THE VERB “TO BE” (είμαι) : Greek Grammar for Beginners

Let’s first start with how the verb είμαι is conjugated.

I am – είμαι (ime)
you are – είσαι (ise)
he/she/it is είναι (ine)
we are – είμαστε (imaste)
you are (plural) – είστε (iste)
they are – είναι (ine)

And then let’s see how the personal pronoun “I,you,…” is conjugated.

I – εγώ (egho)
you – εσύ (esi)
he/she/it – αυτός/αυτή/αυτό (aftos/afti/afto)
we – εμείς (emis)
you (plural) – εσείς (esis)
they – αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά (afti/aftes/afta)

Now let’s combine these 2 together! Let’s combine the verb είμαι “to be” with the personal pronoun “I,you,…”

εγώ είμαι – I am
εσύ είσαι – you are
αυτός/αυτή/αυτό είναι – he/she/it is
εμείς είμαστε – we are
εσείς είστε – you (pl) are
αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά είναι – they are

Negative Sentences I am NOT
If you want to form a negative sentence, just add “δεν”(then) before the verb.

For example
δεν είμαι – I am not
δεν είσαι – you are not
δεν είμαστε – we are not

Question Am I ?
If you want to form a question, well… you do almost nothing! Just raise the tone of your voice.
For example
είσαι – you are.
είσαι; – are you?

Examples
1. Hello, Kostas! Are you well?
Γεια σου, Κώστα! Είσαι καλά;

2. Maria is not well.
Η Μαρία δεν είναι καλά.

3. You and Maria are friends.
Εσύ και η Μαρία είστε φίλοι.

4. Where are you?
πού είσαι;