LingoflyExclaiming and intensifying: τι ωραία, πόσο, τόσο, καθόλου
An exclamation uses two different words, and they do not swap. Τι (ti) goes before a noun or an adjective, and with no article: Τι κρίμα (ti kríma)! Τι (ti) ωραία (oréa) ταινία (tenía)! Never "τι (ti) η ταινία" (i tenía). For example: “Τι (ti) ωραία (oréa) παράσταση (parástasi) ήταν (ítan) χθες (khthes)!” — What a wonderful performance there was yesterday! A rule from the Greek course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
An exclamation uses two different words, and they do not swap. Τι (ti) goes before a noun or an adjective, and with no article: Τι κρίμα (ti kríma)! Τι (ti) ωραία (oréa) ταινία (tenía) (ti oréa tenía)! Never "τι (ti) η ταινία (i tenía) (ti i tenía)".
Πόσο (póso) goes before an adjective or an adverb and never changes: Πόσο (póso) ωραίο (oréo) είναι (íne) (póso oréo íne)! Before a noun the same word changes shape and means amount: Πόσος κόσμος!
Τόσο (tóso) usually pulls a που (pu) after it: Ήταν (ítan) τόσο (tóso) αστείο (astío) που (pu) γελούσαμε ως (os) το τέλος (to télos). With nothing following, it is a plain "so": Ήταν (ítan) τόσο (tóso) ωραία (oréa) (ítan tóso oréa)!
Καθόλου (kathólu) means "not at all", and in that sense it lives only next to δεν (den): Δεν (den) μου (mu) άρεσε (árese) καθόλου (kathólu) (den mu árese kathólu). Drop the δεν (den) and it turns into "any", fit for a question: Έχεις (ékhis) καθόλου (kathólu) νερό (neró) (ékhis kathólu neró);
Table
| the intensifier | example | in English |
|---|---|---|
| τι (ti) without the article | Τι κρίμα (ti kríma)! | What a pity! |
| πόσο (póso) with an adjective | Πόσο (póso) ωραίο (oréo) είναι (íne)! | How beautiful it is! |
| τόσο (tóso) ... που (pu) | τόσο (tóso) αστείο (astío) που (pu) γελούσαμε | so funny that we laughed |
| πολύ (polí) | πολύ (polí) γνωστός (gnostós) ζωγράφος (zográfos) | a very famous painter |
| εντελώς | εντελώς διαφορετικό είδος (ídos) | a completely different genre |
| καθόλου (kathólu) with δεν (den) | δεν (den) μου (mu) άρεσε (árese) καθόλου (kathólu) | I didn't like it at all |
By example
- Πόσο αστείο είναι αυτό το ντοκιμαντέρ!póso astío íne aftó to dokimandér!How funny this documentary is!
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
Exclaiming and intensifying: how does it work in Greek?
An exclamation uses two different words, and they do not swap. Τι (ti) goes before a noun or an adjective, and with no article: Τι κρίμα (ti kríma)! Τι (ti) ωραία (oréa) ταινία (tenía)! Never "τι (ti) η ταινία" (i tenía).
What does it look like in a Greek example sentence?
“Τι (ti) ωραία (oréa) παράσταση (parástasi) ήταν (ítan) χθες (khthes)!” (ti oréa parástasi ítan khthes!) — What a wonderful performance there was yesterday! A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.