Αν δεν είχα κάνει τόσα λάθη, θα είχα τελειώσει την εξέταση νωρίτερα.

If I hadn’t made so many mistakes, I would have finished the exam earlier.

Breakdown of Αν δεν είχα κάνει τόσα λάθη, θα είχα τελειώσει την εξέταση νωρίτερα.

• έχω: to have
• δεν: not
• θα: will
• αν: if
• τελειώνω: to finish
• κάνω: to make
• το λάθος: the mistake
• τόσος: so many
• η εξέταση: the exam
• νωρίτερα: earlier

Questions & Answers about Αν δεν είχα κάνει τόσα λάθη, θα είχα τελειώσει την εξέταση νωρίτερα.

What does είχα κάνει literally mean, and what tense is it?

Είχα κάνει is the pluperfect (past perfect) of κάνω (to do / to make).

• It is formed as:
  • είχα = imperfect (past) of έχω (I had)
  • κάνει = perfective non‑finite form of κάνω

So είχα κάνει literally means “I had done / I had made” — a completed action that happened before another point in the past (here, before finishing the exam).

It’s different from:

• έκανα = aorist (simple past): I did / I made (at some point in the past)
• έκανα does not by itself show the “before another past moment” relationship that είχα κάνει shows.

What does θα είχα τελειώσει literally mean, and what is the role of θα?

Θα είχα τελειώσει is built from:

• θα = particle used for future or conditional meaning
• είχα τελειώσει = pluperfect of τελειώνω (to finish)

Literally, θα είχα τελειώσει is “I would have finished” (or “I would have had finished”), expressing an unreal past result — something that didn’t happen.

The verb form:

• τελειώσει comes from τελειώνω.
• είχα τελειώσει alone means “I had finished”.
• Adding θα in front (→ θα είχα τελειώσει) makes it conditional: “I would have finished.”

Why does the sentence use είχα κάνει in the if-clause and θα είχα τελειώσει in the main clause?

This is the standard Greek pattern for a past unreal (counterfactual) condition, equivalent to English “If I had…, I would have…”.

Structure:

• Αν + pluperfect
  → Αν δεν είχα κάνει τόσα λάθη
  → If I had not made so many mistakes

• Θα + pluperfect
  → θα είχα τελειώσει την εξέταση νωρίτερα
  → I would have finished the exam earlier

So the sentence describes:

• A condition in the past that did not happen (I did make mistakes)
• A result in the past that did not happen (I didn’t finish earlier)

Notice that να does not appear in such past unreal if-clauses. You use αν + past forms, not αν να….

Could I replace είχα κάνει with έκανα? For example: Αν δεν έκανα τόσα λάθη, θα είχα τελειώσει την εξέταση νωρίτερα. Is that OK, and is there any difference?

Yes, Αν δεν έκανα τόσα λάθη, θα είχα τελειώσει την εξέταση νωρίτερα is perfectly natural, and Greeks say it a lot.

Meaning-wise, in this context it still means:

• If I hadn’t made so many mistakes, I would have finished the exam earlier.

Nuance:

• είχα κάνει (pluperfect) slightly emphasizes that the mistakes were already completed before some later past point.
• έκανα (aorist) just presents them as a simple past fact.

In everyday speech, people very often prefer the simpler αν δεν έκανα… instead of αν δεν είχα κάνει…, without a big difference in meaning here. Your original sentence with είχα κάνει is a bit more “textbook-clear” about the sequence of past events, but both are correct and idiomatic.

Why is the negation δεν placed before είχα and not before κάνει or τελειώσει?

In Greek, the basic rule is:

The negative particle (δεν) goes immediately before the finite (conjugated) verb.

In the forms:

• είχα κάνει
  
  • είχα is the finite (conjugated) verb
  • κάνει is the non‑finite part
• είχα τελειώσει
  
  • είχα is again the finite verb
  • τελειώσει is non‑finite

So we say:

• δεν είχα κάνει (not: ~είχα δεν κάνει~)
• δεν είχα τελειώσει (not: ~είχα δεν τελειώσει~)

In the full sentence, only the first part is negated:

• Αν δεν είχα κάνει τόσα λάθη…
  The result clause θα είχα τελειώσει… is not negated; it’s just unreal.

What exactly does τόσα mean here, and how is it different from πολλά?

Both relate to quantity, but they’re not the same:

• πολλά λάθη = many mistakes (just a large number)
• τόσα λάθη = so many mistakes / that many mistakes

Τόσα usually implies:

• a kind of emotional reaction (surprise, regret, criticism)
• often: “more than expected”

So τόσα λάθη in this sentence carries a sense of “such a ridiculous amount of mistakes” or “that many mistakes (too many)”, which fits the feeling of regret in a counterfactual sentence.

Why is it τόσα λάθη and not τόσο λάθη?

Because τόσα has to agree in gender and number with λάθη.

• λάθη = plural, neuter (from το λάθος, the mistake)

• The demonstrative τόσος / τόση / τόσο (so much, so many) declines:

  • masculine: τόσος (sg.), τόσοι (pl.)
  • feminine: τόση (sg.), τόσες (pl.)
  • neuter: τόσο (sg.), τόσα (pl.)

So we need τόσα (neuter plural) to match λάθη (neuter plural):

• ✅ τόσα λάθη
• ❌ τόσο λάθη (wrong agreement)

Is λάθη always plural and neuter? How does it work?

Yes:

• Singular: το λάθος = the mistake (neuter singular)
• Plural: τα λάθη = the mistakes (neuter plural)

In your sentence, λάθη is in the plural (accusative) but the form is the same as the nominative plural for neuter nouns. So:

• τόσα λάθη = so many mistakes
• Articles and modifiers must be neuter plural to match:
  
  • τα λάθη, πολλά λάθη, τόσα λάθη, μεγάλα λάθη, etc.

Why do we say την εξέταση with a definite article? Could we just say τελειώσει εξέταση?

In this context, you need the article:

• ✅ τελειώσει την εξέταση = finish the exam (a specific, known exam)
• ❌ τελειώσει εξέταση – this is ungrammatical in standard Greek

Reasons:

1. Greek uses the definite article much more frequently than English.
   Whenever we talk about a specific, known item (this particular exam), Greek almost always uses τον/την/το.

2. Here it’s clearly one specific exam (the one you were taking), so the article την is required.

Εξέταση is feminine, so:

• η εξέταση (nom. sg.)
• την εξέταση (acc. sg.) – that’s the form after τελειώσω / τελειώσω την… etc.

Can the word order around την εξέταση change, for example: θα την είχα τελειώσει νωρίτερα? Is that correct?

Yes, that is correct and very natural.

Two common variants:

1. θα είχα τελειώσει την εξέταση νωρίτερα
2. θα την είχα τελειώσει νωρίτερα (with a pronoun)

In (2), την is a clitic object pronoun referring to την εξέταση already known from context. Greek likes to place such pronouns:

• Before the auxiliary: θα την είχα τελειώσει
• Not: ~θα είχα την τελειώσει~

So all of these are possible, depending on context and repetition:

• First mention: θα είχα τελειώσει την εξέταση νωρίτερα
• Later reference: θα την είχα τελειώσει νωρίτερα (I would have finished it earlier)

What’s the difference between νωρίτερα and πιο νωρίς here?

Both mean “earlier”, and in this sentence they’re essentially interchangeable:

• νωρίτερα = earlier (comparative adverb from νωρίς, early)
• πιο νωρίς = literally more early → also earlier

So you could say:

• …θα είχα τελειώσει την εξέταση νωρίτερα.
• …θα είχα τελειώσει την εξέταση πιο νωρίς.

Small nuance:

• νωρίτερα is a bit more compact and often sounds slightly more natural in neutral speech.
• πιο νωρίς can feel a bit more emphatic, like “even earlier”, depending on context, but the difference is minor.

What’s the difference between αν, εάν, and άμα? Could I replace Αν here with one of the others?

All three can introduce conditional clauses, but they differ in register and tone.

1. αν

   • Most common, neutral, used everywhere.
   • Perfectly standard here: Αν δεν είχα κάνει τόσα λάθη…

2. εάν

   • More formal / written / careful style.
   • In everyday speech often pronounced αν anyway.
   • You could write: Εάν δεν είχα κάνει τόσα λάθη, θα είχα τελειώσει…
     – slightly more formal, but same meaning.

3. άμα

   • Colloquial, more informal, often closer to “when/if” in everyday talk.
   • In this specific unreal past sentence (If I hadn’t… I would have…), άμα would sound odd or out of place.
   • It’s better with real or more neutral conditions (e.g. Άμα διαβάσεις, θα περάσεις. – If/when you study, you’ll pass.)

So for your sentence expressing a counterfactual past, you should stick with αν (or εάν in more formal writing).