Learn Hardcore Greek: Το πρωί πριν τη δουλειά δεν προλαβαίνω να πίνω καφέ. - In the morning before work I don’t have time to drink coffee.

As a preposition by itself:
- πριν τη δουλειά
  This is very common in speech and informal writing.
As part of the prepositional phrase πριν από:
- πριν από τη δουλειά
  This is often a bit clearer and can feel slightly more explicit or careful.

In everyday language, πριν τη δουλειά is completely natural and very common.

Why is it written τη δουλειά and not την δουλειά? When do you drop the final -ν in την?

Both τη δουλειά and την δουλειά are possible in Modern Greek. The final -ν is optional in the feminine article την (and in τον).

Standard modern rule (in writing):

Keep the -ν before vowels and before certain consonants (π, τ, κ, μπ, ντ, γκ, ξ, ψ):
- την ώρα, την πόρτα, την τσάντα, την καρέκλα
It can be dropped before other consonants:
- τη δουλειά, τη μαμά, τη γυναίκα

So τη δουλειά follows this modern spelling convention.

In speech, you’ll often hear a /n/ sound blending with the next word, but in writing, τη δουλειά (without ν) is the common modern form.

What exactly does προλαβαίνω mean? It doesn’t translate literally as “have time”.

προλαβαίνω means something like:

“to have enough time (to do something)”
“to manage in time”
“to catch (before it’s too late)”

In this sentence:
δεν προλαβαίνω να πίνω καφέ ≈ “I don’t have enough time to drink coffee.”

Other examples:

Πρόλαβα το λεωφορείο.
I caught the bus (I got there in time).
Δεν πρόλαβα να διαβάσω.
I didn’t manage to read / I didn’t have time to read.

So προλαβαίνω always includes the idea of time pressure or beating a deadline.

Why is it να πίνω after προλαβαίνω? Is that like an infinitive?

Modern Greek doesn’t have an infinitive the way English does.
Instead, it uses να + verb (the “subjunctive”) to express:

“to do something”
“in order to do something”
purposes, wishes, possibilities, etc.

So να πίνω here plays the role of “to drink”.

Structure:

δεν προλαβαίνω = I don’t have time / I don’t manage
να πίνω καφέ = to drink coffee

Together:
δεν προλαβαίνω να πίνω καφέ = I don’t have time to drink coffee.

You’ll see this pattern with many verbs:

θέλω να φάω = I want to eat
μπορώ να έρθω = I can come
προσπαθώ να διαβάσω = I try to read

Why is it να πίνω καφέ and not να πιω καφέ? What’s the difference?

This is an aspect difference: imperfective (πίνω) vs perfective (πιω).

να πίνω καφέ (imperfective)
Focuses on the ongoing / repeated / habitual action of drinking coffee.
Here, it means: “I don’t have time to be drinking coffee / to drink coffee (generally, as a habit) in the mornings before work.”
να πιω καφέ (perfective)
Focuses on a single, complete event of drinking a coffee.
δεν προλαβαίνω να πιω καφέ would sound more like:
“I don’t have time to drink a coffee (once, fully).”

In this sentence we’re talking about a general, habitual situation every morning, so να πίνω (imperfective) is more natural.

Why is δεν placed before προλαβαίνω and not before να πίνω?

In Greek, δεν comes right before the main verb it negates.

Here, the main verb of the clause is προλαβαίνω:

δεν προλαβαίνω = I don’t have time / I don’t manage

The να πίνω καφέ part depends on προλαβαίνω (what you don’t have time to do), so you don’t negate it separately.

If you put δεν before να πίνω, it would be ungrammatical in standard Greek:
✗ *προλαβαίνω δεν να πίνω καφέ (wrong)

So the correct placement is always:

δεν
- (main verb) + να
  - (dependent verb)

Why is there no article before καφέ? Why not να πίνω έναν καφέ?

καφές (coffee) can be:

A mass noun / generic:
- να πίνω καφέ = to drink coffee (in general, coffee as a substance, or the habit of drinking coffee)
A countable drink (a cup of coffee):
- να πίνω έναν καφέ = to drink a (single) coffee / a cup of coffee

In this sentence, we’re talking about the habit of having coffee in the morning, not a specific cup, so using no article fits well:

να πίνω καφέ = to drink coffee (as a general activity)

Both are grammatically correct, but:

δεν προλαβαίνω να πίνω καφέ = I don’t have time (as a rule) to drink coffee.
δεν προλαβαίνω να πιω έναν καφέ = I don’t have time to drink one coffee (e.g. right now / on a specific occasion).

What case is τη δουλειά in, and what case is καφέ in?

Both are in the accusative case, but they play different roles:

τη δουλειά
- Feminine noun η δουλειά (“the work / job”)
- Accusative singular with the article: τη δουλειά
- Object of the preposition πριν (“before work”).
καφέ
- Masculine noun ο καφές (“the coffee”)
- Accusative singular is τον καφέ, but here the article is omitted, so just καφέ.
- Direct object of the verb πίνω (“to drink coffee”).

So:

πριν τη δουλειά = before work (accusative after πριν)
να πίνω καφέ = to drink coffee (coffee is the direct object in accusative).

Why does καφές lose the final -ς and become καφέ here?

καφές is a masculine noun with this pattern:

Nominative: ο καφές (subject form)
Accusative: (τον) καφέ
Genitive: του καφέ

In our sentence, καφέ is in the accusative (object of πίνω), and because we’re not using the article (τον), you only see the bare form καφέ.

So:

Ο καφές είναι ζεστός. = The coffee is hot. (nominative)
Πίνω καφέ. = I drink coffee. (accusative, no article)
Πίνω τον καφέ. = I drink the coffee. (accusative with article)

Can the word order change? For example, can I say Το πρωί δεν προλαβαίνω πριν τη δουλειά να πίνω καφέ?

Greek word order is relatively flexible, so several variations are possible and natural:

Original:

Το πρωί πριν τη δουλειά δεν προλαβαίνω να πίνω καφέ.

Other acceptable orders:

Το πρωί δεν προλαβαίνω να πίνω καφέ πριν τη δουλειά.
Το πρωί δεν προλαβαίνω πριν τη δουλειά να πίνω καφέ.
Πριν τη δουλειά το πρωί δεν προλαβαίνω να πίνω καφέ.

All keep the same basic meaning. Moving πριν τη δουλειά changes the emphasis a bit, but not the core message.

What you can’t easily change is:

δεν must stay immediately before προλαβαίνω.
να must stay immediately before πίνω.

Does δουλειά mean “job” or “work”? How is it different from εργασία?

δουλειά is the everyday, informal word and can mean:

Job / employment
- Έχω δουλειά. = I have a job.
Work / tasks / things to do
- Έχω πολλή δουλειά. = I have a lot of work (to do).

εργασία is more formal and often used in:

Official language, paperwork, formal writing
School/university assignments: εργασία = paper / project
Technical context: εργασιακός χώρος (workplace), συνθήκες εργασίας (working conditions)

In everyday speech about going to work, δουλειά is by far the most natural:

Πάω στη δουλειά. = I’m going to work.

So πριν τη δουλειά naturally means “before (going to) work”.

What tense and aspect is προλαβαίνω here? Is it present continuous or something else?

προλαβαίνω is in the present tense, imperfective aspect, 1st person singular:

προλαβαίνω = I (usually) manage / I (generally) have time.

In Greek, the present tense with imperfective aspect is used for:

General truths
Habits and repeated actions
Ongoing situations

So δεν προλαβαίνω here describes a habitual situation:

“I don’t (generally) have time” / “I never have time” in the mornings before work.

It’s not just about this one morning; it describes what typically happens.

Could I say Το πρωί πριν τη δουλειά δεν έχω χρόνο για καφέ instead? Is it equivalent?

Yes, that’s a very natural alternative:

Δεν έχω χρόνο για καφέ = I don’t have time for coffee.

Differences:

δεν προλαβαίνω να πίνω καφέ
- More idiomatic, compact, and implies not managing to fit in the action of drinking coffee.
δεν έχω χρόνο για καφέ
- Slightly more literal and transparent for learners.
- Focuses explicitly on “having no time”.

In everyday speech both sound natural and express almost the same idea in this context.