέ, μόνο έναν καφέ όρθιος.

dhen tróo proinó poté, móno énan kafé órthios

I never eat breakfast, just a coffee standing up.

Μου έφαγε δύο ώρες αυτό το τηλεφώνημα και δεν βγήκε τίποτα.

mu éfaghe dhío óres aftó to tilefónima ke dhen vyíke típota

That phone call ate two hours of my day and nothing came of it.

Με τρώει η πλάτη μου, φτάνεις λίγο πιο κάτω;

me trói i pláti mu, ftánis lígho pio káto;

My back is itching — can you reach a bit lower?

Set phrases

Food idioms in general are on food idioms; these are the ones that turn on this verb's own grammar — several of them use τρώω for receiving something unpleasant rather than eating anything.

Phrase	Meaning
τρώω ξύλο	get a beating (informal)
τρώω πόρτα	be turned away at the door (informal)
τα τρώω	squander it — money (informal)
τρώω τα λόγια μου	mumble, swallow my words
τρώω τον κόσμο να βρω…	turn the world upside down looking for…
τρώω τα νιάτα μου	waste my youth on something
Καλή όρεξη!	enjoy your meal — said at the table

Έφαγε ξύλο στο σχολείο και δεν το είπε σε κανέναν.

éfaghe ksílo sto scholío ke dhen to ípe se kanénan

He got beaten up at school and didn't tell anyone.

Έτρωγα τον κόσμο να βρω ανταλλακτικά για ένα τόσο παλιό αμάξι.

étrogha ton kózmo na vro andalaktiká ya éna tóso palió amáksi

I turned the world upside down looking for parts for a car that old.

Μίλα πιο καθαρά, τρως τα λόγια σου και δεν καταλαβαίνω.

míla pio kathará, tros ta lóya su ke dhen katalavéno

Speak more clearly — you're swallowing your words and I can't follow.

Key Takeaways

τρω- / τρωγ- against φαγ-: nothing crosses the seam. Present τρώω, imperfect έτρωγα, gerund τρώγοντας on one side; έφαγα, φάω, φάε, έχω φάει on the other.
The present contracts: τρως, τρώμε, τρώτε, τρώνε — and τρως and φας are monosyllables with no accent.
The aorist's augment is detachable: έφαγα, έφαγες, έφαγε but φάγαμε, φάγατε.
τρώω is routinely used with no object at all — Έφαγες; is a whole question.
Meals take no article (τρώω πρωινό); the person affected is a genitive clitic (Μου έφαγε το φαγητό), but the itch frame με τρώει puts the person in the accusative.
φαγωμένος of a person describes the eater, not the eaten.

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