Breakdown of Αν δεν έχεις βίζα, δεν μπορείς να περάσεις τα σύνορα.
Questions & Answers about Αν δεν έχεις βίζα, δεν μπορείς να περάσεις τα σύνορα.
Greek is a “pro‑drop” language: subject pronouns (like εσύ = you) are often left out because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.
- έχεις = you have (2nd person singular)
- μπορείς = you can (2nd person singular)
- περάσεις = (that) you cross (2nd person singular, subjunctive)
So εσύ is understood from the verb forms. You would only add εσύ for emphasis, e.g. Αν εσύ δεν έχεις βίζα… = If you (in particular) don’t have a visa…
Greek has an indefinite article (ένας / μία / ένα), but it is often omitted, especially when the noun is unspecified and countable in a general way, as in:
- Αν δεν έχεις βίζα ≈ If you don’t have (any) visa / If you have no visa.
Saying Αν δεν έχεις μία βίζα is grammatically possible, but it sounds either:
- unusually specific (as if you are counting one visa), or
- slightly unnatural in this common phrase.
In practice, for this kind of sentence, native speakers normally say Αν δεν έχεις βίζα without μία.
It is not a double negative. In Greek, each finite verb that is negated normally needs its own negative particle:
- δεν έχεις = you do not have
- δεν μπορείς = you cannot
So:
- Αν δεν έχεις βίζα, δεν μπορείς να περάσεις τα σύνορα.
= If you don’t have a visa, you can’t cross the border.
You cannot usually let one δεν “cover” more than one verb. There is no “negative concord” like English “I don’t have and can’t get a visa” with a single don’t for both verbs; in Greek you would typically repeat the negation.
- έχεις – present indicative of έχω (to have)
- μπορείς – present indicative of μπορώ (can, be able)
- περάσεις – aorist subjunctive of περνάω / περνώ (to pass, to cross)
Indicative (έχεις, μπορείς) is used for the real, factual condition and result:
- Αν δεν έχεις… = If you don’t have…
- …δεν μπορείς… = …you can’t…
The subjunctive (να περάσεις) is used after μπορώ to express the action that is possible or impossible:
- μπορείς να περάσεις = you can cross (you are able to cross)
So the structure is:
- μπορείς (indicative) + να περάσεις (subjunctive)
Greek distinguishes aspect:
- να περάσεις – aorist subjunctive: a single, complete action (to cross once, successfully)
- να περνάς – present subjunctive: an ongoing or repeated action (to be crossing / to cross repeatedly)
Here, we mean one act of crossing the border, so the aorist is natural:
- δεν μπορείς να περάσεις τα σύνορα
= you can’t (even) cross the border (once).
Δεν μπορείς να περνάς τα σύνορα would sound more like “you can’t be crossing the border (regularly / all the time)”, which is not the intended meaning.
αν is the normal everyday word for “if” introducing a condition:
- Αν δεν έχεις βίζα… = If you don’t have a visa…
εάν means the same thing but is:
- more formal or careful, and
- often shortened to αν in speech anyway.
You could say:
- Εάν δεν έχεις βίζα, δεν μπορείς να περάσεις τα σύνορα.
It sounds a bit more formal, but the meaning is unchanged.
In Greek, τα σύνορα (neuter plural) is the standard word for the border / frontier between countries. It is usually used only in the plural, even when English uses a singular:
- τα σύνορα της χώρας = the country’s border / borders
- περνάω τα σύνορα = I cross the border
There is a singular το σύνορο, but it more often means a limit / boundary in a more general or abstract sense, or one particular border point in some contexts. For the international border in general, Greek almost always uses the plural τα σύνορα.
βίζα
- Gender: feminine
- Case here: accusative singular, as the direct object of έχεις
- Full pattern (common): η βίζα – της βίζας – τη(ν) βίζα / οι βίζες – των βίζων – τις βίζες
τα σύνορα
- Gender: neuter
- Number: plural only (for the country border)
- Case here: accusative plural, as the direct object of να περάσεις
- Article: τα shows neuter plural; nominative and accusative plural have the same form (τα σύνορα).
Yes. Greek allows both orders, just like English:
- Αν δεν έχεις βίζα, δεν μπορείς να περάσεις τα σύνορα.
- Δεν μπορείς να περάσεις τα σύνορα, αν δεν έχεις βίζα.
Both are natural. The difference is mostly about flow and slight emphasis:
- Starting with Αν… puts more focus on the condition.
- Starting with Δεν μπορείς… puts more focus on the result / restriction.
Punctuation: often there is a comma between the two clauses, especially when αν comes first.
Greek has two main negative particles for verbs:
- δεν – used with indicative forms (present, past, future, etc.)
- μην – used mainly with subjunctive, imperative, and some set phrases
In δεν μπορείς να περάσεις:
- The negation applies to μπορείς (present indicative), so we use δεν.
- να περάσεις is subjunctive, but it is not what is being negated; we are saying “you cannot (do X)”, not “you can (not do X)”.
If we wanted to negate the subordinate action instead, we would say:
- Μπορείς να μην περάσεις τα σύνορα.
= You can choose not to cross the border.
Here μην goes directly with περάσεις (subjunctive).
βίζα is pronounced approximately:
- [ˈvi.za] – VEE‑za
The accent (´) in Greek marks the stressed syllable:
- βίζα – stress on the first syllable (βί‑)
Every Greek word of two or more syllables has one main stress, and the written accent shows where to put it, which is important for correct pronunciation and for distinguishing some words that look similar.