Breakdown of Η αστυνομία δίνει πρόστιμο όταν κάποιος οδηγός δεν περνάει από τη διάβαση.
Questions & Answers about Η αστυνομία δίνει πρόστιμο όταν κάποιος οδηγός δεν περνάει από τη διάβαση.
In Greek, η αστυνομία is a regular singular feminine noun meaning the police force / the police as an institution.
- η = feminine singular article the
- αστυνομία = police, police force
English police looks plural (and usually takes a plural verb: The police are here), but grammatically it’s a special kind of collective noun.
Greek instead treats the police as a singular institution, just like η εταιρεία (the company), η κυβέρνηση (the government). So you say:
- Η αστυνομία δίνει πρόστιμο.
The police give a fine / The police issue a fine.
If you want to talk about individual officers, you use the plural:
- Οι αστυνομικοί δίνουν πρόστιμο.
The police officers give a fine.
Πρόστιμο means fine (as in a penalty you pay). In this sentence:
- δίνει πρόστιμο literally = gives (a) fine / gives a fine
Greek often omits the article with certain indefinite, countable objects when talking about a typical, non-specific instance of an action, especially in generic rules or repeated actions:
- δίνει πρόστιμο – gives (the usual kind of) fine
- πίνει καφέ – drinks coffee / has (some) coffee
- γράφει γράμμα – writes a letter
You could say:
- δίνει ένα πρόστιμο – gives a specific fine (may sound like a particular instance)
- δίνει το πρόστιμο – gives the fine (already known which one)
In a general rule like this sentence, the bare noun (πρόστιμο) is most natural.
Greek present tense (δίνει) can mean:
- Right now / at the moment – is giving
- Habitual or general truth – gives, issues (in general)
Here it’s clearly habitual/generic:
- Η αστυνομία δίνει πρόστιμο όταν…
= The police give a fine when… (whenever that situation happens)
So it’s like the English simple present used for rules, laws, and habits:
- The police fine drivers when…
- Water boils at 100°C.
- He drives to work every day.
If the context were about a specific ongoing situation, δίνει could mean is giving, but here it’s clearly a general rule.
Όταν primarily means when, but when used with present tense in both clauses, it often expresses a repeated condition or whenever:
- Η αστυνομία δίνει πρόστιμο όταν κάποιος οδηγός δεν περνάει από τη διάβαση.
= The police give a fine when/whenever a driver doesn’t use the crosswalk.
So όταν + present here is: whenever this happens, that happens.
There is a more “conditional” word, αν (if), but:
- όταν suggests something expected or typical: whenever this situation occurs…
- αν can sound more hypothetical or uncertain: if it happens (maybe yes, maybe no)…
In a description of a rule (what the police routinely do), όταν fits very well, because it feels like:
- Whenever a driver doesn’t use the crosswalk, the police fine them.
You can say:
- Η αστυνομία δίνει πρόστιμο αν κάποιος οδηγός δεν περνάει από τη διάβαση.
The meaning is close, but the nuance changes slightly:
- όταν – more like whenever, a situation that is expected to arise regularly
- αν – if, more hypothetical, open condition
In everyday speech, both would be understood as:
- The police fine a driver if/when they don’t use the crosswalk.
But for a clear rule or standing policy, όταν often feels more natural because it conveys a repeated, typical event rather than a one-off hypothetical.
Both κάποιος οδηγός and ένας οδηγός can translate as a driver / some driver, but they have different tones.
- ένας οδηγός – simply a driver (one driver, not specified)
- κάποιος οδηγός – some (unspecified) driver, or any driver in a generic way
In this type of rule:
- όταν κάποιος οδηγός δεν περνάει…
sounds like whenever a driver / whenever any driver doesn’t cross…
Κάποιος often has this generic “someone / anyone” flavor, which works very well when stating something that applies to any member of a group.
You could say όταν ένας οδηγός δεν περνάει…, and it’s still correct, but κάποιος οδηγός sounds a bit more like “some driver / a given driver in that situation”, which is quite natural in Greek for generic statements.
Grammatically:
- κάποιος is masculine singular
- οδηγός is also masculine in form, even when referring to a woman
In Greek, many profession/role nouns default to masculine grammatical gender, even if the actual person can be male or female. So:
- κάποιος οδηγός = some driver, male or female in meaning
If you really want to emphasize a female driver, you could say:
- κάποια οδηγός – some (female) driver
But in general rules like this, Greek commonly uses the masculine singular as a generic human: κάποιος, ένας οδηγός, etc. It doesn’t imply the rule only applies to men.
Both forms exist in modern Greek:
- περνάει
- περνά
They’re just two present tense endings for the same verb περνάω / περνώ (to pass, to cross).
In many verbs in everyday speech you’ll hear both variants:
- μιλάει / μιλά – he/she speaks
- κρατάει / κρατά – he/she holds
- περνάει / περνά – he/she passes / crosses
There is no change in meaning here. It’s mainly a matter of style and rhythm:
- δεν περνάει από τη διάβαση – slightly more colloquial/neutral
- δεν περνά από τη διάβαση – a bit more compact; sometimes feels more formal or written, depending on the verb and the region
So the choice is stylistic; the sentence would still be correct with δεν περνά.
The verb περνάω / περνώ can work:
- with the preposition από
- without it
Both relate to movement past/through something, but:
περνάω από κάτι – to go via / through / along something
- περνάω από τη διάβαση – I pass via the crosswalk, I use the crosswalk to cross
περνάω κάτι – to pass something, cross something, get past something
- περνάω τη διάβαση – can also mean I cross the crosswalk, but can more easily also mean I pass (by) the crosswalk (depending on context)
In the context of using a crosswalk properly, από τη διάβαση is very natural, because it emphasizes going through that place as the route.
So:
- δεν περνάει από τη διάβαση ≈ doesn’t go through/over the crosswalk (doesn’t use it)
You might hear δεν περνάει τη διάβαση, but από makes the idea of using the crosswalk as the route clearer and more idiomatic here.
The full form of the feminine article in the accusative is:
- την
- noun starting with a vowel or some consonants
- Often shortened to τη before certain consonants in speech and much writing.
Traditional grammar:
Keep the ν (the final n):
- before vowels
- before consonants κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, γκ, μπ, ντ, τσ, τζ
Before other consonants (like δ in διάβαση), people very often drop the final ν in everyday speech and modern writing:
- την Ελλάδα (vowel → keep ν)
- την καρέκλα (k → keep ν)
- τη διάβαση (d → ν often dropped)
So τη διάβαση is the normal modern spoken/written form, although την διάβαση isn’t wrong, just more careful/formal or old-fashioned in style.
The noun διάβαση means generally a crossing, passage. Depending on context, it can mean:
- διάβαση πεζών – pedestrian crossing / crosswalk
- σιδηροδρομική διάβαση – railroad crossing
- More broadly, any kind of passage / crossing point
In everyday urban context, if you just say η διάβαση near a road, people will understand:
- η διάβαση (πεζών) = the pedestrian crossing / the crosswalk
So in this sentence, τη διάβαση naturally means the (pedestrian) crosswalk.
Yes, both are used:
- δίνω πρόστιμο – literally give a fine
- βάζω πρόστιμο – literally put/impose a fine
In practice:
- βάζω πρόστιμο often sounds a bit stronger / more colloquial, like slap a fine on someone, impose a fine.
- δίνω πρόστιμο is somewhat more neutral: issue a fine.
In the sentence:
- Η αστυνομία δίνει πρόστιμο όταν…
- Η αστυνομία βάζει πρόστιμο όταν…
Both are perfectly acceptable. Many speakers probably use βάζω πρόστιμο more in spoken language, but δίνω πρόστιμο is also common and clear.
Η αστυνομία refers to the institution as a whole, so singular is natural:
- Η αστυνομία δίνει πρόστιμο…
= The police (as an institution) give fines…
If you want to highlight the individual officers, you can use the plural:
- Οι αστυνομικοί δίνουν πρόστιμο όταν κάποιος οδηγός δεν περνάει από τη διάβαση.
= Police officers give a fine when a driver doesn’t use the crosswalk.
Or, more specifically for traffic:
- Η τροχαία βάζει/δίνει πρόστιμο…
(η τροχαία = traffic police)
The original sentence chooses the institutional subject (η αστυνομία) because it reads like a general rule or regulation.
Yes, you can safely change the order:
- Η αστυνομία δίνει πρόστιμο όταν κάποιος οδηγός δεν περνάει από τη διάβαση.
- Όταν κάποιος οδηγός δεν περνάει από τη διάβαση, η αστυνομία δίνει πρόστιμο.
Both mean the same:
The police give a fine when a driver doesn’t use the crosswalk.
Greek word order is relatively flexible. Putting όταν… first slightly emphasizes the condition:
- Όταν κάποιος οδηγός δεν περνάει από τη διάβαση,
η αστυνομία δίνει πρόστιμο.
→ Whenever a driver doesn’t cross at the crosswalk, the police fine them.
But there is no change in grammatical meaning; it’s just a different focus.