Adverbial clauses relate one event to another: they establish time, cause, purpose, result, concession, condition, or manner. The individual conjunctions are taught in the subordinating-conjunction overview and its child pages. This page asks a sentence-level question: once you have chosen the clause, where does it go, how is it punctuated, and how do its mood and tense fit the surrounding clauses?
The functional map
| Relation | Common linkers | Typical viewpoint | Usual mobility |
|---|---|---|---|
| time | όταν, μόλις, ενώ, πριν, αφού | fact, overlap, sequence, or awaited boundary | often before or after |
| cause | επειδή, γιατί, αφού | asserted reason | before for background; after for explanation |
| purpose | για να | intended, not guaranteed | usually after; frontable for focus |
| result | ώστε, ώστε να | asserted or construed consequence | normally after its cause |
| concession | αν και, παρόλο που | real obstacle that fails to block the result | often before or after |
| condition | αν | open or hypothetical condition | often before or after |
| manner/comparison | όπως, σαν, σαν να | actual manner or apparent resemblance | usually close to the predicate it modifies |
The table is an orientation, not a replacement for the child pages. In particular, ώστε να can overlap with purpose, αφού can be temporal or causal, and manner σαν does not always introduce a full clause.
Initial clauses establish a frame
Time, cause, condition, and concession commonly precede the main clause when the speaker wants the listener to process them as background. A comma marks the end of that initial frame.
Επειδή είχε απεργία, πήγαμε στο αεροδρόμιο με ταξί.
epidhí íche aperghía, píghame sto aerodhrómio me taksí
Because there was a strike, we went to the airport by taxi.
Αν τελειώσεις νωρίς, έλα να φάμε μαζί.
an teliósis norís, éla na fáme mazí
If you finish early, come and eat with us.
Αν και δεν τον γνώριζε καλά, δέχτηκε να τον βοηθήσει.
an ke dhen ton ghnórize kalá, dhéchtike na ton voithísi
Although she didn't know him well, she agreed to help him.
Initial order makes the subordinate clause the lens through which the main event is understood: given the strike, under the condition of finishing, despite limited acquaintance. English uses a similar strategy, but Greek does not require every adverbial family to occupy the same position.
Final clauses add explanation, goal, or consequence
After the main clause, an adverbial often supplies information that becomes relevant only once the event has been stated. A tightly integrated final clause normally follows without a comma; a looser explanatory afterthought may be separated by one. Meaning and prosody, not a ban on commas, decide.
Πήγαμε στο αεροδρόμιο με ταξί επειδή είχε απεργία.
píghame sto aerodhrómio me taksí epidhí íche aperghía
We went to the airport by taxi because there was a strike.
Έκλεισε την πόρτα για να μην ακούγεται η τηλεόραση.
éklise tin pórta ya na min akúyete i tileórasi
She shut the door so that the television couldn't be heard.
Μίλησε τόσο γρήγορα, ώστε κανείς δεν πρόλαβε να κρατήσει σημειώσεις.
mílise tóso ghríghora, óste kanís dhen prólave na kratísi simiósis
He spoke so quickly that nobody managed to take notes. (formal)
Purpose and result usually follow because they depend logically on the main event: first an action is named, then its intended goal or consequence. A purpose clause can be fronted for contrast—Για να μην αργήσουμε, φύγαμε πριν ξημερώσει—but a result clause naturally looks backward and therefore strongly favors final position.
Mood and tense are chosen inside each clause
Subordination does not impose automatic tense agreement of the English backshift type. Each finite verb locates its own event, while the conjunction states how the events relate.
Factual causes and concessions normally use indicative forms. Purpose uses να, because a goal is intended rather than asserted as achieved. Future temporal boundaries commonly use a bare dependent perfective form after their linker, with θα in the main clause:
Μόλις τελειώσεις την παρουσίαση, θα συζητήσουμε τις λεπτομέρειες.
mólis teliósis tin parusíasi, tha sizitísume tis leptoméries
As soon as you finish the presentation, we'll discuss the details.
The completion τελειώσεις is awaited; θα συζητήσουμε is the future consequence. By contrast, a past timeline selects past forms independently:
Μόλις τελείωσε η παρουσίαση, συζητήσαμε τις λεπτομέρειες.
mólis telíose i parusíasi, sizitísame tis leptoméries
As soon as the presentation ended, we discussed the details.
Greek can use αν θα… in an embedded question—Δεν ξέρω αν θα βρέξει—but the neutral open condition is Αν βρέξει, θα μείνουμε μέσα. The first αν means “whether”; the second means “if.” Clause function controls the pattern.
Stacking adverbial clauses
Two or three adverbial clauses can surround one main clause, provided each relation and attachment remains clear. Put broad background frames first, keep purpose and result close to the event they modify, and use commas to reveal the layers.
Επειδή είχε κίνηση, φύγαμε νωρίτερα για να φτάσουμε πριν αρχίσει η συναυλία.
epidhí íche kínisi, fíghame norítera ya na ftásume prin archísi i sinavlía
Because there was traffic, we left earlier so that we would arrive before the concert began.
This sentence moves from cause (επειδή) to main action (φύγαμε) to purpose (για να) and finally to the temporal boundary inside that purpose (πριν). The order mirrors the logic.
Όταν τελειώσεις τη δουλειά, αν δεν βρέχει, θα πάμε μια βόλτα για να ξεσκάσουμε.
ótan teliósis ti dhuliá, an dhen vréchi, tha páme mia vólta ya na kseskásume
When you finish work, if it isn't raining, we'll go for a walk to unwind.
Two initial frames are possible here because they answer different questions: when? and under what condition? The main clause then carries the plan, and the final purpose clause gives its goal.
Αν και ήταν κουρασμένη, έμεινε μέχρι να τελειώσει η συζήτηση, επειδή ήθελε να ακούσει την απόφαση.
an ke ítan kurazméni, émine méchri na teliósi i sizítisi, epidhí íthele na akúsi tin apófasi
Although she was tired, she stayed until the discussion ended because she wanted to hear the decision.
The final causal clause is set off because it explains the complete decision to stay, not merely the nearest verb. Punctuation helps the reader see that wider scope.
Common Mistakes
1. Using interrogative πότε as a temporal linker.
❌ Πότε τελειώσεις, θα κλείσουμε τον υπολογιστή.
Incorrect—πότε asks a question and cannot license the bare dependent form here; use μόλις or όταν.
✅ Μόλις τελειώσεις, θα κλείσουμε τον υπολογιστή.
mólis teliósis, tha klísume ton ipoloyistí
As soon as you finish, we'll shut down the computer.
2. Using indicative δεν inside a purpose να-clause.
❌ Έφυγε νωρίς για να δεν χάσει το λεωφορείο.
Incorrect—a purpose να-clause is negated with μη, placed after να.
✅ Έφυγε νωρίς για να μη χάσει το λεωφορείο.
éfiye norís ya na mi chási to leoforío
She left early so that she wouldn't miss the bus.
3. Adding να after a factual causal conjunction.
❌ Αργήσαμε επειδή να είχε κίνηση στην εθνική οδό.
Incorrect—causal επειδή presents an asserted reason and does not take να.
✅ Αργήσαμε επειδή είχε κίνηση στην εθνική οδό.
aryísame epidhí íche kínisi stin ethnikí odhó
We were late because there was traffic on the motorway.
Key Takeaways
- Initial adverbial clauses establish background and are normally set off with a comma when they frame the following main clause; integrated final clauses commonly supply explanation, goal, or consequence.
- Each clause chooses tense, mood, and aspect according to its own viewpoint; Greek has no mechanical sequence-of-tenses rule.
- Purpose and result tend to follow the event they depend on, while time, cause, condition, and concession move more freely.
- In multi-clause sentences, order clauses from broad frame to main event and keep tightly dependent goals or boundaries close to what they modify.
Related Topics
- Subordinating Conjunctions OverviewA2 — Navigate Greek dependent clauses by function: complements, time, cause, purpose, result, concession, and condition, with the mood and aspect patterns each linker interacts with.
- Temporal ClausesA2 — Arrange Greek time clauses before, inside, or after the main clause to build clear sequences of earlier, simultaneous, and later events.
- Conditional Sentences: OverviewA2 — See the three central Greek αν-patterns: open conditions, unreal present conditions, and unreal past conditions, with their matching result forms.