Άκουσα το χτύπημα.

to hear

Breakdown of Άκουσα το χτύπημα.

• το χτύπημα: blow; impact

Questions & Answers about Άκουσα το χτύπημα.

What does άκουσα mean, and what tense is it?

Άκουσα is the 1st person singular aorist form of ακούω, meaning I heard.

In this sentence, it refers to a single completed event in the past: you heard something once or at a particular moment.

So:

• ακούω = I hear / I am hearing
• άκουσα = I heard

Greek aorist is often the tense used for a simple past action in English.

Why is there no word for I in the sentence?

Greek often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed.

The ending of άκουσα already tells you the subject is I, so εγώ is unnecessary.

That means:

• Άκουσα το χτύπημα. = I heard the knock.
• Εγώ άκουσα το χτύπημα. = I heard the knock with extra emphasis on I

English usually requires the pronoun, but Greek often does not.

Why is it το χτύπημα and not just χτύπημα?