Questions to some changes

Hi, i have several questions

1) What does μπορεί mean?

2) i would like to know why the verb for περπατάει for a another person would change into περπατήσει? I don't know if it has anything to do with the verb I mentioned above.
Αυτός μπορεί να κολυμπήσει/ Αυτός μπορεί να περπατήσει.

3) What does φάει mean?
Αυτός δεν μπορεί να φάει στο βιβλιοθήκη;

4) What is δουν?
Αυτοί δεν μπορούν να δουν;

5) What is να παρώ?
Μπορώ να παρώ το τρένο;

Sorry for the questions but I want to perfect my Greek. I looked up the words in the dictionary but I have a feeling that those words change with the verb.

Hi, Apostolos!

1) μπορεί =

1. it is possible / it may/might be possible / probably
2. she/he/it can/may (third person singular in present indicative of the verb ,,μπορώ" = be able / can / bear / support / stand)

2) περπατάει is third person singular of present indicative of the verb περπατάω = I walk;

να περπατήσει is third person singular of subjunctive aorist mood of the same verb περπατάω

Αυτός μπορεί να κολυμπήσει/ Αυτός μπορεί να περπατήσει.
He can swim / He can walk

Here you can see all tenses and moods of the verb:

http://modern-greek-verbs.tripod.com/perpatao.html

3) Αυτός δεν μπορεί να φάει στο βιβλιοθήκη; = Could / could not he eat into library?

να φάει is third person singular of subjunctive aorist mood of the verb τρώω = I eat

http://modern-greek-verbs.tripod.com/troo.html

4) Αυτοί δεν μπορούν να δουν; = Cannot they see?

να δουν is third person plural of subjunctive aorist mood of the verb βλέπω = Ι see.

http://modern-greek-verbs.tripod.com/blepo.html

5) Μπορώ να παρώ το τρένο; = Can I take the the train?

να παρώ is first person singular of subjunctive aorist mood of the verb
παίρνω = I get / I take

http://modern-greek-verbs.tripod.com/pairno.html

verb κολυμπάω - swim

N.B.! These are only a few examples ; the uses and the meanings for this verb in present and aorist are much more; I just want for you to get and understand a difference between present subjunctive and subjunctive aorist


1. Subjunctive aorist :

aorist means an instant action and in the mind of the person the action is thought as already taken / already completed, regardless of the aorist is in the past, present or future tense ( I'm exhausted of those explanations! sorry!)

Αυτός μπορεί να κολυμπήσει= He is able to swim (as an acquired fact of being able to swim) ((action in the past , present or future)


2. Present subjunctive

Ο κόσμος μπορεί να κολυμπάει άφοβα = People can swim without any fear. (action in the past, present or future); it is used present subjunctive because the action has teoreticaly a long and endless duration - each year , for ever they can swim there , periodically)

Here people who know to swim are told that they can / are allowed to swim without any fear in that place.

N.B. I repeat that in other sentences and in other contexts the meanings might be slightly different! I just want for you to get to the point!

2 more examples:

1.subj.aorist

Aύριο θα κολυμπήσω. = Tomorrow I will swim ( instant action; the subject only want to tell us that she/he will swim - an action thought to be done into a plan of more different actions like to drink, to sleep ,to shop,etcetera) one shot, I would say

2. subj. present
θα κολυμπάω κάθε μέρα = I will swim every day (repeated/continuous action) - action thought to be repeated so teoretically without any end

Thank you very much geomac!

you are wellcome

you will recognize the aorist stem looking to the end of the word:

the letters with whom the words of aorist are ending (instant, momentary) are mostly:

"σ" (the majority) and ,,ψ" (very often) then"ξ" (very often) and "-θ" or "-στ " (for deponent verbs) and ,,ν" "θ" ,,χ" ,,γ" ,,β" ,, λ" " ρ" (rare)


it is about the stem ending; because after the stem the personal endings follows .

i.e. in indicativ aorist -σα, -σες , -σε , -σαμε , -σατε, -σαν(ε)

I forgot to mention the stem for aorist in passive/middle voice:

the majority are ending in "-θ" and "-στ"

then we may encounter also -χτ ; -φτ , -τ

Deponent verbs =

Verbs that are active in meaning but have passive endings