Learn Hardcore Greek: Σήμερα μπορεί να κάνουμε βόλτα, αλλά εξαρτάται από τον καιρό. - Today we may go for a walk, but it depends on the weather.

μπορεί να κάνουμε βόλτα ≈ “we might go for a walk” / “it’s possible that we’ll go for a walk”
Here μπορεί doesn’t have a clear “subject”; it’s like English “maybe”.
The verb in the να-clause (κάνουμε) shows who the action concerns (we).

Compare:

Μπορεί να κάνουμε βόλτα. = We might go for a walk. (impersonal, “maybe we will”)
Μπορούμε να κάνουμε βόλτα. = We can go for a walk (we are able/allowed to). (personal, “we are able”)

So μπορεί + να + verb often translates as “may/might” rather than “can” in English.

What is the function of να in να κάνουμε βόλτα?

να is a particle that typically introduces a subjunctive verb form. It often corresponds to English “to”, “that”, or sometimes just a bare verb.

In this sentence:

να κάνουμε is the subjunctive of κάνω for “we”.
μπορεί να κάνουμε βόλτα literally is like “it may (be that) we do/take a walk”.

Common patterns:

Θέλω να πάμε. – I want to go.
Πρέπει να διαβάσεις. – You must study.
Μπορεί να βρέξει. – It might rain.

So να is required after μπορεί in this “may/might” meaning, and it marks the verb (κάνουμε) as subjunctive.

Why do we say κάνουμε βόλτα instead of something like περπατάμε βόλτα?

κάνω βόλτα is a fixed expression in Greek meaning “to go for a walk / stroll / outing”.

κάνω = to do/make
βόλτα = walk, stroll, outing

Together: κάνω βόλτα = “take a walk / go for a stroll”, not literally “do a walk” in natural English.

You can also say:

πάμε βόλτα – let’s go for a walk
πήγα βόλτα – I went for a walk

περπατάω by itself just means “I walk (on foot)”, without the idea of leisure, going out, etc. So:

Περπάτησα μέχρι το σχολείο. – I walked to school.
Έκανα βόλτα στο πάρκο. – I went for a walk in the park. (more like a stroll for pleasure)

What is the difference between μπορεί να κάνουμε βόλτα and ίσως κάνουμε βόλτα?

Both express possibility, but with a slight nuance:

μπορεί να κάνουμε βόλτα
- Very common, everyday.
- Literally “it may (be that) we go for a walk.”
- Structure: μπορεί + να + subjunctive.
ίσως κάνουμε βόλτα
- Also common, a bit closer to English “perhaps / maybe we’ll go for a walk.”
- ίσως directly modifies the verb κάνουμε.

They’re often interchangeable in casual speech. Slight feeling:

μπορεί να…: focuses a bit more on “it’s possible that…”
ίσως…: a general “maybe…”

In practice, both are fine in this sentence.

Can I change the word order? For example, is Μπορεί σήμερα να κάνουμε βόλτα also correct?

Yes, Greek word order is relatively flexible. All of these are grammatically correct, with only small differences in emphasis:

Σήμερα μπορεί να κάνουμε βόλτα…
Μπορεί σήμερα να κάνουμε βόλτα…
Μπορεί να κάνουμε βόλτα σήμερα…

Typical nuances:

Starting with Σήμερα highlights “today”.
Putting σήμερα later is more neutral or might sound like a small afterthought.

In everyday speech, all three versions sound natural.

What does εξαρτάται από literally mean, and why is από used?

εξαρτάται comes from the verb εξαρτώμαι, meaning “to depend”.

εξαρτάται από… = “(it) depends on…”

Literally, από means “from”, but in many contexts it corresponds to English “from / by / on”. In this phrase, από is just the standard preposition used with εξαρτάται.

Examples:

Εξαρτάται από τον καιρό. – It depends on the weather.
Όλα εξαρτώνται από σένα. – Everything depends on you.

So you should memorize εξαρτάται από as the natural combination for “depends on.”

Why is εξαρτάται in the third person singular? What is its subject?

In this sentence, εξαρτάται is used similarly to English “it depends”, where “it” is a kind of dummy / general subject.

…αλλά εξαρτάται από τον καιρό.
= “…but it depends on the weather.”

You could make the subject explicit:

Αυτό εξαρτάται από τον καιρό. – This depends on the weather.

If you had a plural subject, the verb would agree:

Τα πάντα εξαρτώνται από τον καιρό. – Everything depends on the weather.

Here, though, the subject is understood and not mentioned, so εξαρτάται stays third person singular.

Why do we say τον καιρό with the article? In English we just say “weather,” not “the weather.”

Greek uses the definite article much more often than English, especially with general or abstract nouns.

ο καιρός = the weather but often just “weather” in English.

In phrases like:

ο καιρός είναι καλός – the weather is good
εξαρτάται από τον καιρό – it depends on the weather

Greek prefers the definite article to talk about weather in general or the weather in this context.

Saying από καιρό without the article would sound either incomplete or like you mean “from (a long) time” in some idioms, not weather. So here the article τον is natural and basically required.

Why is it τον καιρό and not ο καιρός? What case is this?

τον καιρό is in the accusative case, used for the object of a preposition.

ο καιρός = nominative (subject form): the weather
τον καιρό = accusative (object form): the weather as an object

After the preposition από (from, by, on), the noun goes into the accusative:

από τον καιρό – on the weather
από το σπίτι – from the house
από την πόλη – from the city

So the article changes: ο → τον, η → την, το → το (for neuter stays the same in form).

Is καιρός always “weather”? Are there any other common meanings I should know?

The main meaning here is “weather”, but καιρός has another important common meaning: “time / the right moment, opportunity.”

Examples:

Δεν έχω καιρό. – I don’t have time (I’m busy).
Ήρθε η ώρα, ήρθε ο καιρός. – The time has come.
Καλό καιρό να ‘χουμε! – Let’s have good weather!

In your sentence, τον καιρό clearly means “the weather” because of the context: going for a walk depends on what the weather is like.