# Greek adjectives



## grandcanyonaz

I notice often two forms of adjectives. For example,

γοητευμένος
γοητευτικός

Π.χ., Μείναμε γοητευμένοι (οχι γοητευτικοί) από την ομιλία του καθηγητή

δεσμευμένος
δεσμευτικός

Π.χ., Πόσο δεσμευτικός (οχι δεσμευμένος) είναι αυτός ο όρος συμβόλαιο.

The -μένος adjectives refer to a person?

Also there are variations of the -μένος adjectives

συλλογιζόμενος
συλλογισμένος

Π.χ., Κάθεται πάντα στο γωνιακό τραπεζάκι μπροστά στη θάλασσα συλλογιζόμενος την ζωή του.

It seems there is a rule but I'm not sure if I understand completely/


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## Tr05

Hi!
"Γοητευμένος", "δεσμευμένος" and "συλλογισμένος" are all past participles, whereas "γοητευτικός", "δεσμευτικός" and "συλλογιζόμενος" are their respective present participles.


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## bearded

Sorry, Tr05, are you sure that _goiteutikos _and _desmeutikos _can be classified as present participles? They sound like simple adjectives to me, not as verbal forms.  Does a present participle like _goiteuòmenos _not exist? Thank you in advance.


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## Tr05

Ups, you're right! I think I got confused because of the common "-ing" ending in English. "Γοητευ-όμενος" is a word which I doubt anyone would ever use, but, indeed, from a purely grammatical aspect, that should be the ending of the word. Thank you!

I'll give an example of "δεσμευόμενος", since I'm by no means sure that "γοητευόμενος" exists as a word:

"Ο πρόεδρος, δεσμευ_όμενος_ ότι ο νέος νόμος δε θα περιέχει δεσμευ_τικούς_ όρους, έφυγε από την αίθουσα. Έτσι, κανείς δε θα νιώθει δεσμευ_μένος_"
(*Not a word-for-word translation*:The president left the room, having said that the new law won't include binding terms. As a result, no one will feel bound by that specific law.)



grandcanyonaz said:


> The -μένος adjectives refer to a person?


The "xxx-_μένος_" ending does not necessarily refer to a person, it refers to the result of the action described by the verb "xxx". It's a past participle, not an adjective


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## fdb

Tr05 said:


> It's a past participle, not an adjective



Participles are (verbal) adjectives. By definition.


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## Perseas

grandcanyonaz said:


> I notice often two forms of adjectives. For example,
> 
> γοητευμένος
> γοητευτικός
> 
> Π.χ., Μείναμε γοητευμένοι (οχι γοητευτικοί) από την ομιλία του καθηγητή
> 
> δεσμευμένος
> δεσμευτικός
> 
> Π.χ., Πόσο δεσμευτικός (οχι δεσμευμένος) είναι αυτός ο όρος συμβόλαιο.
> 
> The -μένος adjectives refer to a person?
> 
> Also there are variations of the -μένος adjectives
> 
> συλλογιζόμενος
> συλλογισμένος
> 
> Π.χ., Κάθεται πάντα στο γωνιακό τραπεζάκι μπροστά στη θάλασσα συλλογιζόμενος την ζωή του.
> 
> It seems there is a rule but I'm not sure if I understand completely/


γοητευτικός means charming
γοητευμένος means charmed, pleased.

δεσμευτικός means binding
δεσμευμένος primarily means bound, like in "to be bound by a term".

-ικός is an adjective suffix and is similar to the English -ic/-ical (analytic/al, comic/al, organic).
-όμενος is the ending of the Masculine Present Middle and Passive Participle (e.g. συλλογίζομαι > συλλογιζ*όμενος*)
-μένος is the ending of the Masculine Perfect Middle and Passive Participle (e.g. συλλογίζομαι > συλλογισ*μένος*; δεσμεύομαι > δεσμευ*μένος*).


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## Αγγελος

Also note that συλλογίζομαι is a _deponent _verb, i.e. one that only exists in the passive voice, just like σκέπτομαι, έρχομαι, δέχομαι, εργάζομαι... For such verbs, the -όμενος form, which is a present passive participle, naturally means the same think as the English present participle. σκεπτόμενο άτομο = a thinking person; τον ερχόμενο μήνα =this coming (=next) month; δεχόμενοι τις προτάσεις σας... = accepting your proposals...; οι εργαζόμενοι = working people, workers...
For verbs that also exist in the active voice, the -όμενος form normally has a passive or reflexive meaning: οι ερωτώμενοι =the people questioned; οι απασχολούμενοι = the people employed; καταδιωκόμενος =being chased, pursued; δεσμευόμενος να λάβει μέτρα, ο Yπουργός... = committing himself to taking steps, the Minister...
Note that the -όμενος form does not really belong to colloquial speech. We wouldn't say πλενόμενος or ξυριζόμενος, even though πλένομαι and ξυρίζομαι are the usual equivalents of washing (oneself) and shaving (oneself). There are set colloquial forms in -ούμενος and -άμενος, which can even be active in meaning: τρεχούμενο νερό = running water, πουλί πετάμενο = a flying bird (usually used in the expression ελεύθερος σαν πουλί πετάμενο), τα μελλούμενα = things to come...

Derived words in -ικός are adjectives, and if they are derived from verbs, they are usually active in meaning: υποχρεωτικός = compulsory, τρομακτικός = terrifying, αηδιαστικός = disgusting, θερμαντικός = heating, etc. But the meanings must really be learned individually. No rule will predict that γραφικός = picturesque, but συγγραφικός = author's (συγγραφικά δικαιώματα = copyright)  and  καταγραφικός = recording!


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## Αγγελος

As for the forms in -μένος (with the stress on the ending), they are passive _perfect _participles. Normally they denote the present result of a process that took place in the past. e.g. πουλημένος (=sold), ξυρισμένος (=shaven), ντυμένος (=dressed), γραμμένος (=written),  καμένος (=burnt). However, particularly with with verbs that denote a state of mind, they can also be present in meaning: αγαπημένος (=beloved, i.e. one who is being loved now, not one who was loved in the past!) , περιφρονημένος (=despised). Finally, particularly with verbs that do NOT have a passive form, they can have an active meaning: πεθαμένος (=dead) is one who έχει πεθάνει (=has died), πιωμένος (=drunk) is one who has drunk (έχει πιει) too much, πεσμένος (fallen) is one who has fallen, just as in English; κρυωμένος or κρυολογημένος is one who has caught a cold, αηδιασμένος means "disgusted'. and φαγωμένος can mean 'eaten' (μισοφαγωμένος =half-eaten, σκωροφαγωμένος =moth-eaten) but also 'having had a meal' (είσαι νηστικός ή φαγωμένος; ήμουν φαγωμένος και νύσταζα)!
Transitive deponent verbs _can_ form a passive perfect participle that will be passive in meaning: κατεργασμένα δέρματα (=processed hides, from κατεργάζομαι), ονειρεμένη ευτυχία (=ευτυχία που τ ην ονειρευόμαστε). There is, unfortunately, no hard-and-fast rule.


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## Αγγελος

To further complicate matters  some ancient Greek passive perfect participles are also used, which exhibit reduplication (repetition of the initial consonant)  and other peculiarities: παραδεδεγμένος (=accepted) from παραδέχομαι, εγκαταλελειμμένος (=abandoned) from εγκαταλείπω, εγκεκριμένος (=approved) from εγκρίνω, προκατειλημμένος (=prejudiced) etc.


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## bearded

Thanks for above replies.  In particular Aggelos's exhaustive explanations fully comply with what I learned (many years ago, helas) when I studied Ancient Greek.  Remnants in the modern language - and the history of the Greek language in general - are indeed fascinating.


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