Απρόσωπα ρήματα
Impersonal verbs are verbs that don’t take a subject. That is, they don’t refer
to a specific person doing the action, even if a person is implied in the
meaning. Some examples in English are
It is necessary that …
It is required that …
There is no need to …
In both Greek and English, these are usually third person singular in form “It
is…”. This means they usually end in -ει but can also end in -αι if they are
passive in form. Some common impersonal verbs in Greek are given below.
| Verb |
Meaning |
Example |
Notes |
| πρέπει |
It is necessary/fitting |
Πρέπει να φύγω νωρίς σήμερα |
Used for should and must |
| μπορεί |
It is possible |
Μπορεί να έρθει το βράδυ ο Νίκος |
Used for might |
| φαίνεται |
It seems/appears |
Φαίνεται πως θα κάνει ζέστη αύριο |
|
| θεωρείται |
It is thought |
Θεωρείται ότι είναι επικίνδυνος ο κορωνοϊός |
Past: θεωρούταν or (ε)θεωρείτο |
| πρόκειται |
It is likely, (with για) it concerns |
Δεν πρόκειται να τον ξαναδείς ποτέ |
Past: επρόκειτο |
As you can see from the examples, one of να, ότι or πως always accompany
impersonal verbs. The verbs πρέπει and μπορεί use να, while for most of the
others you can use πως or ότι interchangeably. Just like in English, you can
form impersonal phrases with είναι (it is), for example
Είναι λάθος να σκέφτεσαι με αυτόν τον τρόπο
Είναι καλό να βοηθάμε τους συνανθρώπους μας
In this case, να is always used. The verbs πρέπει and μπορεί are very common,
and they are the usual way we say phrases in Greek that would usually have
personal counterparts in English. For example,
We should buy toilet paper ⟶ Πρέπει να αγοράσουμε χαρτί υγείας
We might go home early ⟶ Μπορεί να πάμε σπίτι νωρίς
Some impersonal verbs are the third person forms of personal verbs (e.g.
μπορώ: I can, I am able [to]), while others like πρέπει exist alone. There is no
verb πρέπω in Greek.
το ρήμα «αρέσω»
The verb αρέσω can be used both personally and impersonally, and I’ve seen it
often misused by students in class. The verb means “I am pleasing”, not “I
like”. This is a very important distinction.
When we say μου αρέσει ο χορός this
literally translates to “dancing is pleasing
to me”, not “I like dancing”. There is not direct equivalent of the verb “I
like” in Greek.