Breakdown of Αν γίνει αυτή η πιθανή αλλαγή, η συνάντηση θα αρχίσει μια ώρα νωρίτερα.
Questions & Answers about Αν γίνει αυτή η πιθανή αλλαγή, η συνάντηση θα αρχίσει μια ώρα νωρίτερα.
In standard Modern Greek you do not use θα in the same clause as αν.
- Αν γίνει literally is “if (it) happen” – here γίνει is in the subjunctive.
- Greek uses αν + subjunctive to talk about real possibilities in the future:
- Αν βρέξει, θα μείνουμε μέσα. – If it rains, we will stay inside.
You would normally not say:
- ✗ Αν θα γίνει αυτή η πιθανή αλλαγή… (ungrammatical in standard Greek).
So the pattern is:
- Αν
- subjunctive (γίνει) → conditional/“if” clause
- Θα
- subjunctive (θα αρχίσει) → future main clause
Putting θα into the αν-clause is redundant and considered wrong in standard usage.
Γίνει is:
- the 3rd person singular
- aorist subjunctive
- of the verb γίνομαι (to become / to happen).
So:
- γίνομαι – I become / I happen (present)
- έγινα – I became / I happened (aorist past)
- να γίνω – (that) I become / I might become (aorist subjunctive)
- να γίνει – (that) it become / it might happen
- αν γίνει – if it happens
In conditionals about the future, Greek strongly prefers the aorist subjunctive:
- Αν γίνει αυτό… – If this happens…
- Αν έρθει ο Γιάννης… – If Giannis comes…
The aorist here does not mean “past”. It is about a single, complete event (whether it will happen or not), which is why it fits well in this type of conditional.
Greek has a fairly fixed pattern when you use a demonstrative (this/that) with a noun and adjective:
[demonstrative] + [article] + [adjective] + [noun]
So:
- αυτή η πιθανή αλλαγή = this possible change
literally: this the possible change
Other examples:
- εκείνος ο ψηλός άντρας – that tall man
- αυτή η μεγάλη πόλη – this big city
If you drop the demonstrative, you just get the usual:
- η πιθανή αλλαγή – the possible change
So the order shows:
- αυτή – points to a specific one (this)
- η – says it’s definite (the)
- πιθανή – adjective
- αλλαγή – noun
Both involve πιθανή (“possible”), but they function differently:
Attributive adjective (inside the noun phrase)
- αυτή η πιθανή αλλαγή
Here πιθανή is a normal descriptive adjective directly modifying αλλαγή.
Meaning: this possible change (one of its characteristics is that it is possible).
- αυτή η πιθανή αλλαγή
Predicate adjective (with a form of “to be”)
- αυτή η αλλαγή είναι πιθανή
Literally: this change is possible.
Here πιθανή is not part of the noun phrase; it’s what we say about the subject.
- αυτή η αλλαγή είναι πιθανή
In practice:
- αυτή η πιθανή αλλαγή sounds more compact, as if “possible” is an inherent label of the change.
- αυτή η αλλαγή είναι πιθανή states it more explicitly as a comment or assessment: “this change (we’re talking about) is possible.”
The noun αλλαγή is feminine singular, nominative case.
In Greek, the article, demonstrative, and adjective must agree with the noun in:
- Gender (feminine)
- Number (singular)
- Case (nominative here, because it’s the subject of the verb γίνει)
So we get:
- αυτή – feminine nominative singular demonstrative (this)
- η – feminine nominative singular article (the)
- πιθανή – feminine nominative singular adjective (possible)
- αλλαγή – feminine nominative singular noun (change)
If the noun were masculine, you would see:
- αυτός ο πιθανός νόμος – this possible law (νόμος = masculine)
This is about definiteness:
η συνάντηση – the meeting
- The speaker has a specific, known meeting in mind (e.g., “the meeting we have scheduled”).
- Greek uses the definite article η to mark that both speaker and listener can identify which meeting it is.
μια ώρα – an hour / one hour
- This is not a specific hour, just a quantity (“one hour earlier than planned”).
- So Greek uses μια, the indefinite article (also the word for “one” in the feminine).
This mirrors English quite closely here:
- the meeting will start an hour earlier.
Written forms:
- μια
- μία
Pronunciation in everyday speech is usually the same: [mia].
General tendencies:
- μια is the usual, unstressed form of the indefinite article “a/an”:
- μια ώρα, μια μέρα, μια φορά – an hour, a day, once
- μία often appears:
- when you are counting (“one” as a number),
- or when you put stress/emphasis on the word.
In this sentence (μια ώρα νωρίτερα), we are using it as the ordinary indefinite article “an hour”, so μια is the most common spelling.
Νωρίτερα is the comparative adverb of νωρίς (“early”):
- νωρίς – early
- νωρίτερα – earlier
So:
- μια ώρα νωρίτερα – an hour earlier
Comparisons:
νωρίτερα and πιο νωρίς are very similar:
- μια ώρα νωρίτερα ≈ μια ώρα πιο νωρίς – an hour earlier
Νωρίτερα is just a single word; πιο νωρίς is “more early”.
- μια ώρα νωρίτερα ≈ μια ώρα πιο νωρίς – an hour earlier
πριν means “before” and is used differently:
- πριν από μια ώρα – an hour ago / before an hour ago
- πριν τη συνάντηση – before the meeting
In your sentence, you’re comparing the starting time of the meeting to its usual or planned time, so νωρίτερα or πιο νωρίς is what you want, not πριν.
Yes, you can safely reverse the order of the two clauses:
- Αν γίνει αυτή η πιθανή αλλαγή, η συνάντηση θα αρχίσει μια ώρα νωρίτερα.
- Η συνάντηση θα αρχίσει μια ώρα νωρίτερα, αν γίνει αυτή η πιθανή αλλαγή.
Both are grammatically correct and mean the same thing.
Punctuation:
- In writing, Greek normally puts a comma between the two clauses, just like English.
- Intonation in speech also changes slightly, pausing where the comma is.
Starting with αν is very common, but putting the if-clause second is also perfectly natural.
Yes, you can say:
- Εάν γίνει αυτή η πιθανή αλλαγή, η συνάντηση θα αρχίσει μια ώρα νωρίτερα.
Εάν is essentially a more formal or bookish version of αν.
In everyday spoken Greek, people overwhelmingly use αν. In writing, especially in more formal or official texts, εάν appears more often.
Functionally in this sentence:
- αν and εάν mean the same thing: if.