Όταν αρχίσει η συνάντηση, όλα τα μηνύματα με τις οδηγίες θα έχουν σταλεί.

When the meeting starts, all the messages with the instructions will have been sent.

Breakdown of Όταν αρχίσει η συνάντηση, όλα τα μηνύματα με τις οδηγίες θα έχουν σταλεί.

• έχω: to have
• με: with
• θα: will
• το μήνυμα: the message
• όταν: when
• αρχίζω: to start
• η συνάντηση: the meeting
• η οδηγία: the instruction
• όλος: all
• στέλνομαι: to be sent

Questions & Answers about Όταν αρχίσει η συνάντηση, όλα τα μηνύματα με τις οδηγίες θα έχουν σταλεί.

What exactly is αρχίσει (tense/mood), and why not αρχίζει or θα αρχίσει?

Αρχίσει is the aorist subjunctive, 3rd person singular, of the verb αρχίζω (to start).

• Αρχίζει η συνάντηση = the meeting starts / is starting (present indicative – real, present time, or habitual).
• Θα αρχίσει η συνάντηση = the meeting will start (future indicative).
• Όταν αρχίσει η συνάντηση = when the meeting starts but referring to a future time point; Greek uses the subjunctive (here: aorist subjunctive) after όταν for future events.

The aorist subjunctive αρχίσει focuses on the single event of beginning, seen as a whole (“at the moment it starts”), instead of the ongoing process.

Why is it όταν αρχίσει and not όταν θα αρχίσει?

In standard Modern Greek, when you talk about the future after time conjunctions like:

• όταν (when)
• μόλις (as soon as)
• αφού (after)
• πριν (να) (before)

you do not use θα. Instead, you use the subjunctive form of the verb.

So:

• Correct: Όταν αρχίσει η συνάντηση...
• Incorrect (in standard language): Όταν θα αρχίσει η συνάντηση...

Even though the meaning is future, Greek grammar expresses this by όταν + subjunctive, not όταν + θα.

Why is it αρχίσει η συνάντηση and not η συνάντηση αρχίσει at the start of the clause?

Greek word order is relatively flexible, and after conjunctions (like όταν) it’s very common to put the verb first and the subject after it:

• Όταν αρχίσει η συνάντηση...
• Όταν τελειώσει το μάθημα...
• Όταν φτάσει το τρένο...

You could say Όταν η συνάντηση αρχίσει, but it sounds less natural and slightly more marked. The version with the verb first is the usual, neutral phrasing in this kind of time clause.

So the subject η συνάντηση is still the subject of αρχίσει, even though it comes after the verb.

Why is η συνάντηση in that form? What does it tell me about gender and case?

Η συνάντηση is:

• feminine
• nominative
• singular

The article η and the noun συνάντηση both show nominative singular feminine forms. This is the subject of the verb αρχίσει, so it must be in the nominative.

Other forms of the same noun would be:

• Genitive singular: της συνάντησης
• Accusative singular: τη(ν) συνάντηση
• Nominative plural: οι συναντήσεις

What is happening in όλα τα μηνύματα? Why do we have both όλα and τα?

Μηνύματα is the neuter plural of μήνυμα (message).

• μήνυμα = message (neuter singular)
• μηνύματα = messages (neuter plural)

In όλα τα μηνύματα:

• όλα = all (neuter plural)
• τα = the (neuter plural definite article)
• μηνύματα = messages

In Greek, quantifiers like όλα usually do not replace the article; they often appear together:

• όλα τα βιβλία = all the books
• όλα τα παιδιά = all the children

So όλα τα μηνύματα is the normal way to say all the messages.

What does με τις οδηγίες mean grammatically, and why use με instead of a genitive like των οδηγιών?

Με τις οδηγίες literally means with the instructions.

• με = with (preposition)
• τις = the (feminine plural accusative article)
• οδηγίες = instructions (feminine plural accusative of οδηγία)

Here, με τις οδηγίες functions like an adjective phrase modifying μηνύματα:

• μηνύματα με τις οδηγίες = messages with the instructions (i.e. messages that contain or include the instructions)

If you said μηνύματα των οδηγιών, it would be odd or unclear; it would literally look like messages of the instructions, which does not sound natural as a relationship in Greek. The preposition με nicely expresses the idea of containing / accompanied by.

So:

• μηνύματα με τις οδηγίες = messages that carry / include instructions
• οδηγίες των μαθητών = the students’ instructions (here a genitive makes sense as possession/association)

What tense is θα έχουν σταλεί, and how is it formed?

Θα έχουν σταλεί is the future perfect passive of στέλνω (to send).

Structure:

1. θα (future marker)
2. έχουν (3rd person plural of έχω = to have)
3. σταλεί (perfect passive participle form related to στάλθηκα = I was sent)

So:

• έχουν σταλεί τα μηνύματα = the messages have been sent
• θα έχουν σταλεί τα μηνύματα = the messages will have been sent

The future perfect expresses an action that will already be completed by a certain future time (here: by the time the meeting starts).

What is the difference between θα έχουν σταλεί and θα σταλούν?

Both are passive and refer to the future, but they express different aspects of time:

• Θα σταλούν τα μηνύματα
  = the messages will be sent (simple future passive)
  This just says they will be sent at some point in the future.

• Θα έχουν σταλεί τα μηνύματα
  = the messages will have been sent (future perfect passive)
  This says that by a particular future moment, the sending will already be completed.

In the full sentence:

• Όταν αρχίσει η συνάντηση, όλα τα μηνύματα με τις οδηγίες θα έχουν σταλεί.
  Focus: By the time the meeting starts, the sending of the messages will already be finished.

If you used θα σταλούν, the focus on “already finished before the meeting starts” would be weaker or lost.

Why does σταλεί look singular even though the subject όλα τα μηνύματα is plural?

In compound tenses like έχει/έχουν σταλεί, the participle σταλεί is an indeclinable (unchanging) form. It does not change for number or gender.

Agreement happens only in the auxiliary verb:

• Έχει σταλεί το μήνυμα.
  = The message has been sent. (3rd singular έχει)
• Έχουν σταλεί τα μηνύματα.
  = The messages have been sent. (3rd plural έχουν)

So in θα έχουν σταλεί τα μηνύματα:

• έχουν (plural) agrees with τα μηνύματα
• σταλεί stays the same form, regardless of singular/plural

Can the word order be Όταν αρχίσει η συνάντηση, θα έχουν σταλεί όλα τα μηνύματα με τις οδηγίες? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, that word order is perfectly correct:

• Όταν αρχίσει η συνάντηση, θα έχουν σταλεί όλα τα μηνύματα με τις οδηγίες.

Compared to the original:

• Όταν αρχίσει η συνάντηση, όλα τα μηνύματα με τις οδηγίες θα έχουν σταλεί.

The basic meaning is the same. Greek word order is flexible, and both orders are natural. Subtle differences in focus:

• Original order slightly highlights όλα τα μηνύματα με τις οδηγίες at the beginning of the second clause.
• Rearranged order keeps the verb complex θα έχουν σταλεί earlier and leaves όλα τα μηνύματα με τις οδηγίες towards the end, which can make the “all the messages with the instructions” sound a bit more like the new information in speech.

In everyday conversation, both are fine and sound natural.

Why is όταν used here and not αν? Both can look like “when/if” in English.

In this sentence, we’re talking about a time that is expected or planned to come:

• Όταν αρχίσει η συνάντηση...
  = When the meeting starts... (the meeting is expected to happen)

Όταν introduces a time clause (“at the time that…”), especially when the event is assumed or expected.

Αν introduces a condition (“if”):

• Αν αρχίσει η συνάντηση...
  = If the meeting starts... (maybe it will, maybe it won’t)

So όταν is correct here because the meeting is treated as a given future event, not a hypothetical one.