Χωρίς την υπογραφή σου το συμβόλαιο δεν είναι έτοιμο.

Without your signature the contract is not ready.

Breakdown of Χωρίς την υπογραφή σου το συμβόλαιο δεν είναι έτοιμο.

• είμαι: to be
• δεν: not
• σου: your
• έτοιμος: ready
• χωρίς: without
• η υπογραφή: the signature
• το συμβόλαιο: the contract

Questions & Answers about Χωρίς την υπογραφή σου το συμβόλαιο δεν είναι έτοιμο.

What does χωρίς mean exactly, and how is it used in Greek?

Χωρίς means “without”. It’s a preposition and is used before a noun (or pronoun) to say that something is missing or lacking.

• Χωρίς + [noun in the accusative case]
  • Χωρίς ζάχαρη – without sugar
  • Χωρίς λεφτά – without money
  • Χωρίς την υπογραφή σου – without your signature

It can also be used more abstractly, just like in English:

• Δεν μπορώ χωρίς εσένα. – I can’t (live / manage) without you.
• Χωρίς μουσική δεν διαβάζω. – Without music I don’t study.

In your sentence, Χωρίς την υπογραφή σου is a prepositional phrase meaning “Without your signature”.

Why is it την υπογραφή σου and not something like η σου υπογραφή for “your signature”?

In modern Greek, possessive pronouns (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) usually come after the noun, not before it like English “my/your/his”.

So the normal pattern is:

• η υπογραφή σου – your signature
• το βιβλίο μου – my book
• το σπίτι μας – our house

Putting the possessive before the noun (like η σου υπογραφή) is not standard modern Greek. That word order feels archaic or poetic and is not used in everyday speech.

Also note the full structure here:

• την υπογραφή σου
  • την = the (feminine, accusative singular)
  • υπογραφή = signature (feminine noun)
  • σου = your

So literally: “the signature your”, which in natural English is “your signature”.

Why is it την υπογραφή (accusative) after χωρίς?

In modern Greek, most prepositions are followed by the accusative case, and χωρίς is one of them.

The pattern is:

• χωρίς + accusative

Examples:

• χωρίς ζάχαρη (ζάχαρη = feminine accusative) – without sugar
• χωρίς φίλους (φίλους = masculine accusative plural) – without friends
• χωρίς την υπογραφή σου (υπογραφή = feminine accusative) – without your signature

So την υπογραφή is in the accusative because it depends on the preposition χωρίς, not because it is a direct object of a verb. That’s just how prepositions work in Greek: they “govern” the accusative.

Why do we have την and το? When do we use each one?

Την and το are both forms of the definite article “the”, but they agree with the gender and case of the noun.

• την = the (feminine, accusative singular)
• το = the (neuter, nominative OR accusative singular)

In your sentence:

• την υπογραφή σου

  • υπογραφή is a feminine noun
    → we use την in the accusative: την υπογραφή

• το συμβόλαιο

  • συμβόλαιο is a neuter noun
    → we use το in the nominative: το συμβόλαιο

So:

• την υπογραφή – the signature (as the object of χωρίς)
• το συμβόλαιο – the contract (the subject of the sentence)

Why is συμβόλαιο treated as neuter, and why is έτοιμο also neuter?

In Greek, nouns have grammatical gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), and adjectives must agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number (singular/plural)
• case

Συμβόλαιο (contract) is a neuter noun. Therefore, the adjective έτοιμος (ready) must match it:

• masculine: έτοιμος (ο έτοιμος φάκελος – the ready file)
• feminine: έτοιμη (η έτοιμη δουλειά – the ready work)
• neuter: έτοιμο (το έτοιμο συμβόλαιο – the ready contract)

In the sentence:

• το συμβόλαιο δεν είναι έτοιμο.
  • το συμβόλαιο – neuter singular
  • έτοιμο – neuter singular (agreeing with συμβόλαιο)

Why do we use the in Greek (την υπογραφή, το συμβόλαιο) when English sometimes could say “your signature” and “a/the contract”?

Greek uses the definite article (ο, η, το, etc.) more often than English, and it doesn’t have an equivalent of the English indefinite article “a / an”. Context usually tells you whether Greek means a or the.

Here:

• την υπογραφή σου literally: the signature of you / your signature
• το συμβόλαιο literally: the contract

In English you could say:

• “Without your signature, the contract is not ready.”
• If context is looser, possibly: “Without your signature, a contract is not ready.”

In Greek, however, you simply say:

• Χωρίς την υπογραφή σου, το συμβόλαιο δεν είναι έτοιμο.

If you wanted to stress “a contract” in Greek, you’d usually show that with context or with words like κάποιο (some) or ένα in speech (colloquial use, functioning like “one”):

• Χωρίς την υπογραφή σου, κανένα συμβόλαιο δεν είναι έτοιμο.
  → Without your signature, no contract is ready.

But the basic point: definite articles are very common in Greek, more so than “the” is in English.

Can I change the word order and say: Το συμβόλαιο δεν είναι έτοιμο χωρίς την υπογραφή σου? Is that still correct?

Yes, that is fully correct and very natural:

• Το συμβόλαιο δεν είναι έτοιμο χωρίς την υπογραφή σου.

Both orders are possible:

1. Χωρίς την υπογραφή σου, το συμβόλαιο δεν είναι έτοιμο.
2. Το συμβόλαιο δεν είναι έτοιμο χωρίς την υπογραφή σου.

The difference is mainly emphasis:

• Version 1 starts with “Without your signature”, highlighting the condition (the missing signature).
• Version 2 starts with “The contract”, highlighting the contract first and then adding the condition.

Greek word order is relatively flexible. Prepositional phrases like χωρίς την υπογραφή σου can often move to the beginning or the end of the sentence without changing the basic meaning.

Why is the negation δεν before είναι? Could we ever say είναι δεν έτοιμο?

The normal position of the negative particle δεν is directly before the verb:

• δεν + verb

In your sentence:

• δεν είναι έτοιμο
  • δεν – not
  • είναι – is
  • έτοιμο – ready

So literally: “not is ready”.

You cannot say είναι δεν έτοιμο in standard Greek. That word order is wrong.

Some more examples:

• Δεν πάω. – I’m not going.
• Δεν καταλαβαίνω. – I don’t understand.
• Δεν έχω χρόνο. – I don’t have time.

Adjectives like έτοιμος / έτοιμο follow the verb είμαι:

• Είναι έτοιμος. – He is ready.
• Δεν είναι έτοιμος. – He is not ready.

Do I need a comma after Χωρίς την υπογραφή σου?

You will often see it written as:

• Χωρίς την υπογραφή σου, το συμβόλαιο δεν είναι έτοιμο.

Putting a comma after Χωρίς την υπογραφή σου is normal and recommended, because this prepositional phrase comes at the beginning and functions like an introductory clause (“Without your signature,”).

However, in informal writing, some people might omit this comma. It’s not a change of grammar, just punctuation style.

If you move the phrase to the end, you don’t use a comma:

• Το συμβόλαιο δεν είναι έτοιμο χωρίς την υπογραφή σου.

How do you pronounce the whole sentence?

Here’s a rough phonetic guide (using English-like sounds):

• Χωρίς – kho-REES
  
  • χ like a rough “h” / German “ch” in Bach
• την – teen (short and unstressed)
• υπογραφή – ee-po-ghra-FEE
  
  • υ here like “ee”
  • γρ like “gr” but softer “g” before a/o/u, more like voiced “gh”
• σου – soo
• το – to (close to “toh”)
• συμβόλαιο – seem-VO-le-o
  
  • stress on VO
• δεν – then (like English “then” with th as in this)
• είναι – EE-ne
• έτοιμο – E-ti-mo (E as in “bet”, stress on first syllable)

Putting it together with stressed syllables in caps:

Kho-REES teen ee-po-ghra-FEE soo to seem-VO-le-o THEN EE-ne E-ti-mo.

What is υπογραφή exactly? Is it related to a verb?

Yes. Υπογραφή (signature) is related to the verb υπογράφω (to sign).

• υπογράφω – I sign
• υπογραφή – signature

This is a common pattern in Greek: a verb and its related noun share a root.

Some more examples:

• γράφω (I write) → γραφή (writing, script)
• απόφαση (decision) ← αποφασίζω (I decide)

In your sentence:

• χωρίς την υπογραφή σου = without your signature
• If you turn it into a verb idea: χωρίς να υπογράψεις – without (you) signing.