Learn Hardcore Greek: Αυτή φτάνει συχνά νωρίς, αλλά σήμερα άργησε. - She often arrives early, but today she was late.

Yes, Greek usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending shows person/number. Here, Αυτή is included for emphasis or contrast (roughly “SHE is the one who often arrives early…”). A perfectly natural version is: Φτάνει συχνά νωρίς, αλλά σήμερα άργησε. You’d include Αυτή to disambiguate or stress the subject.

Why is φτάνει in the present but άργησε in the past?

φτάνει (3rd sg present) expresses a general/habitual action: “she often arrives.”
άργησε (3rd sg aorist) marks a single, completed event: “but today she was late (once).” This present-for-habit + aorist-for-one-time contrast is very typical in Greek.

Could I say έφτασε αργά instead of άργησε?

Yes, both are fine but slightly different:

άργησε = “she was late” (relative to an expected time).
έφτασε αργά = “she arrived late/late in the day” (focus on time of arrival). Your sentence could be: Αυτή φτάνει συχνά νωρίς, αλλά σήμερα έφτασε αργά. Using άργησε keeps the explicit idea of being late.

Where do the adverbs συχνά and νωρίς go? Is the order flexible?

Both are adverbs and word order is fairly flexible:

Common: Φτάνει συχνά νωρίς.
Also fine: Συχνά φτάνει νωρίς.
Less natural: Φτάνει νωρίς συχνά (understood but feels marked). Fronting Συχνά adds emphasis to frequency; placing συχνά after the verb is neutral.

What’s the difference between συχνά and συνήθως?

συχνά = “often” (frequency).
συνήθως = “usually/as a rule” (typicality). So: Φτάνει συχνά νωρίς (many times) vs Φτάνει συνήθως νωρίς (that’s her norm).

How do I pronounce the sentence? Any tricky bits?

Approximate IPA:

Αυτή [afˈti] (αυ before voiceless τ -> “af”)
φτάνει [ˈftani] (φτ = [ft])
συχνά [siχˈna] (χ = throaty , as in German “Bach”)
νωρίς [noˈris]
αλλά [aˈla]
σήμερα [ˈsimera] (stress on first syllable)
άργησε [ˈarʝise] (γ before η = soft [ʝ], like y+gh)

Does Αυτή mean “she” or “this (woman)”?

Both are possible. Αυτή is the 3rd‑person pronoun “she” and also the feminine demonstrative “this (one).” Context decides. If you mean explicitly “this woman here,” you can say αυτή εδώ. In your sentence, it’s naturally read as “she.”

Do verbs agree with gender? Why doesn’t φτάνει change for feminine?

Greek finite verbs mark person and number, not gender. Gender shows up on pronouns, articles, adjectives, and participles, but not on the present/past finite verb forms. So φτάνει is the same for “he/she/it arrives.”

Is the comma before αλλά required?

Yes. In Greek, αλλά (“but”) introducing a contrasting clause is preceded by a comma: …, αλλά … This is standard punctuation.

Can I use όμως or μα instead of αλλά?

αλλά = neutral, standard “but.”
όμως = “however,” can appear after a comma and even later in the clause: …, όμως σήμερα άργησε.
μα = colloquial “but/yet”: …, μα σήμερα άργησε. All work; αλλά is the safest default.

Could I move σήμερα? Does that change the meaning?

You can say:

… αλλά σήμερα άργησε. (emphasis on “today” by fronting it)
… αλλά άργησε σήμερα. (more neutral) Fronting an element in Greek often adds focus/emphasis.

What are the basic conjugations of the two verbs here?

φτάνω (to arrive):
- Present: εγώ φτάνω, εσύ φτάνεις, αυτός/αυτή φτάνει
- Aorist: εγώ έφτασα, εσύ έφτασες, αυτός/αυτή έφτασε
αργώ (to be late):
- Present: εγώ αργώ, εσύ αργείς, αυτός/αυτή αργεί
- Aorist: εγώ άργησα, εσύ άργησες, αυτός/αυτή άργησε

Is there any nuance to using άργησε versus ήταν αργά?

άργησε = she was late (relative to a schedule/expectation).
ήταν αργά = it was late (time of day). So you wouldn’t use ήταν αργά to mean “she was late.”

What about έρχεται instead of φτάνει?

έρχεται = “comes,” focusing on movement toward the speaker/place. φτάνει = “arrives,” focusing on reaching the destination. In many contexts both are fine; φτάνει feels a bit more punctual/endpoint‑oriented.

Are there comparative forms for νωρίς?

Yes:

Comparative: νωρίτερα or πιο νωρίς (“earlier”)
Superlative idea: το πιο νωρίς (που γίνεται) / όσο πιο νωρίς γίνεται (“as early as possible”) The simple single‑word superlative isn’t commonly used here in everyday speech.

Does φτάνει ever mean “enough”?

Yes. Φτάνει! = “Enough!”/“That’s enough!” But with a subject and object like here (Αυτή φτάνει…), it means “she arrives.” Context disambiguates.