Αποχωρίζομαι το παλιό ρούχο.

I part with the old garment.

Breakdown of Αποχωρίζομαι το παλιό ρούχο.

• το ρούχο: the garment
• παλιός: old
• αποχωρίζομαι: to part with

Questions & Answers about Αποχωρίζομαι το παλιό ρούχο.

Why does Αποχωρίζομαι end in -ομαι? Is it passive?

Not necessarily. Αποχωρίζομαι is one of many Modern Greek verbs that use middle/passive endings but have an active meaning.

So here:

• αποχωρίζομαι = I part with / I separate myself from
• it is 1st person singular, present tense

Even though the form looks passive to an English speaker, the meaning here is not I am being parted. It means I am parting with something.

This is very common in Greek. Many verbs are learned as whole dictionary forms, and for some of them the -ομαι form is the normal one you use.

What exactly is the form of Αποχωρίζομαι in this sentence?

It is:

• present tense
• 1st person singular
• middle/passive-form verb

So it literally means I part with or I am separating myself from.

A rough breakdown:

• απο- = away, off
• χωρίζ- = separate
• -ομαι = 1st person singular middle/passive ending

So the whole idea is I separate myself from something.

Why is το παλιό ρούχο in the accusative? Shouldn’t a verb like this take another case?