Learn Hardcore Greek: Την άνοιξη και το καλοκαίρι κάνω πιο πολλές βόλτες στο πάρκο. - In spring and summer I take more walks in the park.

So Την άνοιξη literally is “the spring” in the accusative, but functionally it means “in the spring”, referring to the time when the action happens.

Why do we use the definite article (την, το) with the seasons, when in English we say “in spring / in summer” without “the”?

In Greek, seasons almost always take the definite article when you’re talking about them in a general way:

Την άνοιξη – (in) the spring
Το καλοκαίρι – (in) the summer
Τον χειμώνα – (in) the winter
Το φθινόπωρο – (in) the autumn/fall

So even though English usually drops “the” here, Greek keeps it. That’s why the natural Greek is:

Την άνοιξη και το καλοκαίρι κάνω…
not just Άνοιξη και καλοκαίρι κάνω…

Why is it την άνοιξη but το καλοκαίρι? Why are the articles different?

Because άνοιξη and καλοκαίρι have different grammatical genders in Greek:

η άνοιξη – feminine
- accusative singular: την άνοιξη
το καλοκαίρι – neuter
- accusative singular: το καλοκαίρι (same form as nominative)

So the article changes to match the gender (and case) of each noun:

Την άνοιξη (fem., acc.)
Το καλοκαίρι (neut., acc.)

There’s no preposition like “σε” before την άνοιξη or το καλοκαίρι. How can it mean “in spring and in summer”?

In Greek, bare accusative (without a preposition) is commonly used to express time when something happens:

Την άνοιξη – (in) spring
Το βράδυ – (in) the evening
Κάθε μέρα – every day

So Την άνοιξη και το καλοκαίρι naturally means “in spring and in summer”.

You could say το καλοκαίρι, την άνοιξη with commas, but you would not normally add σε here. Σε την άνοιξη is not idiomatic.

Could you say Στην άνοιξη και στο καλοκαίρι instead?

Grammatically it’s possible, but it doesn’t sound natural for this meaning.

Στην άνοιξη literally means “in the spring (as a season/period)”, and is more likely in abstract or unusual contexts.
To express when you do something (habitual time), the normal, everyday form is simply:
- Την άνοιξη και το καλοκαίρι κάνω…

So for “In spring and summer I go for more walks”, you should not use στην άνοιξη, στο καλοκαίρι; use the bare accusative: την άνοιξη, το καλοκαίρι.

What does κάνω mean here, and why not just say something like “I walk more”?

Κάνω literally means “I do / I make”, but in Greek it’s used in many fixed expressions.

Here, we have the expression κάνω βόλτα / κάνω βόλτες, which means:

κάνω βόλτα – I go for a walk / for a stroll / for a ride (depending on context)
κάνω βόλτες – I go for walks / stroll around (repeatedly or more than once)

So κάνω πιο πολλές βόλτες στο πάρκο means:

“I go for more walks in the park” / “I take more walks in the park”

It wouldn’t be idiomatic to replace κάνω here with a verb like περπατάω directly in the same structure.

Why is it πιο πολλές βόλτες and not just πολλές βόλτες?

πολλές βόλτες = many walks
πιο πολλές βόλτες = more walks (comparative: more than before / more than at another time)

πιο is the word that makes an adjective comparative:

πολλές – many
πιο πολλές – more (literally: “more many”)

So the sentence is comparing spring and summer with other times of the year:
“In spring and summer I take more walks (than at other times).”

Why does πολλές end in -ες here?

Πολλές is the feminine plural form of the adjective πολύς (much, many).

It has to agree in gender, number, and case with the noun it modifies:

βόλτα – feminine singular
βόλτες – feminine plural (accusative here)

So:

singular: πολλή βόλτα (fem. sg.) – “a lot of / much walk” (not usual)
plural: πολλές βόλτες (fem. pl.) – “many walks”

In the sentence we have βόλτες (plural), so the adjective must be πολλές (feminine plural accusative).

Why is βόλτες in the plural? In English we usually say “I go for a walk.”

Greek often prefers the plural with activities that are done repeatedly or habitually:

κάνω βόλτες – I go for walks (not just once)
κάνω ταξίδια – I make trips / I travel (trips, plural)
βγαίνω έξω για καφέδες – I go out for coffees (social coffee outings)

Here, πιο πολλές βόλτες suggests more individual outings/walks during that period. You could say κάνω βόλτα (singular) in a specific instance (“I am going for a walk”), but for the general habit, the plural sounds more natural.

Why isn’t there an article before πιο πολλές βόλτες? Why not τις πιο πολλές βόλτες?

Here, πιο πολλές βόλτες is used in a general, indefinite sense (“more walks” in general), not referring to specific, known walks.

κάνω πιο πολλές βόλτες – I take more walks (indefinite)
κάνω τις πιο πολλές βόλτες – I take the most walks (within some specific group or comparison), or the more walks (very specific)

So omitting the article here is natural, just like in English you say “I take more walks”, not “I take the more walks.”

What exactly does στο πάρκο mean, and how is it formed?

Στο πάρκο means “in the park” or “to the park”, depending on context (Greek often leaves that to context).

It’s a contraction of:

σε (in, at, to) + το (the, neuter singular)
= στο

So:

σε + το πάρκο → στο πάρκο

This is very common with σε + definite article:

σε + τον → στον (στον δρόμο – in/on the road)
σε + τη(ν) → στη(ν) (στη θάλασσα – at the sea)
σε + το → στο (στο πάρκο – in the park)

Could the word order be different, like Κάνω πιο πολλές βόλτες στο πάρκο την άνοιξη και το καλοκαίρι?

Yes, that word order is also grammatically correct and natural:

Την άνοιξη και το καλοκαίρι κάνω πιο πολλές βόλτες στο πάρκο.
Κάνω πιο πολλές βόλτες στο πάρκο την άνοιξη και το καλοκαίρι.

Greek word order is fairly flexible. Putting Την άνοιξη και το καλοκαίρι at the beginning slightly emphasizes the time period. Putting it at the end may sound a bit more neutral or may emphasize the action and place first. Both are fine in everyday speech.

What kind of present tense is κάνω here? Does it mean “I am doing” or “I do (habitually)”?

In this sentence, κάνω is in the simple present tense, which in Greek is used both for:

current actions: “I am doing”
habitual/general actions: “I do, I usually do”

Because the sentence talks about what happens every spring and summer, here it clearly has a habitual meaning:

Την άνοιξη και το καλοκαίρι κάνω πιο πολλές βόλτες στο πάρκο.
→ “In spring and summer I (usually) take more walks in the park.”

Context tells us it’s about a repeated habit, not something happening just right now.

Could you say περισσότερες βόλτες instead of πιο πολλές βόλτες? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

κάνω περισσότερες βόλτες στο πάρκο
instead of
κάνω πιο πολλές βόλτες στο πάρκο

Both mean “I take more walks”, and both are correct.

Nuance:

περισσότερες is the “built-in” comparative form of πολλές.
πιο πολλές is an analytic comparative (literally “more many”).

In everyday modern Greek, both are very common and practically interchangeable in this context. Some might feel περισσότερες is a touch more formal or “standard”, but πιο πολλές is completely acceptable and very natural in speech.