Learn Hardcore Greek: Αν είχα αγοράσει εισιτήριο, θα είχα πάει χτες στη συναυλία. - If I had bought a ticket, I would have gone to the concert yesterday.

The verb is αγοράζω = to buy.
The aorist stem is αγόρασα.
The pluperfect is formed with:
- the past of έχω (είχα = I had)
- plus the perfective stem in the past participle-like form: αγοράσει

So:

έχω αγοράσει = I have bought (present perfect)
είχα αγοράσει = I had bought (pluperfect / past perfect)

In this sentence, αν είχα αγοράσει εισιτήριο = if I had bought a ticket.

Why do we use είχα αγοράσει and not just αγόρασα?

Using είχα αγοράσει focuses on the action as completed before another point in the past. It matches the English structure:

If I had bought a ticket, I would have gone…

If you said:

Αν αγόρασα εισιτήριο…

it would be ungrammatical in this conditional context. The normal unreal past conditional in Greek uses:

αν
- pluperfect (είχα αγοράσει)
θα
- pluperfect (θα είχα πάει)

So είχα αγοράσει is chosen because we are talking about a hypothetical, unreal action in the past, not simply “I bought”.

What exactly does the combination αν είχα αγοράσει …, θα είχα πάει … express in Greek?

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

Pattern:

αν
- pluperfect: αν είχα αγοράσει εισιτήριο
  if I had bought a ticket (but I didn’t)
θα
- pluperfect: θα είχα πάει χτες στη συναυλία
  I would have gone yesterday to the concert (but I didn’t)

It clearly states that:

The buying of the ticket did not happen.
As a result, the going to the concert also did not happen.

What is the tense of θα είχα πάει, and why is θα used here?

Θα είχα πάει is a conditional perfect form, structurally the same as the future perfect, but used here for a past unreal condition.

έχω πάει = I have gone
είχα πάει = I had gone
θα είχα πάει = I would have gone / I would have been

Formed by:

θα
- είχα (past of “have”) + πάει (perfective form of “to go”)

In modern Greek, θα + past forms is often used to express hypothetical or unreal actions. So here:

θα είχα πάει = I would have gone (but in reality, I didn’t).

Could the sentence be “Αν αγόραζα εισιτήριο, θα πήγαινα χτες στη συναυλία.”? What’s the difference?

Yes, that sentence is also grammatically correct, but the nuance is a bit different.

Αν αγόραζα εισιτήριο, θα πήγαινα χτες στη συναυλία.
Uses imperfect
- θα + imperfect; it feels a bit more general/habitual or “open” as a condition, and is less sharply focused on the completed result.
Αν είχα αγοράσει εισιτήριο, θα είχα πάει χτες στη συναυλία.
Uses pluperfect
- θα + pluperfect; it strongly marks a completed, counterfactual past situation: it’s clearly “too late now, it didn’t happen.”

In everyday speech, many speakers might use the imperfect version, but the pluperfect version in your sentence is the clearest and most “textbook” form for a strict unreal past condition.

Can the word χτες be placed somewhere else in the sentence?

Yes. Common options include:

Αν είχα αγοράσει εισιτήριο, θα είχα πάει χτες στη συναυλία.
Αν είχα αγοράσει εισιτήριο, χτες θα είχα πάει στη συναυλία.
Χτες θα είχα πάει στη συναυλία, αν είχα αγοράσει εισιτήριο.

The meaning stays essentially the same (yesterday is the time of the concert / the going). Moving χτες mostly affects emphasis and rhythm, not truth-conditions.

The version you have is very natural and neutral.

What does στη συναυλία literally consist of, and why is it στη and not στο?

Στη συναυλία is:

σε (in/at/to) + τη (the, feminine singular) → στη
συναυλία (concert, feminine noun)

They contract to στη συναυλία.

We use τη because συναυλία is feminine:

η συναυλία (the concert)
της συναυλίας (of the concert)
τη συναυλία (the concert – object / after a preposition)

If it were a masculine or neuter noun, you’d see:

στο συναυλιακό χώρο (at the concert venue, neuter)
(σε + το = στο)

How would I negate this sentence in Greek?

You can negate the buying or the going, depending on what you want:

Negate the buying (still unreal past condition, like English “If I had not bought a ticket…”):
- Αν δεν είχα αγοράσει εισιτήριο, δεν θα είχα πάει χτες στη συναυλία.
  If I hadn’t bought a ticket, I wouldn’t have gone…
Negate just the going (less common meaning here, but grammatically fine):
- Αν είχα αγοράσει εισιτήριο, δεν θα είχα πάει χτες στη συναυλία.
  If I had bought a ticket, I wouldn’t have gone…

Note the position of δεν: it goes immediately before the verb it negates (είχα αγοράσει, θα είχα πάει).

Is εισιτήριο countable, and how would I say “tickets” instead of “ticket”?

Yes, εισιτήριο is a regular countable noun.

το εισιτήριο = the ticket
ένα εισιτήριο = a ticket

Plural:

τα εισιτήρια = the tickets
εισιτήρια = tickets

So:

Αν είχα αγοράσει εισιτήρια, θα είχα πάει χτες στη συναυλία.
If I had bought tickets, I would have gone yesterday to the concert.

Is αν always used for “if” in these kinds of conditional sentences?

Yes, αν is the standard conjunction for “if” in modern Greek conditional clauses.

In unreal past conditions like this, the typical pattern is:

αν
- past form (often pluperfect or imperfect)
θα
- past form in the main clause

Here:

αν είχα αγοράσει εισιτήριο → if I had bought a ticket
θα είχα πάει χτες στη συναυλία → I would have gone yesterday to the concert

You cannot omit αν here; it is required to signal the conditional clause.

How is είχα in είχα αγοράσει / θα είχα πάει pronounced and stressed?

Είχα is pronounced approximately as:

[ˈixa] — stress on the first syllable.

So:

είχα αγοράσει → [ˈixa aɣoˈrasi]
θα είχα πάει → [θa ˈixa ˈpai]

The stress never moves off the first syllable in είχα, and it does not contract further in normal speech.