Questions: ποιος, πού, πότε, πώς, γιατί
The first thing to know about the Greek question: the words do not move. Έχεις σήμα. — you have signal, Έχεις σήμα; — do you have signal? The same order, the same stresses inside the words; only the voice rises at the end. No "do you", no flipping of the subject — Greek asks by intonation alone, the way spoken English does in "You have signal?" For example: “Πού είναι η στάση λεωφορείου;” — Where is the bus stop?. A…
How it works
The first thing to know about the Greek question: the words do not move. Έχεις σήμα (ékhis síma). — you have signal, Έχεις σήμα; — do you have signal? The same order, the same stresses inside the words; only the voice rises at the end. No "do you", no flipping of the subject — Greek asks by intonation alone, the way spoken English does in "You have signal?"
Second — the mark. The Greek question mark looks like a semicolon: ; It is not a typo and not a broken font. And what English calls a semicolon the Greeks write as a raised dot — ·. Typing Greek, it is easy to set the wrong mark and not notice: both exist.
Question words stand at the front, the verb usually follows right behind, and the subject drifts to the end: Πού είναι η στάση (pu íne i stási);, not "πού η στάση είναι (pu i stási íne)".
All of them are written with an accent, and the accent is meaning-bearing: πού (where) against που (that), πώς (how) against πως (that). Writing a question without its accent means writing another word.
Two of them decline like adjectives. ποιος (pios), ποια (pia), ποιο (pio) — who and which: Ποιος τηλεφώνησε (pios tilefónise);, Ποιον ρώτησες;, Ποια εφαρμογή (pia efarmoyí);. And πόσος, πόση (pósi), πόσο (póso) — how much: Πόσα λεφτά (pósa leftá);, Πόση ώρα θα πάρει (pósi óra tha pári);. The rest — πού, πότε (póte), πώς, γιατί (yatí), τι (ti) — never change.
And a small economy: γιατί means both "why" and "because". Γιατί άργησες (yatí áryises); — Γιατί δεν είχα σήμα (yatí den íkha síma). One word asks the question and answers it.
Table
| word | asks about | example |
|---|---|---|
| ποιος, ποια, ποιο | who, which | Ποιος τηλεφώνησε; |
| πού | where, where to | Πού είναι το δημαρχείο; |
| πότε | when | Πότε ανοίγει το μουσείο; |
| πώς | how | Πώς πάω στο πάρκο; |
| γιατί | why; because | Γιατί έκλεισε ο δρόμος; |
| πόσος, πόση, πόσο | how much | Πόσο κάνει το κούρεμα; |
By example
- Πού είναι η στάση λεωφορείου;pu íne i stási leoforíu?Where is the bus stop?
- Πόση ώρα θα πάρει η επισκευή;pósi óra tha pári i episkeví?How long will the repair take?
- Γιατί δεν πήγες στην αστυνομία;yatí den píyes stin astinomía?Why didn't you go to the police?
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
Questions: how does it work in Greek?
The first thing to know about the Greek question: the words do not move. Έχεις σήμα. — you have signal, Έχεις σήμα; — do you have signal? The same order, the same stresses inside the words; only the voice rises at the end. No "do you", no flipping of the subject — Greek asks by intonation alone…
What does it look like in an example sentence Greek?
“Πού είναι η στάση λεωφορείου;” (pu íne i stási leoforíu?) — Where is the bus stop?. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.