Breakdown of Έχω να δω τη γιαγιά μου δύο μήνες και ξέρω ότι της λείπω πολύ.
Questions & Answers about Έχω να δω τη γιαγιά μου δύο μήνες και ξέρω ότι της λείπω πολύ.
Literally, Έχω να δω is I have to see or I have (yet) to see.
In modern Greek, though, the structure:
- έχω να + subjunctive (δώ, κάνω, πάω, κτλ.) + χρονική διάρκεια
often means:
- I haven’t done X for [time] / It’s been [time] since I did X.
So:
- Έχω να δω τη γιαγιά μου δύο μήνες
→ literally: I have to see my grandmother (for) two months
→ idiomatically: I haven’t seen my grandmother for two months.
More examples of the same pattern:
- Έχει να βρέξει μια βδομάδα.
→ It hasn’t rained for a week. - Έχω να φάω από το πρωί.
→ I haven’t eaten since the morning.
So you should understand Έχω να δω here as a fixed pattern used to express “I haven’t seen” for a certain period.
Yes, you can, and it’s very natural:
- Δεν έχω δει τη γιαγιά μου εδώ και δύο μήνες.
= I haven’t seen my grandmother for two months.
Differences in feel:
Έχω να δω… δύο μήνες
- Very common in everyday spoken Greek.
- Feels a bit more colloquial/spoken.
Δεν έχω δει… εδώ και δύο μήνες
- Neutral, also very common, perhaps a bit more “textbook” or explicit.
In practice, both are fine in everyday speech; the meaning is essentially the same.
δω is the aorist subjunctive form of the verb βλέπω (to see).
Key points:
- Present: βλέπω = I see / I am seeing
- Aorist (simple past): είδα = I saw
- Aorist subjunctive: να δω = (that) I see / to see (once)
With έχω να, Greek requires the subjunctive:
- έχω να δω
- έχω να κάνω (from κάνω)
- έχω να πάω (from πάω/πηγαίνω)
So you can’t say Έχω να βλέπω here; it must be Έχω να δω.
Because η is the nominative feminine article (used for subjects), while τη(ν) is the accusative feminine article (used for direct objects).
In this sentence:
- (Εγώ) έχω να δω τη γιαγιά μου…
- Subject: (Εγώ) – I (often omitted in Greek)
- Verb: να δω – to see
- Direct object: τη γιαγιά μου – my grandmother
So the noun γιαγιά is the object of δω, and it must be in the accusative:
- η γιαγιά (subject) → τη γιαγιά (object)
μου is the possessive clitic “my”, so τη γιαγιά μου = my grandmother (as object).
The full form of the article is την, but in modern standard spelling:
- την is usually written as τη before most consonants.
The idea is that the final -ν is usually not pronounced before many consonants, so the spelling reflects that.
You normally keep the ν:
- before vowels (e.g. την ώρα)
- and before certain consonants (κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ):
- την πόρτα, την τάξη, την ξαδέρφη.
But before γ in γιαγιά, it’s standard to drop the ν in writing:
- τη γιαγιά (spoken [ti yaˈʝa])
So the form τη γιαγιά is the normal, correct modern spelling.
μου here is an unstressed possessive pronoun in the genitive case, cliticized after the noun:
- η γιαγιά μου / τη γιαγιά μου = my grandmother
Key points:
It comes after the noun, not before, unlike English.
- English: my grandmother
- Greek: η γιαγιά μου
It’s unstressed and “light”, so it attaches closely to the noun.
If you want to emphasize my own grandmother (not someone else’s), you can add δική:
- τη δική μου γιαγιά = my grandmother (as opposed to yours)
But in most contexts, τη γιαγιά μου is just the normal way to say my grandmother.
δύο μήνες is a bare time expression showing a duration.
In this construction:
- Έχω να δω τη γιαγιά μου δύο μήνες
the usual interpretation is for two months (up to now), i.e. it’s been two months since I saw her.
Greek is happy to put a time phrase directly after the verb or clause without a preposition:
- Δούλεψε τρεις ώρες. – He worked for three hours.
- Θα λείψω μια μέρα. – I’ll be away for one day.
Here are a few variants with prepositions/adverbs that you’ll also hear:
- Έχω να δω τη γιαγιά μου εδώ και δύο μήνες.
- Έχω να δω τη γιαγιά μου δύο μήνες τώρα.
All of these are natural. The bare δύο μήνες is perfectly fine and common.
Because Greek uses the verb λείπω in a sort of “reversed” way compared to English.
- Basic meaning of λείπω: to be absent / to be missing (from somewhere or from someone).
With a person who does the missing:
- λείπω σε κάποιον = I am missing to someone → someone misses me.
In the sentence:
- της λείπω πολύ
- Subject: (εγώ) – I (implied)
- Verb: λείπω – I am missing / I am absent
- Pronoun: της – to her
Literally: I am missing to her a lot.
Meaning: She misses me a lot.
So:
- της λείπω = she misses me
- μου λείπει = I miss him/her/it (see next question)
They express who misses whom, and they are not interchangeable.
της λείπω
- Subject: I (first person singular)
- Pronoun: της = to her
- Meaning: She misses me.
μου λείπει (η γιαγιά μου)
- Subject: η γιαγιά μου = my grandmother
- Pronoun: μου = to me
- Meaning: I miss my grandmother.
Compare:
- Της λείπω πολύ. – She misses me a lot.
- Μου λείπει πολύ η γιαγιά μου. – I miss my grandmother a lot.
A useful tip:
- The subject of λείπω/λείπει is the person/thing that is absent.
- The genitive pronoun (μου, σου, του, της…) marks the person who feels the lack.
So pay attention to both the verb ending and the pronoun to understand who misses whom.
In ξέρω ότι της λείπω πολύ, ότι is a conjunction meaning that, introducing a subordinate clause:
- ξέρω ότι… = I know that…
You can often replace ότι with πως (with no big difference in meaning):
- ξέρω πως της λείπω πολύ. – also correct.
Important distinction:
- ότι (no comma) = that (conjunction)
- ό,τι (with comma) = whatever / anything that (pronoun)
Examples:
- Ξέρω ότι της λείπω. – I know that she misses me.
- Ό,τι θέλεις. – Whatever you want.
In this sentence, it must be ότι (conjunction).
Yes, Greek word order is quite flexible, especially with these clitic pronouns.
All of these are possible, with small differences in emphasis:
- Της λείπω πολύ. – neutral; she misses me a lot.
- Λείπω πολύ στη γιαγιά μου. – a bit more explicit, adding the noun; still “my grandmother misses me a lot.”
- Πολύ της λείπω. – emphasizes how much she misses me.
You can also repeat the noun for clarity:
- Ξέρω ότι της λείπω πολύ, της γιαγιάς μου.
(a bit more spoken/colloquial, adding an afterthought “my grandmother”.)
But in the given sentence, της λείπω πολύ is the most natural and concise form.
The two months part refers to how long something has been going on up to now, not to a finished past event.
Έχω να δω τη γιαγιά μου δύο μήνες
→ describes a state that started in the past and is still true now.
→ That’s why έχω is in the present: “Right now, it is the case that I haven’t seen her for two months.”- ξέρω ότι… – I know (now) that…
- της λείπω – she misses me (now / generally).
Greek (like English present perfect, but using different means) often uses the present tense to express present states that include a past period.
So the tenses are present because we’re describing a current situation with a duration that stretches into the past.