Αν είχα αρχίσει την εξάσκηση νωρίτερα, τώρα θα μιλούσα περισσότερο ελληνικά.

If I had started the practice earlier, now I would be speaking more Greek.

Breakdown of Αν είχα αρχίσει την εξάσκηση νωρίτερα, τώρα θα μιλούσα περισσότερο ελληνικά.

• τώρα: now
• μιλάω: to speak
• ελληνικά: in Greek
• έχω: to have
• θα: will
• αν: if
• αρχίζω: to start
• περισσότερο: more
• νωρίτερα: earlier
• η εξάσκηση: the practice

Questions & Answers about Αν είχα αρχίσει την εξάσκηση νωρίτερα, τώρα θα μιλούσα περισσότερο ελληνικά.

Why does the sentence use είχα αρχίσει instead of a simpler past form like άρχισα?

Είχα αρχίσει is the past perfect (pluperfect) in Greek, literally “I had started.”

In this type of conditional sentence, Greek often uses:

• Past perfect in the “if” clause to show that the action was already underway or completed earlier than some later moment.
• Conditional in the main clause to show the imagined result.

So:

• Αν είχα αρχίσει την εξάσκηση νωρίτερα
  = If I had started the practice earlier
  (focus: the starting would have been complete before now)

Άρχισα (I started) is a simple past; you could hear:

• Αν άρχιζα/άρχιζα την εξάσκηση νωρίτερα…

but είχα αρχίσει fits especially well with an unreal past condition whose result would be felt now.

What conditional type is this in Greek? Is it like the English “If I had started…, I would now speak…”?

Functionally, yes. It’s like a mixed conditional in English:

• Unreal past condition
• Unreal present result

In English:
If I had started practicing earlier, I would speak more Greek now.

In Greek:

• Αν είχα αρχίσει την εξάσκηση νωρίτερα
  (if I had started the practice earlier – unreal past)
• τώρα θα μιλούσα περισσότερο ελληνικά
  (now I would speak more Greek – unreal present result)

Greek doesn’t usually number conditionals the way English grammar books do, but structurally it matches a 3rd conditional condition + 2nd conditional result in English terms.

Why is it θα μιλούσα and not something like θα μιλήσω or θα μιλάω?

Because θα μιλούσα expresses a hypothetical / unreal action, translated as “I would speak.”

• θα μιλούσα = would speak (conditional, hypothetical)
• θα μιλήσω = I will speak (simple future, a real future action)
• θα μιλάω = I will be speaking / I will speak (habitually) (future with continuous or repeated sense)

Here the speaker is talking about an unreal, imagined situation in the present:

• τώρα θα μιλούσα περισσότερο ελληνικά
  = right now I would be speaking more Greek (but I’m not).

The past form μιλούσα combined with θα is what creates the “would” meaning.

What is the role of τώρα here? Could we leave it out or move it?

Τώρα means “now” and emphasizes that the imagined result concerns the present moment.

• Αν είχα αρχίσει την εξάσκηση νωρίτερα, τώρα θα μιλούσα περισσότερο ελληνικά.

You can:

1. Omit it (the meaning is still clear, but “now” is less explicit):

   • Αν είχα αρχίσει την εξάσκηση νωρίτερα, θα μιλούσα περισσότερο ελληνικά.

2. Move it without changing the core meaning:

   • Τώρα, αν είχα αρχίσει την εξάσκηση νωρίτερα, θα μιλούσα περισσότερο ελληνικά.
   • Αν είχα αρχίσει την εξάσκηση νωρίτερα, θα μιλούσα περισσότερο ελληνικά τώρα.

The original position (…νώρα θα μιλούσα…) is very natural and common.

Why is μιλούσα in the imperfect (past continuous) instead of an aorist form like μίλησα?

The imperfect (μιλούσα) here is used with θα to form a conditional meaning: “I would be speaking / I would speak.”

• Θα μιλούσα is not “I was speaking”; with θα it becomes “I would speak.”
• An aorist form like μίλησα is a simple past and cannot be used for this conditional meaning with θα.

So the pattern is:

• θα
  • past (imperfect) → conditional: would + verb
    e.g. θα μιλούσα = I would speak, θα έτρωγα = I would eat.

The imperfect here doesn’t emphasize continuity in time; its main role is to form the unreal/hypothetical mood with θα.

Why is it περισσότερο ελληνικά and not περισσότερα ελληνικά?

Both exist, but they mean slightly different things.

• περισσότερο ελληνικά
  Here περισσότερο is an adverb modifying the verb μιλώ:
  → to speak Greek more (a greater amount / to a greater extent).
  It focuses on the degree or extent of speaking.

• περισσότερα ελληνικά
  Here περισσότερα is an adjective modifying ελληνικά (neuter plural):
  → more Greek (things / words / sentences).
  It suggests a larger quantity of Greek items, e.g. more texts, more words.

In this sentence, we are talking about how much I speak, so περισσότερο ελληνικά (more Greek, in the sense of speaking more) is the natural choice.

Why does εξάσκηση have the article την? In English we just say “practice” without “the.”

Greek uses the definite article much more often than English, especially with abstract nouns or activities.

• την εξάσκηση
  literally “the practice”, but in context it corresponds to English “practice” in general.

Some patterns where Greek tends to use the article but English doesn’t:

• Μου αρέσει η μουσική. → I like music.
• Η εξάσκηση είναι σημαντική. → Practice is important.

So την εξάσκηση here doesn’t mean a specific, one-time practice session; it’s simply how Greek normally phrases it: “If I had started (the) practice earlier.”

What’s the difference between εξάσκηση and άσκηση?

Both come from the same root but are used differently:

• εξάσκηση
  = practice, training, exercising a skill

  • κάνω εξάσκηση στα ελληνικά = I practice Greek
  • χρειάζομαι περισσότερη εξάσκηση = I need more practice

• άσκηση
  = exercise (a single task or drill; often used for exercises in a book, or physical exercise)

  • κάνω ασκήσεις γραμματικής = I do grammar exercises
  • σωματική άσκηση = physical exercise

In this sentence, we are talking about ongoing practice of a skill (the language), so εξάσκηση is the right word.

Could we say Αν είχα αρχίσει να εξασκούμαι νωρίτερα instead of την εξάσκηση?

Yes, that is possible and correct, but the nuance changes a bit:

• Αν είχα αρχίσει την εξάσκηση νωρίτερα…
  Uses the noun εξάσκηση: If I had started (my) practice earlier…

• Αν είχα αρχίσει να εξασκούμαι νωρίτερα…
  Uses the reflexive verb εξασκούμαι: If I had started to practice earlier…

Both are natural. The version with the noun (την εξάσκηση) is slightly more compact and very common in speech. The version with να εξασκούμαι lays a bit more emphasis on the ongoing action.

What exactly is είχα αρχίσει grammatically? How is this form built?

Είχα αρχίσει is the pluperfect (past perfect) of αρχίζω (to start).

It’s formed with:

• the past tense of έχω (I have → είχα = I had), plus
• the perfective stem αρχίσει.

So:

• έχω αρχίσει = I have started
• είχα αρχίσει = I had started

Greek uses this pluperfect to indicate an action completed before another point in the past or before now in a hypothetical past, which is exactly the role it plays in this conditional sentence.

What does Αν do here, and is it the same as εάν?

Αν is the conditional particle introducing an if-clause:

• Αν είχα αρχίσει… = If I had started…

Εάν is a slightly more formal or emphatic variant of αν. In modern speech they are usually interchangeable:

• Αν είχα αρχίσει την εξάσκηση νωρίτερα…
• Εάν είχα αρχίσει την εξάσκηση νωρίτερα…

Both function the same way: they introduce a condition, often followed (as here) by a main clause with θα expressing the result.

Why is ελληνικά not capitalized? I thought language names take capital letters.

In Greek, language names are normally written with a lowercase initial:

• ελληνικά = Greek (language)
• αγγλικά = English
• γαλλικά = French

Capital letters are used for nationalities or proper nouns:

• Έλληνας, Ελληνίδα = a Greek (man, woman)
• Ελλάδα = Greece
• Ελληνικά can be capitalized at the beginning of a sentence, of course, but not because it’s a language – just because it’s sentence-initial.

So here περισσότερο ελληνικά is correctly lowercase, referring to the Greek language.