QCAA Modern Greek (SEE) common mistakes
QCAA Modern Greek (SEE) · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Listening once for gist, then answering detail questions from a general impression instead of returning to the specific segment of the recording that carries the answer.
Under time pressure candidates treat the second play as confirmation of their first guess rather than as a targeted search for numbers, names, times, or reasons; they also stop writing once they think they have 'the idea'.
What to do instead
Before the first play, underline the key word in each question (πότε, πόσο, γιατί, ποιος). On the second play, put a mark beside the question each time its keyword is heard, and write the answer only from that marked segment; leave a blank rather than guess, and fill blanks from the final reading time.
Missing answers because they are expressed with negation, hedging, or a change of mind inside the recording (δεν νομίζω πως..., στην αρχή ήθελα..., τελικά όχι).
Candidates listen for a matching content word and stop at the first mention, so an early statement that is later contradicted is recorded as the answer.
What to do instead
Train on the discourse markers that signal reversal or concession (αλλά, όμως, τελικά, στην πραγματικότητα, από την άλλη). When a speaker states a plan, keep listening to the end of that turn before writing; treat the last stated position as the answer unless a question asks about the initial intention.
Inferring tone, relationship, or purpose from a single word rather than from the whole exchange, and answering with an adjective plucked from the text instead of describing the speaker's attitude.
Questions on register and attitude are phrased abstractly, and candidates look for a lexical match rather than reading the interactional cues (formal address, apology, hesitation, repetition).
What to do instead
Practise identifying the relationship first from address forms and register (εσύ/εσείς, τίτλοι, αποχαιρετισμοί), then the attitude from the speech acts (παράπονο, πρόσκληση, άρνηση, συγγνώμη). Answer in a short phrase naming the act, e.g. 'ευγενική άρνηση', not a bare adjective.
Translating the reading passage sentence by sentence before answering, so that questions on overall purpose or the writer's stance are answered from isolated sentences.
Candidates transfer a word-by-word decoding habit from language study; global questions then get local evidence, and time runs out for the detail items.
What to do instead
Read the questions first, then skim the passage once for structure (title, opening, paragraph openings, conclusion) and answer global items before detail items. For each answer, quote the line that supports it; if no single line supports a global item, the answer must come from the opening and closing paragraphs together.
Treating unknown vocabulary as a blocker and abandoning the item, or guessing a meaning from a similar-sounding English word.
Candidates have not been taught to use word formation and context; Greek compounds, prefixes, and suffixes are transparent once segmented, but false friends (e.g. words resembling English but differing in meaning) punish sound-based guessing.
What to do instead
Before guessing, strip the word to stem plus prefix/suffix and check the surrounding sentence for a definition, example, or contrast. Build a personal list of false friends and cognates encountered in past papers, and practise paraphrasing an unknown word from context in one Greek phrase.
Writing a scripted response that answers the prompt only in general terms, omitting the required number of points, the audience, and the text type conventions.
Candidates memorise a model answer and adapt it loosely; under exam pressure they do not re-read the task to check how many pieces of information are demanded or who the reader is.
What to do instead
Before writing, list the rubric points as a numbered checklist in the margin and tick each one as it is written. Identify the text type and its obligatory features (heading, greeting, sign-off, register) and check them at the end against the checklist.
Mixing formal and informal address within one text, or using the wrong register for the stated audience.
The prompt's audience is skimmed, and candidates default to the plural of politeness or to the singular they use with friends; consistency is rarely checked after drafting.
What to do instead
Decide the address form before the first sentence and write it at the top of the plan (εσύ or εσείς, corresponding verb endings and pronouns). On review, circle every verb and pronoun of address and confirm they agree with that decision throughout.
Producing writing that is grammatically ambitious but incoherent: sentences linked only by καί, no paragraphing, and ideas in the order they were thought of.
Candidates equate sophistication with complex verb forms and neglect cohesion; they also run out of time and stop organising.
What to do instead
Draft a three-part plan (opening purpose, two developed points, closing) before writing, and allocate one linking device per paragraph from a rehearsed set (επιπλέον, ωστόσο, επομένως, αφού, παρόλο που). Reserve the last five minutes for checking paragraph breaks and connectors only.
Applying English grammar patterns to Greek: wrong case after prepositions, accusative where genitive is required, misplaced weak object pronouns, and incorrect verb endings under pressure.
Candidates learn paradigms in isolation and never automatise the choice between cases and clitic positions; interference from English word order and from the nominative-heavy drills they practise.
What to do instead
Drill by construction rather than by table: complete cloze passages where the choice is between cases after a fixed preposition or verb, and rewrite sentences moving the object pronoun before the verb. Keep an error log of only the structures that recur in your own writing and re-test them weekly.
Using aspect incorrectly in commands and past narration, e.g. a perfective imperative for a repeated instruction or an imperfective for a single completed action.
Aspect is not marked in English, so candidates choose the form they have seen most often in drills rather than the one the meaning requires.
What to do instead
For each verb form written, ask whether the action is viewed as a single completed event (perfective) or as ongoing, repeated, or habitual (imperfective), and check the time expression in the sentence as evidence (κάθε μέρα, συνέχεια versus μια φορά, χθες). Rewrite ten of your own sentences changing only the aspect and state how the meaning shifts.