The Past Imperfect or Continuous Past Tense (ο Παρατατικός)#

Meaning#

A habitual or continuous action that happened in the past with no fixed temporal boundary.

Example#

I was reading the book -> Διάβαζα το βιβλίο

Conjugation#

Past imperfect (continuous past) is the same as the present tense but has the ending of the aorist (simple past) as well as the accent shift:

Present Continuous past (παρατατικός) Aorist (αόριστος)
νοικιάζω νοίκιαζα νοίκιασα (aorist)
διαβάζω διάβαζα διάβασα
νιώθω ένιωθα ένιωσα
πθγαίνω πήγαινα πήγα (*)
θέλω ήθελα ήθελα (*)
μένω έμενα έμεινα (*)

Group A (-ω) Endings#

-α -εσ -ε -αμε -ατε -αν

Group B1/B2 Endings (-ώ/-άω, άς; -ώ/άω, είς)#

Same as group A endings, but with -ούς before the ending (-ούσα, -ούσες, κλπ.)

-όμαι Endings#

-όμουν -όσουν -όταν -όμασταν -όσασταν -όνταν

Synonyms#

  • Imperfective
  • Past imperfect (imperfect aspect of the past)
  • ο Παρατατικός

Usages#

  • Μακάρι να past continuous - I wish that I would… (a wish that is difficult to become true)
    • Μακάρι να κέρδιζα ένα εκατομμύριο
  • If using μικρός or μικρή (especially at the beginning of a sentence), it’s short for όταν ήμουν μικρός/ή.
  • with θα when speaking/asking for something in a nice way
    • θα ήθελα έναν καφέ χωρίς γάλα (I would want/like)
  • with θα and αν, in conditional sentences where action/matter in question either a) is difficult to come true or b) did not happen even though you wanted it to
    • Θα πήγαινα μαζί τους, αν είχα χρόνο
      • I would go with them, if I had time.

Additional Notes#

  • Irregular verbs in aorist are regular in continuous past
  • θέλω, κάνω, ξέρω, περιμένω, είμαι do not have different simple and continuous past
  • This is different for Group B (-ώ/-άω) verbs
    • κολυμπώ -> κολυμπούσα -> κολύμπησα
      • Notice accent stays on same syllable as present
    • αργώ -> αργούσα -> άργησα
    • μπορώ -> μπορούσα -> μπόρεσα
    • past continuous has an ending in - ούσα   which in the simple past changes to -ησα