English has no single equivalent of προλαβαίνω. Depending on its complement, it means catch, make it in time, have time to, or beat someone to it.
Δεν προλαβαίνω, έχω ραντεβού σε δέκα λεπτά.
dhen prolavéno, écho randevú se dhéka leptá
I haven't got time; I have an appointment in ten minutes.
Πρόλαβα το τελευταίο λεωφορείο στο τσακ.
prólava to teleftéo leoforío sto tsak
I caught the last bus just in time. (informal)
Principal parts
| Slot | Form |
|---|---|
| Present | προλαβαίνω, προλαβαίνεις, προλαβαίνει, προλαβαίνουμε, προλαβαίνετε, προλαβαίνουν |
| Imperfect | προλάβαινα |
| Aorist | πρόλαβα |
| After θα / να | προλάβω |
| Command | πρόλαβε / προλάβετε |
| Perfect | έχω προλάβει |
| Mediopassive | προλαβαίνομαι, present stem only |
| Passive perfective | does not exist for everyday προλαβαίνω |
The change -λαβαίν- → -λαβ- is the same family alternation as καταλαβαίνω → κατάλαβα; see nasal-stem verbs. The passive προλαβαίνεται is real but limited to the present stem, especially for something preventable or stoppable in time. Formal Greek usually chooses the learned sibling προλαμβάνω: προλαμβάνεται, προλήφθηκε, η πρόληψη, προληπτικός (formal).
This gap is lexical, not a rule about every verb in -λαβαίνω. In particular, do not build an invented everyday passive aorist from προλαβαίνω. Choose active πρόλαβα when someone acted in time, or the learned family when a formal prevention passive is intended.
Η ζημιά προλαβαίνεται αν κλείσουμε τώρα την παροχή.
i zimiá prolavénete an klísume tóra tin parochí
The damage can be prevented if we shut off the supply now.
Four everyday readings
With an object, προλαβαίνω can catch transport, a deadline, or a person. With να, it means having enough time to carry out the following action.
Πρόλαβες να φας πριν αρχίσει η συνάντηση;
prólaves na fas prin archísi i sinándisi;
Did you manage to eat before the meeting started?
Τον πρόλαβα στην πόρτα πριν φύγει.
ton prólava stin pórta prin fíyi
I caught him at the door before he left.
Με πρόλαβες means that someone acted or spoke first; in conversation it can mean “you read my mind.”
Με πρόλαβες· αυτό ακριβώς θα έλεγα κι εγώ.
me prólaves; aftó akrivós tha élegha ki eghó
You beat me to it; that's exactly what I was going to say too.
The near-synonym προφταίνω / πρόφτασα is common in current speech and usually carries the same timing meanings.
In neutral conversation the two are often interchangeable. Προλαβαίνω also extends especially readily to prevention, whereas the difference is not a rigid regional or stylistic boundary.
Πρόφτασε πριν κλείσει το φαρμακείο.
próftase prin klísi to farmakío
Get there before the pharmacy closes.
Government
- accusative object: προλαβαίνω το τρένο / κάποιον / την προθεσμία
- να + dependent verb: προλαβαίνω να απαντήσω
- absolute: Προλαβαίνουμε; “Do we have time?”
- time expression: την τελευταία στιγμή, πριν κλείσει
Προλαβαίνουμε να πιούμε έναν καφέ στον σταθμό;
prolavénume na pjúme énan kafé ston stathmó;
Do we have time for a coffee at the station?
Set phrases
- Δεν προλαβαίνω. — I haven't got time.
- Μόλις πρόλαβα. — I only just made it.
- Δεν πρόλαβα να σου πω. — I did not get time to tell you.
- Όποιος πρόλαβε, τον Κύριο είδε. — first come, first served (proverbial, informal)
Μόλις πρόλαβα να στείλω το αρχείο πριν πέσει το δίκτυο.
mólis prólava na stílo to archío prin pési to dhíktio
I just managed to send the file before the network went down.
Common Mistakes
The aorist is πρόλαβα, not προλάβησα. A following action is introduced by να, not ότι: πρόλαβα να φύγω. And δεν μπορώ states inability, whereas δεν προλαβαίνω specifically says time is insufficient.
Σήμερα δεν προλαβαίνω να μαγειρέψω, αλλά μπορώ να παραγγείλω.
símera dhen prolavéno na mayirépso, alá boró na parangílo
Today I don't have time to cook, but I can order in.
Key Takeaways
- προλαβαίνω · προλάβαινα · πρόλαβα · προλάβω · πρόλαβε / προλάβετε · έχω προλάβει.
- It covers catching, having enough time, intercepting someone, and acting before someone else.
- Its mediopassive has only the present stem; formal προλαμβάνω supplies the full learned passive family.
Related Topics
- φτάνω (to arrive/be enough)A2 — Two verbs in one shell: φτάνω arrives and reaches, and impersonal φτάνει is enough — a sense that has hardened into the conjunction φτάνει να 'as long as'. Full forms, the transitive reach frame, and the phrases the impersonal carries.
- περιμένω (to wait)A2 — One past tense for two English ones: περίμενα is both 'I waited' and 'I was waiting', because this compound never grew a perfective stem. Card gives the single paradigm, stress retraction without an inserted augment, the bare accusative object (Σε περιμένω), and the από frame for expecting something of someone.
- καταλαβαίνω (to understand)A2 — The aorist κατάλαβα is not only a past tense — in conversation it often means 'I see, got it', and it is a frequent one-word reply in spoken Greek. This card covers the contrast learners often reverse (Δεν καταλαβαίνω against Δεν κατάλαβα), the καταλαβαίνω από frame for knowing about something, and the news-page trap where κατάλαβα meets κατέλαβα.
- Principal Parts: Complete IndexA2 — A consolidated index of the principal parts of 151 frequent Modern Greek verbs, including defective and register-limited paradigms.
- Nasal-Stem Verbs (μπαίνω, πίνω)B1 — In μαθαίνω, καταλαβαίνω, μπαίνω, πίνω and δίνω the -ν- or -αιν- belongs to the imperfective half of the verb only — it is there in μαθαίνω and μάθαινα alike, and gone from everything perfective. Drop it and the bare root underneath is the perfective stem (μάθ-, καταλάβ-, μπ-, πι-). Covers the whole family, the -ηκα aorists that look passive and are not, the causative partners in -άζω, and μαθαίνω's double life as both 'learn' and 'teach'.