MATSEC IM Greek key terms

The present tense of a Greek verb, used for actions happening now, habitual actions, and general truths; its endings also form the basis for the subjunctive and continuous imperative.

The simple past tense, expressing a completed action seen as a single whole; formed with the past tense augment and a distinct set of endings, and central to narrative writing.

The imperfect tense, describing ongoing, repeated, or habitual past actions; contrasts with the aorist by presenting the action as a process rather than a completed event.

The subjunctive mood, used after particles such as να and μην for wishes, intentions, prohibitions, and subordinate clauses; it has present and aorist forms but no separate future.

The future and conditional particle placed before a verb; with the present stem it forms the continuous future, with the aorist stem the simple future, and with the past stem the conditional.

The aspect of a Greek verb, distinguishing continuous (ongoing or repeated) from simple (completed, single-event) action; it is shown by the choice of stem and is more important than tense in Greek.

The definite article ο, η, το, which marks gender, number, and case and often functions as a pronoun or substantiviser; the indefinite article is ένας, μία, ένα.

A grammatical case. Modern Greek has four: nominative, genitive, accusative, and vocative; case is shown by article and ending and signals the noun's role in the sentence.

Grammatical gender. Greek nouns are masculine, feminine, or neuter, and the gender determines article and adjective agreement, even where it does not match natural gender.

An adjective, which agrees with its noun in gender, number, and case; most form comparative with -τερος and superlative with -τατος, though some use πιο and ο πιο.

A pronoun. Greek distinguishes personal, possessive, demonstrative, relative, interrogative, and indefinite pronouns; weak object forms such as με and του are placed before the verb.

A particle: a short uninflected word such as να, θα, δεν, μην, or ας that modifies the verb or clause without carrying full lexical meaning of its own.

A verb. Greek verbs inflect for person, number, tense, aspect, mood, and voice, and the ending alone usually identifies the subject, so subject pronouns are normally omitted.

A compound word formed by joining two or more stems, often with a linking vowel, e.g. παιδότοπος or ηλιοβασίλεμα; recognising the parts helps deduce meaning in reading passages.

A prefix attached to a stem to change meaning, such as ανα-, κατα-, συν-, or ξε-; prefixes often modify direction, repetition, or negation and are useful clues in vocabulary questions.

A derived word created from a root by adding a suffix, such as δάσκαλος from δασκάλεύω or αγάπη from αγαπώ; suffixes commonly mark agent, action, place, or quality.

A word with a meaning close to another, such as σπίτι and οικία; synonym questions require attention to register, since one option may be formal or colloquial while another is neutral.

A word opposite in meaning to another, such as ψηλός and κοντός; antonym items often test prefixes like α- or ξε- that reverse a stem's sense.

A proper noun: the name of a person, place, or institution. It is capitalised in Greek and usually takes the article, e.g. ο Γιάννης, η Αθήνα, το Πανεπιστήμιο.

A noun. Greek nouns belong to one of three genders and are declined across four cases in singular and plural; their endings usually reveal gender and case.

The main idea of a passage: the central point the writer develops, as distinct from supporting details; main-idea questions ask what the text is chiefly about.

The topic or subject of a text, or in a different sense the theme of a literary work; identifying it is the first step in answering comprehension questions on unseen passages.

The purpose or aim of a text, such as to inform, persuade, warn, or entertain; purpose questions ask why the writer produced the passage rather than what it says.

A conclusion or inference drawn from evidence in the text; inference questions require combining stated facts with general knowledge rather than locating a single sentence.

Evidence or a piece of supporting detail in a text; questions may ask which statement is supported by the passage, requiring you to locate the exact line that justifies it.

Restating a text's meaning in different words; comprehension options are usually paraphrases rather than verbatim quotations, so matching identical wording can be a trap.

Style or register: the tone and level of language a text uses, ranging from formal and academic to colloquial or ironic; register questions ask how something is said, not what.

A paragraph. In Greek writing, the topic sentence often opens the paragraph, and each paragraph should develop one idea linked to the next by connectives.

A conjunction or connective such as αλλά, επειδή, ωστόσο, or επομένως; these signal contrast, cause, or result and are key clues for understanding argument structure.

The title of a text. A title often states the topic or hints at the writer's attitude, so reading it first helps predict content and orient comprehension answers.

Translation. The exam requires rendering Greek passages into English and English passages into Greek, prioritising accurate meaning, natural target-language idiom, and correct grammar over word-for-word equivalence.

The rendering or equivalent of a word or phrase in the target language; a good απόδοση conveys the sense in natural style rather than copying the source structure literally.

An idiom or fixed expression whose meaning cannot be guessed from its parts, e.g. μου έσπασε τα νεύρα; idioms must be translated by an equivalent expression, not literally.

A false friend: a Greek word resembling an English one but differing in meaning, such as μαγαζί (shop, not magazine) or συμπαθητικός (likeable, not sympathetic).

A written composition or essay produced in the exam; it should have a clear introduction, developed body paragraphs with linking words, and a conclusion, written in appropriate register.

An argument or point put forward to support a position in a written piece; strong compositions state a claim and back it with reasons or examples rather than assertion alone.

Civilisation or culture: the shared traditions, arts, values, and way of life of a society. Cultural-background questions test knowledge of Greek history, festivals, and everyday customs.

Tradition: customs and practices handed down through generations, such as Greek Easter customs, name days, or regional dances; knowledge of these supports cultural-background questions.

A feast, festival, or celebration, whether religious or national, such as Πάσχα, Χριστούγεννα, or η 25η Μαρτίου; understanding which event is meant depends on context.