Breakdown of Μερικοί άνθρωποι δεν φορούν κράνος στο ποδήλατο, παρόλο που ξέρουν τον νόμο.
Questions & Answers about Μερικοί άνθρωποι δεν φορούν κράνος στο ποδήλατο, παρόλο που ξέρουν τον νόμο.
In Greek, when you use a quantifier like μερικοί (some), you normally do not use the definite article.
- Μερικοί άνθρωποι = Some people (an indefinite group)
- Οι άνθρωποι = People / mankind / the people (in general or a specific group already known)
So:
- ✅ Μερικοί άνθρωποι δεν φορούν κράνος… = Some people don’t wear a helmet…
- ❌ Οι μερικοί άνθρωποι… sounds wrong; Greek doesn’t put οι in front of μερικοί.
All three can be translated as some, but they have different nuances:
μερικοί άνθρωποι
Neutral some people. Just states that an unspecified subset exists.κάποιοι άνθρωποι
Also some people, often a bit more vague or indefinite. In many contexts μερικοί and κάποιοι can be swapped:- Μερικοί / Κάποιοι άνθρωποι δεν φορούν κράνος.
λίγοι άνθρωποι
Literally few people, with an emphasis on not many. Often implies too few.
In your sentence, μερικοί is a neutral, natural choice: “Some people (not all) don’t wear a helmet…”
Modern Greek has two main negative particles:
- δεν: used with indicative (normal finite verb forms: present, past, future, etc.)
- μη / μην: used with subjunctive / non‑indicative (mostly after να, ας, in negative commands, wishes, etc.)
Your verb is in the simple present indicative: φορούν (they wear).
So you must use δεν:
- ✅ Δεν φορούν κράνος. = They don’t wear a helmet.
Examples for comparison:
- Να μη(ν) φορέσεις κράνος; = To not put on a helmet? (subjunctive)
- Μη(ν) φοράς κράνος! = Don’t wear a helmet! (negative command)
They are both 3rd person plural present of the same verb φοράω / φορώ (to wear), and both mean they wear.
- φορούν – slightly more formal / standard
- φοράνε – very common in everyday speech, more colloquial
So in this sentence you could say:
- Μερικοί άνθρωποι δεν φορούν κράνος… (more neutral/formal)
- Μερικοί άνθρωποι δεν φοράνε κράνος… (very natural spoken Greek)
Both are correct; it’s mostly a matter of style and register.
Greek distinguishes between:
φοράω / φορώ = to wear, to have on (clothes, accessories, helmet, glasses)
– a state: you are wearing it.βάζω (here: βάζω το κράνος) = to put on (the helmet)
– an action: you are putting it on at that moment.
Your sentence talks about a habitual situation: some people don’t wear a helmet when they ride bikes. That’s a state, so Greek uses φοράω / φορώ:
- Δεν φορούν κράνος στο ποδήλατο.
= They don’t wear a helmet when cycling.
If you described the moment of putting it on, you would use βάζω or the aorist of φοράω:
- Βάζω το κράνος μου. = I put on my helmet.
- Φόρεσα το κράνος μου. = I put on / I wore my helmet (completed event).
Yes, you could say ένα κράνος, but the meaning shifts slightly:
Δεν φορούν κράνος.
Literally: They don’t wear helmet.
In Greek, this bare singular object often means they don’t (ever) wear a helmet (in that situation / in general). It’s generic.Δεν φορούν ένα κράνος.
More like: They don’t wear a helmet (a single helmet) – sounds more specific or contrastive and is less natural here.
In everyday Greek, for this kind of generic habit, no article is very common:
- Καπνίζω τσιγάρα. = I smoke cigarettes.
- Πίνουν καφέ. = They drink coffee.
- Δεν φορούν κράνος. = They don’t wear a helmet (in general).
So the sentence is perfectly natural as is.
στο ποδήλατο is σε + το ποδήλατο = on the bicycle and, by extension, when (riding) a bicycle.
Nuances:
στο ποδήλατο
Literally on the bike, but commonly used in Greek to mean when you’re on the bike / when cycling:- Φοράω κράνος στο ποδήλατο. = I wear a helmet when I’m on the bike / when cycling.
με ποδήλατο
Literally with a bicycle, often used to describe the means of transport:- Πάω στη δουλειά με ποδήλατο. = I go to work by bike.
In your sentence we’re talking about behavior while riding (not the means of travel as such), so στο ποδήλατο is the natural choice.
στο and στον are contractions of σε + το and σε + τον:
- σε + το → στο (for neuter nouns)
- σε + τον → στον (for masculine nouns)
ποδήλατο is a neuter noun (το ποδήλατο, the bicycle), so:
- ✅ στο ποδήλατο = on the bicycle
- ❌ στον ποδήλατο would be wrong, because ποδήλατο is not masculine.
παρόλο που introduces a concessive clause: even though, although.
In your sentence:
- παρόλο που ξέρουν τον νόμο = even though they know the law.
Common alternatives:
- αν και ξέρουν τον νόμο = although they know the law
- παρά το ότι ξέρουν τον νόμο = despite the fact that they know the law
ενώ usually means while / whereas, and only sometimes overlaps with “although”, so:
- Ενώ ξέρουν τον νόμο, δεν φορούν κράνος.
Can mean While they know the law, they don’t wear a helmet, often with more contrastive nuance.
In everyday speech, παρόλο που and αν και are the most straightforward equivalents of English although / even though.
In Greek, when a subordinate clause (like one introduced by παρόλο που) comes after the main clause, it is usually preceded by a comma:
- Μερικοί άνθρωποι δεν φορούν κράνος στο ποδήλατο, παρόλο που ξέρουν τον νόμο.
You can move the παρόλο που clause to the beginning; then the comma moves:
- Παρόλο που ξέρουν τον νόμο, μερικοί άνθρωποι δεν φορούν κράνος στο ποδήλατο.
Both word orders are correct. The meaning is the same; moving the clause can slightly change the emphasis, but not in a major way here.
Both verbs can mean to know, but:
- ξέρω is the most common everyday word for know (facts, information, skills, etc.).
- γνωρίζω is often more formal, and also used strongly with knowing people:
- Γνωρίζω τον Γιάννη. = I know Yiannis.
In your sentence, both are possible:
- …παρόλο που ξέρουν τον νόμο. (neutral, very natural)
- …παρόλο που γνωρίζουν τον νόμο. (a bit more formal / written style)
Most speakers would default to ξέρω in normal conversation.
τον νόμο is accusative singular masculine of ο νόμος (the law).
Using the definite article here makes “the law” refer to the legal system / legal rules in general, just like English “know the law”:
- Ξέρουν τον νόμο. = They know the law (the legal regulations).
Other possibilities:
- Ξέρουν νόμο. – Without an article, this sounds incomplete or very strange in standard Greek in this meaning. You normally keep the article when talking about “the law” in this abstract sense.
- Ξέρουν έναν νόμο. – Means they know one law (one specific law among many), not “they know the law” in general.
So τον νόμο is the natural, idiomatic way to say the law here.
For masculine nouns, the standard accusative singular article is τον:
- ο νόμος → τον νόμο
In informal speech and sometimes in writing, the final -ν of τον can drop before many consonants:
- τον νόμο → το νόμο
However:
- Many style guides recommend keeping the -ν in writing before vowels and some consonants (like κ, π, τ, γ, μπ, ντ, ξ, ψ).
- νόμος starts with ν, so keeping τον is particularly natural.
In careful or standard written Greek, τον νόμο is preferred and is what you see in the sentence.
Here, the present tense in Greek expresses a general, habitual action, not just something happening right this moment.
- Μερικοί άνθρωποι δεν φορούν κράνος στο ποδήλατο…
= Some people (as a rule / typically) don’t wear a helmet when cycling.
Greek does not use a separate “present continuous” form like English (are wearing). The same present covers both:
- Τώρα φοράνε κράνος. = They are wearing a helmet now.
- Πάντα φοράνε κράνος. = They always wear a helmet.
Context tells you whether it’s about now or about a habit. In your sentence, it clearly describes a habitual behavior.