Οι εθελοντές προστατεύουν τα ζώα και τα πουλιά του δάσους όταν κινδυνεύουν.

The volunteers protect the animals and birds of the forest when they are in danger.

Breakdown of Οι εθελοντές προστατεύουν τα ζώα και τα πουλιά του δάσους όταν κινδυνεύουν.

• και: and
• όταν: when
• το ζώο: the animal
• ο εθελοντής: the volunteer
• το δάσος: the forest
• το πουλί: the bird
• κινδυνεύω: to be in danger
• προστατεύω: to protect

Questions & Answers about Οι εθελοντές προστατεύουν τα ζώα και τα πουλιά του δάσους όταν κινδυνεύουν.

What does Οι mean here, and why do we use the article with εθελοντές?

Οι is the definite article in the nominative plural (for masculine or mixed gender), and it means “the”.

In Greek, you almost always use the article with plural nouns referring to a whole class of people:

• Οι εθελοντές προστατεύουν…
  = Volunteers protect… / The volunteers protect…

Even if in English you might say just “Volunteers protect animals…” with no article, Greek prefers Οι εθελοντές.

If you drop the article (Εθελοντές προστατεύουν…), it sounds either:

• like you’re announcing the arrival of some volunteers (“Volunteers are protecting… right now”), or
• more like “Some volunteers…” rather than a general statement about volunteers as a group.

What is the form and gender of εθελοντές, and what is the singular form?

εθελοντές is:

• masculine,
• nominative plural,
• from the noun εθελοντής = volunteer.

Basic forms:

• Singular: ο εθελοντής – the volunteer
• Plural: οι εθελοντές – the volunteers

Even if the group includes women, Greek grammar uses the masculine plural by default for mixed groups of people.

What tense and person is προστατεύουν, and what is the basic verb?

προστατεύουν is:

• present tense,
• 3rd person plural,
• active voice,

from the verb προστατεύω = to protect.

Basic present-tense paradigm (informal pronunciation):

• (εγώ) προστατεύω – I protect
• (εσύ) προστατεύεις – you protect
• (αυτός/αυτή/αυτό) προστατεύει – he/she/it protects
• (εμείς) προστατεύουμε – we protect
• (εσείς) προστατεύετε – you (pl./formal) protect
• (αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά) προστατεύουν(ε) – they protect

In this sentence, the subject is Οι εθελοντές, so we use the 3rd person plural: προστατεύουν.

Why do we say τα ζώα and τα πουλιά with τα, instead of just ζώα and πουλιά?

τα is the neuter plural definite article (“the”).
So literally:

• τα ζώα = the animals
• τα πουλιά = the birds

In Greek, you normally use the article even when talking about animals in general:

• Τα ζώα χρειάζονται τροφή. – Animals need food.

Leaving out the article (ζώα χρειάζονται τροφή) is grammatical but feels unusual or “bare”; it often sounds like “(some) animals” in a more fragmentary or stylistic way.

So:

• Οι εθελοντές προστατεύουν τα ζώα και τα πουλιά…
  is the natural way to express the general idea “Volunteers protect (the) animals and (the) birds…”.

In English we drop “the” for general statements, but Greek typically keeps τα.

Why is the article τα repeated before πουλιά? Could we say τα ζώα και πουλιά?

You can technically say τα ζώα και πουλιά, and people will understand you, but it sounds a bit incomplete or less natural in standard modern Greek.

Repeating the article:

• τα ζώα και τα πουλιά

makes it clear that we’re talking about two separate groups: animals and birds. This is the most natural and standard wording.

Compare:

• αγόρασα το ψωμί και το γάλα – I bought the bread and the milk (two items)
• αγόρασα ψωμί και γάλα – I bought bread and milk (indefinite, no article)

So here, since τα is used, it’s more natural to repeat it: τα ζώα και τα πουλιά.

What does του δάσους mean, and what case is it?

του δάσους means “of the forest”.
Grammatically:

• του = genitive singular article (for masculine or neuter nouns)
• δάσους = genitive singular of το δάσος (neuter: the forest)

So του δάσους is genitive, expressing possession or belonging:

• τα ζώα και τα πουλιά του δάσους
  = the animals and the birds of the forest
  = the forest’s animals and birds.

Why is it δάσους and not something like δάσου? How is το δάσος declined?

το δάσος belongs to a group of neuter nouns ending in -ος that form the genitive with -ους, not -ου.

Key forms of το δάσος:

• Nominative singular: το δάσος – the forest
• Genitive singular: του δάσους – of the forest
• Accusative singular: το δάσος – (same as nominative)
• Nominative/Accusative plural: τα δάση – the forests
• Genitive plural: των δασών – of the forests

So του δάσους is the correct genitive singular form.

What is the difference between του δάσους and από το δάσος?

Both relate to the forest, but they express different ideas:

• του δάσους = of the forest
  – genitive case
  – shows possession, origin, belonging
  – τα ζώα του δάσους = the forest’s animals / the animals of the forest

• από το δάσος = from the forest
  – preposition από

  • accusative
    – shows movement or origin from a place
    – βγήκαν από το δάσος = they came out of the forest

In this sentence, we are saying the animals and birds that belong to / live in the forest, so του δάσους (genitive) is the right choice.

What does όταν mean, and how is it different from αν?

όταν means “when”.

It’s used for:

• actions that happen whenever/each time something else happens (habitual), or
• for specific moments in time (in the present or past).

Examples:

• Όταν βρέχει, μένουμε σπίτι. – When it rains, we stay at home.
• Όταν έφτασα, έφυγε. – When I arrived, he left.

αν means “if” and expresses condition:

• Αν βρέχει, θα μείνουμε σπίτι. – If it rains, we will stay at home.

In your sentence:

• όταν κινδυνεύουν = when they are in danger / whenever they are in danger,
  not if they are in danger.

Who does κινδυνεύουν refer to? The volunteers, or the animals and birds?

Grammatically, κινδυνεύουν (“are in danger”) is 3rd person plural, and Greek allows the subject to be understood (omitted).

In this sentence, the most natural interpretation is that the animals and the birds are the ones in danger:

• Οι εθελοντές προστατεύουν τα ζώα και τα πουλιά του δάσους όταν (αυτά) κινδυνεύουν.

The implied subject (αυτά) is neuter plural, matching τα ζώα και τα πουλιά.

Technically, the sentence could be ambiguous, because οι εθελοντές are also a plural, but:

• by meaning, it makes far more sense that volunteers protect animals when the animals are in danger,
• and Greek usually links such a final clause to the closest matching logical subject, here τα ζώα και τα πουλιά.

What tense and meaning does κινδυνεύουν have? Is it like “to risk” or “to be in danger”?

κινδυνεύουν is:

• present tense,
• 3rd person plural,
  from the verb κινδυνεύω.

Its basic meaning is “to be in danger”, “to be at risk”, often without needing είμαι:

• Τα παιδιά κινδυνεύουν. – The children are in danger.
• Η πόλη κινδυνεύει να πλημμυρίσει. – The city is at risk of flooding.

So in the sentence:

• όταν κινδυνεύουν ≈ when they are in danger / when they are at risk.

You could also say είναι σε κίνδυνο (“are in danger”), but κινδυνεύουν is shorter and very natural.

Could we move όταν κινδυνεύουν to the beginning of the sentence? Would it change the meaning?

Yes, you can change the word order:

• Όταν κινδυνεύουν, οι εθελοντές προστατεύουν τα ζώα και τα πουλιά του δάσους.

This is fully correct and very natural.

The meaning stays the same. The difference is only in emphasis:

• Original: Οι εθελοντές προστατεύουν… όταν κινδυνεύουν.
  – slight emphasis on what the volunteers do.
• Fronted: Όταν κινδυνεύουν, οι εθελοντές προστατεύουν…
  – slight emphasis on the condition/time (“When they are in danger…”).

Greek word order is quite flexible, as long as the articles and endings make the roles clear.

Why do both verbs (προστατεύουν, κινδυνεύουν) use the plural? Could a neuter plural subject ever take a singular verb?

Here, both verbs are 3rd person plural because their subjects are plural:

• Οι εθελοντές προστατεύουν… – volunteers (plural) → plural verb
• (τα ζώα και τα πουλιά) όταν κινδυνεύουν – animals and birds (plural) → plural verb

In older or more formal Greek there is a rule that neuter plural subjects can sometimes take a singular verb (especially when treated as a collective), e.g.:

• Τα ζώα είναι πολλά. (modern normal) – The animals are many.
• older / more formal: Τα ζώα είναι πολύ. (singular verb form in certain structures)

But in modern everyday Greek, with clear, physical plural things like τα ζώα και τα πουλιά, speakers almost always use a plural verb, as in your sentence:

• …όταν κινδυνεύουν. (not κινδυνεύει)

Can Οι εθελοντές προστατεύουν τα ζώα και τα πουλιά του δάσους όταν κινδυνεύουν also mean “The volunteers protect the forest’s animals and birds, when they (the volunteers) are in danger”?

In strict grammar, yes, it is formally ambiguous: κινδυνεύουν could refer to:

• οι εθελοντές (the volunteers), or
• τα ζώα και τα πουλιά (the animals and birds).

But in normal understanding:

• People almost always interpret it as
  “when the animals and birds are in danger.”

If you specifically wanted to say that the volunteers are the ones in danger, you would usually clarify:

• Οι εθελοντές, όταν αυτοί κινδυνεύουν, προστατεύουν τα ζώα…
• Οι εθελοντές προστατεύουν τα ζώα… ακόμα κι όταν οι ίδιοι κινδυνεύουν.

So, while the sentence could be analysed both ways, context and logic strongly favor the reading where the animals and birds are in danger.