Learn Hardcore Greek: Αν ο διευθυντής συμφωνήσει, θα πάρω άδεια τον Αύγουστο. - If the manager agrees, I will take leave in August.

In Greek, after αν (if) in this kind of real conditional sentence, you normally use the subjunctive, often in the aorist aspect, to talk about a one‑time future event:

Αν ο διευθυντής συμφωνήσει, θα πάρω άδεια…
If the director agrees (at that point), I will take leave…

So συμφωνήσει here expresses a single, complete action in the future, not a general habit.

Why is it συμφωνήσει and not συμφωνεί after αν?

Both are grammatically possible but they mean different things:

Αν ο διευθυντής συμφωνήσει…
If the director agrees (on that particular occasion in the future)…
→ Focus on one specific future decision.
Αν ο διευθυντής συμφωνεί…
If the director agrees (in general / as a rule / is usually in agreement)…
→ Sounds more habitual or general.

In your sentence, we are talking about one future decision about your leave, so the aorist subjunctive (συμφωνήσει) is the natural choice.

What is the function of αν here? Is it like English if?

Yes. Αν is the usual Greek word for if in conditional sentences.

Αν ο διευθυντής συμφωνήσει… → If the director agrees…

It introduces the condition. There is also a more formal or emphatic form εάν, which in everyday speech is usually shortened to αν. Both are correct here:

Αν ο διευθυντής συμφωνήσει…
Εάν ο διευθυντής συμφωνήσει…

They mean the same thing in this context.

What tense is θα πάρω, and how is the future formed in Greek?

Θα πάρω is the simple future (future with perfective aspect) of παίρνω (to take).

Modern Greek forms the future with θα plus a subjunctive form of the verb:

παίρνω → θα πάρω (I will take) – simple, one‑time action
παίρνω → θα παίρνω (I will be taking / I will take repeatedly) – continuous or repeated action

So:

Θα πάρω άδεια = I will take (some) leave (one specific occasion).

What is the difference between θα πάρω άδεια and θα παίρνω άδεια?

This is an aspect difference:

Θα πάρω άδεια
Future, perfective aspect → one‑time, completed event.
I will take leave (once, for that vacation period).
Θα παίρνω άδεια
Future, imperfective aspect → ongoing or repeated action.
Could mean: I will be taking leave (repeatedly / regularly), or I will be in the process of taking leave.

For a single planned vacation in August, θα πάρω άδεια is the natural, idiomatic choice.

Why is there no article before άδεια? Why not την άδεια?

Άδεια (leave, time off, or permission) is the direct object here and is used in a kind of indefinite / mass sense: some leave, time off.

Θα πάρω άδεια
I will take (some) leave / I will get time off.

If you say θα πάρω την άδεια, it sounds like you are talking about a specific, already mentioned leave (for example, the particular leave that was approved on some form). In everyday speech about taking time off work, Greeks usually say:

Παίρνω άδεια = I take time off (from work).

So the version without the article is the common idiom.

Why is it τον Αύγουστο and not just Αύγουστο?

Τον Αύγουστο is accusative with the definite article and is the normal way to say in August in Greek when you talk about time:

τον Ιανουάριο = in January
τον Δεκέμβριο = in December
τον Αύγουστο = in August

Using τον + accusative is a standard pattern for months and many time expressions.

Just Αύγουστο by itself would sound incomplete here; you almost always use the article in this time expression.

What case is τον Αύγουστο, and what does that case express here?

Τον Αύγουστο is in the accusative case (masculine singular):

ο Αύγουστος (nominative) – August
τον Αύγουστο (accusative) – August (as an object or a time expression)

In this sentence it is an accusative of time, meaning when something happens:

Θα πάρω άδεια τον Αύγουστο.
I will take leave in August.

So here the accusative marks time rather than a direct object.

What does διευθυντής mean exactly, and what is its gender and case?

Διευθυντής means director, manager, or head of a department, school, company, etc.

In the sentence:

ο διευθυντής is masculine, singular, nominative.
It is the subject of the verb συμφωνήσει.

Basic forms:

Nominative: ο διευθυντής – the director (subject)
Genitive: του διευθυντή – of the director
Accusative: τον διευθυντή – the director (object)

So ο διευθυντής here = the director/manager (he is the one who agrees).

How do you pronounce διευθυντής and why is it stressed on the last syllable?

Διευθυντής is pronounced approximately:

/ðiefθiˈndis/ (the θ like English th in think, δ like th in this)

Syllable breakdown: δι‑ευ‑θυν‑τής
The stress mark (´) in Greek always shows the stressed syllable. Here it is on τής, so you stress the last syllable:

διευθυντής

All Greek words longer than one syllable have exactly one stress mark, and it tells you where to put the emphasis.

Could I omit the subject and just say Αν συμφωνήσει, θα πάρω άδεια τον Αύγουστο?

Yes, grammatically you can. Greek is a pro‑drop language: the subject pronoun (or even the noun) can often be omitted when it is clear from context.

Αν συμφωνήσει, θα πάρω άδεια τον Αύγουστο.
If he/she agrees, I will take leave in August.

However, without ο διευθυντής, the listener must know from earlier context who we are talking about. Including ο διευθυντής makes it clear that you mean the director/manager.

Why is there a comma after συμφωνήσει?

The comma separates the if‑clause (condition) from the main clause (result):

Αν ο διευθυντής συμφωνήσει, → condition
θα πάρω άδεια τον Αύγουστο. → result

In Greek, as in English, it is standard to put a comma when the conditional clause comes first.

If you reversed the order, you could drop the comma:

Θα πάρω άδεια τον Αύγουστο αν ο διευθυντής συμφωνήσει.
I will take leave in August if the director agrees.