Learn Hardcore Greek: Το γυαλί δεν το πετάω ποτέ στα σκουπίδια, το πάω κι αυτό για ανακύκλωση. - I never throw glass in the trash; I also take it for recycling.

This is called clitic doubling and is very common in spoken Greek. In English we normally wouldn’t repeat it, but in Greek it sounds very natural.

Why is there no word for “I” in the sentence?

Greek usually drops subject pronouns (like I, you, he, we) because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

πετάω = I throw (1st person singular)
πάω = I go / I take (1st person singular)

So (Εγώ) δεν το πετάω literally could have εγώ (I), but it is normally omitted:

Δεν το πετάω ποτέ… = I never throw it away…
Το πάω κι αυτό για ανακύκλωση. = I also take it for recycling.

You only say εγώ explicitly when you want to emphasize I (as opposed to someone else).

Could you also say Δεν πετάω ποτέ το γυαλί…? What is the difference in word order and emphasis?

Yes, both are grammatical:

Το γυαλί δεν το πετάω ποτέ στα σκουπίδια.
Δεν πετάω ποτέ το γυαλί στα σκουπίδια.

They both mean “I never throw glass in the trash”, but the focus is slightly different.

Το γυαλί δεν το πετάω ποτέ…
- Starts with το γυαλί: puts emphasis on glass specifically.
- Feels a bit like: “As for glass, I never throw it in the trash.”
Δεν πετάω ποτέ το γυαλί…
- More neutral, straightforward word order.
- Closer to the English “I never throw glass in the trash.”

In Greek, moving elements to the front is a common way to highlight them.

What exactly does ποτέ mean here, and why is it used with δεν?

Ποτέ means “ever” or “never”, depending on whether the sentence is negative:

With δεν (negative): δεν … ποτέ = never
- Δεν το πετάω ποτέ = I never throw it away.
Without δεν (in a positive context): ποτέ = ever
- Το έχεις κάνει ποτέ; = Have you ever done it?

So in this sentence, δεν … ποτέ together expresses “never”. You cannot say Πετάω ποτέ to mean “I never throw”; you must include δεν.

What does στα σκουπίδια literally mean? Why is it plural?

Στα σκουπίδια breaks down as:

σε = in / into / to
τα = the (neuter plural)
σκουπίδια = garbage, trash (neuter plural)

σε + τα contracts to στα. So literally:

στα σκουπίδια = into the trash / in the trash

Σκουπίδια is grammatically plural (like “rubbish/things you throw away”), but in English we usually use the uncountable word trash/garbage. So:

Πετάω κάτι στα σκουπίδια.
= I throw something in the trash.

What is the difference between πάω and πηγαίνω? Why does the sentence use πάω?

Both πάω and πηγαίνω mean “to go” (and by extension “to take [something] somewhere” when used with an object).

πάω: shorter, very common in everyday spoken Greek.
πηγαίνω: slightly more formal or neutral, often found in writing, but also used in speech.

In this sentence:

το πάω κι αυτό για ανακύκλωση
= I also take it for recycling / I also go and take it for recycling

Using πάω sounds natural and conversational. You could also say:

Το πηγαίνω κι αυτό για ανακύκλωση.

which is correct, just a bit more formal or neutral in tone.

What does κι αυτό mean, and why is it κι instead of και?

Και means “and” or “also”.

κι is just a shortened form of και, used before a vowel sound for easier pronunciation and smoother flow.

και αυτό → pronounced ke aftó
κι αυτό → pronounced ki aftó (flows better)

So:

το πάω κι αυτό για ανακύκλωση
Literally: I take it also for recycling.
Natural English: I also take that (glass) for recycling. / I take glass for recycling as well.

Here αυτό = this/that (thing) and refers back to το γυαλί (“the glass”).

What is the function of το in το πάω κι αυτό για ανακύκλωση?

In το πάω κι αυτό για ανακύκλωση, the το is again a direct object pronoun:

το πάω = I take it

It refers back to το γυαλί from the first half of the sentence. Literally:

Το γυαλί δεν το πετάω ποτέ στα σκουπίδια, το πάω κι αυτό για ανακύκλωση.
= Glass, I never throw it in the trash; I take it for recycling as well.

So in the second clause, το replaces the noun γυαλί; we don’t repeat the noun.

Why do we say για ανακύκλωση? What does για mean here?

Για is a preposition that often means “for”.

για ανακύκλωση = for recycling

So το πάω για ανακύκλωση literally is “I take it for recycling”, i.e. I take it to a place in order that it be recycled.

You could also hear:

Το πάω στην ανακύκλωση.
(literally: I take it to the recycling)

Both are used; για ανακύκλωση focuses more on the purpose (“for the purpose of recycling”), while στην ανακύκλωση suggests a specific recycling system/bin/point (“to the recycling”).

Why is γυαλί singular with το? In English we just say “glass”, not “the glass”.

In Greek, a singular neuter noun with a definite article is often used to talk about a material in general:

το γυαλί = glass (as a material)
το χαρτί = paper
το πλαστικό = plastic

So:

Το γυαλί δεν το πετάω ποτέ στα σκουπίδια
= I never throw glass in the trash.

Even though there is το (“the”), it doesn’t mean a specific piece of glass; it means glass in general. This is a common pattern in Greek for talking about categories or materials.

Why is the object pronoun το placed before the verb (e.g. δεν το πετάω, το πάω)?

Greek object pronouns like το, τον, την usually appear before the verb in normal statements:

Το πετάω. = I throw it.
Δεν το πετάω. = I don’t throw it.

This is called proclitic position (before the verb). In some cases (especially with imperatives and some infinitive-like forms) it can appear after the verb:

Πέταξέ το! = Throw it away!
Θέλω να το πετάξω. (still before the main verb form πετάξω)

In our sentence, both δεν το πετάω and το πάω follow the normal rule: pronoun before the finite verb in a regular statement.

Does πετάω mean “throw” or “throw away”? Is there any nuance in tense/aspect here?

Πετάω (informal spelling; more formal: πετώ) means to throw, and very often specifically to throw away / to discard, especially when used with trash:

Πετάω το μπουκάλι στα σκουπίδια.
= I throw the bottle in the trash.

Here it’s in the present tense, and together with ποτέ it expresses a habitual action (or rather, a habitual non-action):

Δεν το πετάω ποτέ.
= I never throw it away. (as a rule, in general)

The past form would be πέταξα (I threw / I threw away), and the future form θα πετάξω (I will throw away). Here, though, it’s simply present expressing a general habit or principle.