Breakdown of Λέει ότι στις επόμενες διακοπές θα αλλάξει συνήθειες, για να έχει καλύτερο μέλλον.
Questions & Answers about Λέει ότι στις επόμενες διακοπές θα αλλάξει συνήθειες, για να έχει καλύτερο μέλλον.
Λέει is present tense (he/she says or he/she is saying).
Είπε is past tense (he/she said).
- Λέει ότι… focuses on what he is saying now, or on something he regularly says.
- Είπε ότι… would be used if you are clearly talking about something he said at a specific time in the past.
So yes, Είπε ότι στις επόμενες διακοπές… is grammatically correct, but it changes the time frame from present to past: He said that… instead of He says that….
Ότι is a conjunction meaning that (introducing reported speech or a clause).
- Λέει ότι… = He says that…
You can sometimes drop ότι in casual speech:
Λέει στις επόμενες διακοπές θα αλλάξει συνήθειες…
but it is more natural and clearer with ότι, especially for learners.
Note: ότι here is not the same as τι (what) and not the same as ό,τι (whatever).
Στις is a contraction of:
- σε (in / at / on) + τις (feminine accusative plural article the).
So:
- σε τις επόμενες διακοπές → στις επόμενες διακοπές
We use:
- σε because of the meaning on / during / in the next holidays.
- τις because διακοπές is feminine plural (η διακοπή – οι διακοπές, but in this meaning we use almost only the plural).
So στις επόμενες διακοπές literally is in/on the next holidays.
In Greek, διακοπές (vacation/holidays) is almost always used in the plural when we mean time off from work/school:
- Πάω διακοπές. = I’m going on vacation / on holiday.
- Οι διακοπές τελείωσαν. = The holidays are over.
The singular διακοπή usually means interruption or cut (e.g. διακοπή ρεύματος = power cut), not vacation.
So στις επόμενες διακοπές is the normal way to say in the next holidays / next vacation period.
Greek is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns are usually omitted because the verb ending shows who the subject is.
- λέει is 3rd person singular (he / she / it says).
- In context, it’s clear we’re talking about a person (he or she).
You could say Αυτός λέει ότι… for emphasis (for example, he says that…, as opposed to someone else), but the neutral, normal form is just Λέει ότι….
Θα αλλάξει is:
- Future tense with θα
- perfective (aorist) stem of αλλάζω.
- 3rd person singular: he/she will change (seen as a complete action).
Θα αλλάζει uses the imperfective stem:
- It would mean he/she will be changing / will change repeatedly / habitually.
- It often suggests a repeated or ongoing action in the future.
Here we’re talking about a single, decisive change in habits at that future point, so θα αλλάξει συνήθειες (he will change habits) is the natural choice. Θα αλλάζει συνήθειες would sound like he’ll keep changing habits (again and again).
Συνήθειες is feminine plural: οι συνήθειες (the habits).
In this sentence, αλλάξει συνήθειες talks about habits in general, not a specific, known set of habits. In Greek, when we speak generally or indefinitively, we often omit the article:
- Αλλάζει συνήθειες. = He changes (his) habits / He changes his way of living.
If you used τις συνήθειες, it would sound like specific, previously mentioned habits:
- Θα αλλάξει τις συνήθειες που έχει στη δουλειά.
He will change the habits he has at work.
So here, the article-less συνήθειες matches the general idea.
Για να introduces a purpose clause: in order to / so that.
- …θα αλλάξει συνήθειες, για να έχει καλύτερο μέλλον.
= …he will change habits in order to have a better future.
Parts:
- για by itself often means for (purpose, reason, recipient), but it does not by itself introduce a verb clause.
- να introduces a clause with the subjunctive form of the verb (e.g. να έχει, να πάει).
When you put them together, για να + subjunctive strongly expresses purpose:
- Μένω σπίτι για να διαβάσω. = I stay at home in order to study.
Using να alone (…να έχει καλύτερο μέλλον) could be grammatical but weaker or more ambiguous; για να clearly marks purpose and is what you want here.
After να (or για να), Greek uses the subjunctive, not θα + verb.
- έχει here is the subjunctive form of έχω.
In modern Greek, the present subjunctive of most verbs looks the same as the present indicative; να is what tells you it’s subjunctive.
We never say να θα έχει.
The pattern is:
- θα έχει = he will have (future, main clause).
- να έχει = (that) he have / to have (subjunctive, usually after να, για να, πριν να, ώστε να, etc.).
So in a purpose clause with για να, the correct form is για να έχει, not για να θα έχει.
Καλύτερο μέλλον (better future) is used here in a general, abstract way—no specific future is being singled out, just the idea of his future being better.
In Greek, when talking about abstract concepts in a general sense, the article is often omitted:
- Θέλει καλύτερο μέλλον. = He wants a better future (for himself, in general).
You could say:
- ένα καλύτερο μέλλον = a better future (a bit more like one possible future scenario).
- το καλύτερο μέλλον = the best/better future (more definite, specific, or contrastive: the improved future we have in mind).
All are grammatically correct, but:
- καλύτερο μέλλον (no article) feels most neutral and abstract.
- ένα καλύτερο μέλλον adds a slight nuance of a particular better future.
- το καλύτερο μέλλον sounds very specific or emphatic (for example, in slogans or very formal language).
Yes, Greek word order is quite flexible, and several variations are possible, with slight changes in emphasis.
Original:
- Λέει ότι στις επόμενες διακοπές θα αλλάξει συνήθειες…
Neutral focus on what he says.
Alternative:
- Στις επόμενες διακοπές λέει ότι θα αλλάξει συνήθειες…
Puts more emphasis on the time frame (as for the next holidays, he says he’ll change habits).
Another natural variant:
- Λέει ότι θα αλλάξει συνήθειες στις επόμενες διακοπές…
All are grammatical; the differences are about emphasis and rhythm, not correctness.
In modern Greek punctuation, putting a comma before a purpose clause introduced by για να is very common and stylistically good, because:
- It separates the main statement (θα αλλάξει συνήθειες)
- from the purpose/explanation (για να έχει καλύτερο μέλλον).
You can sometimes see it without a comma in shorter, simpler sentences, but here the comma is natural and recommended:
- …θα αλλάξει συνήθειες, για να έχει καλύτερο μέλλον.
So it’s not a strict grammatical necessity, but it is the standard and clearer way to punctuate this sentence.