Πότισε το φυτό λιγάκι.

Water the plant a little.

Breakdown of Πότισε το φυτό λιγάκι.

• το φυτό: the plant
• ποτίζω: to water
• λιγάκι: a little

Questions & Answers about Πότισε το φυτό λιγάκι.

Is Πότισε here a command or a past-tense form?

Here it is being used as a command: Water the plant a little.

But this is a very good question, because πότισε can also be the 3rd person singular aorist form meaning he/she/it watered. In an isolated written sentence, Greek can sometimes be ambiguous like that. Normally, context and intonation make it clear.

So:

• Πότισε το φυτό λιγάκι. = Water the plant a little.
• In another context, the same words could mean He watered the plant a little.

What verb form is Πότισε exactly?

Πότισε is the 2nd person singular aorist imperative active of ποτίζω (to water).

That means:

• 2nd person singular = you are talking to one person
• imperative = it is a command / instruction
• aorist = it presents the action as one complete action

So Πότισε is the kind of form you use when telling one person to do something once, as a single act.

Why is the article το used in το φυτό?