Όποιος μένει μακριά από το πανεπιστήμιο, παίρνει το τρένο κάθε πρωί.

Whoever lives far from the university takes the train every morning.

Breakdown of Όποιος μένει μακριά από το πανεπιστήμιο, παίρνει το τρένο κάθε πρωί.

• μένω: to live
• από: from
• παίρνω: to take
• μακριά: far
• το πανεπιστήμιο: the university
• κάθε πρωί: every morning
• το τρένο: the train
• όποιος: whoever

Questions & Answers about Όποιος μένει μακριά από το πανεπιστήμιο, παίρνει το τρένο κάθε πρωί.

What exactly does Όποιος mean here? Is it more like whoever, anyone who, or just who?

Όποιος is an indefinite relative pronoun.

In this sentence it means:

• whoever
• or anyone who

So Όποιος μένει μακριά από το πανεπιστήμιο ≈ Whoever lives far from the university / Anyone who lives far from the university.

It does not just mean a simple who (like in the man who…). It introduces a general rule that applies to any person meeting that condition.

Why is it Όποιος (masculine) and not something neutral like in English whoever?

In Greek, these pronouns agree in gender and number with the (often implied) noun.

Here the implied word is ο άνθρωπος (the person, masculine), so we use masculine:

• όποιος – masculine singular (here: any person who)
• όποια – feminine singular
• όποιο – neuter singular
• όσοι – masculine plural (all those who)
• όσες – feminine plural
• όσα – neuter plural

In everyday speech, όποιος is often used in a generic, neutral way (like English whoever), even if the actual person might be female. Context supplies the real-world gender.

If I’m talking specifically about women, would I change Όποιος?

Yes. If you clearly mean only women, you normally match the gender:

• Όποια μένει μακριά από το πανεπιστήμιο, παίρνει το τρένο κάθε πρωί.
  Whoever (female) lives far from the university takes the train every morning.

For a mixed or unspecified group, όποιος is standard in practice, much like he used to be in older English for a generic person.

What is the difference between μένει and ζει? Both are often translated as lives.

Both can be translated as lives, but their nuances differ:

• μένω

  • primary meaning: to stay, to reside, to live (somewhere)
  • focuses on residence / where you are staying or based
  • Μένω μακριά από το πανεπιστήμιο. = I live / reside far from the university.

• ζω

  • primary meaning: to live, to be alive, to experience life
  • often used more about being alive, lifestyle, life in general
  • Ζω στην Αθήνα. can mean I live in Athens, but μένω στην Αθήνα is more specific to residence.

In your sentence, μένει is more natural because we are talking about where someone resides, which affects their commute.

Why do we say μακριά από το πανεπιστήμιο and not just μακριά το πανεπιστήμιο?

The pattern is:

• μακριά από + accusative = far from …

So you must use από:

• μακριά από το πανεπιστήμιο – far from the university
• μακριά από το σπίτι – far from the house
• μακριά από την πόλη – far from the city

Από always takes the accusative case, so το πανεπιστήμιο is in the accusative (same form as the nominative for neuter nouns ending in -ο).

You can use μακριά alone (without από) when you don’t mention what it’s far from:

• Μένω μακριά. – I live far away.

Why is it το πανεπιστήμιο and not just πανεπιστήμιο without the article?

Greek uses the definite article much more often than English, including with general, specific, or context-known nouns.

Here, το πανεπιστήμιο can mean:

• the university (a particular one both speaker and listener know), or
• the university in a more general “my / our local university” sense.

Natural translations:

• Whoever lives far from the university takes the train every morning.
• In context: Whoever lives far from campus…

Leaving out the article (από πανεπιστήμιο) would sound either wrong or very unnatural in this sentence.

Why is it παίρνει το τρένο for takes the train? Can I say χρησιμοποιεί το τρένο?

Παίρνω is the normal, idiomatic verb for taking transportation:

• παίρνω το τρένο – take the train
• παίρνω το λεωφορείο – take the bus
• παίρνω το αεροπλάνο – take the plane

You can say χρησιμοποιεί το τρένο (uses the train), but it sounds less natural as a description of daily commuting. Παίρνει το τρένο is the standard everyday phrase.

Why is the present tense (μένει, παίρνει) used, when in English we might think of whoever lives… takes… as a general rule?

Greek uses the simple present for:

• general truths
• habits / repeated actions
• rules and regular patterns

So:

• Όποιος μένει μακριά από το πανεπιστήμιο, παίρνει το τρένο κάθε πρωί.
  = General rule: anyone with that condition habitually takes the train.

This matches English pretty closely: Whoever lives far from the university takes the train every morning. Both use present simple to express a regular, habitual situation.

Could I move κάθε πρωί earlier in the sentence, and does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can move it. All of these are grammatical and mean the same thing (differences are only in emphasis / rhythm):

• Όποιος μένει μακριά από το πανεπιστήμιο, παίρνει το τρένο κάθε πρωί.
• Όποιος μένει μακριά από το πανεπιστήμιο, κάθε πρωί παίρνει το τρένο.
• Κάθε πρωί, όποιος μένει μακριά από το πανεπιστήμιο, παίρνει το τρένο.

The most neutral and typical is the original one, with κάθε πρωί at the end.

What does κάθε do exactly, and why is there no article in κάθε πρωί?

Κάθε means every / each and is placed before a singular noun:

• κάθε μέρα – every day
• κάθε πρωί – every morning
• κάθε βράδυ – every evening

When you use κάθε + noun, you do not add an article:

• κάθε πρωί (not το κάθε πρωί in this meaning)
• κάθε εβδομάδα (not η κάθε εβδομάδα, unless you mean something special like each individual week with emphasis)

Is the comma after πανεπιστήμιο mandatory? How does punctuation work with Όποιος… clauses?

In this kind of sentence, the comma is standard and recommended:

• Όποιος μένει μακριά από το πανεπιστήμιο, παίρνει το τρένο κάθε πρωί.

Structure:

• Όποιος… clause = condition / general description
• main clause = result / what happens

Greek usually separates such introductory clauses with a comma, similar to English:

• Whoever lives far from the university, takes the train every morning.

(Though in very strict English punctuation some might omit that comma, in Greek it is more regularly kept.)