Good spot! Yes, my Oxford and El Wiktionary give it as a neuter plural, so the article should be a τα. I don’t think we’ve noticed or discussed this before. Neal?
Oh and in the same level (35):
η μπίρα, I don’t know what the most common spelling is, but I’ve always been taught that it’s μπύρα, would be nice to have it as an alternative, if you have the time of course, (because I keep getting it wrong).
η αρχή, This is in Bertstein’s mem: αρχή having more than one meaning, notably ‘beginning, start, origin, start, principle.’ Don’t know if αρχή appears anywhere else in the course, but since there are expressions like ‘από την αρχή’ (from the start), I’d think that an alternative translation could help here.
Cheers
M
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I believe both forms are equally correct.
From memory it doesn’t appear directly in the course again - but reappears as a prefix for (IIRC) αρχηγός (for leader/chief; the guy with the power) and αρχίζω (to start). So you can see that it manifests itself again using both meanings of the word! Yes, if it’s not already there as an English alt, ‘start’ would be good.
Over to you Neal!
Yes, should have been τα, now it is! I’ve also added this as the context sentence: 
Πώς μπορούν να μας βοηθούν τα συμφραζόμενα να κατανοούμε τη σημασία;
[quote=“spdl79, post:291, topic:817”]
μπίρα
[/quote] According to ΦΥΤΡΑΚΗ the primary spelling is μπίρα and under μπύρα it simply says μπύρα=μπίρα. I suspect this may have to do with all of the spelling reforms.
Interestingly this pointed out a dupe I recently added in Level 119 with μπύρα so I’ve removed that and made it an alternate spelling for μπίρα in Level 35 with this as the Context sentence:
Οι νεαροί Αμερικανοί πίνουν πολλή μπίρα (μπύρα).
But, perhaps I should change Αμερικανοί to Αυστραλοί, eh Sean?
[quote=“spdl79, post:291, topic:817”]
αρχή
[/quote] - I agree that authority should not really be the primary definition of αρχή. There are 7 entries in ΦΥΤΡΑΚΗ for αρχή, in this order:
- beginning, start, outset
- early
- beginning, origin, source
- starting point
- principle, rule, law, rudiment
- principle, creed
- authority, power, office
So, I’ve modified the definition as follows: beginning (as primary), start, outset, starting point, principle, authority.
And for what it is worth, αρχή appears in several context sentences throughout the course for the following words:
η έντεχνη μουσική - Η αρχή της έντεχνης μουσικής έγινε με τον «Επιτάφιο» που αποτελεί «το πάντρεμα της σύγχρονης ελληνικής μουσικής με τη σύγχρονη ελληνική ποίηση».
η δυστυχία - Η διάλυση του αρραβώνα ήταν κι η αρχή της δυστυχίας της.
ντροπαλός - Η Λίζα είναι ντροπαλή στην αρχή, αλλά μιλά πολύ όταν τη γνωρίσεις περισσότερο.
and I’ve just added this:
η αρχή - Δεν είναι δυνατή βάση, αλλά… είναι μια αρχή.
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Yes. I might discontinue this course, at least temporarily, as I would not say it was the most important words in Greek although many are. I finished another Greek course where no keyboard use was needed (it is quicker going through such courses), but that is not the case here. I have less time than I did and I also have some problems with my WiFi connection which sometimes results in my having to go over stuff repeatedly (I don’t think it is a Memrise glitch).
[quote=“SteveKaczynski, post:293, topic:817”]
I might discontinue this course
[/quote] - Sorry to hear you might abandon. There really is no such thing (IMHO) as the most important words in any language. Words like “most” are overused and that certainly was the case here. I am actively adding a lot of new and useful everyday words and vocabulary. The course is already twice the size that it was in the beginning. The title has already been changed once, and will again 
Take a look at some of the higher numbered Levels and you may find lots of stuff there that you find worthwhile. What I’d encourage you to try is use the navigation arrows to review the lists of words and see which Levels have the kinds of things you want to know and learn those, jump around. But whatever you decide, good luck in your study.
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I will probably decide tomorrow (I have finished my 15 minutes on it for today, plus a little extra). I have a tendency on Memrise to start with Level 1 and go to the last level although of course it does not have to be done that way.
I do tend to go in for frequency lists as they can simplify the task of learning the words you need to know before you go on to the words it might be useful to know but are hardly vital - like a word meaning “sulphur” for example.
The course is now @ 3,268 words. We’re nearing the “double” size of the original.
Όλα Αυστραλοί, ίσως 
Many thanks for all that. FYI, it’ll be a quiet month or so me as I’m actually going to be in Australia for the next few weeks and it’ll be a struggle to do my daily reviews, let alone learn any new words.[quote=“SteveKaczynski, post:293, topic:817”]
I would not say it was the most important words in Greek
[/quote]
A few people have pointed that out over the years - that’s why there’s a bit of a disclaimer in the course description. I’d really say that this course is a vocab-building and spelling course. If you really want to become fluent in Greek, you’re going to have to learn all these words eventually, right? And the way it’s constructed is a bit more interesting than a straight dump of the entire dictionary. Even if you’re not aiming for full fluency, I think the course is good for just getting you used to the cadences and patterns in Greek - I picked up a lot of things without being told or learning formally.
In any case, if you’re just after basic everyday language, and/or basic sentence construction, and aren’t so worried about learning perfect spelling or proper accent placement, I’d highly recommend the Duolingo Greek course, and perhaps Clozemaster as well. But those and this course are really for learning quite different things. Anyway, good luck with your studies whatever you decide.
[quote=“spdl79, post:297, topic:817”]
vocab-building and spelling course
[/quote] - Has possibilities for a new title. It has been a while since we removed 1692+ (changed earlier from just 1692), and given we’re almost double that, or will be very soon, then I think we’re ready to consider new titles. I would really like to get “most important” words out of the title. I will also have to get someone from Memrise to change the title of the forum as well, that’s something I cannot do after a certain number of days.
[quote=“spdl79, post:297, topic:817”]
daily reviews
[/quote] - you can download the course to your smart phone so you can continue to review off-line. I haven’t actually done that yet, but I’m planning on it.
I don’t actually have a smartphone - my Nokia is well over 10 years old I’m not exactly a Luddite, but I’ve never really felt the need to get one, and not having one means that I’ve always had the perfect excuse to never look at my work emails when I’m not in the office (that’s actually the main reason I don’t have one, TBH).
My wife has this course on her smartphone though. We use it a lot when we’re out and about to verbally test each other (ie just word recall), and she uses it ‘properly’ (with spelling and everything) quite regularly during her breaks at work and when she’s on the bus etc. It works really well and I would recommend it.
I’ll just be taking a load of Greek children’s books to Australia with me though!
Heh, definitely! It’s moved on a lot since then.
[quote=“spdl79, post:299, topic:817”]
to Australia
[/quote] Καλό ταξίδι!
I’m adding a lot of vocabulary from the book I’m working through with my teacher. I think we’ll easily get to 5K before I slow down
@neal.p.carey
Hi Neal,
Wondering if you have the time for another adjustment? It’s just that when ότι as a conjunction pops up, if you answer πως, it counts it wrong, even though ότι and πως are basically interchangeable. Don’t know which level ότι is in though. I know πως is in level 41.
In fact, having another look at πως in level 41, it says it’s an adverb, but obviously it’s also a conjunction if it’s used like ότι (φόβαμαι ότι/πως…). I only know it as adverb if it means ‘how,’ in which case it should be πώς, but I’ve noticed that more and more πως is being used for both meanings, with the tonos disappearing.
Thanks,
M
I’ve cross-Alt’d πως and ότι and defined both as conjunctions. Also added Context sentences for both:
Είπε πως (or: ότι) δεν ήθελε να φύγει.
Είπε ότι (or: πως) δεν ήθελε να φύγει.
Just to let you know I decided to persevere with this course. I have decided to jump around from level to level rather than go sequentially from 1 to 134 or so, and I also use the ignore button if I think vocabulary is too easy (I am not a complete beginner) or I don’t think the word is particularly useful.
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It is a little like running after a train that is speeding away, since I learn one lot of vocabulary only for the total size of the course to increase, so I learn words at the front end, so to speak, while the course keeps growing at the back end and I am eternally at 14% of the words learned - my learned words go up but so does the course.
[quote=“SteveKaczynski, post:305, topic:817”]
like running after a train (σαν τρέχω να προλάβω το τρένο)
[/quote] - ah yes, I know how you feel. Even after studying languages for 45 years I still feel the same way every day 
- Just keep at it, the course will continue to grow I expect to at least 5K . . .
See the new entry below.
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I just ended up pushing myself a bit harder, like trying to finish at least two levels a day and on occasion three, so I seem to be outpacing the course’s tendency to grow - I have hit the 26% mark, whereas at first I thought I was going to be eternally at 14%.
I’ve just completed updating/adding a number of new words and we’re now at 3,703 - well more than doubling the original course size! 
In order to keep a few important topics together I’ve had to move a couple of words. Users’ progress will not be lost but the word might end up in a different Level. I do this only where I feel it will benefit the learners by keeping some related words together.
Also, as the worksheet is updated it often includes new context sentences and examples, especially for the earlier Levels. I am continuing to go back and add context for every word.
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