How to say “I come” in Greek and useful sentences
One of those useful verbs that you need to memorize when starting learning Greek is the verb “έρχομαι” = I come
It is a verb that we use in many everyday phrases. Below you will find some important expressions and the grammar on how to use and conjugate this verb. Let’s have a look!
Some Greek grammar…
The present tense of the verb έρχομαι
So let’s see how the verb «έρχομαι» is conjugated In the present tense.
(below you also find the video, so you can listen to the correct pronunciation)
Εγώ έρχ-ομαι
Εσύ έρχ-εσαι
Αυτός,ή,ό έρχ-εται
Εμείς ερχ-όμαστε
Εσείς ερχ-όσαστε / έρχ-εστε
Αυτοί,ές,ά έρχ-ονται
This verb is usually one of the first verbs you need to learn in Greek if you want to communicate with Greeks.
However, as you can see above, it is conjugated very differently from most verbs you might already know, such as
πίνω – to drink,
μένω – to live,
δουλέυω – to work
καταλαβαίνω – to understand
Click here to learn the verb ‘to understand’
So if you are meeting some friends and one of them is not there yet, you might inform the others saying «Ο Νίκος είναι στον δρόμο. Έρχεται»
which means “Nick is on his way. He is coming”
Or for example, if you want to ask a friend to join you, you can say “Πάω στο σινεμά. Έρχεσαι;»
which means “I am going to the cinema. Do you want to come?”
And of course, if you would like to go, you just answer,
Ναι, έρχομαι…. Yes, I come.
When you are more advanced in Greek, you will learn more verbs with this conjugation, and also the grammar, but since this lesson is written for beginners, we try to keep it simple, and you can just learn it by heart for the time being 😉
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The future tense of the verb έρχομαι
In Greek, we use many times the Present Tense, when talking about the future.
But of course, you can also use the future tense of the verb έρχομαι.
So let’s learn the conjugation in Future Simple.
(below you also find the video, so you can listen to the correct pronunciation)
Εγώ θα έρθ-ω
Εσύ θα έρθ-εις
Αυτός,ή,ό θα έρθ-ει
Εμείς θα έρθ-ουμε
Εσείς θα έρθ-ετε
Αυτοί,ές,ά θα έρθ-ουν
So when you want to say;
“Πάω στο σινεμά. Έρχεσαι;”
You could also say it with the future tense, and the meaning is actually the same
“Πάω στο σινεμά. Θα έρθεις;»
which means “I am going to the cinema. Will you come?”
Here is another example;
Έρχομαι σε 5 λεπτά (Ι am coming in 5 minutes)
Or
Θα έρθω σε 5 λεπτά (I will come in 5 minutes)
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The imperative form of the verb έρχομαι
Last but not least, there is one more form of this verb, which you will hear all the time in Greece.
It is the Imperative form of the verb έρχομαι. The Imperative means that you “order somebody to do something”
Let’s see!
Έλα! – come! (one person, informal)
or
Ελάτε – come (many persons or one person, formal)
For example,
If you see somebody and you want to say “Come here”, you will say “Έλα εδώ!»
By the way, it is also something you hear often when a person talks to a dog or cat 😊
And if there are more persons, and you want to tell them to come…you use the plural form..Ελάτε!
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If you like to communicate in Greek, then, apart from grammar, you also need to learn the correct pronunciation in Greek 😉
Take a look at the video with teacher Eva and listen to the correct pronunciation of the conjugations and sentences.
Hope you liked this Greek language lesson.
If you want to learn more Greek verbs and tenses, then
click here to learn the verbs “to drink” and “to be hungry”.
Click here to learn the verb ‘to understand’
Click here to learn the verb ‘to speak’
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Ps. If you want to also listen to a Greek song, with the verb έρχομαι, then click here and listen to the song κλείνω κι’ερχομαι – I hang up and I come
