Change your fate
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Apollodorus
Senior Member
English UK
Assuming that fate can be changed, you could say something like "alazo ti mira mu" (αλλάζω τη μοίρα μου, infinitive) or "álakse ti mira su" (άλλαξε τη μοίρα σου, imperative) that would be equivalent to Spanish "cambia tu destino".
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Thank you very much Apollodorus
So, is it more accurate to say "álakse ti mira su" to express a command than "álakse ti mira"? What's the difference between "álakse ti mira" and "álakse ti mira su"?
Thanks.
And is It correct to say "Alakseh"? What is the difference between "Alakseh" and "álakse"? Is the "h" correct?
Thanks again.
Perseas
Senior Member
Greek
"Άλλαξε τη μοίρα" means "change the fate" (imperative singular), while "άλλαξε τη μοίρα σου" means "change your fate" (again imperative singular).
"Άλλαξε το πεπρωμένο σου" would be another option.
πεπρωμένο - Ελληνοαγγλικό Λεξικό WordReference.com
In Greek letters it's "άλλαξε", so I don't think 'h' would make a sense. I'd use "allakse".
Apollodorus
Senior Member
English UK
It’s OK to transliterate Greek “άλλαξε” as álakseh as long as you bear in mind that the final “h” is silent (i.e., not pronounced) as in Spanish “hermano” (/ermano/) - and that the "e" is short.
Otherwise, as @Perseas says, adding a voiced (pronounced) “h” like Spanish “x/j” or Greek “χ” to άλλαξε would make no sense and is incorrect.
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bearded
Senior Member
Standard Italian
Isn't it present indicative?
Apollodorus
Senior Member
English UK
Yes, it is present indicative. I was just thinking that the first person singular of the present indicative can also serve as infinitive, so "(I) change" would be the same as "(to) change", depending on what the original sentence was.
Personally, I tend to take the infinitive as the basic form of a verb. If we look at the verbal form normally used in dictionary entries, English “[to] change” (infinitive) corresponds to Greek “αλλάζω” (allázo). So, present indicative “αλλάζω” functions as infinitive.
Personally, I tend to take the infinitive as the basic form of a verb. If we look at the verbal form normally used in dictionary entries, English “[to] change” (infinitive) corresponds to Greek “αλλάζω” (allázo). So, present indicative “αλλάζω” functions as infinitive.
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bearded
Senior Member
Standard Italian
Thank you, I now see what you mean: you refer to dictionary entries.
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velisarius
Senior Member
British English (Sussex)
An infinitive is "not finite" (it doesn't change according to person or number), so to say that αλλάζω "functions as an infinitive" is meaningless.
Modern Greek/Lesson 04.2 - Wikibooks, open books for an open world
Modern Greek/Lesson 04.2 - Wikibooks, open books for an open world
Apollodorus
Senior Member
English UK
That's what I was trying to say. Dictionaries use the Greek present as equivalent to infinitive in other languages. English "to write" is Greek "γράφω", Spanish "cambiar" is Greek "αλλάζω", etc.
If somebody asks how to say English “to change” in Greek, the answer is “αλλάζω”. The Greek present indicative is here equated with the English infinitive which agrees with the first person singular of the present indicative.
It is in this sense that the Greek present “functions as infinitive”, “infinitive” being used in the sense of “basic form of a verb” or “that form of a verb which expresses simply the notion of the verb” (Oxford English Dictionary).
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Coming late to the conversation so all have been said, both άλλαξε τη μοίρα σου & άλλαξε το πεπρωμένο σου are totally accurate.
Just commented to say that also φτιάξε τη μοίρα σου is kind of more modernish(?) and equivalent as it indicates personal actions, which means changes. It simply depends on the formality of the context to tell which expression fits best
Just commented to say that also φτιάξε τη μοίρα σου is kind of more modernish(?) and equivalent as it indicates personal actions, which means changes. It simply depends on the formality of the context to tell which expression fits best
Apollodorus
Senior Member
English UK
If fate (< Latin fātum, lit. “that which has been spoken”) μοίρα (< Greek “portion given”) or πεπρωμένο (< Greek “that which is (has been) given”) is the principle, power, or agency by which events are unalterably predetermined, then it can’t really be changed. We can make changes in ourselves or in our life, but those changes would have to be within the paradigms determined by fate. In other words, by definition, if something can be changed, it isn’t fate.
Might the “modernish” “φτιάξε τη μοίρα σου” be a better choice?