Ποιος οδηγεί το αυτοκίνητο τώρα;

now

Breakdown of Ποιος οδηγεί το αυτοκίνητο τώρα;

• το αυτοκίνητο: the car
• οδηγώ: to drive
• ποιος: who

Questions & Answers about Ποιος οδηγεί το αυτοκίνητο τώρα;

How do I pronounce the whole sentence naturally?

Rough guide: pios o-dhee-YEE to af-to-KEE-ni-to TO-ra?

Helpful notes:

• δ = a soft th like in “this” (ð): οδηγεί ≈ o-dhee-YEE.
• γ before ει/ι/ε sounds like a soft y/gh (ʝ): οδηγεί ends with a y-like sound.
• αυ before a voiceless consonant (like τ) is pronounced af: αυτο- = af-to.
• Stress falls on: οδηγεί (last syllable), αυτοκίνητο (KI), τώρα (TO).

If you like IPA: [ˈpjos oðiˈʝi to aftoˈcìnito ˈtora]

Why is it ποιος and not ποιον?

Because you’re asking about the subject (who is doing the driving). Ποιος is nominative (subject). Ποιον is accusative (object), used in questions like “Whom do you see?” → Ποιον βλέπεις;

Do I change ποιος if I think the driver is a woman?

You can. Greek lets the interrogative agree in gender if you want:

• Masculine: ποιος
• Feminine: ποια
• Neuter (for things): ποιο

If you don’t know the gender, everyday Greek often uses ποιος by default, but ποια is equally fine if you expect a woman.

What if I expect more than one person is driving?

Use the plural interrogative and plural verb:

• Ποιοι οδηγούν το αυτοκίνητο τώρα; = Who is/are driving the car now? (plural) Agreement: ποιοι (plural) → οδηγούν (plural).

Could I just ask “Who is driving now?” without naming the car?

Yes: Ποιος οδηγεί τώρα; That’s perfectly natural if “the car” is obvious from context or you just care about who is at the wheel right now.

Why is there a definite article το before αυτοκίνητο, when English often omits “the”?

Modern Greek uses the definite article more widely than English. Το αυτοκίνητο means a specific, known car. If you mean “a car” (unspecified), use the indefinite: ένα αυτοκίνητο.

Why is it το and not τον or την?

Because αυτοκίνητο is a neuter noun. Its singular nominative/accusative article is το. Here it’s the direct object (accusative): το αυτοκίνητο.

Is the word order flexible? Where can I put τώρα?

Yes, fairly flexible. Common options:

• Ποιος οδηγεί το αυτοκίνητο τώρα; (neutral)
• Ποιος οδηγεί τώρα το αυτοκίνητο; (slight focus on “now”)
• Τώρα, ποιος οδηγεί το αυτοκίνητο; (sets “now” as the topic) All are correct; choice just nudges emphasis.

Why does the sentence end with a semicolon (;)?

In Greek, the semicolon (;) is the question mark. So … τώρα; is the standard question punctuation.

Should Ποιος have an accent (like Ποιός)?

Standard modern spelling is without an accent: ποιος/ποια/ποιο. You may see ποιός in older or informal writing, but the unaccented form is the norm today.

What’s the difference between οδηγεί, οδηγάει, and οδηγά?

They’re all legitimate present-tense 3rd person singular forms of “to drive”:

• οδηγεί (from οδηγώ) – more standard/formal.
• οδηγάει / οδηγά (from οδηγάω) – very common in speech; οδηγά is the short colloquial form. Meaning is the same: “(he/she) is driving.”

Why isn’t there a separate word for “is,” as in “Who is driving…”?

Greek uses the simple present for both English simple and progressive: οδηγεί = “drives/is driving.” If you want to stress “right now,” add a time phrase: τώρα or αυτή τη στιγμή.

How would I ask “Which car is he/she driving now?” instead?

Use the neuter interrogative for “which (thing)”: Ποιο αυτοκίνητο οδηγεί τώρα;

Does the verb agree with the object or the subject?

With the subject. Here the subject is the unknown person (expressed by ποιος), so the verb is singular: οδηγεί. The object το αυτοκίνητο does not affect the verb ending.

What case is το αυτοκίνητο?

Accusative singular (direct object of οδηγεί). Neuter nominative and accusative look the same in form; here it’s clearly the object.

Can I use a more colloquial version of the sentence?

Yes:

• Ποιος οδηγάει το αμάξι τώρα; (uses common οδηγάει and colloquial αμάξι for “car”)
• Ποιος είναι στο τιμόνι τώρα; (“Who is at the wheel now?”) – very idiomatic.

Is ποιος only for people?

Use:

• ποιος/ποια for people,
• ποιο for things (as “which one?”),
• τι for “what” (unknown category).
  So for a car you’d normally ask ποιο (αυτοκίνητο), not ποιος.

Any tricky pronunciation spots I should watch?

• αυ
  • τ → af: αυτο- = af-to.
• γ before ει is a soft y/gh sound (ʝ): οδηγεί ≈ o-dhee-YEE.
• η and ει both sound like “ee”: οδηγεί has two “ee” sounds.
• Keep the stress: ο-δη-γεί; αυ-το-κί-νη-το; Τώ-ρα.

What are the basic forms of the interrogative “who/which” I should know?

• Singular nominative (subject): ποιος (m), ποια (f), ποιο (n)
• Singular accusative (object): ποιον (m), ποια (f), ποιο (n)
• Plural nominative: ποιοι (m), ποιες (f), ποια (n) Example contrasts:
• Subject: Ποιος οδηγεί;
• Object: Ποιον βλέπεις;

How could I answer this question briefly in Greek?

• A name: Ο Γιάννης. / Η Μαρία.
• With a full sentence: Ο Γιάννης οδηγεί (τώρα).
• If it’s you: Εγώ. or Εγώ οδηγώ (τώρα).