Breakdown of Ο ιδιοκτήτης μού είπε ότι πριν υπογράψω πρέπει να διαβάσω ήρεμα το συμβόλαιο.
να
to
πρέπει
to have to
πριν
before
μου
me
Questions & Answers about Ο ιδιοκτήτης μού είπε ότι πριν υπογράψω πρέπει να διαβάσω ήρεμα το συμβόλαιο.
Why is μού written with an accent here?
The accent helps show that μού belongs with the verb είπε and means to me.
So:
- Ο ιδιοκτήτης μού είπε = The landlord/owner told me
- Ο ιδιοκτήτης μου είπε can be read as My landlord said/told
In writing, the accent is often used to prevent that ambiguity.
What exactly is μού grammatically?
Μού is the weak genitive form of εγώ.
In Modern Greek, these weak genitive pronouns are often used for indirect objects:
- μου = to me / my
- σου = to you / your
- του / της = to him, to her / his, her
So μού είπε literally means said to me, which English usually translates as told me.
Why is είπε used here, and what tense is it?
Είπε is the aorist form of λέω.
- λέω = I say / I tell
- είπε = he/she said / told
The aorist is used because this is a completed past event: the owner told me something at a particular moment.