Question Words: ποιος, τι, πόσος
The three everyday question words reuse grammar you already know. ποιος (“who / which”) and πόσος (“how much / how many”) are ADJECTIVES that AGREE with their noun in gender, number, and case - they decline on the -ος/-η/-ό pattern: ποιος δάσκαλος; ποια μητέρα; ποιο παιδί; πόσος καφές; πόση δουλειά; πόσα παιδιά; Note ποιος takes the vowel-stem feminine -α (ποια, like νέα). τι (“what”) is the odd one out: it is INVARIABLE - one fixed form for every gender, number, and case (τι είναι; τι θέλεις;). So of the three, only τι never changes.
The rule
The three everyday question words reuse grammar you already have. ποιος (“who / which”) and πόσος (“how much / how many”) are adjectives: they agree with their noun in gender, number and case, declining on the -ος / -η / -ο pattern - ποιος δάσκαλος;, ποια μητέρα;, ποιο παιδί;, πόσος καφές;, πόση δουλειά;, πόσα παιδιά;. Note that ποιος takes the vowel-stem feminine -α (ποια, like νέα) while πόσος takes the ordinary πόση. τι (“what”) is the odd one out: it is completely invariable, one shape for every gender, number and case. So of the three, only τι never changes - and only τι can stand in front of a verb without agreeing with anything at all.
Paradigm
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ποιος | ποιοι |
| Accusative | ποιον | ποιους |
| Genitive | ποιου | ποιων |
| Vocative | ποιος† | ποιοι† |
- Interrogatives have no vocative; set equal to the nominative for table completeness.
- No vocative; equals the nominative plural.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ποια | ποιες |
| Accusative | ποια | ποιες |
| Genitive | ποιας | ποιων |
| Vocative | ποια† | ποιες† |
- No vocative; equals the nominative.
- No vocative; equals the nominative plural.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ποιο | ποια |
| Accusative | ποιο | ποια |
| Genitive | ποιου | ποιων |
| Vocative | ποιο† | ποια† |
- No vocative; equals the nominative.
- No vocative; equals the nominative plural.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | πόσος | πόσοι |
| Accusative | πόσο | πόσους |
| Genitive | πόσου | πόσων |
| Vocative | πόσος† | πόσοι† |
- Interrogatives have no vocative; set equal to the nominative for table completeness.
- No vocative; equals the nominative plural.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | πόση | πόσες |
| Accusative | πόση | πόσες |
| Genitive | πόσης | πόσων |
| Vocative | πόση† | πόσες† |
- No vocative; equals the nominative.
- No vocative; equals the nominative plural.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | πόσο | πόσα |
| Accusative | πόσο | πόσα |
| Genitive | πόσου | πόσων |
| Vocative | πόσο† | πόσα† |
- No vocative; equals the nominative.
- No vocative; equals the nominative plural.