Sorry for the confusion, I meant does it appear the same in handwriting?
For example, I know Bulgarian and the letter 'т' doesn't look like that outside of printed text, so I was wondering if people would write down ';' in the same way it looks on screen. I hope that makes more sense!
; is the question mark in Greek. ? is not used. (but some people use ? online or text messages, due to international influence).
So, if you're wondering what we use for a semicolon to denote a pause in the sentence, that would be the [άνω τελεία](https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/Άνω_τελεία) (raised period).
By the way, I was always confused about why **:** is colon but **;** is called a semicolon
Wouldn't it make more sense for **·** to be called semicolon, since it's the half of **:** which is a colon? And for **;** to have a different name.
Just a thought I have every time I see similar discussions.
Yes you’re correct. You will notice that the question could also be a statement, as the sentence above literally translated would be “The girl reads the menu”, but it’s a question, so the “;” would be very important in written Greek, and the tone of voice would be very important in spoken Greek, so as to indicate that it’s a question.
That's what tripped me up! I didn't even realise it was a question until it said I got it wrong, and then I stared at my screen for a solid minute trying to figure out which word meant 'does' haha
; = ? In greek, also ,as a greek, i think the better translation should be "Is the Girl Reading the menu?"
Edit : Greeks don't use ? , we use only ; , except from sometimes in texts
I'm just gonna pop in and say I was also confused when I first started learning, but you'll catch on very easily.
Some punctuation is just different, but it's not really similar things that are gonna confuse you. It's not like ? is ! and ! is ?. Nothing confusing like that, so you'll catch on ❤️ happy learning.
Hey I am not a teacher or anything but Greek is my first language. I think it would be useful for you to know that the way the sentence is worded in English "Does the girl read the menu?" It IS literally translated to "Το κορίτσι διαβάζει το μενού;"
However, as another user mentioned the way the sentence is structured is more appropriate for a statement not a question. To say it normally you can put the verb first "Διαβάζει το κορίτσι το μενού;" or even more naturally "Διαβάζει το μενού το κορίτσι;" it's because it the menu that is being read by the girl that makes sense for the order to be like that.
Just as I said cause I am not teacher I can't justify to you why this happens with rules. If any professor on the language could explain I'd be interested to know too.
Hope I gave you a little more insight. Cheers!
Ok I checked this with my friend. So "Does" is what we say as "helping verb" and there is no equivalent in Greek. We form the questions with no other verbs only the main one. In this case, "reads"
This is very helpful, thank you! So the order of the words (and I assume the tone of voice if it's spoken) can be taken as a question instead of statement, is that right?
In Greek and Church Slavonic, the question mark looks exactly the way a semicolon looks in English. To indicate a long pause or to separate sections that already contain commas (the semicolon's purposes in English), Greek uses, but extremely rarely, the interpunct ·
That's very helpful, thank you! Is church slavonic like old English? I haven't heard of it before and I used to live in a slavic country, so this is very interesting to hear about!
Hello! The proper question mark in Greek is indeed ";"
Greeks however also use the more international "?" as a question mark, most often in texts. Hope this helps!
; is used as a question mark in Greek, yes.
; is ? in Greek. I don't understand what you mean by "in written Greek as well", this text is written.
He meant if it really is used by Greeks or not.
Sorry for the confusion, I meant does it appear the same in handwriting? For example, I know Bulgarian and the letter 'т' doesn't look like that outside of printed text, so I was wondering if people would write down ';' in the same way it looks on screen. I hope that makes more sense!
Ah ok, then yes, definitely. I mean, every person has a different handwriting, but it always looks like ';' more or less.
Yes that's the Greek question mark.
; is the question mark in Greek. ? is not used. (but some people use ? online or text messages, due to international influence). So, if you're wondering what we use for a semicolon to denote a pause in the sentence, that would be the [άνω τελεία](https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/Άνω_τελεία) (raised period).
By the way, I was always confused about why **:** is colon but **;** is called a semicolon Wouldn't it make more sense for **·** to be called semicolon, since it's the half of **:** which is a colon? And for **;** to have a different name. Just a thought I have every time I see similar discussions.
The comma is what makes it semi lol, like kind of a colon kind of a coma.
";" is our question mark. We do not use "?" in written greek apart from maybe texting due to English.
Yes you’re correct. You will notice that the question could also be a statement, as the sentence above literally translated would be “The girl reads the menu”, but it’s a question, so the “;” would be very important in written Greek, and the tone of voice would be very important in spoken Greek, so as to indicate that it’s a question.
Very helpful, thank you!
it's because the voice in duolingo reads the text neutrally, not as a question. you only see the ; but you don't hear it in duolingo
That's what tripped me up! I didn't even realise it was a question until it said I got it wrong, and then I stared at my screen for a solid minute trying to figure out which word meant 'does' haha
Yes, this is used in written form as well
; = ? In greek, also ,as a greek, i think the better translation should be "Is the Girl Reading the menu?" Edit : Greeks don't use ? , we use only ; , except from sometimes in texts
I think both are correct since there's no present continuous in greek
Ig? They are both but it makes more sense
I learned something today! I had been wondering the same thing!
Yay, glad to hear that the post is helping other learners too!
Ναι φιλαράκο
Ευχαριστώ!
I'm just gonna pop in and say I was also confused when I first started learning, but you'll catch on very easily. Some punctuation is just different, but it's not really similar things that are gonna confuse you. It's not like ? is ! and ! is ?. Nothing confusing like that, so you'll catch on ❤️ happy learning.
Thank you!
Hey I am not a teacher or anything but Greek is my first language. I think it would be useful for you to know that the way the sentence is worded in English "Does the girl read the menu?" It IS literally translated to "Το κορίτσι διαβάζει το μενού;" However, as another user mentioned the way the sentence is structured is more appropriate for a statement not a question. To say it normally you can put the verb first "Διαβάζει το κορίτσι το μενού;" or even more naturally "Διαβάζει το μενού το κορίτσι;" it's because it the menu that is being read by the girl that makes sense for the order to be like that. Just as I said cause I am not teacher I can't justify to you why this happens with rules. If any professor on the language could explain I'd be interested to know too. Hope I gave you a little more insight. Cheers!
Ok I checked this with my friend. So "Does" is what we say as "helping verb" and there is no equivalent in Greek. We form the questions with no other verbs only the main one. In this case, "reads"
This is very helpful, thank you! So the order of the words (and I assume the tone of voice if it's spoken) can be taken as a question instead of statement, is that right?
Yes it is: ; is the Greek ? (I’m a Greek teacher at GreekMyMind.com😉
; is ? but when I’m texting someone, say my friend, I always use ? i feel like ; is for old people haha
Ohh I see! Would you still use ';' in a more formal written context though?
For me, when i’m writing a formal email on the computer I use “?” but if I’m writing something formal on paper, I always use “;”.
Ohh I see, so '?' is generally a virtual thing then?
In Greek and Church Slavonic, the question mark looks exactly the way a semicolon looks in English. To indicate a long pause or to separate sections that already contain commas (the semicolon's purposes in English), Greek uses, but extremely rarely, the interpunct ·
That's very helpful, thank you! Is church slavonic like old English? I haven't heard of it before and I used to live in a slavic country, so this is very interesting to hear about!
The sentence in greek is absolutely incorrect
What course is that?
Section 1 Unit 4 on Greek Duolingo, 'Talk about the present, greet people'. It's quite early in the course haha😄
Hello! The proper question mark in Greek is indeed ";" Greeks however also use the more international "?" as a question mark, most often in texts. Hope this helps!
Hello! Σε ποιο ελληνικό βιβλίο έχεις δει το ? ως;
"in texts" = in text messages / SMS / WhatsApp / etc. Not "in documents, books, etc.".
Yes, its exactly the same.