Learn Hardcore Greek: Όταν είμαι συγκεντρωμένη, γράφω γρήγορα και σχεδόν χωρίς λάθη. - When I am focused female, I write quickly and almost without mistakes.

female speaker: συγκεντρωμένη
male speaker: συγκεντρωμένος
more than one person: συγκεντρωμένοι (for a mixed or all‑male group), συγκεντρωμένες (all‑female group)

Why is the subject pronoun εγώ (I) not used?

Greek usually drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the subject.

είμαι can only mean I am in the present tense.
So Όταν είμαι συγκεντρωμένη clearly means When I am focused without needing εγώ.

You could say:

Όταν εγώ είμαι συγκεντρωμένη, γράφω…

but that normally sounds:

more emphatic (When I am focused, I write… as opposed to others), or
slightly unnatural in everyday neutral speech.

In most normal contexts, leaving out εγώ is the natural choice.

Why is είμαι (I am) in the present tense and not a different tense?

The sentence describes a general, habitual situation:

Whenever I am (in general) focused, I write quickly…

Greek typically uses the present tense for:

general truths
habits
repeated situations

So Όταν είμαι συγκεντρωμένη, γράφω… is like When I am focused, I write… or When I am focused, I tend to write… in English.

If you wanted to refer to a specific future time, you might use a different structure, e.g.:

Όταν συγκεντρωθώ, θα γράψω…
When I (manage to) concentrate, I will write…

What is the difference between Όταν είμαι συγκεντρωμένη and Όταν συγκεντρώνομαι?

Both relate to concentration, but they feel slightly different:

είμαι συγκεντρωμένη
literally: I am concentrated / I am in a focused state
→ describes a state or condition you are in.
συγκεντρώνομαι
literally: I concentrate (myself)
→ describes the action / process of focusing.

So:

Όταν είμαι συγκεντρωμένη, γράφω γρήγορα…
When I am in a focused state, I write fast…
Όταν συγκεντρώνομαι, γράφω γρήγορα…
When I concentrate, I write fast…

Both are acceptable, but the original emphasizes the state of already being focused.

Why is Όταν used here and not Αν?

Όταν usually means when in the sense of:
- whenever this happens
- every time this happens
- at the time that this happens
Αν means if, expressing condition or uncertainty.

In this sentence, the speaker talks about what happens whenever she is focused, not a hypothetical condition.

Όταν είμαι συγκεντρωμένη, γράφω…
When(ever) I am focused, I write…

If you used Αν:

Αν είμαι συγκεντρωμένη, γράφω…
If I am focused, I write…

This sounds more conditional, like the speaker is not sure whether she will be focused. Όταν is more natural here.

Why is there a comma after συγκεντρωμένη?

The sentence has two clauses:

Όταν είμαι συγκεντρωμένη → dependent clause (when‑clause)
γράφω γρήγορα και σχεδόν χωρίς λάθη → main clause

In Greek, when a dependent clause comes first, it is usually followed by a comma, just like in English:

When I am focused, I write quickly…

So the comma separates the when‑clause from the main statement.

Why is γρήγορα used instead of an adjective form like γρήγορη?

In Greek, adverbs of manner (how you do something) often end in ‑α or ‑ως and do not change for gender or number.

γρήγορα is the adverb: quickly, fast
γρήγορος / γρήγορη / γρήγορο are adjectives: fast (describing a noun)

Here, γρήγορα describes how you write:

γράφω γρήγορα → I write quickly

Using γρήγορη would be wrong, because γράψιμο (writing) is not being described as a noun here; instead, the verb γράφω needs an adverb.

What exactly does σχεδόν χωρίς λάθη mean and how does σχεδόν work here?

χωρίς λάθη = without mistakes
σχεδόν = almost, nearly

Together:

σχεδόν χωρίς λάθη = almost without mistakes

This implies:

There are very few or minor mistakes.
It is not completely mistake‑free.

Grammatically, σχεδόν modifies the whole phrase χωρίς λάθη, so it is like saying:

almost (entirely) mistake‑free
nearly without mistakes

You could also express the idea with other structures, for example:

γράφω σχεδόν αλάνθαστα → I write almost flawlessly
κάνω πολύ λίγα λάθη → I make very few mistakes

But σχεδόν χωρίς λάθη is very natural and common.

Could I say σχεδόν δεν κάνω λάθη instead of σχεδόν χωρίς λάθη?

Yes, that is possible and natural, but the structure changes:

γράφω γρήγορα και σχεδόν χωρίς λάθη
I write quickly and almost without mistakes.
γράφω γρήγορα και σχεδόν δεν κάνω λάθη
I write quickly and I almost do not make mistakes.

Differences:

χωρίς λάθη is a prepositional phrase (without mistakes).
δεν κάνω λάθη is a full verb phrase (I do not make mistakes).

Both communicate a similar idea. The original is slightly more compact and sounds very smooth in writing.

Why is λάθη in the plural?

In Greek, as in English, mistakes are often thought of as countable:

one mistake, two mistakes → λάθος, λάθη

The phrase χωρίς λάθη means without mistakes (in general).

You could theoretically say χωρίς λάθος, but:

χωρίς λάθη is the standard, idiomatic way to say without mistakes.
χωρίς λάθος sounds more like without a particular single mistake and is much less common in this kind of general sentence.

Could you drop είμαι and just say Όταν συγκεντρωμένη?

No, that would be ungrammatical in standard modern Greek.

In Greek you normally need a verb in this type of clause:

Όταν είμαι συγκεντρωμένη… → correct
Όταν συγκεντρωμένη… → incorrect / incomplete

Greek does not use an English‑style When focused, I write fast pattern so easily. You must keep είμαι in this sentence.

Is this sentence talking about a single occasion or a general habit?

With Όταν είμαι συγκεντρωμένη, γράφω γρήγορα και σχεδόν χωρίς λάθη, the default interpretation is:

a habitual, general statement
→ Whenever I am focused, I write fast and almost without mistakes.

The combination of:

Όταν
- present tense (είμαι, γράφω)

normally refers to repeated or typical situations, not to a single one‑time event.