6.3 In the Kafeneío — Epoché
What you will be able to do Order in the shortest form Greek allows: Καφέ, παρακαλώ. , Νερό, παρακαλώ. , Κρέας, παρακαλώ. . Order politely when you want to: Μπορώ να έχω λίγο νερό; , Μπορώ να έχω ένα απ' αυτά; . Answer the two questions a waiter will ask you: Τι θα πάρεις; , Θέλετε τίποτα άλλο; . Ask what things cost: Πόσο κάνει ένα μήλο; , Πόσο κάνει αυτό το καπέλο; . Ask for the bill and pay it, and know where you pay. Prerequisites : 6.2 — introducing yourself. Read 6.2 Conversation first; this is the first lesson in which you do something rather than say who you are. The vocabulary of this lesson was given in 5.3 and is not repeated at length. What this lesson adds is the shape of the exchange: who speaks first, how short an order may be, and what the two questions are that you will certainly be asked. A kafeneío works differently from a café. You sit down first and somebody comes to you; you do not queue, and you do not order at a counter unless the place is explicitly a bakery or a takeaway. You pay at the end, and in a traditional kafeneío you pay at the counter on the way out rather than at the table. The dialogue A visitor sitting down alone in the middle of the afternoon. The waiter uses the plural, as a waiter always does; the visitor uses it back. Γεια σας. [1] Hello. Τι θα πάρεις; [2] What will you have? Καφέ, παρακαλώ. [3] Coffee, please. Θέλετε τίποτα άλλο; [4] Do you want anything else? Νερό, παρακαλώ. [5] Water, please. Θα είμαι μαζί σας αμέσως. [6] I'll be with you in a second. The whole of the visitor's ordering is four words across two lines, and neither line has a verb in it. That is not a simplification made for a beginner: it is what a Greek says. Adding a verb — I would like a coffee — is available and is slightly more formal, and it is in the second dialogue. The second line is the first of the two questions. It is three words and it means literally what will you take , with the future marker of lesson 5.1 in front of the verb. The fourth line is the second question, and it is the one to recognise rather than to produce: a waiter asks it once, and the answer is either another noun or the word for no. The second dialogue Two people at a table at the end of a meal. The first speaker is being more careful, because he is ordering something that may not be available, and then they ask for the bill. Μπορώ να έχω λίγο νερό; [7] May I have some water? Τι έχετε; [8] What do you have? Καφέ ή τσάι; [9] Coffee or tea? Θέλεις τσάι ή καφέ; [10] Do you want tea or coffee? Πόσο κάνει ένα μήλο; [11] How much is an apple? Ευχαριστώ πολύ! [12] Thanks a lot! The first line is the polite order and it is the sentence to have ready when the two-word form feels too blunt. Its shape is the verb for being able, the particle of lesson 5.1, the verb of having, and then the thing. The word for a little is doing the work of English some , and leaving it out makes the request larger and therefore less polite. The question about price is the other one to have. Greek asks with the adverb for how much and the verb for doing and making — literally how much does it make — which is the same idiom as English what does it come to . The pattern Three levels of politeness in an order, from shortest to longest. Greek English When Καφέ, παρακαλώ. [3] Coffee, please. the ordinary order: a noun and one word Μπορώ να έχω ένα απ' αυτά; [13] May I have one of these? politer, and used when the thing may not be available Θα ήθελα να το δω. [14] I would like to see it. politest, with the conditional that the second phase gives in full The middle row is the one to learn now. The bottom row is here to be recognised: it uses a form of the verb for wanting that belongs to a tense you have not met, and it is the phrase a Greek uses in a shop. Learn it whole and take it apart in the second phase. The second pattern of this lesson is the pair of waiter's questions, and they are worth drilling until you can answer them without hesitating, because they arrive fast and they are the same every time. What he says What it means What you say Τι θα πάρεις; [2] What will you have? a noun and the word for please Θέλετε τίποτα άλλο; [4] Do you want anything else? another noun, or the word for no Τι έχετε; [8] What do you have? listen, then choose Saying it politely Greek politeness at a table is short, as it was in 6.1. The single word for please carries most of it, and the plural form of the verb carries the rest. A visitor who adds English-style padding — I'm sorry to bother you, but I was wondering whether I might possibly — will be understood and will slow everybody down. Two formulas are worth having and neither has an English equivalent that is used as often. The first is what a Greek says to somebody about to eat, which is the equivalent of the French bon appétit ; English has no everyday phrase for it and borrows the French. The second is the toast, which is said with raised glasses and means to your health . Both are in the word list. The bill is asked for with the noun and the word for please, exactly as an order is. You will more often catch a waiter's eye and write in the air with a finger, which is understood everywhere and is not rude. What is rude is to leave without paying at the counter in a place where paying at the counter is the custom, so look at what other people do. New words Word (with article) Meaning Notes ο σερβιτόρος el o servitóros waiter Part of speech / class noun, masculine How it differs from English borrowed from Italian; the feminine has its own ending κατάλογος el katálogos menu; list, catalogue Part of speech / class noun, masculine How it differs from English the catalogue of English; the borrowed word for a menu also exists μενού el menu Part of speech / class noun, neuter, indeclinable How it differs from English borrowed from French and never changes ο λογαριασμός el o logariasmós the bill; an account Part of speech / class noun, masculine How it differs from English asked for with the word