Learn Hardcore Greek: Η γιαγιά μου κατεβαίνει πάντα από το ταξί πολύ αργά, σαν να φοβάται ότι το πεζοδρόμιο είναι πολύ στενό. - My grandmother always gets out of the taxi very slowly, as if she is afraid that the sidewalk is very narrow.

Η γιαγιά μου κατεβαίνει πάντα από το ταξί πολύ αργά, σαν να φοβάται ότι το πεζοδρόμιο είναι πολύ στενό.

My grandmother always gets out of the taxi very slowly, as if she is afraid that the sidewalk is very narrow.

Breakdown of Η γιαγιά μου κατεβαίνει πάντα από το ταξί πολύ αργά, σαν να φοβάται ότι το πεζοδρόμιο είναι πολύ στενό.

to get out of (a vehicle)

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Questions & Answers about Η γιαγιά μου κατεβαίνει πάντα από το ταξί πολύ αργά, σαν να φοβάται ότι το πεζοδρόμιο είναι πολύ στενό.

Why does Greek use κατεβαίνει από το ταξί to mean “gets out of the taxi”? It literally looks like “goes down from the taxi”.

In Greek, κατεβαίνω (katéveno) literally means “to go down / to descend”, but it is also the standard verb for getting off/out of a vehicle:

κατεβαίνω από το λεωφορείο = I get off the bus
κατεβαίνω από το τρένο = I get off the train
κατεβαίνω από το ταξί = I get out of the taxi

The preposition από means “from”, but with κατεβαίνω it corresponds to English “off / out of” when talking about vehicles. So:

κατεβαίνει από το ταξί = “she gets out of the taxi”

It sounds completely natural in Greek, even if the literal image is “goes down from the taxi”.

Could you also say βγαίνει από το ταξί instead of κατεβαίνει από το ταξί? What is the difference between κατεβαίνει and βγαίνει here?

Yes, you can say:

Η γιαγιά μου βγαίνει από το ταξί πολύ αργά.

βγαίνω (vghéno) = “to go out / to come out”.
κατεβαίνω and βγαίνω overlap when talking about cars/taxis:

κατεβαίνω από το ταξί – slightly more focused on the idea of coming down from a vehicle
βγαίνω από το ταξί – more general “coming out of” something

In everyday speech, both are used for cars and taxis. For buses/trains, κατεβαίνω από is more typical:

Κατέβηκα από το λεωφορείο sounds more natural than βγήκα από το λεωφορείο.

Where can πάντα go in the sentence, and does its position change the meaning?

In the sentence:

Η γιαγιά μου κατεβαίνει πάντα από το ταξί πολύ αργά…

πάντα = “always”. It modifies the verb κατεβαίνει (“gets out”).

Common correct positions:

Η γιαγιά μου πάντα κατεβαίνει από το ταξί πολύ αργά.
Η γιαγιά μου κατεβαίνει πάντα από το ταξί πολύ αργά.

Both mean the same: “My grandmother always gets out of the taxi very slowly.”

Other possibilities:

Πάντα η γιαγιά μου κατεβαίνει από το ταξί πολύ αργά.
– Also correct; puts a bit of emphasis on “always”.

You normally don’t separate πάντα from the verb too much, for example:

✗ Η γιαγιά μου κατεβαίνει από το ταξί πάντα πολύ αργά.
This is not wrong, but sounds slightly clumsy; it risks sounding like πάντα goes with πολύ αργά as one unit (“always very slowly”) instead of clearly modifying the verb. The first two versions are the most natural.

Why is σαν να used before φοβάται? What exactly does σαν να φοβάται express?

σαν να literally = “as if to / like that he/she …”.

σαν να φοβάται = “as if she is afraid / as if she were afraid”.

It doesn’t state as a fact that she is afraid; it describes how it looks:

…κατεβαίνει… σαν να φοβάται…
= “she gets out … as if she were afraid …”

So σαν να + verb expresses a hypothetical or apparent state, very close to English “as if …”:

Μιλάει σαν να ξέρει τα πάντα.
= He speaks as if he knows everything.

Here it softens the statement: we see her behaviour and it seems like she is afraid that the sidewalk is too narrow.

What form of the verb is φοβάται, and why does it look reflexive?

φοβάται (fováte) is 3rd person singular, present tense of the verb φοβάμαι (fováme) = “to be afraid”.

φοβάμαι is one of those Greek verbs that look reflexive (they end in -μαι), but in modern Greek they are just normal verbs with that pattern. They don’t always mean “to fear oneself”; they mean simply “to fear / to be afraid”:

(εγώ) φοβάμαι – I am afraid
(εσύ) φοβάσαι – you are afraid
(αυτός/αυτή) φοβάται – he/she is afraid

So σαν να φοβάται = “as if she is afraid”. There is no extra reflexive meaning here; it’s just the way this verb conjugates.

Could you also use a past tense after σαν να, for example σαν να φοβόταν? What would be the difference?

Yes:

σαν να φοβάται – present/imperfective: as if she is (generally, now) afraid
σαν να φοβόταν – past/imperfect: as if she were afraid (then) or as if she was always afraid in a past situation

Examples:

Τώρα κατεβαίνει από το ταξί σαν να φοβάται.
= Right now she gets out as if she is afraid.
Χθες κατέβηκε από το ταξί σαν να φοβόταν.
= Yesterday she got out as if she were afraid.

So the tense after σαν να behaves like normal tense: you choose φοβάται / φοβόταν / φοβήθηκε depending on when and how the fear is (continuous, repeated, completed, etc.).

What is the function of ότι in ότι το πεζοδρόμιο είναι πολύ στενό? Is it the same as English “that”?

Yes. Here ότι is a conjunction meaning “that” introducing a clause:

φοβάται ότι το πεζοδρόμιο είναι πολύ στενό
= “she is afraid that the sidewalk is too narrow”

So the structure is:

φοβάται ότι + [clause]

In modern Greek, ότι and πως can both mean “that” (as a conjunction):

φοβάται ότι το πεζοδρόμιο είναι πολύ στενό
φοβάται πως το πεζοδρόμιο είναι πολύ στενό

Both are correct and mean the same here. (Note: ότι the conjunction is different from ό,τι with a comma, which means “whatever / anything that”.)

Why is there a comma before σαν να in this sentence?

The comma separates the main clause from the comparative / subordinate clause:

Η γιαγιά μου κατεβαίνει πάντα από το ταξί πολύ αργά,
main statement
σαν να φοβάται ότι το πεζοδρόμιο είναι πολύ στενό.
added explanation/comparison (“as if …”)

In Greek, we usually put a comma before σαν να when it introduces this kind of extra clause:

Με κοιτάει, σαν να μην με αναγνωρίζει.
= He looks at me as if he doesn’t recognize me.

Without the comma, it’s not exactly “wrong”, but the comma makes the structure clear and is the normal punctuation choice.

How does πολύ work with αργά and στενό? Can πολύ go before any adjective or adverb?

πολύ (polý) is an intensifier = “very” / “a lot”.

In the sentence:

πολύ αργά = “very slowly” (adverb αργά)
πολύ στενό = “very narrow” (adjective στενό)

So:

κατεβαίνει πολύ αργά – she gets out very slowly
είναι πολύ στενό – it is very narrow

You can generally put πολύ before most adjectives and adverbs:

πολύ καλός – very good
πολύ γρήγορα – very quickly
πολύ μεγάλος – very big

With comparatives and some expressions, you might also hear πάρα πολύ (“extremely”), αρκετά, etc., but πολύ is the basic, very common intensifier.

Why is πεζοδρόμιο neuter (το πεζοδρόμιο) and the adjective στενό also in neuter form?

Greek nouns have grammatical gender, and πεζοδρόμιο (pezodrómio) happens to be neuter. Its article is το:

το πεζοδρόμιο – the sidewalk

Adjectives must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. The adjective στενός has the pattern:

masculine: στενός (ο δρόμος είναι στενός)
feminine: στενή (η πόρτα είναι στενή)
neuter: στενό (το πεζοδρόμιο είναι στενό)

So:

το πεζοδρόμιο είναι πολύ στενό
– neuter noun + neuter adjective

If the noun were feminine, the form would change:

η λεωφόρος είναι πολύ στενή – the avenue is very narrow.

Can you change the word order to σαν να φοβάται ότι είναι πολύ στενό το πεζοδρόμιο? Is that still correct?

Yes, that is still correct Greek. Word order in Greek is relatively flexible, so you can say:

ότι το πεζοδρόμιο είναι πολύ στενό
ότι είναι πολύ στενό το πεζοδρόμιο

Both mean “that the sidewalk is very narrow”. The second version puts a bit more emphasis at the end on το πεζοδρόμιο, but the meaning is essentially the same.

So the full alternative is:

…σαν να φοβάται ότι είναι πολύ στενό το πεζοδρόμιο.

This sounds natural.

What aspect of time does κατεβαίνει express here? Is it “is getting out” or “gets out”?

Greek present tense covers both English present simple and present continuous.

κατεβαίνει can mean:

“she is getting out” (right now, ongoing)
“she gets out” / “she always gets out” (habitual)

In this sentence, πάντα (“always”) makes it clearly habitual:

Η γιαγιά μου κατεβαίνει πάντα από το ταξί πολύ αργά…
= “My grandmother always gets out of the taxi very slowly…”

So grammatically it’s just Greek present, but in English we translate it as a habitual present simple.