Learn Hardcore Greek: Μέχρι να φτάσουμε στο ξενοδοχείο, θα είναι βράδυ. - By the time we arrive at the hotel, it will be evening.

Μέχρι να here means “by the time (that) / until (the moment when)” and it introduces a clause referring to a future event whose result we’re waiting for.

Μέχρι on its own means “until / up to”.
When it’s followed by να + verb, it introduces a subordinate clause with the subjunctive:
Μέχρι να φτάσουμε… = By the time we get / Until we arrive…

Why do we need να after μέχρι? Could we just say Μέχρι φτάσουμε?

In this use, Greek requires να:

Certain conjunctions and expressions are normally followed by να + subjunctive, for example:
μέχρι να, ώσπου να, για να, ώστε να, χωρίς να.
So the natural form is Μέχρι να φτάσουμε, not ✗ Μέχρι φτάσουμε.

You can say μέχρι without να if it’s followed by a noun or time expression, not a verb:

μέχρι το βράδυ – until the evening
μέχρι το ξενοδοχείο – up to / as far as the hotel

What form is φτάσουμε? Is it a tense or a mood?

Φτάσουμε is:

Mood: subjunctive (υποτακτική)
Aspect/“tense” form: aorist (perfective)
Person/number: 1st person plural = we

It comes from the verb φτάνω (to arrive / to reach).
So να φτάσουμε = that we (should) arrive / for us to arrive (one completed event in the future).

Why is it φτάσουμε and not φτάνουμε after μέχρι να?

Because we’re talking about one completed arrival in the future, Greek uses the aorist (perfective) subjunctive:

Μέχρι να φτάσουμε στο ξενοδοχείο…
Focus: the completion of the action “arrive”.

If you said μέχρι να φτάνουμε, it would sound wrong or, at best, very odd. The present (imperfective) subjunctive is used when you care about an ongoing or repeated action, not a single completed one. Here we just care about the point when the arrival is finished.

Why is it θα είναι βράδυ and not είναι βράδυ?

Because the sentence refers to a future situation:

θα είναι is the future of είμαι (to be).
The structure is:
Μέχρι να φτάσουμε… (in the future), θα είναι βράδυ (at that future time).

In English you also normally say “it will be evening,” and Greek matches that with θα είναι.

Using είναι here (Μέχρι να φτάσουμε…, είναι βράδυ) would sound wrong in standard Greek, unless you changed the whole sentence to talk about a habitual situation (with other tense changes as well).

What does στο ξενοδοχείο literally mean?

Στο ξενοδοχείο breaks down like this:

σε = in, at, to (a very common preposition)
το = the (neuter singular definite article)
ξενοδοχείο = hotel

σε + το contracts to στο in everyday Greek.
So στο ξενοδοχείο literally is “to the hotel / at the hotel” (here: to the hotel → destination).

Why does βράδυ have no article? Why not το βράδυ?

In this sentence βράδυ is used like a time expression meaning “it’ll be (in) the evening / it’ll be evening-time”:

θα είναι βράδυ – it will be evening (generic, not a specific evening)

Greek often omits the article with general time-of-day expressions used adverbially:

το πρωί vs πρωί
- Φεύγω πρωί. – I leave in the morning / early in the day.
το βράδυ vs βράδυ
- Θα γυρίσω βράδυ. – I’ll come back in the evening / late.

Θα είναι το βράδυ is usually odd on its own; you’d only really say it if you specify or contrast:

Θα είναι το βράδυ της Παρασκευής. – It will be Friday evening.

Could we say νύχτα instead of βράδυ? What’s the difference?

You can say νύχτα, but it changes the nuance:

βράδυ – evening, generally after sunset but not too deep into the night.
νύχτα – night, tends to suggest later / darker, often more like “at night”.

So:

Μέχρι να φτάσουμε στο ξενοδοχείο, θα είναι βράδυ.
→ by the time we get there, it’ll be evening (maybe around 7–9 pm).
Μέχρι να φτάσουμε στο ξενοδοχείο, θα είναι νύχτα.
→ by the time we get there, it’ll be night (quite dark, later).

Is the comma before θα είναι βράδυ necessary?

Yes, in this word order it’s normal and expected.

The first part, Μέχρι να φτάσουμε στο ξενοδοχείο, is a subordinate clause.
When such a clause comes before the main clause, Greek usually uses a comma.

If you reverse the order, the comma can often be omitted:

Θα είναι βράδυ μέχρι να φτάσουμε στο ξενοδοχείο. (often written without a comma)

Are there synonyms for μέχρι να φτάσουμε? For example, could I say ώσπου να φτάσουμε?

Yes, there are near-synonyms:

μέχρι να φτάσουμε – very common and neutral.
ώσπου να φτάσουμε – also correct, a bit more colloquial in some regions.
ως να φτάσουμε – more old-fashioned / dialectal in many contexts.

All three can mean roughly “until (the moment when) we arrive”, but μέχρι να is the safest and most standard choice.

Where is the subject “we” in Greek? Could we add εμείς?

The subject “we” is contained in the ending -με of φτάσουμε:

φτάσω – I arrive
φτάσεις – you (sg) arrive
φτάσει – he/she/it arrives
φτάσουμε – we arrive

So Greek doesn’t need a separate pronoun.
You can add εμείς for emphasis:

Μέχρι να φτάσουμε εμείς στο ξενοδοχείο, θα είναι βράδυ.
→ By the time *we (as opposed to others) get to the hotel, it’ll be evening.*

Without emphasis, you normally leave εμείς out.

Could we change the word order and say Θα είναι βράδυ μέχρι να φτάσουμε στο ξενοδοχείο? Does it sound different?

Yes, that’s perfectly grammatical:

Θα είναι βράδυ μέχρι να φτάσουμε στο ξενοδοχείο.

Meaning is essentially the same. The differences are minor:

Original: Μέχρι να φτάσουμε στο ξενοδοχείο, θα είναι βράδυ.
→ starts with the condition / time frame.
Alternative: Θα είναι βράδυ μέχρι να φτάσουμε στο ξενοδοχείο.
→ starts with the result / prediction (“It will be evening…”).

Both are natural; choice is mostly about style and what you want to emphasize first.

How is the sentence pronounced and where is the stress?

Approximate pronunciation with stressed syllables in caps:

ΜΈχρι – MEH-khree
να φΤΆσουμε – na FTAH-su-me
στο ξενοδοΧΕΙο – sto kseh-no-tho-KHEE-o
θα ΕΙναι – tha EE-ne
ΒΡΆδυ – VRAH-dhi

In IPA:

Μέχρι να φτάσουμε στο ξενοδοχείο, θα είναι βράδυ.
[ˈmexri na ˈftasume sto kse.no.ðoˈçio, θa ˈine ˈvraði]

The main sentence stresses are on:

ΜΈχρι, φΤΆ–, –ΧΕΙ–, ΕΙ–, ΒΡΆ–.