What tense to use

Dhavlos · Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 10:20 pm Post subject: What tense to use

when i speak in the past tense, i tend to find myself saying things like

'to exw kane' instead of 'ekana'

ie, using the perfect tense....is this commonly used...or do i sound stupid?

should i use the perfect tense (to have done sthg), or the aorist( i think thats what it is called)

Crash Test Dummy · Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2005 12:53 pm Post subject:

i just talk and it does not really matter.

my tensing is pretty ok.

Dhavlos · Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2005 3:26 pm Post subject:

i know, i talk quite freely, but i just want to make sure it is the normal way to speak...

respiridus · Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 3:34 pm Post subject:

In the Cyprus dialect, we usually only use the aorist for talking about the past.

For example:

Kalamaras talk:
Έκατσα να φάω, αφού πρώτα είχα τελειώσει.

Kypraios talk:
Ετέλειωσα τζιαι έκατσα να φάω.

Xenos 2Fan · Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 8:31 pm Post subject:

respiridus · Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 9:01 pm Post subject:

Sorry re, roughly it translates to:

Kalamaras (person from Greece) talk:
I ate, after I had finished.

Kypraios (person from Cyprus) talk:
I finished, then I ate.

The translation is not exact: Tenses in English and Greek don't map 1:1, and the whole use of dialect is lost. But, you get the point.

Xenos 2Fan · Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 9:05 pm Post subject:

Thanx re.