English has a neat trick for hanging a verb off a preposition: the -ing form. Before leaving, without saying a word, instead of studying — each one is a preposition plus a gerund. Greek has no gerund that works this way, so it does something an English speaker has to get used to: the preposition-like word takes a full να-clause, with the verb conjugated for its own subject. This page collects the connectives that behave this way — πριν, μέχρι, ώσπου, χωρίς, αντί, εκτός από — and shows how aspect works inside them.
πριν (να) — "before"
πριν ("before") is the one member of this family that is relaxed about να: you can insert it or leave it out, with no difference in meaning. Both πριν φύγεις and πριν να φύγεις are fully correct, and native speakers use both. The verb takes its dependent (perfective non-past) form — the same stem you would use after a bare να.
Πριν φύγεις, πάρε το κλειδί από το συρτάρι.
prin fíyis, páre to klidhí apó to sirtári
Before you leave, take the key from the drawer.
Πριν να πάρεις απόφαση, σκέψου το καλά.
prin na páris apófasi, sképsu to kalá
Before you make a decision, think it over carefully.
Don't confuse this πριν (the conjunction, before a verb) with πριν από ("before," before a noun or a time expression: πριν από μία ώρα, an hour ago). The από version never introduces a να-clause.
μέχρι / ώσπου να — "until"
To say "until (something happens)," Greek uses μέχρι να or the slightly more literary ώσπου να. Unlike πριν, these require the να — it is not optional. The event after them is by definition still ahead, so να (the non-fact particle) is obligatory.
Περίμενε μέχρι να γυρίσω από τη δουλειά.
perímene méchri na yiríso apó ti dhuliá
Wait until I get back from work.
Θα διαβάζω ώσπου να νυστάξω.
tha dhiavázo óspu na nistákso
I'll read until I get sleepy.
There is a second μέχρι — μέχρι + a plain indicative — for an "until" that reports a real past boundary (δούλευε μέχρι που πέθανε, he worked until he died). But when the endpoint lies in the future or is merely envisaged, it is μέχρι να.
χωρίς να — "without ...-ing"
χωρίς means "without." Before a noun it stays a plain preposition (χωρίς ζάχαρη, without sugar); before a verb it takes να, and the whole thing translates the English "without doing."
Έφυγε χωρίς να πει τίποτα σε κανέναν.
éfiye chorís na pi típota se kanénan
He left without saying anything to anyone.
Μπήκε στο σπίτι χωρίς να χτυπήσει το κουδούνι.
bíke sto spíti chorís na chtipísi to kudhúni
He came into the house without ringing the bell.
This is the construction learners most often calque wrong, because English glues "without" straight to an -ing form and Greek cannot. There is no ×χωρίς λέγοντας; it must be χωρίς να πει / να λέει.
αντί να — "instead of ...-ing"
αντί να means "instead of (doing)." Like χωρίς, αντί is a plain preposition before a noun (αντί για καφέ, instead of coffee) and switches to να before a verb.
Αντί να διαβάσει, έπαιζε όλο το απόγευμα.
andí na dhiavási, épeze ólo to apóyevma
Instead of studying, he played all afternoon.
Αντί να παραπονιέσαι, κάνε κάτι γι' αυτό.
andí na paraponiése, káne káti yi aftó
Instead of complaining, do something about it.
εκτός από το να — "except / other than doing"
When "except" or "other than" governs a verb, Greek reaches for the nominalized το να clause after εκτός από or παρά (the latter (formal)). This overlaps with the nominalized να-clause, where the article το turns the whole clause into a noun the preposition can take.
Δεν έχεις άλλη επιλογή, εκτός από το να το παραδεχτείς.
dhen échis áli epiloyí, ektós apó to na to paradhechtís
You have no other choice except to admit it.
(Purpose — για να, "in order to" — belongs to the same family but has its own page: see purpose clauses.)
Aspect inside these clauses
The perfective/imperfective choice works exactly as it does after any να — the subordinator does not override it. Pick the perfective stem for a single, bounded event and the imperfective for something ongoing or repeated. The contrast is real, and the two are not interchangeable.
Πέρασε τον δρόμο χωρίς να κοιτάξει δεξιά αριστερά.
pérase ton dhrómo chorís na kitáksi dheksiá aristerá
He crossed the road without looking left and right. (one glance not taken)
Οδηγούσε χωρίς να κοιτάζει τον δρόμο.
odhighúse chorís na kitázi ton dhrómo
He was driving without watching the road. (ongoing, throughout)
The first uses the perfective κοιτάξει because it is one absent act of looking; the second uses the imperfective κοιτάζει because the not-watching stretched across the whole drive. The mechanics of that choice are on aspect in the subjunctive.
Common Mistakes
1. Calquing the English gerund after χωρίς. There is no ×χωρίς λέγοντας — "without saying" must become a να-clause.
❌ Έφυγε χωρίς λέγοντας τίποτα.
Incorrect — χωρίς takes a να-clause before a verb, never a participle.
✅ Έφυγε χωρίς να πει τίποτα.
éfiye chorís na pi típota
He left without saying anything.
2. Calquing the gerund after αντί. Same trap: "instead of studying" is not ×αντί διαβάζοντας.
❌ Αντί διαβάζοντας, έπαιζε.
Incorrect — αντί needs να before a verb: αντί να διαβάζει.
✅ Αντί να διαβάζει, έπαιζε.
andí na dhiavázi, épeze
Instead of studying, he was playing.
3. Dropping the να after μέχρι and reaching for a future. "Until I finish" is μέχρι να τελειώσω, not ×μέχρι θα τελειώσω.
❌ Μείνε εδώ μέχρι θα τελειώσω.
Incorrect — μέχρι governs να, not a θα-future.
✅ Μείνε εδώ μέχρι να τελειώσω.
míne edhó méchri na telióso
Stay here until I finish.
4. Padding πριν with από before a verb. πριν από works before a noun (πριν από μία ώρα), but before a verb it is bare πριν, optionally πριν να — never ×πριν από να.
❌ Κλείσε το φως πριν από να φύγεις.
Incorrect — before a verb it's πριν φύγεις or πριν να φύγεις; από is for nouns and time expressions.
✅ Κλείσε το φως πριν φύγεις.
klíse to fos prin fíyis
Turn off the light before you leave.
Key Takeaways
- πριν, μέχρι/ώσπου, χωρίς, αντί, εκτός από all take a full να-clause before a verb — Greek's answer to English "before/without/instead of + -ing."
- πριν may keep or drop the να (πριν φύγεις = πριν να φύγεις); μέχρι, ώσπου, χωρίς, αντί require it.
- The same words are plain prepositions before a noun (χωρίς ζάχαρη, αντί για καφέ) and switch to να before a verb.
- Aspect still applies inside the clause: perfective for a single bounded event (χωρίς να κοιτάξει), imperfective for something ongoing (χωρίς να κοιτάζει).
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Start learning Greek →Related Topics
- Purpose Clauses: (για) ναA2 — How Greek says 'in order to / so that': για να spells out purpose explicitly, plain να is enough after verbs of motion, and — because there is no infinitive — the purpose verb stays fully conjugated whether the subject is the same or different.