Φοβάμαι όταν περιμένω μόνος μου τη νύχτα.

I am afraid when I wait alone at night.

Breakdown of Φοβάμαι όταν περιμένω μόνος μου τη νύχτα.

• μου: me
• περιμένω: to wait
• μόνος: alone
• όταν: when
• τη νύχτα: at night
• φοβάμαι: to be afraid

Questions & Answers about Φοβάμαι όταν περιμένω μόνος μου τη νύχτα.

Why is there no separate word for I in the sentence? Where is the subject?

In Greek you usually leave out subject pronouns, because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

The verb φοβάμαι is first person singular (I), so εγώ (I) is understood and normally omitted.

So:

• Φοβάμαι όταν περιμένω μόνος μου τη νύχτα.
  Literally: (I) am afraid when (I) wait alone at night.

You only add εγώ if you want to emphasize I, as in:

• Εγώ φοβάμαι όταν περιμένω μόνος μου τη νύχτα.
  (I am the one who is afraid…)*

Why does φοβάμαι end in -μαι? Is that like a passive form?

Yes, φοβάμαι is in what is called the middle/passive voice, ending in -μαι.

Some Greek verbs almost always appear in this -μαι form and are called deponent verbs. They have active meaning, even though they look “passive.”

• φοβάμαι = I am afraid / I fear
  There is also a form φοβώ in very formal or old-fashioned language, but in everyday modern Greek people say φοβάμαι.

So here φοβάμαι is not passive in meaning; it is just the normal way to say I am afraid.

What exactly does όταν mean here, and how is it different from αν?

Όταν means when and introduces a time clause. It is used when you are talking about something that actually happens (or is expected to happen) at a certain time or in certain situations.

• Φοβάμαι όταν περιμένω μόνος μου τη νύχτα.
  I am afraid when I wait alone at night.

Αν means if, and it introduces a condition, something that may or may not happen:

• Φοβάμαι αν ακούω περίεργους θορύβους.
  I am afraid if I hear strange noises.

So:

• όταν = when (whenever that situation happens)
• αν = if (on the condition that something happens)

Why is μόνος masculine? What if the speaker is a woman?

Μόνος is an adjective meaning alone, and it agrees in gender and number with the subject. The subject here is (εγώ).

If the speaker is male, he says:

• Εγώ είμαι μόνος.
• Φοβάμαι όταν περιμένω μόνος μου τη νύχτα.

If the speaker is female, she must use the feminine form μόνη:

• Φοβάμαι όταν περιμένω μόνη μου τη νύχτα.
  I (female) am afraid when I wait alone at night.

Plural forms are:

• μόνοι (masc. plural), μὀνες (fem. plural), μόνα (neut. plural).

What is μου doing after μόνος? Is it a possessive like my?

Μου is the unstressed (clitic) genitive of εγώ (I) and is often used like a weak possessive: my.

In the expression μόνος μου, it does not literally mean my alone; together μόνος μου functions like by myself / on my own. It is similar to English reflexive forms:

• μόνος μου ≈ by myself (male speaker)
• μόνη μου ≈ by myself (female speaker)

So όταν περιμένω μόνος μου = when I wait by myself / when I’m on my own.

Why is it τη νύχτα with the article in the accusative? Why not just νύχτα?

Τη νύχτα is the accusative singular feminine form of η νύχτα (the night).

Greek often uses the accusative with the article to express time when something happens, especially with parts of the day and similar expressions:

• το πρωί – in the morning
• το βράδυ – in the evening/at night
• τη μέρα – during the day
• τη νύχτα – at night

You can sometimes hear νύχτα φοβάμαι… without the article, but τη νύχτα with the article sounds very natural and standard when stating when something happens.

Why is the time expression τη νύχτα in the accusative case?

In Greek, the accusative is commonly used for time expressions, especially to say when something happens or for how long.

Here τη νύχτα answers πότε; (when?):

• Φοβάμαι πότε; Τη νύχτα.

More examples of time in the accusative:

• Δουλεύω όλη τη μέρα. – I work all day.
• Έμεινα δύο εβδομάδες. – I stayed two weeks.

So τη νύχτα is accusative because it functions as a time adverbial.

Can I change the word order, for example Φοβάμαι τη νύχτα όταν περιμένω μόνος μου?

Yes, Greek word order is quite flexible, and your example is correct. You can say:

• Φοβάμαι όταν περιμένω μόνος μου τη νύχτα.
• Φοβάμαι τη νύχτα όταν περιμένω μόνος μου.
• Τη νύχτα φοβάμαι όταν περιμένω μόνος μου. (more emphasis on at night)

All are grammatical. The differences are mostly in emphasis and rhythm. The original sentence puts a little more emphasis on the condition όταν περιμένω μόνος μου and then specifies τη νύχτα as the time.

What aspect or kind of time does φοβάμαι (present tense) express here? Is it a general habit?

In Greek, the present tense with imperfective aspect (like φοβάμαι) often expresses a general, repeated, or ongoing situation.

Here, φοβάμαι όταν περιμένω μόνος μου τη νύχτα means something like:

• I (generally) feel afraid when I am waiting alone at night.

If you wanted to talk about a single event in the past, you would use the aorist:

• Φοβήθηκα όταν περίμενα μόνος μου τη νύχτα.
  I got scared when I was waiting alone at night.

So the present here describes a repeated or typical reaction, not a one-time event.

How would I make this sentence negative, like I am not afraid when I wait alone at night?

To make it negative, you put δεν before the verb φοβάμαι:

• Δεν φοβάμαι όταν περιμένω μόνος μου τη νύχτα.
  I am not afraid when I wait alone at night.

If you are a woman:

• Δεν φοβάμαι όταν περιμένω μόνη μου τη νύχτα.

So the structure is: δεν + verb + όταν-clause…