Learn Hardcore Greek: Όταν κάνω λάθος, το σκέφτομαι και μετά προσπαθώ πάλι. - When I make a mistake, I think about it and then I try again.

Technically, after όταν the verb often has a subjunctive-like value for future time, but in the first person singular the present indicative and present subjunctive look the same (κάνω), so you just see κάνω.

What exactly does «κάνω λάθος» mean, and why not say something like “I am wrong” with another verb?

Literally:

κάνω = I do / I make
λάθος = mistake / error / “wrongness”

The expression «κάνω λάθος» is idiomatic and means:

“I make a mistake” or “I am wrong”.

Common points:

It’s the standard way to talk about being wrong or making a mistake in Greek.
In the past, you’d say «Έκανα λάθος» = “I made a mistake / I was wrong.”

About articles:

«κάνω λάθος» (no article) = I’m wrong / I make a mistake (in general).
«κάνω ένα λάθος» = I make a (one specific) mistake.
«κάνω το λάθος να…» = I make the mistake of … (specific, often followed by another verb).

You normally don’t say things like «έχω λάθος» or «είμαι λάθος» for this meaning in standard Greek; «κάνω λάθος» is the idiomatic choice.

Why is there no article before «λάθος» here? Could we say «κάνω ένα λάθος» or «κάνω το λάθος» instead?

Here we have:

«Όταν κάνω λάθος…» = Whenever I’m wrong / whenever I make a mistake (in general).

In this fixed expression, λάθος behaves a bit like an uncountable noun, so we usually omit the article when we’re speaking generally.

You can use articles, but the meaning shifts:

«Όταν κάνω ένα λάθος…»
= When I make a (single, specific) mistake (e.g., in some situation).
«Όταν κάνω το λάθος να μην προσέχω…»
= When I make the mistake of not paying attention…

In your sentence, the idea is general habit (“whenever I’m wrong”), so no article is the most natural.

What does «το» refer to in «το σκέφτομαι», and why is it needed?

In Greek, σκέφτομαι means “I think” / “I think about”, and it normally takes an object:

σκέφτομαι κάτι = I think about something.

The «το» here is a neuter object pronoun meaning “it”.
In this sentence it refers back to the mistake / the fact that I was wrong:

Όταν κάνω λάθος, το σκέφτομαι…
≈ When I make a mistake, I think about it.

Without «το», «σκέφτομαι» would sound incomplete here, as if you just said “I think” with no object, which is not what the Greek sentence wants to express. The “it” is essential to show what you are thinking about.

Why is the pronoun placed before the verb («το σκέφτομαι») and not after it, like «σκέφτομαι το»?

Greek has clitic object pronouns (μου, σου, τον, την, το, τους, τις, τα, etc.) that usually come before the finite verb in normal statements:

Το σκέφτομαι. = I think about it.
Τον βλέπω. = I see him.
Τους βοηθάω. = I help them.

So:

✅ το σκέφτομαι
❌ σκέφτομαι το (ungrammatical in this structure)

They move after the verb mainly in imperatives, some infinitive-like forms, and certain participles:

Σκέψου το. = Think about it.
Πες το ξανά. = Say it again.

In your sentence we have a normal indicative clause, so the pronoun must go before the verb: «το σκέφτομαι».

Why is it «σκέφτομαι» and not some active form like «σκέφτω»?

«σκέφτομαι» is one of many Greek verbs that are middle/passive in form but active in meaning. They are often called “deponent verbs”.

Key points:

Grammatically, σκέφτομαι looks like a middle/passive verb (it has the -μαι ending).
In meaning, it is completely active: “I think (about)”.
There is no commonly used active form σκέφτω in modern standard Greek with this meaning.

Other very common verbs of this type:

κοιμάμαι = I sleep
θυμάμαι = I remember
εργάζομαι = I work
φοβάμαι = I am afraid

So you should learn σκέφτομαι as the basic dictionary form meaning “to think, to think about”.

Why is there a comma after «Όταν κάνω λάθος»?

The sentence has two parts:

A subordinate clause: Όταν κάνω λάθος (When I make a mistake)
The main clause: το σκέφτομαι και μετά προσπαθώ πάλι (I think about it and then I try again)

In Greek, when a subordinate clause comes before the main clause, we normally use a comma to separate them:

Όταν κάνω λάθος, το σκέφτομαι και μετά προσπαθώ πάλι.

If you reverse the order, the comma is usually not used:

Το σκέφτομαι και μετά προσπαθώ πάλι όταν κάνω λάθος.

So the comma is just following standard punctuation rules for subordinate + main clause order.

What exactly does «μετά» mean here? Is it the same as “after” in English, and could we use «μετά από» instead?

In this sentence, μετά is an adverb of time meaning:

“afterwards” / “then” / “after that”.

So:

…το σκέφτομαι και μετά προσπαθώ πάλι.
= I think about it and then I try again.

Compare:

μετά (by itself) = afterwards / then
μετά από + noun = after something

Examples:

Μετά τρώμε. = Then we eat / Afterwards we eat.
Μετά από το φαγητό τρώμε γλυκό. = After the meal we eat dessert.

In your sentence you cannot say «και μετά από προσπαθώ πάλι»; that would be wrong. You just want the simple adverb μετά for “then”.

What is the nuance of «πάλι» in «προσπαθώ πάλι»? Is it the same as «ξανά»?

Here, πάλι means:

“again / once more”

So:

προσπαθώ πάλι = I try again.

In this context, πάλι and ξανά are effectively synonyms:

Προσπαθώ πάλι.
Προσπαθώ ξανά.

Both mean “I try again.”

Some notes:

πάλι is very common and can also have other uses (e.g. “on the other hand”, “yet”, “again” in a complaining tone: πάλι αργείς! = You’re late again!).
ξανά is also common and tends to focus a bit more on repetition (“one more time”), but in «προσπαθώ πάλι» there’s no real difference in meaning; either is fine.

How do we know the subject is “I” if «εγώ» doesn’t appear in the sentence?

Greek is a “pro‑drop” language: subject pronouns are often left out because the verb ending already shows the person and number.

κάνω = I do / I make (1st person singular)
σκέφτομαι = I think (1st person singular)
προσπαθώ = I try (1st person singular)

Because all the verbs are in the 1st person singular, we automatically understand the subject is “I”:

(Εγώ) κάνω λάθος, (εγώ) το σκέφτομαι και (εγώ) μετά προσπαθώ πάλι.

You can say «Εγώ όταν κάνω λάθος…», but adding εγώ usually adds emphasis or contrast:

Εγώ όταν κάνω λάθος, το σκέφτομαι…
= Me, when I make a mistake, I think about it… (implying others maybe don’t).

Which parts of the sentence can move around without sounding wrong? For example, can we move «μετά» or «πάλι», or the whole όταν clause?

Greek word order is fairly flexible, but some positions are more natural than others.

Moving the όταν‑clause:
- ✅ Όταν κάνω λάθος, το σκέφτομαι και μετά προσπαθώ πάλι.
- ✅ Το σκέφτομαι και μετά προσπαθώ πάλι, όταν κάνω λάθος.
  Both are correct; the first is slightly more neutral.
Position of μετά and πάλι:
- ✅ …και μετά προσπαθώ πάλι. (original; very natural)
- ✅ …και μετά πάλι προσπαθώ. (also fine; a bit more marked rhythm)
- ⚠️ …και προσπαθώ πάλι μετά. (understandable but sounds a bit awkward in a simple sentence like this; usually you’d keep μετά earlier)
The object pronoun «το» must stay close to the verb and in front of it:
- ✅ το σκέφτομαι
- ❌ σκέφτομαι το (wrong in this structure)

So you can move the when‑clause and fiddle a bit with the adverbs μετά and πάλι, but the clitic pronoun «το» must stay before «σκέφτομαι».

Could we change the verbs to future forms, like «Όταν κάνω λάθος, θα το σκέφτομαι και μετά θα προσπαθώ πάλι»? How would that change the meaning?

Yes, you can add θα to the verbs in the main clause:

Όταν κάνω λάθος, θα το σκέφτομαι και μετά θα προσπαθώ πάλι.

Differences in meaning:

Original: «Όταν κάνω λάθος, το σκέφτομαι και μετά προσπαθώ πάλι.»
→ Describes a general habit in a timeless way (whenever it happens, this is what I do).
With θα in the main clause:
«Όταν κάνω λάθος, θα το σκέφτομαι και μετά θα προσπαθώ πάλι.»
→ Sounds more like a promise / decision / plan for the future:
“When I make a mistake, I will think about it and then I will try again.”

Notice that even in the “future” version you still keep κάνω (without θα) after όταν, for the reason explained before: Greek does not use θα in these όταν + time clauses.