Learn Hardcore Greek: Όταν πετάμε πλαστικό στα σκουπίδια, το περιβάλλον δεν είναι τόσο καθαρό όσο θέλουμε. - When we throw plastic in the trash, the environment is not as clean as we want.

You could say Εμείς όταν πετάμε πλαστικό..., but that would emphasize we (“we, when we throw plastic…”). In a neutral sentence, you just use πετάμε without εμείς.

What exactly does Όταν πετάμε mean here? Is it “when” or “whenever”?

Όταν with the present tense usually means a general, repeated action: “when(ever) we ... / every time we …”.

Όταν πετάμε πλαστικό στα σκουπίδια
≈ “When we throw plastic in the trash / Whenever we throw plastic in the trash”

It does not refer to a single, one‑time event, but to a general rule or habit.
For a specific future time, Greek would more likely use όταν + future:
Όταν θα πετάξουμε… = “When we (will) throw… (on that occasion)”

Does πετάμε mean “we fly” or “we throw away”?

The verb πετάω / πετώ has two main meanings:

to fly (for birds, planes, etc.)
to throw, to throw away

In this context, with πλαστικό στα σκουπίδια (“plastic into the trash”), it clearly means “to throw away”:

πετάω σκουπίδια = I throw away rubbish
πετάω το μπουκάλι = I throw the bottle away

If you wanted “to fly” here, you’d need a different context (e.g. Τα πουλιά πετάνε = “The birds fly”).

Why is there no article before πλαστικό? Why not το πλαστικό?

Here πλαστικό is used like an uncountable material noun, similar to English “plastic” in “when we throw plastic away”.

πετάμε πλαστικό ≈ “we throw (some) plastic”
No article suggests “plastic in general / plastic as a material”.

You could also say:

Όταν πετάμε το πλαστικό στα σκουπίδια...
This tends to sound more like “the plastic” in a given context (the plastic we have / this plastic).

Both are grammatically correct; the version without the article sounds more general and material‑like.

What does στα σκουπίδια literally mean, and what is στα?

στα is a contraction:

σε (in, at, to) + τα (the, neuter plural) → στα

So στα σκουπίδια literally = “in the rubbish / into the rubbish”.

σε + το = στο (to/in the, neuter singular)
σε + τα = στα (to/in the, neuter plural)
σε + τον = στον (to/in the, masculine singular)

Here σκουπίδια is plural, so we use στα.

Why is σκουπίδια plural? Can you say it in singular?

σκουπίδια is neuter plural and is the normal word for “trash, rubbish, garbage” in Modern Greek. It’s almost always used in the plural to mean a mass of rubbish, like English “rubbish” or “garbage”.

τα σκουπίδια = the trash / the rubbish

There is a singular form το σκουπίδι, but it usually means:

“a piece of trash”, “a bit of rubbish”, or
figuratively, “a low‑life person” (insult).

So στα σκουπίδια is the natural way to say “in the trash / into the trash”.

Why is there a definite article in το περιβάλλον? In English we usually say just “environment”, not “the environment”.

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

το περιβάλλον = “the environment” but often corresponds to English “environment” in a general sense.
Greek tends to say το περιβάλλον, η φύση (the nature), η υγεία (the health) where English often omits “the”.

So το περιβάλλον δεν είναι… is the natural way to say “the environment is not …”, referring to our environment in general, not a specific, narrow one.

Why is καθαρό in the neuter form?

Adjectives in Greek agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.

Noun: το περιβάλλον
- gender: neuter
- number: singular
- case: nominative (subject)

So the adjective καθαρός (clean) must match:

masculine: καθαρός
feminine: καθαρή
neuter: καθαρό

Since το περιβάλλον is neuter singular nominative, we use καθαρό:
το περιβάλλον (είναι) καθαρό = “the environment (is) clean”.

What is the function of τόσο … όσο here?

τόσο … όσο is the standard Greek structure for “as … as”.

τόσο = so / that much
όσο = as / as much as

Together:

δεν είναι τόσο καθαρό όσο θέλουμε
= “it is not as clean as we want”

Basic pattern:

είναι τόσο Χ όσο Ψ = “it is as X as Y”
δεν είναι τόσο Χ όσο Ψ = “it is not as X as Y”

Why do we just say όσο θέλουμε and not “όσο θέλουμε να είναι” (“as clean as we want it to be”)?

The full, explicit version would indeed be:

Το περιβάλλον δεν είναι τόσο καθαρό όσο θέλουμε να είναι.
= “The environment is not as clean as we want it to be.”

However, Greek often omits (ellipses) parts that are obvious from context. After όσο θέλουμε, the idea “να είναι (καθαρό)” is understood and doesn’t need to be repeated.

So:

όσο θέλουμε ≈ “as (we) want (it to be)”
The verb είναι (“to be”) and καθαρό (“clean”) are implied.

Why is δεν before είναι and not after it?

In Greek, the basic rule is:

δεν (not) comes immediately before the verb it negates.

Here, the main verb is είναι (“is”), so:

δεν είναι τόσο καθαρό = “is not so/as clean”

If another particle like θα (will) or να (to) is present, δεν comes before that:

δεν θα είναι = “will not be”
να μην είναι = “not to be” (here μην is the form of δεν used with να)

Could we use another verb instead of πετάμε, like ρίχνουμε? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, you could say:

Όταν ρίχνουμε πλαστικό στα σκουπίδια…

ρίχνω also means “to throw” (literally “to drop / to throw”), and in context it would be understood as throwing away.

Difference in feel:

πετάμε (πλαστικό στα σκουπίδια) – very common, specifically “throw away” in the sense of discarding.
ρίχνουμε (πλαστικό στα σκουπίδια) – also common; can sound a bit more neutral “we toss/throw it into the trash”.

In this sentence, both are correct and natural; πετάμε is slightly more strongly associated with “throwing away” as garbage.

Is there a difference between Όταν and Αν here? Could we say Αν πετάμε πλαστικό στα σκουπίδια?

Όταν and Αν are not interchangeable.

Όταν = “when(ever)” → for time and repeated actions.
Αν = “if” → for conditions.

In this sentence we’re talking about what happens whenever we do a certain action (a general situation), so Όταν is correct:

Όταν πετάμε πλαστικό στα σκουπίδια… = “When(ever) we throw plastic in the trash…”

Αν πετάμε πλαστικό στα σκουπίδια… would sound like:

“If we (happen to) be throwing plastic in the trash…” – conditional, not a general time-based fact.

For a general environmental statement, Όταν is the natural choice.

Can the order of the clauses be reversed? For example: Το περιβάλλον δεν είναι τόσο καθαρό όσο θέλουμε όταν πετάμε πλαστικό στα σκουπίδια?

Yes, Greek allows flexible word and clause order. Your version is grammatically correct:

Το περιβάλλον δεν είναι τόσο καθαρό όσο θέλουμε, όταν πετάμε πλαστικό στα σκουπίδια.

However, the original order:

Όταν πετάμε πλαστικό στα σκουπίδια, το περιβάλλον δεν είναι τόσο καθαρό όσο θέλουμε.

makes the “cause” (throwing plastic away) clear right from the start and often sounds more natural in explanatory sentences.

Both are understandable; the difference is mainly in emphasis and flow, not in grammar.