Learn Hardcore Greek: Κι εγώ δανείζομαι από αυτήν περιοδικά, γιατί απλώς δεν θέλω να αγοράζω τόσα πολλά. - And I borrow magazines from her, because I simply don’t want to buy so many.

«και» = and, also
When «και» comes before a word that starts with a vowel (like εγώ), it often becomes «κι» in speech and writing for ease of pronunciation:
- και εγώ → κι εγώ
- και αυτός → κι αυτός
- και έτσι → κι έτσι

The meaning doesn’t change; «κι» is just a phonetic/orthographic variant of «και» used before vowels (and sometimes before certain consonants) to make it flow more smoothly.

What exactly does «δανείζομαι» mean, and how is it different from «δανείζω»?

«δανείζομαι» is a middle/passive verb and here it means “I borrow”.

δανείζω = I lend (something to someone)
δανείζομαι = I borrow (something from someone)

So in this sentence:

«δανείζομαι από αυτήν περιοδικά» = I borrow magazines from her.

Greek typically uses different verbs for “borrow” and “lend”, unlike English where context shifts the meaning of “lend/borrow” for each participant.

Why is it «από αυτήν» and not something like «αυτής»? And what’s with the final -ν in «αυτήν»?

«από» is a preposition that means “from” and it takes the accusative case.

αυτήν is the accusative form of αυτή (she / this woman), so:
- από αυτήν = from her

You might also see the weak/clitic pronoun:

της δανείζομαι περιοδικά = I borrow magazines from her (from-her I-borrow magazines).

About the final -ν:

The feminine accusative pronoun can appear as αυτή or αυτήν.
The ν is usually kept before vowels (like από αυτήν), to avoid awkward pronunciation.
So «από αυτήν» is the standard careful form; «από αυτή» is also heard in speech, but «από αυτήν» is preferred in writing here.

What does «περιοδικά» mean here? Is it “magazines” or “periodically”?

«περιοδικά» can mean two different things:

Noun (plural of «περιοδικό»):
- τα περιοδικά = magazines
- Then the sentence means:
  “I also borrow magazines from her…”
Adverb:
- περιοδικά = periodically / from time to time
- Then: «δανείζομαι από αυτήν περιοδικά» = I borrow from her from time to time.

In real usage, context (and sometimes punctuation) shows which one is intended.
If the given meaning to the learner is “magazines”, then here «περιοδικά» is a noun: “I borrow magazines from her”.

Why is the order «από αυτήν περιοδικά» and not «περιοδικά από αυτήν»?

Greek word order is fairly flexible, but there are tendencies:

από αυτήν περιοδικά emphasizes the source (from her) a bit more before naming the thing.
περιοδικά από αυτήν would put a light focus on what is borrowed (magazines) before saying from whom.

Both are grammatically correct. The chosen order here keeps “from her” close to the verb δανείζομαι, which feels natural:

δανείζομαι από αυτήν … = I borrow from her…

What does «γιατί» do here? Isn’t it also the word for “why”?

Yes, «γιατί» has two functions in Greek:

Question word = why?
- Γιατί δεν θέλεις να αγοράζεις τόσα πολλά;
  Why don’t you want to buy so many?
Conjunction = because / since
- …γιατί απλώς δεν θέλω να αγοράζω τόσα πολλά.
  …because I just don’t want to buy so many.

In your sentence, «γιατί» is a conjunction, introducing the reason for borrowing instead of buying.

What is the nuance of «απλώς» here, and how is it different from «απλά»»?

«απλώς» here means “simply / just”, softening the statement:

«γιατί απλώς δεν θέλω…» = because I just don’t want… / because I simply don’t want…

About «απλώς» vs «απλά»:

απλώς is the traditional adverb form of απλός (simple).
απλά is very common in modern spoken Greek as an adverb too, though some purists prefer απλώς in writing.

In everyday speech, you’ll often hear:

Απλά δεν θέλω. ≈ Απλώς δεν θέλω.

In this sentence, «απλώς» sounds slightly more careful/standard, but meaning-wise they’re practically the same here.

Why is it «να αγοράζω» and not «να αγοράσω»? What’s the difference?

Greek verbs have aspect differences in the subjunctive:

να αγοράζω – imperfective aspect (ongoing / repeated / general)
- Often: to be buying / to (habitually) buy
να αγοράσω – perfective aspect (single, complete event)
- Often: to buy (once / in one go)

In the sentence:

«δεν θέλω να αγοράζω τόσα πολλά»
suggests a general or repeated action:
I don’t want to (keep) buying so many (in general / over time).

If you said:

«δεν θέλω να αγοράσω τόσα πολλά»,
it would sound more like one specific purchase:
I don’t want to buy so many (this time / in this instance).

What does «τόσα πολλά» mean exactly, and why is it in that form?

«τόσα πολλά» means “so many / that many” (with a sense of “a lot (too many)”).

τόσα is the neuter plural of τόσος (so much / so many).
πολλά is the neuter plural of πολύς (much / many).

They are neuter plural because they agree with an implied neuter plural noun, here «περιοδικά» (magazines).

You could also say it explicitly:

…δεν θέλω να αγοράζω τόσα πολλά περιοδικά.
…I don’t want to buy so many magazines.

In the original, «περιοδικά» is understood from earlier in the sentence, so it’s omitted.

Why is «εγώ» included? Could we just say «Κι δανείζομαι…» or «Δανείζομαι…»?

You have to include the pronoun after κι here, and Greek doesn’t allow «Κι δανείζομαι…» on its own.

Subject pronouns like εγώ are often dropped in Greek because the verb ending shows the person:
- Δανείζομαι από αυτήν περιοδικά… = I borrow from her magazines…

However, when you want to stress contrast or addition, you include εγώ:

Κι εγώ δανείζομαι… = I also borrow… / Me too, I borrow…

So:

«Δανείζομαι από αυτήν περιοδικά…» – neutral, just stating a fact.
«Κι εγώ δανείζομαι από αυτήν περιοδικά…» – adds you to someone else: I do that too.

Could this sentence be expressed with clitic pronouns instead of «από αυτήν»? How would that look?

Yes, you can use a weak/clitic pronoun for “from her”:

Της δανείζομαι περιοδικά, γιατί απλώς δεν θέλω να αγοράζω τόσα πολλά.

Here:

της = from her (indirect object clitic)
δανείζομαι already contains the subject “I” in its ending.

Both versions are natural:

Δανείζομαι από αυτήν περιοδικά… – slightly more explicit and emphatic on “her”.
Της δανείζομαι περιοδικά… – more compact, very common in spoken Greek.