Δεν εμπιστεύομαι όλους τους πολιτικούς, αλλά ακούω τι λένε στις ειδήσεις.

I don’t trust all politicians, but I listen to what they say on the news.

Breakdown of Δεν εμπιστεύομαι όλους τους πολιτικούς, αλλά ακούω τι λένε στις ειδήσεις.

• τι: what
• δεν: not
• αλλά: but
• σε: on
• ακούω: to listen to
• λέω: to say
• όλος: all
• η είδηση: the news
• ο πολιτικός: the politician
• εμπιστεύομαι: to trust

Questions & Answers about Δεν εμπιστεύομαι όλους τους πολιτικούς, αλλά ακούω τι λένε στις ειδήσεις.

Why is δεν used here for negation, and where does it go in the sentence?

In Modern Greek, δεν is the standard negation word used with verbs in the indicative mood (normal statements and questions).

• It normally goes directly before the verb:
  • Δεν εμπιστεύομαι = I do not trust
  • Δεν ακούω = I do not listen / I do not hear

Compare:

• Δεν εμπιστεύομαι όλους τους πολιτικούς = I don’t trust all politicians.

You use δεν with tenses like present, past, future in normal statements:

• Δεν θα πάω. = I will not go.
• Δεν πήγα. = I did not go.

The other common negation word μη(ν) is used mainly with:

• the subjunctive (after να) → να μην πάω = not to go
• the imperative (commands) → μην πας = don’t go

So in this sentence, because it’s a simple statement in the present, δεν is the correct choice and it must come right before εμπιστεύομαι.

What is special about the verb εμπιστεύομαι ending in -ομαι? Is it reflexive or passive?

Εμπιστεύομαι is one of those Greek verbs that look passive/reflexive (because of -ομαι) but are actually active in meaning. These are often called "deponent" verbs.

• εμπιστεύομαι κάποιον = I trust someone / I have confidence in someone

Even though the form is like a passive/middle:

• There is no passive meaning here.
• You don’t say “I am trusted”; you actually mean “I trust”.

Structure:

• Subject: (εγώ) = I
• Verb: εμπιστεύομαι = I trust
• Object (accusative): όλους τους πολιτικούς = all (the) politicians

So:

• (Εγώ) δεν εμπιστεύομαι όλους τους πολιτικούς. = I don’t trust all politicians.

It is not reflexive (like “I trust myself”) unless you add a reflexive pronoun:

• Εμπιστεύομαι τον εαυτό μου. = I trust myself.

Just remember: despite ending in -ομαι, εμπιστεύομαι is used like a normal transitive verb: εμπιστεύομαι + accusative object.

Why do we need both όλους and τους in όλους τους πολιτικούς? What does each word do?

In όλους τους πολιτικούς, the two words have different roles:

• τους = the definite article “the” (masculine, plural, accusative)
• όλους = “all” (masculine, plural, accusative)

So literally:

• όλους τους πολιτικούς = all the politicians

You could say:

• τους πολιτικούς = the politicians (in general / that group)
• όλους τους πολιτικούς = all the politicians (emphasizes totality)

If you drop όλους, you get:

• Δεν εμπιστεύομαι τους πολιτικούς.
  • General statement: I don’t trust politicians (as a category).

With όλους, you’re specifying the extent:

• Δεν εμπιστεύομαι όλους τους πολιτικούς.
  • I don’t trust all politicians (implying: there may be exceptions).

What exactly does Δεν εμπιστεύομαι όλους τους πολιτικούς mean? Do I trust none of them or just not all?

In Greek, the sentence:

• Δεν εμπιστεύομαι όλους τους πολιτικούς

normally means:

• I do not trust all of the politicians
  → i.e. there are some I don’t trust (and maybe some I do).

So the nuance is:

• There is an implication that not every single politician is trusted.
• It usually does not automatically mean “I trust none of them”.

To say you trust no politician at all, you would typically use something like:

• Δεν εμπιστεύομαι κανέναν πολιτικό. = I don’t trust any politician.
• Δεν εμπιστεύομαι καθόλου τους πολιτικούς. = I don’t trust politicians at all.

So with όλους, the denial is about totality (“not all of them”), not about absolute zero.

What is the case and number of πολιτικούς, and what are its main forms?

Πολιτικούς is:

• Masculine
• Plural
• Accusative

It comes from the noun ο πολιτικός = the politician.

Main forms (singular / plural):

• Nominative (subject):

  • ο πολιτικός = the politician
  • οι πολιτικοί = the politicians

• Accusative (object):

  • τον πολιτικό = the politician
  • τους πολιτικούς = the politicians

In our sentence:

• όλους τους πολιτικούς is in the accusative plural as the direct object of εμπιστεύομαι:
  • (Εγώ) δεν εμπιστεύομαι όλους τους πολιτικούς.

Could the word order be different, like δεν εμπιστεύομαι τους πολιτικούς όλους?

You could say things like:

• Δεν εμπιστεύομαι τους πολιτικούς όλους.

but this sounds unusual or very emphatic/marked in modern speech.

The most natural word order is:

• Δεν εμπιστεύομαι όλους τους πολιτικούς.

Because:

• In Greek, quantifiers like όλους usually come before the article + noun:
  • όλους τους φίλους μου = all my friends
  • όλα τα παιδιά = all the children

You can move όλους to the end (τους πολιτικούς όλους) for strong emphasis on “every single one”, but that’s more stylistic and not the neutral default.

So for everyday usage, stick to:

• όλους τους πολιτικούς.

What is the difference between αλλά and όμως as “but / however”? Could I use όμως here instead?

Both αλλά and όμως can translate to “but / however”, but they behave a bit differently.

αλλά:

• A conjunction that joins words or clauses.
• Very close to English “but”.
• In our sentence:
  • … αλλά ακούω τι λένε … = … but I listen to what they say …

όμως:

• More like “however” / “though” (adverbial).
• It’s more flexible in position:
  • Δεν εμπιστεύομαι όλους τους πολιτικούς, όμως ακούω τι λένε στις ειδήσεις.
  • Δεν εμπιστεύομαι όλους τους πολιτικούς. Όμως, ακούω τι λένε στις ειδήσεις.

Both are correct here. Αλλά is the straightforward, neutral “but” linking the two clauses in one sentence. Όμως is often a bit more like a separate comment: “However, I do listen to what they say…”

Does ακούω mean “I hear” or “I listen”? Why is ακούω used here?

Ακούω can mean both:

• to hear (perceive sounds)
• to listen (to) (pay attention to sounds/speech/music)

The exact sense depends on context.

In this sentence:

• … αλλά ακούω τι λένε στις ειδήσεις. = but I listen to / I do pay attention to what they say on the news.

Because we have an object τι λένε (“what they say”), it clearly implies intentional listening, not just accidentally hearing background noise.

Other examples:

• Δεν ακούω καλά. = I don’t hear well.
• Ακούω μουσική. = I listen to music.

Greek often uses ακούω where English can have both hear and listen to; context gives the nuance.

In τι λένε, where is the subject “they”? Why is it not written?

In Greek, the subject pronoun (like “I, you, they”) is usually dropped because it’s already shown by the verb ending. Greek is a pro‑drop language.

• λένε is 3rd person plural:
  • (αυτοί) λένε = they say

So:

• τι λένε literally = what (they) say.

You only add the pronoun αυτοί / αυτές / αυτοί if you want to emphasize or clarify:

• Αυτοί λένε άλλα στην τηλεόραση. = They say different things on TV (contrast: not someone else).

In the sentence:

• … αλλά ακούω τι λένε στις ειδήσεις.
  • The subject “they” is implicit in the verb form λένε.

Why does τι have no accent here? Isn’t the question word “what” written τί?

In older spelling (polytonic), you often saw τί with an accent.
In modern monotonic Greek spelling:

• The question word τι (“what”) is normally written without an accent.
• Most one‑syllable words are unaccented, except some like ή (or) or πού / πώς for disambiguation.

So:

• Τι λες; = What are you saying?
• Δεν ξέρω τι λένε. = I don’t know what they’re saying.

You may occasionally see τί with an accent in very careful or old-fashioned writing, but the standard modern form is τι.

What exactly does στις ειδήσεις mean, and how is it formed?

Στις ειδήσεις literally means “in/on the news” and is formed as:

• σε (preposition: in / at / on / to)
• • τις
  (feminine, plural, accusative article: “the”)
• → contracted to στις

So:

• στις ειδήσεις = in/on the news (broadcasts)

About ειδήσεις:

• Singular: η είδηση = a piece of news, a news item
• Plural: οι ειδήσεις = the news (as a TV/radio bulletin or news program)

Examples:

• Το άκουσα στις ειδήσεις. = I heard it on the news.
• Βλέπω ειδήσεις κάθε βράδυ. = I watch the news every evening.

In this sentence:

• … ακούω τι λένε στις ειδήσεις. = I listen to what they say on the news (on the news programs).

Why is ειδήσεις in the plural? Can’t you say it in the singular?

In Greek, “the news” as a TV or radio bulletin is normally referred to in the plural:

• οι ειδήσεις = the news (the news program, news bulletin)

Using the singular η είδηση means “a piece of news / a news item”:

• Μια καλή είδηση. = a piece of good news.
• Άκουσα μια είδηση. = I heard a (single) news item.

So:

• στις ειδήσεις = during the news bulletin / on the news program.
• μια είδηση στις ειδήσεις would sound odd; you’d probably say μια είδηση στο δελτίο ειδήσεων (a piece of news in the news bulletin).

That’s why the sentence correctly uses the plural ειδήσεις.

Are both verbs in the present tense here? What aspect or time does that express?

Yes, both verbs are in the present indicative:

• (δεν) εμπιστεύομαι = I (do not) trust
• ακούω = I listen / I hear

In Greek, the simple present usually expresses:

• habitual / general actions:
  • Δεν εμπιστεύομαι όλους τους πολιτικούς. = As a general attitude, I don’t trust all politicians.
  • αλλά ακούω τι λένε στις ειδήσεις. = As a regular practice, I listen to what they say on the news.

So the sentence describes a stable attitude and habit, not just something happening right now at this moment.