This lesson introduces some new pronouns that are very common in Modern Greek, both when speaking and writing. What do you say when you want to show something? You use demonstrative pronouns, like “this” or “that.” The table below shows the demonstrative pronouns in both Ancient Greek and Modern Greek.
| Ancient Greek | Modern Greek |
| οὗτος, αὕτη, τοῦτο | αυτός, αυτή, αυτό (“this, these”) |
| ἐκεῖνος, ἐκείνη, ἐκεῖνο | εκείνος, εκείνη, εκείνο (“that, those”) |
| ὅδε, ἥδε, τόδε | αυτός εδώ, αυτή εδώ, αυτό εδώ (“this here”) |
| τοσόσδε, τοσοῦτος | τόσος, τόση, τόσο (“so much, such”) |
| τοιόσδε, τοιοῦτος | τέτοιος, τέτοια, τέτοιο (“such, like that”) |
αυτός, αυτή, αυτό
Out of all of these, the most used demonstrative pronoun in Modern Greek is αυτός, αυτή, αυτό. Although it looks like the pronoun αὐτός in Ancient Greek, it is used differently in Modern Greek: in Ancient Greek, it means “the same” or “oneself,” whereas in Modern Greek it means “this.”
Compare the two examples below:
Ancient Greek: Τήν στρατείαν αὐτός ο Ξέρξης ἤγαγε. (“Xerxes led the campaign himself.”)
Modern Greek: Αυτή η ιδέα δε μου αρέσει καθόλου. (“I do not like this idea at all.”)
How does αυτός decline in Modern Greek? Look at the tables below, which are divided based on gender and which compare the declension between Ancient Greek and Modern Greek. What similarities and what differences do you see?
| Masculine | Ancient Greek | Modern Greek |
| Singular Nominative | αὐτός | αυτός |
| Genitive | αὐτοῦ | αυτού |
| Dative | αὐτῷ | – |
| Accusative | αὐτόν | αυτόν |
| Plural Nominative | αὐτοί | αυτοί |
| Genitive | αὐτῶν | αυτών |
| Dative | αὐτοῖς | – |
| Accusative | αὐτούς | αυτούς |
| Feminine | Ancient Greek | Modern Greek |
| Singular Nominative | αὐτή | αυτή |
| Genitive | αὐτῆς | αυτού |
| Dative | αὐτῇ | – |
| Accusative | αὐτήν | αυτόν |
| Plural Nominative | αὐταί | αυτοί |
| Genitive | αὐτῶν | αυτών |
| Dative | αὐταῖς | – |
| Accusative | αὐτάς | αυτούς |
| | Ancient Greek | Modern Greek | Ancient Greek | Modern Greek | Ancient Greek | Modern Greek |
| Singular | Nominative | αὐτὸς | αυτός | αὐτή | αυτή | αὐτό | αυτό |
| Genitive | αὐτοῦ | αυτού | αὐτῆς | αυτής | αὐτοῦ | αυτού |
| Dative | αὐτῷ | – | αὐτῇ | – | αὐτῷ | – |
| Accusative | αὐτὸν | αυτόν | αὐτήν | αυτή(ν) | αὐτό | αυτό |
| Plural | Nominative | αὐτοὶ | αυτοί | αὐταί | αυτές | αὐτά | αυτά |
| Genitive | αὐτῶν | αυτών | αὐτῶν | αυτών | αὐτῶν | αυτών |
| Dative | αὐτοῖς | – | αυτὰς | – | αυτοῖς | – |
| Accusative | αὐτοὺς | αυτούς | αὐτάς | αυτές | αὐτά | αυτά |
Although there are many similarities, the endings in the feminine plural are one fundamental difference, but these should be very familiar by now from the noun declensions. Remember, once again, that the demonstrative pronoun αυτός, αυτή, αυτό declines like the B1 adjective σοφός, σοφή, σοφό. The demonstrative pronoun τέτοιος, τέτοια, τέτοιο, on the other hand, is declined like the B2 adjective ωραίος, ωραία, ωραίο.
τούτος, τούτη, τούτο
You may be wondering, is the pronoun οὗτος/αὕτη/τοῦτο used at all in Modern Greek? Although οὗτος is not used very often, the pronoun τούτος, τούτη, τούτο, which is derived directly from it, is used frequently in Modern Greek. The pronoun τούτος is used to point to things that are very close, or to place emphasis on something. Sometimes, you can use εδώ/‘δω along with τούτος, τούτη, τούτο for more emphasis. Check out the following examples:
- Δώσε μου τούτο το βιβλίο. (“Give me this book right here.”)
- Από όλες, τούτη είναι η καλύτερη επιλογή. (“Among all, this one right here is the best choice.”)
- Τούτος εδώ δεν ξέρει τι λέει. (“This one right here does not know what he talks about.”)
Αυτός or Εκείνος?
When should you use αυτός and when εκείνος? Or do they mean exactly the same thing? Just like in Ancient Greek, both of these pronouns mean different things. While αυτός, αυτή, αυτό refers to something that is very close, like English “this,” εκείνος, εκείνη, εκείνο is used for something that is further away, like English “that.”
Other Forms
Are there any other forms you should know? Recall the second forms you saw for the 3rd person of the personal pronoun, αυτουνού, αυτηνής, αυτουνού and αυτωνών. These are used a bit more informally in everyday speech.
- Ποιανού είναι το βιβλίο; (“Whose is this book?”)
- Αυτουνού εδώ. (“It’s this one’s right here.”)
Sometimes, these can be used in a derogatory fashion, as well, like in the sentence “Το μάθημα αυτουνού του καθηγητή δεν έχει ενδιαφέρον,” (“This teacher’s lesson is not very interesting”).
ο τάδε, η τάδε, το τάδε
What has happened to the pronoun ὅδε, ἥδε, τόδε? These are not very much in use in Modern Greek, but what does remain is the pronoun ο τάδε, η τάδε, το τάδε, but only in specific, set phrases. It is not a demonstrative pronoun, but an indefinite pronoun! Along with ο δείνα, η δείνα, το δείνα, you could translate it as “such-and-such,” “so-and-so,” or “x.”
- Πες ότι έρχεται ο τάδε κύριος και σου ζητάει να του δώσεις οδηγίες, τι θα του πεις; (“Say that x man comes to you to give him instructions, what are you going to tell him?”)
- Πρέπει να συμφωνήσουμε ότι στην τάδε ή τη δείνα ημερομηνία θα είμαστε έτοιμοι. (“We have to agree that on the so and so date we will be ready.”)