7Γ: Imperfect: B1/B2

Τhis lesson covers the imperfect tense for verbs in groups B1 and B2, starting with B1. In the present tense, verbs in group B1 strongly resemble the -αω contract verbs of Ancient Greek. In the imperfect tense, however, this is not as true. Verbs in Group Β1 have two possible endings in the imperfect, one in -ουσα and one in -αγα. Check them out in the table below for the verb αγαπάω:

None of these look very much like the imperfect endings for -αω contract verbs like ἀγαπάω in Ancient Greek: -ων, -ας, -α, and so on. But what is the difference between using -ουσα and -αγα endings? The endings in -ουσα appear in more formal contexts, whereas the endings in -αγα are mostly used in colloquial and a bit more informal speech. In the 3rd person plural, the form αγαπούσαν is a bit more formal, whereas αγαπούσανε is a bit more informal. 

Group B2

Group B2 is more similar to the -εω contract verbs in Ancient Greek, like καλέω or φιλέω. However, in the imperfect, the Modern Greek conjugation once again deviates significantly from the Ancient Greek conjugation. Fortunately, it closely resembles the imperfect of group B1.