The aorist: the simple past
The storytelling tense: a past action, completed. Χθες έγραψα ένα γράμμα — yesterday I wrote a letter.
When to use it
For a past action seen as one finished whole: yesterday, last year, once. If it was a habit or background (“every day, while…”), Greek uses the imperfect (παρατατικός) instead.
- Χθες αγόρασα ψωμί.Yesterday I bought bread.
Formation: -σα and the stress
Stem + σ + endings -α, -ες, -ε, -αμε, -ατε, -αν. The stress moves to the third syllable from the end; when the verb is too short, an augment έ- is added (γράφω → έγραψα, but γράψαμε needs no augment — it already has three syllables).
| πρόσωπο | γράφω → αόριστος |
|---|---|
| εγώ | έγραψα |
| εσύ | έγραψες |
| αυτός/αυτή | έγραψε |
| εμείς | γράψαμε |
| εσείς | γράψατε |
| αυτοί | έγραψαν |
The sound changes
Before the σ, the stem’s final consonant merges: π/β/φ + σ → ψ, κ/γ/χ + σ → ξ, and ζ/θ become σ. It is the same logic as ψ = πσ and ξ = κσ in the alphabet.
| ενεστώτας | αόριστος | αλλαγή |
|---|---|---|
| γράφω | έγραψα | φ + σ → ψ |
| ανοίγω | άνοιξα | γ + σ → ξ |
| διαβάζω | διάβασα | ζ → σ |
| αγοράζω | αγόρασα | ζ → σ |
| προσέχω | πρόσεξα | χ + σ → ξ |
The irregulars you can’t avoid
The most frequent verbs change their whole stem. They must be memorised — but their endings are still the ones in the table above.
| ενεστώτας | αόριστος |
|---|---|
| πηγαίνω | πήγα |
| λέω | είπα |
| τρώω | έφαγα |
| βλέπω | είδα |
| πίνω | ήπια |
| δίνω | έδωσα |
| παίρνω | πήρα |
| έρχομαι | ήρθα |
Your turn
Pick the aorist form that fits.