Greek creates verbs from adjectives, nouns, and loans through several recurring endings. Άσπρος → ασπρίζω describes becoming or making white; σίδερο → σιδερώνω creates “iron”; μάγειρας → μαγειρεύω creates “cook.” English can often use a noun directly as a verb—iron, park, color—where Greek integrates a base into a verbal family. These endings help identify the family, but they do not mechanically determine transitivity, voice, stress, or the bounded perfective stem.
The formation families at a glance
| Present family | Frequent contribution | Example | Verified aorist |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ίζω | activity, causation, becoming | ασπρίζω | άσπρισα |
| -ώνω | causation or change of state | δυναμώνω | δυνάμωσα |
| -αίνω | becoming or causing a state | ζεσταίνω | ζέστανα |
| -εύω | activity associated with a base | μαγειρεύω | μαγείρεψα |
| -οποιώ | make, render, convert into | απλοποιώ | απλοποίησα |
| -άρω | adapt a borrowed base as a verb | παρκάρω | πάρκαρα / παρκάρισα |
The last column is part of the verb's vocabulary entry, not a detachable tense ending.
-ίζω: productive, but internally varied
-ίζω is very productive. It can derive a change or causative from an adjective—άσπρος → ασπρίζω—or an activity from a noun or learned base—χρώμα → χρωματίζω. Some verbs can be both transitive and intransitive; others have only their established lexical pattern.
Η υγρασία κιτρινίζει τις παλιές σελίδες.
i ighrasía kitrinízi tis paliés selídhes.
Humidity yellows the old pages.
Χρωμάτισαν κάθε περιοχή του χάρτη με διαφορετικό χρώμα.
chromátisan káthe periochí tu chárti me dhiaforetikó chróma.
They colored each region of the map a different color.
Many -ίζω verbs form an aorist in -ισα, as ασπρίζω → άσπρισα. But σφυρίζω → σφύριξα exposes another lexical stem. Store both forms.
Άσπρισα την αποθήκη το πρωί και σφύριξα μόλις τελείωσα.
ásprisa tin apothíki to proí ke sfíriksa mólis telíosa.
I whitewashed the storeroom in the morning and whistled when I finished.
-ώνω: causation and change
-ώνω frequently creates change-of-state and causative verbs: δυνατός → δυναμώνω, μεγάλος → μεγαλώνω, σίδερο → σιδερώνω. Active μεγαλώνω can itself be intransitive (“grow up”) or transitive (“raise”), so active voice does not automatically mean “cause.”
Ο ήχος δυνάμωσε ξαφνικά και ξύπνησε το μωρό.
o íchos dhinámose ksafniká ke ksípnise to moró.
The sound suddenly grew louder and woke the baby.
Η θεία του τον μεγάλωσε μόνη της στο χωριό.
i thía tu ton meghálose móni tis sto chorió.
His aunt raised him by herself in the village.
The common perfective tendency is -ωσα: δυναμώνω → δυνάμωσα, μεγαλώνω → μεγάλωσα, σιδερώνω → σιδέρωσα.
Σιδέρωσα το πουκάμισο λίγο πριν φύγουμε.
sidhérosa to pukámiso lígho prin fíghume.
I ironed the shirt shortly before we left.
-αίνω and voice in change-of-state pairs
-αίνω participates in many “become/make” families. With ζεσταίνω, active commonly takes what is heated, while mediopassive ζεσταίνομαι presents the affected participant as undergoing or experiencing the change.
Εγώ ζεσταίνω τη σούπα και εσύ κόψε το ψωμί.
eghó zesténo ti súpa ke esí kópse to psomí.
I'll heat the soup, and you cut the bread.
Κάθισα κοντά στη σόμπα για να ζεσταθώ.
káthisa kondá sti sóba ya na zestathó.
I sat near the heater to warm up.
This is a useful pair, not a rule for every -αίνω verb. Active χοντραίνω can be intransitive (“become thicker/heavier”) or transitive (“make thicker”), without needing mediopassive morphology. The perfectives also vary: ζεσταίνω → ζέστανα, γλυκαίνω → γλύκανα, χοντραίνω → χόντρυνα.
-εύω: activities and -εψα
-εύω often derives an activity associated with a person, object, or domain: μάγειρας → μαγειρεύω, ταξίδι → ταξιδεύω, χορός → χορεύω. The productive perfective tendency is -εψ-: μαγείρεψα, ταξίδεψα, χόρεψα.
Μαγείρεψα φακές και κράτησα μία μερίδα για αύριο.
mayírepsa fakés ke krátisa mía merídha ya ávrio.
I cooked lentils and saved one portion for tomorrow.
Ταξίδεψαν όλη νύχτα για να φτάσουν πριν από τον γάμο.
taksídhepsan óli níchta ya na ftásun prin apó ton ghámo.
They traveled all night to arrive before the wedding.
Learned -οποιώ
-οποιώ means roughly “make, render, convert into” and is productive in (formal/technical) vocabulary: απλοποιώ “simplify,” τροποποιώ “modify,” ιδιωτικοποιώ “privatize.” Some members, especially απλοποιώ, are also natural in ordinary careful speech. Their aorist uses -οποίησα.
Απλοποίησα τις οδηγίες για να τις καταλαβαίνουν όλοι.
aplopíisa tis odhiyíes ya na tis katalavénun óli.
I simplified the instructions so that everyone could understand them.
Η υπηρεσία τροποποίησε τη διαδικασία υποβολής αιτήσεων.
i ipiresía tropopíise ti dhiadhikasía ipovolís etíseon.
The agency modified the application procedure. (formal)
Loan verbs in -άρω
-άρω integrates borrowed bases into Greek conjugation: παρκάρω, σερφάρω, σκανάρω, κλικάρω. These verbs range from neutral everyday terms to (informal/technical) vocabulary; the ending does not make every item slang.
Παρκάρω illustrates why the principal parts require lexical verification:
- present: παρκάρω
- core aorist: πάρκαρα
- current alternative aorist: παρκάρισα
- perfect: έχω παρκάρει
Πάρκαρα δύο στενά πιο κάτω επειδή δεν βρήκα θέση εδώ.
párkara dhío stená pio káto epidhí dhen vríka thési edhó.
I parked two blocks farther down because I could not find a space here.
Έχω παρκάρει πίσω από το γκρι φορτηγάκι.
écho parkári píso apó to gri fortigháki.
I've parked behind the gray van.
Παρκάρισα is also grammatical and current; it is not an error or a different aspect. Other -άρω verbs may select different established patterns, so neither -αρα nor -άρισα can be imposed on the entire class. The broader borrowing system belongs to loanword adaptation.
Aspect is viewpoint, not a completion test
The aorists above present an event or delimited series from the outside. A finite repetition can be perfective, and one event can be viewed internally with an imperfective form.
Για μία εβδομάδα άσπριζα τον ίδιο τοίχο λίγο λίγο κάθε απόγευμα.
ya mía evdhomádha áspriza ton ídhio tícho lígho lígho káthe apóyevma.
For a week I kept whitewashing the same wall little by little every afternoon. (internal/open viewpoint)
Επί τρεις μέρες μαγείρεψα δύο φαγητά κάθε βράδυ.
epí tris méres mayírepsa dhío fayitá káthe vrádhi.
For three days I cooked two dishes every evening. (bounded finite series)
Common Mistakes
Giving every -ίζω verb an -ισα aorist
Store the lexical pair, including exceptions such as σφυρίζω → σφύριξα.
Ο διαιτητής σφύριξε τη λήξη του αγώνα.
o dhietitís sfírikse ti líksi tu aghóna.
The referee blew the whistle to end the match.
Treating mediopassive as the only way to express becoming
Some active verbs are intransitive change-of-state verbs.
Με τα χρόνια η φωνή του χόντρυνε αισθητά.
me ta chrónia i foní tu chóndrine esthitá.
Over the years his voice became noticeably deeper.
Extending one loan aorist to every -άρω verb
Learn verified principal parts rather than guessing from the adapter alone.
Πριν χρησιμοποιήσω το ρήμα, έλεγξα τον αόριστό του.
prin chrisimopiíso to ríma, élenksa ton aóristó tu.
Before using the verb, I checked its aorist.
Equating perfective with objectively completed
Aspect chooses a bounded external or internal/open viewpoint; real-world outcome is a separate question.
Απλοποίησα την πρώτη ενότητα, αλλά το κείμενο χρειάζεται κι άλλη δουλειά.
aplopíisa tin próti enótita, alá to kímeno chriázete ki áli dhuliá.
I simplified the first section, but the text still needs more work.
Key Takeaways
- Verbal suffixes guide meaning and family membership, not the entire paradigm.
- -ίζω, -ώνω, -αίνω, and -εύω contain real but non-mechanical perfective tendencies.
- Active and mediopassive change-of-state behavior is lexical.
- -οποιώ is learned and productive; -άρω adapts loans across several registers.
- Store present, perfective, voice behavior, and meaning together.
Related Topics
- Building the Perfective StemB1 — The productive regular derivation of the perfective stem: Class Α adds -σ- (λύνω → λύσω), Class Β uses a linking vowel (αγαπώ → αγαπήσω), and -εύω gives -εψ- (δουλεύω → δουλέψω).
- Adapting LoanwordsB2 — Understand how current Greek assigns gender, inflection, and verb forms to foreign words without forcing every loan into one pattern.
- SuffixesB1 — Use recurring Greek suffixes to identify likely word class and meaning while treating each derived word as a lexeme with its own stress and behavior.