Μόλις τελειώνω τη δουλειά, χαλαρώνω στο σαλόνι.

the work

Breakdown of Μόλις τελειώνω τη δουλειά, χαλαρώνω στο σαλόνι.

• σε: in
• τελειώνω: to finish
• το σαλόνι: the living room

Questions & Answers about Μόλις τελειώνω τη δουλειά, χαλαρώνω στο σαλόνι.

What does μόλις mean here? Is it “just” or “as soon as”?

In this sentence, μόλις means “as soon as / when”, not “just” in the sense of “only”.

• Μόλις τελειώνω τη δουλειά ≈ “As soon as I finish work / When I finish work”.
• The “just” that means “only” is also μόνο, not μόλις.

So here μόλις introduces a time clause: it tells you when the relaxing happens.

Why is τελειώνω (present) used and not τελείωσα or θα τελειώσω?

Τελειώνω is present tense, imperfective aspect, and here it expresses a habitual action:

• Μόλις τελειώνω τη δουλειά, χαλαρώνω στο σαλόνι.
  = “Whenever / Every time I finish work, I relax in the living room.”

Using a past tense like τελείωσα (“I finished”) or a future form like θα τελειώσω (“I will finish”) would change the meaning:

• Μόλις τελείωσα τη δουλειά, χαλάρωσα στο σαλόνι.
  “As soon as I finished work, I relaxed in the living room.” (one specific past occasion)
• Μόλις θα τελειώσω τη δουλειά (not natural; Greeks don’t usually put θα after μόλις this way).

So the present here matches the idea of a general routine.

Could I say μόλις τελειώσω τη δουλειά instead of μόλις τελειώνω τη δουλειά?