Learn Hardcore Greek: Όταν έχει φωτιά στο δάσος, οι εθελοντές βοηθάνε τα ζώα. - When there is a fire in the forest, the volunteers help the animals.

In Greek, έχει φωτιά is a very common, everyday way to say “there is a fire” in a place. Literally it’s “it has fire”, but idiomatically it means “there is fire / there’s a fire”.

Όταν έχει φωτιά στο δάσος = When there is a fire in the forest
υπάρχει φωτιά στο δάσος also means there is a fire in the forest, but it sounds a bit more neutral or formal.
είναι φωτιά στο δάσος is not idiomatic in this sense and would normally not be used to mean “there is a fire”.

So:

In everyday spoken Greek you will very often hear έχει φωτιά for “there is a fire”.
υπάρχει φωτιά is correct, just a bit less colloquial.
είναι φωτιά is usually wrong in this context.

Why is the verb έχει (present tense) used? Does this mean it is happening right now or is it something general?

Here έχει is in the present simple, but in the combination Όταν + present it usually expresses:

general, repeated situations
things that are true whenever a certain condition happens

So:

Όταν έχει φωτιά στο δάσος, οι εθελοντές βοηθάνε τα ζώα.
= Whenever there is a fire in the forest, the volunteers help the animals.

The sentence doesn’t talk about one specific fire right now; it describes what typically happens every time there is a fire. This is similar to English:

When it rains, I stay home. (general rule, not just right now)

What is the difference between φωτιά and πυρκαγιά? Could we say Όταν έχει πυρκαγιά στο δάσος?

φωτιά is the general word for fire. It can mean:
- a flame / fire in a fireplace
- a campfire
- a fire that burns something accidentally
- or just “fire” in general
πυρκαγιά is more specific, and usually refers to:
- a large destructive fire, often in a building, forest, or area
- things like “a blaze”, “a wildfire”, “a conflagration”

So in a forest context:

Όταν έχει φωτιά στο δάσος… – everyday, neutral, very common
Όταν έχει πυρκαγιά στο δάσος… – focuses more on a big, serious wildfire

Both are grammatically correct. φωτιά is more colloquial and broader; πυρκαγιά sounds a bit more technical or serious.

Why is it στο δάσος and not σε ένα δάσος for “in the forest”?

στο δάσος = σε + το δάσος = in the forest
σε ένα δάσος = in a forest

Greek often uses the definite article (το) where English uses “the” or even just no article for general statements.

Here στο δάσος can mean:

a specific forest already known from context, or
forest in general, like a typical location

In Greek, for general / typical places we very often use the definite article:

στο σχολείο – at school
στο χωριό – in the village
στο δάσος – in the forest

So the Greek sentence is more naturally στο δάσος, even though in English we might feel it as quite general (“in the forest, whenever there is a forest fire”).

What exactly does οι εθελοντές mean, and why is οι used?

εθελοντής = volunteer (singular, masculine)
εθελοντές = volunteers (plural, masculine)
οι is the definite article for plural masculine (also used as default for mixed-gender groups).

So:

οι εθελοντές = the volunteers

Again, Greek likes the definite article more than English. In English we might say:

“Volunteers help the animals.”

But Greek naturally says:

Οι εθελοντές βοηθάνε τα ζώα.
literally: The volunteers help the animals.

This can still refer generally to volunteers, not only some specific known group.

Why is it βοηθάνε? Is that the same as βοηθούν or βοηθάν?

The verb is βοηθάω / βοηθώ = to help.

For they help, you will see several forms in modern Greek:

βοηθάνε
βοηθάν
βοηθούν
βοηθούνε

All of these are understood and used; the differences are mostly:

βοηθάνε / βοηθάν – more colloquial / spoken
βοηθούν – more standard / written, still often used in speech
βοηθούνε – colloquial, with the extra -ε often added in speech

In everyday modern Greek, βοηθάνε is very common and completely correct. The sentence could also be:

Οι εθελοντές βοηθούν τα ζώα. – slightly more formal in style.

Why don’t we say αυτοί οι εθελοντές βοηθάνε τα ζώα with αυτοί (“they”)?

Greek is a “pro-drop” language: it usually omits subject pronouns (εγώ, εσύ, αυτός, αυτή, αυτοί, etc.) when the subject is clear from the verb or from context.

Here, οι εθελοντές is already the subject, so αυτοί would be:

unnecessary
only used for strong emphasis, like “they (as opposed to someone else) help the animals.”

So:

Οι εθελοντές βοηθάνε τα ζώα. – natural, neutral
Αυτοί οι εθελοντές βοηθάνε τα ζώα. – more like “These volunteers help the animals” or “Those volunteers (in particular) help the animals.”

The basic neutral sentence does not need αυτοί.

Why is it τα ζώα and not just ζώα without an article?

ζώο = animal (singular)
ζώα = animals (plural)
τα = plural definite article (neuter) → the

So τα ζώα literally means “the animals.”

In Greek, for general groups we very often use the definite article, especially in sentences like:

Οι γάτες είναι ζώα. – Cats are animals.
Τα παιδιά παίζουν. – Children play.

Here:

Οι εθελοντές βοηθάνε τα ζώα. = Volunteers help the animals
but in meaning it can be general: Volunteers help *the animals (in such situations, i.e. the animals that are there, animals in general in that fire).*

If you say βοηθάνε ζώα (without τα), it’s grammatical, but it sounds more like:

“they help some animals / animals in general” without clearly referring to the animals affected by the fire. The version with τα sounds more natural here.

What does στο mean exactly? How is it formed?

στο is a contraction:

σε (in, at, to) + το (the, neuter singular) → στο

So:

σε + το δάσος → στο δάσος = in the forest / at the forest

Similar contractions:

σε + τον δρόμο → στον δρόμο (in / on the road)
σε + την πόλη → στην πόλη (in the city)
σε + τους ανθρώπους → στους ανθρώπους (to the people)

In speech and writing, these contracted forms (στο, στον, στην, στους) are almost always used instead of keeping σε and the article separate.

Can the word order change, for example Όταν στο δάσος έχει φωτιά, οι εθελοντές βοηθάνε τα ζώα?

Yes, Greek word order is relatively flexible compared to English. You can move parts of the sentence around, mainly to:

change emphasis
make the rhythm more natural in context

Possible variants (all grammatical):

Όταν έχει φωτιά στο δάσος, οι εθελοντές βοηθάνε τα ζώα. – neutral
Όταν στο δάσος έχει φωτιά, οι εθελοντές βοηθάνε τα ζώα. – slight emphasis on in the forest
Οι εθελοντές βοηθάνε τα ζώα όταν έχει φωτιά στο δάσος. – starts with who does the action

All keep the same basic meaning. The original order is the most neutral and typical.

Could we say Όταν πιάνει φωτιά το δάσος instead of Όταν έχει φωτιά στο δάσος? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

Όταν πιάνει φωτιά το δάσος, οι εθελοντές βοηθάνε τα ζώα.

πιάνει φωτιά literally means “catches fire”:

πιάνει φωτιά το δάσος = the forest catches fire

Differences:

Όταν έχει φωτιά στο δάσος – When there is a fire in the forest
- Describes the state: there is a fire in that area.
Όταν πιάνει φωτιά το δάσος – When the forest catches fire
- Focuses on the moment it starts or the fact that the forest itself is burning.

Both are correct; the nuance is slightly different, but in many contexts they can be used interchangeably.

How would this sentence change if we talked about one specific fire rather than “whenever there is a fire”?

To talk about one specific event, Greek often uses the past:

Όταν έγινε η φωτιά στο δάσος, οι εθελοντές βοήθησαν τα ζώα.
= When the fire happened in the forest, the volunteers helped the animals.

Or with ξέσπασε (broke out):

Όταν ξέσπασε η φωτιά στο δάσος, οι εθελοντές βοήθησαν τα ζώα.
= When the fire broke out in the forest, the volunteers helped the animals.

Using present (έχει, βοηθάνε) makes the sentence refer to a general, repeated situation, not a single event.