Questions & Answers about Θα έρθω νωρίς, αλλά αυτή θα έρθει αργά.
What tense/aspect are θα έρθω and θα έρθει, and how are they formed?
They are the simple future (also called “future aorist”): punctual, one-off actions in the future. Greek forms it with θα + aorist (subjunctive) form of the verb:
- 1st person singular: θα έρθω (I will come)
- 3rd person singular: θα έρθει (she/he/it will come)
Why does the stem change from έρχομαι to έρθ- in έρθω/έρθει?
Έρχομαι is irregular. It has different stems in different tenses:
- Present: έρχομαι (I come)
- Simple future: θα έρθω
- Simple past: ήρθα So in the simple future and simple past the stem is -ρθ- (έρθ-/ήρθ-).
What’s the difference between θα έρθω and θα έρχομαι?
- Θα έρθω = I will come (once, at some point). Punctual.
- Θα έρχομαι = I will be coming / I will come regularly. Ongoing or habitual.
Do I have to keep the pronoun αυτή? Could I drop it?
You can drop it: Θα έρθω νωρίς, αλλά θα έρθει αργά. Greek usually omits subject pronouns. Keeping αυτή adds emphasis or contrast: “but SHE will come late.”
Does mean “she” or “this (one)”? How do I say “this woman”?