είμαι

See also: εἶμαι and εἷμαι

Greek

Etymology

From Byzantine Greek εἶμαι (eîmai), from Ancient Greek εἰμί (eimí, “to be”), from Proto-Hellenic *ehmi, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésmi (“I am, I exist”).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈi.me/
  • Audio(file)
  • Hyphenation: εί‧μαι

Verb

είμαι • (eímai) (imperfect ήμουν, past —)

  1. (most senses, location and existence) to be
    Είμαι φίλος της. ― Eímai fílos tis. ― I'm her friend.
    Είναι γιατρός. ― Eínai giatrós. ― He's a doctor.
    Συνεχώς ήταν θλιμμένη ― Synechós ítan thlimméni ― She was constantly sad.
    Είμαι στο σπίτι μου ― Eímai sto spíti mou ― I am at my home.
  2. (intransitive) there is, there are, to exist
    Είναι μία γυναίκα στην πόρτα. ― Eínai mía gynaíka stin pórta. ― There is a woman at the door.
  3. (transitive) to support, be a supporter of (team, political party etc)
    Αυτός εκεί είναι ΣΥΡΙΖΑ. ― Aftós ekeí eínai SYRIZA. ― That guy over there is a SYRIZA supporter.
    Τι ομάδα είσαι; ― Ti omáda eísai; ― What team do you support?
  4. (grammar, auxiliary verb) to be + participles to form alternative passive perfect tenses
    Έχει λυθεί το πρόβλημα, είναι λυμένο. ― Échei lytheí to próvlima, eínai lyméno. ― The problem has been solved, it is [already] solved.

Usage notes
  • All inflectional forms also occur with apheresis of the first vowel, when preceded by vowel. An apostrophe is used in its place: e.g. να ’μαι (na ’mai, “here I am”), πού ’σουν; (poú ’soun?, “where were you?”), θα ’μαστε (tha ’maste, “we will be”).

Conjugation
είμαι
Active voice ➤   —   Imperfective aspect ➤
Indicative mood ➤ Present ➤ Imperfect ➤ Future ➤
1 sg είμαι ήμουν(α)1 θα είμαι
2 sg είσαι ήσουν(α)1 θα είσαι
3 sg είναι ήταν(ε)1 θα είναι
1 pl είμαστε, [είμεθα]3 ήμαστε, ήμασταν2, [ήμεθα]3 θα είμαστε
2 pl είστε, είσαστε ήσαστε, ήσασταν2 θα είστε, θα είσαστε
3 pl είναι ήταν(ε)1, {ήσαν}3, [ήσανε]1 θα είναι
Subjunctive mood ➤ Formed using present tense from above with a particle (να, ας).
Imperative mood ➤ 2 sg 2 pl
Imperfective aspect να είσαι, {[έσο]}3 να είστε, να είσαστε, {[έστε]}3
Other forms Present participle ➤
όντας4 ➤
Notes  
 
Appendix:Greek verbs		  • 1 informal alternatives     2 orally differentiated alternatives     3 dated
 • 4 Also, archaic active present participle: ο {ων}, η {ούσα}, το {ον}
 • (…) optional or informal.   […] rare.   {…} learned, archaic.
 • Multiple forms are shown in order of reducing frequency.
 • Periphrastic imperative forms may be produced using the subjunctive.
  • Audio: present indicative(file)
    imperfect(file)

Synonyms

Derived terms
  • ούσα f (oúsa), ον n (on)
  • έσομαι (ésomai, “I will be”) (archaic, in set phrases from Ancient Greek)
  • έσο (éso, “be!, may you be!”, imperative) (archaic, in set phrases from Ancient Greek)
  • έστω (ésto, “let it be!”, imperative) (archaic, in set phrases from Ancient Greek)
  • έστωσαν (éstosan, “let them be!”, imperative) (archaic, inset phrases from Ancient Greek)

See also
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