Translation (Greek–English / English–Greek)
Translation (Greek–English / English–Greek)
Marks are lost for translating words rather than meaning. The examiner checks whether the target sentence is idiomatic and whether grammatical choices - especially aspect, voice and clitics - are justified by the source.
Greek into English
- Render aspect naturally: έγραφα «I was writing / I used to write», έγραψα «I wrote».
- Clitics become objects or possessives: μου είπε «he told me», το έσπασε «he broke it».
- Participles (-οντας, -μένος) usually become clauses: Μπαίνοντας στο σπίτι, είδε... «When he went in, he saw...»
- να + verb often equals an English infinitive: θέλω να μάθω «I want to learn».
English into Greek
- Choose aspect first, then tense.
- Greek keeps the article with names, countries and abstract nouns: ο Γιώργος, η Ελλάδα, η ελευθερία.
- Phrasal verbs collapse into one Greek verb: look after = φροντίζω, give up = σταματώ.
- Reported speech and requests prefer να: Μου είπε να φύγω.
Worked example
«I've been living in Athens for three years.» Greek does not use the perfect for an action still going on; it uses the present plus a duration phrase: Μένω στην Αθήνα εδώ και τρία χρόνια. «For» is not rendered by για alone here, because για τρία χρόνια reads as a planned or intended period rather than time already elapsed.
Traps
- Negative raising: «I don't think he'll come» → Δεν νομίζω να έρθει, not θα έρθει.
- False friends: βιβλιοθήκη library, βιβλιοπωλείο bookshop; πολιτισμός culture; φάρμακο medicine.
- Do not copy English word order; Greek verb and clitic positions are fixed.
- Check final -ν (την/τη, δεν/δε) and every accent before handing in.