Χρειάζομαι βίζα για να περάσω τα σύνορα αυτής της χώρας.

I need a visa in order to cross the borders of this country.

Breakdown of Χρειάζομαι βίζα για να περάσω τα σύνορα αυτής της χώρας.

• αυτός: this
• χρειάζομαι: to need
• περνάω: to cross
• η χώρα: the country
• για να: in order to
• η βίζα: the visa
• το σύνορο: the border

Questions & Answers about Χρειάζομαι βίζα για να περάσω τα σύνορα αυτής της χώρας.

Why does the verb appear as χρειάζομαι and not just χρειάζω? What is that -μαι ending doing?

Χρειάζομαι is one of those Modern Greek verbs that look passive/reflexive (because of -μαι) but have an active meaning.

• χρειάζομαι = I need
• Form: present tense, 1st person singular, so literally “I am in need of”, but in practice it just means “I need”.
• You almost never use χρειάζω on its own in everyday speech; the common form when a person needs something is χρειάζομαι
  • object:
    • Χρειάζομαι βίζα. = I need a visa.
    • Χρειάζομαι βοήθεια. = I need help.

So, even though the form looks middle/passive, you should simply memorize χρειάζομαι as the normal way to say “I need” in Greek.

Why is there no word for “a” before βίζα? Shouldn’t it be μια βίζα?

Greek does have an indefinite article (ένας, μία/μια, ένα), but it is used much less often than a/an in English.

In Χρειάζομαι βίζα, the bare noun βίζα already has an indefinite, non-specific meaning:

• Χρειάζομαι βίζα ≈ I need a visa (in general / some kind of visa).

You can say Χρειάζομαι μια βίζα, but that tends to sound a bit more like:

• I need *one specific visa / I need **a particular visa.*

In this sentence, the usual, natural phrasing is without μια: Χρειάζομαι βίζα…

What exactly does για να περάσω mean? Why do we need both για and να?

The combination για να + verb is a very common way to express purpose, similar to “in order to” in English.

• για = for
• να περάσω = that I (may) cross (subjunctive mood)
• για να περάσω = in order to cross / to be able to cross

So:

• Χρειάζομαι βίζα για να περάσω τα σύνορα…
  = I need a visa *in order to cross the borders…*

You will also see να used without για, but then it usually introduces a clause that is not so clearly “purpose-like”. For purposes, για να is the norm.

Why is it περάσω and not περνάω after για να?

Both περάσω and περνάω come from the same verb περνάω / περνώ (to pass, to cross), but they are different aspects in the subjunctive:

• να περνάω – present subjunctive (ongoing / repeated action)
• να περάσω – aorist subjunctive (single, completed action)

Here, the speaker is talking about crossing the border once, as a single event. Greek prefers the aorist for that:

• για να περάσω τα σύνορα = in order to (successfully) cross the border (once)

If you said για να περνάω τα σύνορα, it would suggest a repeated or ongoing action (so that I can be crossing the borders regularly), which doesn’t fit the usual visa context.

Why is σύνορα plural (τα σύνορα) when in English we can say “the border” in the singular?

In Greek, the normal word for a state border is τα σύνορα in the plural:

• τα σύνορα της χώρας = the country’s borders / the border of the country

There is a singular form (το σύνορο), but it’s not used in the standard political/geographical sense as often as the plural. For border between countries, you almost always hear τα σύνορα.

So even when English uses singular (the border), Greek will usually use plural (τα σύνορα).

Why do we need the definite article τα in τα σύνορα? Could we just say να περάσω σύνορα?

In Greek, when you talk about a specific, identifiable thing, you almost always use the definite article.

Here we mean the actual border(s) between this country and another one, not just “some borders in general”, so:

• τα σύνορα αυτής της χώρας = the borders of this country

If you said να περάσω σύνορα without τα, it would sound like “to cross borders” in a very vague, abstract sense, not the concrete border checkpoint of that country. In real speech, τα σύνορα with the article is the natural choice.

What is going on grammatically in αυτής της χώρας? Why do we have both αυτής and της?

Αυτής της χώρας is a genitive phrase meaning “of this country”.

Breakdown:

• αυτής – demonstrative pronoun “this” in the feminine genitive singular
• της – feminine genitive singular article (of the)
• χώρας – feminine genitive singular of η χώρα (country)

Pattern:
αυτής (demonstrative, genitive) + της (article, genitive) + χώρας (noun, genitive)
= “of this country”

This is the normal structure when you put a demonstrative before a noun in the genitive:

• αυτού του σπιτιού = of this house
• εκείνης της πόλης = of that city

The demonstrative and the article both have to agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

Could we change the word order to τα σύνορα αυτής της χώρας vs αυτής της χώρας τα σύνορα? Is there any difference?

Both orders are grammatically correct:

1. τα σύνορα αυτής της χώρας – more neutral, very common
2. αυτής της χώρας τα σύνορα – possible, often with a bit more emphasis on “this country”

In your sentence:

• Χρειάζομαι βίζα για να περάσω τα σύνορα αυτής της χώρας.

is the most natural, standard order.
Αυτής της χώρας τα σύνορα is also correct, but sounds a bit more marked, like you are highlighting this particular country for contrast.

How is αυτής pronounced, and are there any pronunciation tricks in this sentence that might surprise an English speaker?

Key points:

• αυτής is pronounced [aftís]:
  • αυ before a voiceless consonant (like θ, τ, σ) sounds like [af].
• βίζα is pronounced roughly [víza], with a z sound for ζ, and stress on the first syllable.
• χρειάζομαι is [χriˈazome]:
  • χ is a voiceless velar fricative, like the ch in German Bach.
  • ει here is just [i], same as English ee in see.
• The stressed syllables are:
  • Χρειάζομαι
  • βίζα
  • για να περάσω
  • τα σύνορα
  • αυτής
  • της χώρας

Greek has one main stress per word, and it’s marked with the accent (´), so the written accents in this sentence tell you exactly where to put the stress.