LingoflyWhen it is done to you: ο λογαριασμός πληρώθηκε
Official Greek — banks, taxes, forms — loves the shape where a thing does not act but is acted on. In the present those are the same -ομαι endings as in χαίρομαι (khérome): Ο λογαριασμός (o logariazmós) πληρώνεται (plirónete) κάθε (káthe) μήνα (mína). For example: “Ο λογαριασμός (o logariazmós) πληρώθηκε (pliróthike) χθες” (khthes) — The bill was paid yesterday. A rule from the Greek course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Official Greek — banks, taxes, forms — loves the shape where a thing does not act but is acted on. In the present those are the same -ομαι endings as in χαίρομαι (khérome): Ο λογαριασμός (o logariazmós) πληρώνεται (plirónete) κάθε (káthe) μήνα (mína) (o logariazmós plirónete káthe mína).
The new thing is the past. It has its own set in -θηκα: πληρώθηκα, πληρώθηκες, πληρώθηκε (pliróthike). Some verbs come out as -στηκα, -φτηκα or -χτηκα: ετοιμάστηκε, γράφτηκε (gráftike). Same tail, rubbed against the neighbouring consonant.
A third shape ends in -μένος and behaves like an adjective: πληρωμένος λογαριασμός (logariazmós), πληρωμένη δόση. The difference is "the bill was paid" against "a paid bill".
Who did it comes in with από (apó): Το δάνειο (to dánio) ξοφλήθηκε από (apó) τον (ton) πατέρα μου (mu) (to dánio ksoflíthike apó ton patéra mu). Paperwork usually leaves that out. Η αίτηση (i étisi) απορρίφθηκε — the application was turned down, by nobody named.
Table
| action | present | past | in -μένος |
|---|---|---|---|
| πληρώνω (pliróno) | πληρώνεται (plirónete) | πληρώθηκε (pliróthike) | πληρωμένος |
| γράφω (gráfo) | γράφεται (gráfete) | γράφτηκε (gráftike) | γραμμένος |
| ετοιμάζω | ετοιμάζεται | ετοιμάστηκε | ετοιμασμένος |
| χτίζω (khtízo) | χτίζεται (khtízete) | χτίστηκε (khtístike) | χτισμένος |
By example
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
When it is done to you: how does it work in Greek?
Official Greek — banks, taxes, forms — loves the shape where a thing does not act but is acted on. In the present those are the same -ομαι endings as in χαίρομαι (khérome): Ο λογαριασμός (o logariazmós) πληρώνεται (plirónete) κάθε (káthe) μήνα (mína).
What does it look like in a Greek example sentence?
“Ο λογαριασμός (o logariazmós) πληρώθηκε (pliróthike) χθες” (khthes) (o logariazmós pliróthike khthes) — The bill was paid yesterday. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.