V. Sergi’s viral The Bad Poetry Social Club video is a powerful demonstration of how the word μου is used to indicate (in this context, toxic and oppressive) possession:
Listen to the opening again, and see if you can pick out the repeated use of the words ‘μου‘ (my) and ‘σου‘ (your). Notice how these words rhyme, making them perfect for poetry.
You should already be familiar with these words in phrases like Το όνομά μου είναι ___ (My name is ___) and Γειά σου (Hello, literally ‘(to) your health’).
The word for his/its also rhymes with μου and σου: του. The feminine version, hers, is της.
Here is the full set of possessive adjectives in Modern Greek:
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1st person | μου (my) | μας (our) |
| 2nd person | σου (your s.) | σας (your p.) |
| 3rd person | του/της (his/its, hers) | τους (their) |
Now, take a look at the plural forms above. Do any of them look familiar?
You might remember Γειά μας! (Cheers, literally ‘(to) our health’) or Πώς σας λένε; (What is your name, literally, ‘What do they call you?’)
These plural possessive pronouns double as personal pronouns: that is, μας means ‘we’ as well as ‘our’, σας means ‘you’ as well as ‘your’, and τους means ‘they’ as well as ‘their’.
Compare the following:
Πώς σας λένε; literally means ‘What do they call you?’
Το όνομά σας είναι ___ literally means ‘Your name is ___’
See how σας can be used to mean both ‘you’ and ‘your’? Learning these plural pronouns is especially valuable, because it’s like learning two words at once!
You can practice all of these new pronouns, singular and plural, with Sara:
Then, try exercises A-B on pages 37 and 38 of Ελληνικά Τώρα (Greek Now) 1+1.
Note that ο αδερφός and η αδερφή mean ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ respectively (see p. 38).
Once you’re done with the textbook, complete exercises Ε-Ζ on page 12 of the Ελληνικά Τώρα (Greek Now) 1 workbook.
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