Aspect - the Perfective / Imperfective Choice

Greek has TWO past tenses because it forces a choice English hides: aspect. The imperfect (έτρωγα) views a past action as ongoing or habitual - “I was eating / used to eat”; the aorist (έφαγα) views it as a single completed whole - “I ate / ate up”. Same event, different lens. You pick the form by the MEANING you want, not by the clock - this is the choice to grasp before drilling either tense.

The rule

Greek has two past tenses, and you choose between them by aspect - how you view the action, not when it happened. The imperfect views it as ongoing or habitual (έγραφα, “I was writing / used to write”); the aorist views it as a single completed whole (έγραψα, “I wrote”). English “I wrote” hides this choice, so for every past sentence ask: was the action unfolding, or was it finished? - that answer picks the form.

Paradigm

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	έγραφα	γράφαμε
2nd	έγραφες	γράφατε
3rd	έγραφε	έγραφαν

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	έγραψα	γράψαμε
2nd	έγραψες	γράψατε
3rd	έγραψε	έγραψαν