Learn Hardcore Greek: Αν χάσω την προθεσμία, η κατάσταση στη δουλειά θα γίνει δύσκολη. - If I miss the deadline, the situation at work will become difficult.

Αν χάσω την προθεσμία = If I miss the deadline (condition)
η κατάσταση στη δουλειά θα γίνει δύσκολη = the situation at work will become difficult (result)

Typical Greek pattern for a real future condition:

Αν
- subjunctive (here: χάσω)
θα
- verb (here: θα γίνει)

So grammatically it corresponds very closely to English “If + present, will + verb,” even though the Greek uses the subjunctive where English uses the simple present.

Why is it αν χάσω and not αν θα χάσω?

After αν (“if”), Greek does not use θα.

Correct pattern:

Αν
- subjunctive: Αν χάσω (if I lose/miss)

Wrong pattern:

Αν θα χάσω – this sounds ungrammatical in standard modern Greek.

So:

Αν χάσω την προθεσμία
literally: If I (should) miss the deadline
The future meaning is already implied by the whole construction (αν
- subjunctive + θα in the result clause), so you do not put θα in the αν–clause.

Why is the verb χάσω and not χάνω here?

Χάσω is the aorist subjunctive of χάνω (“to lose / to miss”).

Greek distinguishes aspect:

Aorist (χάσω): one complete event, seen as a whole
- Αν χάσω την προθεσμία = If I (happen to) miss the deadline (this one time).
Present (χάνω) in the subjunctive (same form as indicative: χάνω):
- Αν χάνω την προθεσμία would suggest something repeated or ongoing:
  If I keep missing / if I usually miss the deadline, which doesn’t fit the usual English sentence.

So χάσω is chosen because the speaker is talking about one specific deadline, one possible event.

What exactly does αν mean here? Can it ever mean “whether”?

In this sentence, αν means “if” introducing a condition.

Uses of αν:

Conditional “if” (as here):
- Αν χάσω την προθεσμία… = If I miss the deadline…
“Whether” in some indirect questions:
- Δεν ξέρω αν θα έρθει. = I don’t know whether/if he will come.

In both cases it’s written αν (unaccented). Here it’s clearly the conditional use because it introduces a condition followed by a result clause with θα.

Why is there a την before προθεσμία, when in English we just say “miss the deadline” without “the”?

Greek uses definite articles much more often than English.

την προθεσμία = the deadline (feminine, singular, accusative)
In Greek, you almost always put the article with a specific, known thing:
- την προθεσμία (a specific one we both know about)
- English is looser and can say miss the deadline or miss a deadline, sometimes even without an article in some expressions.

Here, την προθεσμία sounds natural and standard.
Leaving out the article (αν χάσω προθεσμία) would sound odd or wrong in normal modern Greek in this context.

What nuance does προθεσμία have compared to the English word “deadline”?

Προθεσμία means a time limit or formal deadline, often with a slightly official tone:

In bureaucracy, law, work, school forms, etc., προθεσμία is the standard word.
In everyday speech, for work or studies, it still simply means “deadline”.

There isn’t another common casual everyday alternative like English “due date”; προθεσμία covers that space too.
So here την προθεσμία = “the (set) deadline / time limit” at work.

What tense is θα γίνει and why is it γίνει and not γίνεται or something else?

Θα γίνει is the future simple (perfective future) of γίνομαι (“to become”).

Forms to compare:

γίνεται = present: it becomes / it is becoming / it happens (repeatedly)
θα γίνει = future simple: it will become / it will happen (once, as a result)
θα γίνεται = future continuous: it will be becoming / it will keep being / it will usually be

In this sentence:

η κατάσταση … θα γίνει δύσκολη
conveys one resulting change of state:
the situation will (then) become difficult.

Θα γίνεται δύσκολη would suggest something like “it will keep getting difficult” or “it will regularly be difficult,” which is not what’s meant.

What does κατάσταση mean here? Is it literally “situation”?

Yes, η κατάσταση literally means “the situation” or “the state of things.”

In context:

η κατάσταση στη δουλειά = the situation at work
→ how things are at work: atmosphere, relationships, pressure, etc.

So η κατάσταση στη δουλειά θα γίνει δύσκολη is idiomatic Greek for
The situation at work will become difficult / things at work will get tough.

What is στη δουλειά exactly? Why στη and not σε τη?

Στη is the contracted form of σε + τη:

σε = “in / at / to”
τη = “the” (feminine, singular, accusative)
Here used for δουλειά because after prepositions Greek nouns are in the accusative.

Contraction:

σε + τη δουλειά → στη δουλειά

So:

στη δουλειά ≈ “at work / in the workplace”
δουλειά = “work / job / workplace”

This contraction is very common:

σε + τον → στον (e.g. στον δρόμο = in/on the street)
σε + το → στο (e.g. στο σπίτι = at home)

Could the word order be Η κατάσταση στη δουλειά θα γίνει δύσκολη, αν χάσω την προθεσμία? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, that word order is also correct:

Αν χάσω την προθεσμία, η κατάσταση στη δουλειά θα γίνει δύσκολη.
Η κατάσταση στη δουλειά θα γίνει δύσκολη, αν χάσω την προθεσμία.

Both mean the same thing.

Differences:

Starting with Αν χάσω την προθεσμία puts a bit more focus on the condition.
Starting with Η κατάσταση στη δουλειά… puts a bit more focus on the result.

This is similar to English:

If I miss the deadline, the situation at work will become difficult.
The situation at work will become difficult if I miss the deadline.

In Greek, both orders are natural and normal.

Why is δύσκολη at the end, and what does it agree with?

Δύσκολη is an adjective meaning “difficult” and it must agree with the noun κατάσταση:

η κατάσταση (feminine, singular, nominative)
δύσκολη (feminine, singular, nominative)

The pattern is:

η κατάσταση … θα γίνει δύσκολη
literally: the situation … will become difficult.

Having δύσκολη at the end is natural in Greek; adjectives can come:

before a noun: η δύσκολη κατάσταση = the difficult situation
after a linking verb: η κατάσταση είναι/θα γίνει δύσκολη = the situation is / will become difficult

So the position here is just the normal predicate adjective position after θα γίνει.