Mission—Team—FAQ—Privacy—Terms—Sponsors—Grammar—Typing Course—Donate

© 2026 Elon Automation B.V.

Learn Hardcore Greek: Αποφεύγω αυτή την απάτη. - I avoid this scam.

Hardcore Greek
/Appealing a municipal parking fine
/Αποφεύγω αυτή την απάτη.

Αποφεύγω αυτή την απάτη.

Αποφεύγω αυτή την απάτη.

I avoid this scam.

Breakdown of Αποφεύγω αυτή την απάτη.

αποφεύγω

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Greek grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Greek now

Questions & Answers about Αποφεύγω αυτή την απάτη.

What does Αποφεύγω mean grammatically here?

Αποφεύγω is the 1st person singular present tense form of the verb αποφεύγω, meaning I avoid.

So in this sentence, the subject is understood from the verb ending:

Αποφεύγω = I avoid

Greek often leaves out the subject pronoun εγώ (I) unless it needs emphasis.

Why isn’t the word for I included?

Because Greek is a pro-drop language, which means the subject pronoun is often omitted when the verb already shows who the subject is.

Here:

-ω at the end of αποφεύγω tells you the subject is I

So:

Αποφεύγω αυτή την απάτη. = I avoid this scam/deception.
Εγώ αποφεύγω αυτή την απάτη. would mean something more like I avoid this scam with extra emphasis on I.

Why do both αυτή and την appear before απάτη?

Because Greek commonly uses both the demonstrative and the definite article together.

So:

αυτή = this
την = the (feminine accusative singular)
απάτη = scam / fraud / deception

Together:

αυτή την απάτη = this scam

This is normal Greek structure. English says this scam, but Greek usually says literally this the scam.

Why is it την απάτη and not η απάτη?

Because απάτη is the direct object of the verb αποφεύγω, so it appears in the accusative case.

The noun απάτη is feminine singular:

η απάτη = nominative, used for the subject
την απάτη = accusative, used for the object

Since the sentence means I avoid this scam, the scam is what is being avoided, so Greek uses the accusative:

αυτή την απάτη

Why is it αυτή and not αυτήν?

In modern Greek, the feminine accusative singular form of this is commonly αυτή in standard usage before a noun:

αυτή την απάτη

You may also encounter αυτήν in some contexts, especially when the word stands alone or in more careful writing, but before a noun, αυτή is very common and natural.

So:

αυτή την απάτη = normal and standard

Why is την written before a word beginning with a vowel?

Because την is simply the correct feminine accusative singular article, regardless of whether the next word begins with a consonant or a vowel.

Here:

την απάτη

In pronunciation, the final -ν of articles like την may be especially clearly preserved before vowels, so this combination sounds very natural.

How is Αποφεύγω pronounced, and why is there an accent mark?

The accent mark shows which syllable is stressed.

Αποφεύγω is pronounced approximately:

a-po-FEV-go

The stress falls on φεύ.

Greek accent marks are important because they show stress placement:

Αποφεύγω

Without learning the stress, your pronunciation may sound unnatural.

How is the whole sentence pronounced?

A rough pronunciation guide is:

Αποφεύγω αυτή την απάτη.
a-po-FEV-go af-TI tin a-PA-ti

Notes:

γ in αποφεύγω here sounds like a soft g sound
αυτή is pronounced af-TI here, because αυ is pronounced af before certain voiceless sounds, including τ
την is pronounced tin
απάτη is stressed on πά: a-PA-ti

Why is αυτή pronounced afti and not avti?

Because the letter combination αυ changes pronunciation depending on the sound that follows.

Before voiced sounds, it is usually pronounced av
Before voiceless sounds, it is usually pronounced af

In αυτή, the next consonant is τ, which is voiceless, so:

αυτή → aftí

This is a very common pronunciation rule in Greek.

Can the word order change?

Yes. Greek word order is more flexible than English, though not completely free.

The neutral order here is:

Αποφεύγω αυτή την απάτη.

But other orders can appear for emphasis, such as:

Αυτή την απάτη αποφεύγω. = It is this scam that I avoid / This scam is what I avoid.

So the original sentence is the most straightforward, neutral version.

Is απάτη always best translated as scam?

Not always. Απάτη can mean:

fraud
deception
scam
cheating, depending on context

So the exact English translation depends on the situation. If the meaning has already been provided to the learner, then that meaning is the one to follow in context. But it is useful to know that the Greek word has a broader range than just one English equivalent.

Would Greek speakers normally use the article after this in all similar phrases?

Very often, yes. This is a common Greek pattern.

Examples:

αυτό το βιβλίο = this book
αυτή η γυναίκα = this woman
αυτό το παιδί = this child
αυτή την απάτη = this scam

So when learners see this + the + noun in Greek, they should not think it is strange. It is simply normal Greek grammar.

What is the dictionary form of απάτη?

The dictionary form is the nominative singular:

η απάτη

Greek nouns are usually listed with their article, because the article helps show the noun’s gender:

η απάτη = feminine noun

In the sentence, it changes to:

την απάτη because it is the object.

What would the plural version look like?

If you wanted to say I avoid these scams, you would use the plural:

Αποφεύγω αυτές τις απάτες.

Breakdown:

αυτές = these
τις = the (feminine accusative plural)
απάτες = scams / frauds

So the pattern stays similar, but the words agree in number.

Is this sentence in the present tense only, or can it also mean something habitual?

The Greek present tense can express both:

what is happening now
what someone does habitually or generally

So Αποφεύγω αυτή την απάτη could mean:

I am avoiding this scam or
I avoid this scam

In many cases, context decides which English translation sounds best.

Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io