Learn Hardcore Greek: Την άνοιξη βρέχει συχνά, αλλά το φθινόπωρο κάνει κρύο, παρόλο που δεν έχει χιόνι. - In spring it often rains, but in autumn it is cold, even though there is no snow.

Την άνοιξη here means “in (the) spring” in a general, habitual sense. Greek often uses the accusative case without a preposition to talk about time periods:

Την άνοιξη – in spring
Το καλοκαίρι – in summer
Τον χειμώνα – in winter

So:

Την άνοιξη βρέχει συχνά = It often rains in (the) spring.

You could also say την άνοιξη later in the sentence (Βρέχει συχνά την άνοιξη), but you normally don’t say η άνοιξη βρέχει συχνά here, because η άνοιξη as a subject would mean “the spring rains often”, which sounds odd.

Στην άνοιξη is grammatically possible but sounds less natural for the general seasonal meaning. For seasons in the general sense, Greek strongly prefers την άνοιξη / το φθινόπωρο (accusative without a preposition).

Why is Την άνοιξη in the accusative case if it means “in the spring”?

This is a standard pattern in Greek called accusative of time.

Greek often uses the accusative to express “when?” without a preposition:

Κάθε μέρα – every day
Την Κυριακή – on Sunday
Τον Ιούνιο – in June
Την άνοιξη – in spring

So the accusative answers the question πότε; (when?). English needs a preposition (in spring, on Sunday), but Greek can simply put the time word in the accusative.

Is το φθινόπωρο the same kind of structure as την άνοιξη?

Yes. Το φθινόπωρο here is also an accusative of time meaning “in (the) autumn / fall”.

Nominative: το φθινόπωρο (subject form)
Accusative: το φθινόπωρο (same form, because it’s neuter)

So in this sentence:

Την άνοιξη βρέχει συχνά – In spring it often rains
αλλά το φθινόπωρο κάνει κρύο – but in autumn it is cold

Both την άνοιξη and το φθινόπωρο answer the question πότε; (when?).

Why does βρέχει have no subject? How do I say “it rains” in Greek?

Weather verbs in Greek are usually impersonal: they do not take a grammatical subject like English it.

Βρέχει. – It’s raining / It rains.
Χιονίζει. – It’s snowing.
Συννεφιάζει. – It’s getting cloudy.

Greek simply uses the 3rd person singular form with no subject pronoun. You do not say αυτό βρέχει.

So Την άνοιξη βρέχει συχνά literally is something like “In spring, rains often”, but idiomatically it means “It often rains in spring.”

Where can συχνά go in the sentence? Is the word order fixed?

Συχνά (often) is an adverb, and Greek allows some flexibility in placing it. All of these are natural, with small differences in emphasis:

Την άνοιξη βρέχει συχνά. – neutral, very common.
Την άνοιξη συχνά βρέχει. – slight emphasis on often.
Συχνά βρέχει την άνοιξη. – emphasis on the frequency in spring.
Βρέχει συχνά την άνοιξη. – also fine.

General rule: adverbs like συχνά, πάντα, ποτέ often appear after the verb, but can also go before it for emphasis.

What is the literal meaning of κάνει κρύο, and why don’t you say είναι κρύο for “it’s cold”?

Literally, κάνει κρύο means “it makes cold”, but idiomatically it means “it’s cold (outside / the weather is cold)”.

In Greek, κάνει + [weather noun] is a very common pattern:

Κάνει κρύο. – It is cold.
Κάνει ζέστη. – It is hot/warm.
Κάνει ήλιο. – It is sunny.

Είναι κρύο is grammatical, but it usually describes a thing:

Το νερό είναι κρύο. – The water is cold.
Το σπίτι είναι κρύο. – The house is cold.

So for weather, you normally say κάνει κρύο, not είναι κρύο.

In κάνει κρύο, is κρύο an adjective or a noun? And why is there no article?

In κάνει κρύο, κρύο behaves like a neuter noun meaning “cold (coldness)”. There is no article because we’re talking about indefinite, general cold, not “the specific cold”.

Compare:

Κάνει κρύο. – It’s (generally) cold.
Το κρύο είναι δυνατό σήμερα. – The cold is strong today. (now it’s a definite noun, so it takes *το*)

So:

With κάνει, you usually have bare nouns: κάνει κρύο, κάνει ζέστη, κάνει αέρα (no article).
When you talk about them as specific things, you can add the article: το κρύο, η ζέστη, ο αέρας.

What exactly does παρόλο που mean, and how is it different from αν και?

Παρόλο που means roughly “even though / although / despite the fact that”. It introduces something that contrasts with, or weakens, what you expect:

…παρόλο που δεν έχει χιόνι. – …even though there is no snow.

Αν και also means “although / even though”. The difference is mostly in style and emphasis:

παρόλο που often feels a bit stronger or more colloquial, like English even though.
αν και can feel a bit more neutral or a little more formal.

In many everyday sentences, you can swap them:

…κάνει κρύο, παρόλο που δεν έχει χιόνι.
…κάνει κρύο, αν και δεν έχει χιόνι.

Both are correct, with only a slight nuance difference.

Is παρόλο που one word or two words, and how is it stressed?

It is written as two words plus “που”:

παρόλο (one word)
που (separate word)

So: παρόλο που.

Stress:

πα–ΡΟ–λο (stress on the ρό)
που is unstressed here.

You might also see the variant παρ’ όλο που in more formal writing, but παρόλο που is very common in modern usage.

In δεν έχει χιόνι, who is the subject of έχει? Why not δεν υπάρχει χιόνι?

Δεν έχει χιόνι is another impersonal construction—there is no explicit subject. Idiomatically it means “there is no snow” or “there isn’t any snow”.

Έχει χιόνι. – There is snow / There is some snow.
Δεν έχει χιόνι. – There is no snow.

You can say δεν υπάρχει χιόνι, which also means “there is no snow”. The difference:

έχει is more colloquial and very frequent in speech, especially for weather or quantities:
- Έχει πολύ κόσμο. – There are many people.
- Δεν έχει ψωμί. – There’s no bread.
υπάρχει is a bit more neutral or formal:
- Δεν υπάρχει χιόνι στην πόλη.

In this sentence, δεν έχει χιόνι is very natural and idiomatic.

Why is there no article before χιόνι in δεν έχει χιόνι? When would I say το χιόνι?

Here χιόνι is used as an uncountable mass noun meaning “snow in general”:

Έχει χιόνι. – There is (some) snow.
Δεν έχει χιόνι. – There is no snow.

No article is used when you mean “some snow / any snow” in a general, non-specific sense.

You use το χιόνι when you’re referring to specific or known snow:

Το χιόνι έλιωσε. – The snow (that we know about) melted.
Μου αρέσει το χιόνι. – I like snow. (here το χιόνι = the concept of snow in general, as a kind)

So:

(Δεν) έχει χιόνι – there (isn’t) any snow (indefinite).
το χιόνι – “the snow” as a specific thing or general concept.

Why does δεν come before έχει and not after it?

In Greek, the standard position of the basic negation particle δεν is directly before the verb:

Δεν έχει χιόνι. – There is no snow.
Δεν βρέχει σήμερα. – It’s not raining today.
Δεν κάνει κρύο. – It’s not cold.

You essentially always put δεν (or μη(ν) in other contexts) right before the main verb form in simple sentences. You cannot say *έχει δεν χιόνι.

How do you pronounce βρέχει and χιόνι, especially the χ sound?

Approximate pronunciation:

βρέχει – /ˈvreçi/
- βρ like vr in “average” (the v plus rolled/flapped r).
- έ stressed like e in “bed”.
- χ before ει is the soft Greek χ, similar to German ich or the h in “hue”, but stronger, like a hissy h.
- Rough English approximation: “VRE-hee” (with a throaty h).
χιόνι – /ˈçoni/
- χι again has the soft χ sound.
- ιό merges to something like “yo”.
- Rough approximation: “HYOH-nee” (first syllable stressed, with that soft, hissy h).

The key is that χ is not like English k; it’s a fricative, more like a strong, breathy h produced further back in the mouth.

What genders are άνοιξη and φθινόπωρο, and how can I tell from the article?

From the articles:

Την άνοιξη – the base article is η (feminine), accusative την.
→ η άνοιξη is feminine.
Το φθινόπωρο – article το.
→ το φθινόπωρο is neuter.

Other seasons for reference:

το καλοκαίρι – neuter
ο χειμώνας – masculine

The article is your best clue:

ο (acc. τον) → masculine
η (acc. την) → feminine
το (acc. το) → neuter

Could I change the word order, for example Συχνά βρέχει την άνοιξη, αλλά το φθινόπωρο κρύο κάνει?

You can change the word order somewhat, but you should stay within what sounds natural in modern Greek.

These are all natural variants:

Την άνοιξη βρέχει συχνά, αλλά το φθινόπωρο κάνει κρύο.
Συχνά βρέχει την άνοιξη, αλλά το φθινόπωρο κάνει κρύο.
Την άνοιξη συχνά βρέχει, αλλά το φθινόπωρο κάνει κρύο.

However, κρύο κάνει is possible but sounds more emphatic/poetic or very colloquial with special intonation. In neutral speech, κάνει κρύο is the normal order.

So:

Feel free to move συχνά and the time expressions (την άνοιξη, το φθινόπωρο) around a bit.
Keep κάνει κρύο in that order in standard, everyday Greek.