Learn Hardcore Greek: Στη γέφυρα βλέπεις το λιμάνι πολύ καλά, αλλά πρέπει να προσέχεις τα αυτοκίνητα που στρίβουν χωρίς να κοιτάνε. - On the bridge you see the port very well, but you must watch out for the cars that turn without looking.

Keep the final ν of τον/την if the next word starts with:
- a vowel (α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, ω),
- or with the consonants κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ.
Drop the ν in most other cases.

Since γέφυρα starts with γ, the ν is usually dropped, so:

σε + την γέφυρα
→ στη(ν) γέφυρα
→ normally written Στη γέφυρα.

You might see στην γέφυρα, but Στη γέφυρα is the standard modern form.

Why is it Στη γέφυρα (accusative) and not something like a dative or another case?

Modern Greek has mostly lost the old dative case. The preposition σε always takes the accusative:

σε + accusative = in / at / on / to + noun

So:

σε + τη γέφυρα → Στη γέφυρα
(in/at/on the bridge)

Other examples with σε + accusative:

Στο σπίτι = at home / to the house
Στην πόλη = in the city
Στα βουνά = in the mountains

Does βλέπεις mean “you see” or “you can see” here?

Literally, βλέπεις is “you see” (2nd person singular of βλέπω).

In Greek, though, the simple present often covers:

you see (right now)
you can see / you are able to see (general ability)
one sees / people see (generic “you”)

In this sentence:

Στη γέφυρα βλέπεις το λιμάνι πολύ καλά

is best understood in English as:

On the bridge you *can see the port very well
(or: *you see the port very clearly).

The “can” is not a separate verb in Greek; it’s understood from context.

Is βλέπεις addressing me personally or is it a general “you” (like “one”)?

It can be either, depending on context. Greek often uses 2nd person singular for a generic “you”, just like English:

Άμα τρέχεις πολύ, κουράζεσαι.
= If you run a lot, you get tired. (general statement)

Here:

Στη γέφυρα βλέπεις το λιμάνι πολύ καλά...

likely means:

From the bridge, *you (anyone) can see the port very well...*

So it’s probably a generic “you”, not necessarily you personally, unless the context makes it clearly personal.

Why does Greek say το λιμάνι with the article, when in English we just say “the port” or sometimes just “port”?

In this case English also uses “the port”, but more generally Greek uses the definite article more often than English.

Rules to keep in mind:

το λιμάνι = the port / the harbour (neuter, singular, nominative/accusative)
Greek usually uses the definite article:
- with specific places: το σχολείο, την τράπεζα
- with general nouns where English might drop it: μου αρέσει ο καφές (I like coffee)

In this sentence, we are clearly talking about a specific port that you can see from that bridge, so το λιμάνι is natural and matches English the port.

Why is it πολύ καλά and not πολύ καλό after βλέπεις?

Because καλά here is an adverb, not an adjective.

καλός = good (adjective, masculine)
καλή = good (adjective, feminine)
καλό = good (adjective, neuter)
καλά = well (adverb: how? → well)

So:

βλέπεις καλά = you see well / you see clearly
βλέπεις πολύ καλά = you see very well / very clearly

If you used καλό (adjective), you would be describing a noun (a good something), but here we are describing how you see, so we need the adverb form.

What exactly does πρέπει να προσέχεις mean grammatically? Is πρέπει a verb?

Yes, πρέπει is a (defective) verb meaning roughly:

it is necessary / one must / you have to

The construction is:

πρέπει + να + verb (subjunctive)

Here:

πρέπει = it is necessary
να = introduces the subordinate verb
προσέχεις = you pay attention / you watch out (2nd singular, present)

So:

πρέπει να προσέχεις = you must be careful / you have to watch out / you must pay attention.

Note that πρέπει itself does not change for person:

Εγώ πρέπει
Εσύ πρέπει
Αυτός πρέπει

The person is marked on the verb after να (here, προσέχεις).

Why is it πρέπει να προσέχεις (imperfective) and not πρέπει να προσέξεις (perfective)? What’s the difference?

Greek aspect matters a lot:

προσέχεις (present, imperfective) – ongoing / repeated action:
be careful, keep watching out, pay attention in general
προσέξεις (aorist, perfective subjunctive) – single, completed event:
be careful at that specific moment / once

In this sentence:

πρέπει να προσέχεις τα αυτοκίνητα που στρίβουν

The idea is continuous caution:

When you’re on the bridge, you should always/constantly watch out for the cars that turn without looking.

So the imperfective (προσέχεις) is the natural choice.

What does προσέχεις actually mean? Is it “pay attention”, “watch out”, or “take care of”?

Προσέχω is quite flexible. Depending on context, it can mean:

Pay attention / be careful / watch out
- Πρόσεχε! = Be careful! / Watch out!
- Προσέχω όταν οδηγώ. = I’m careful when I drive.
Look after / take care of (someone/something)
- Προσέχω τα παιδιά. = I look after the children.

In this sentence:

πρέπει να προσέχεις τα αυτοκίνητα που στρίβουν χωρίς να κοιτάνε

it clearly means:

you must watch out for / be careful about the cars that turn without looking,

not take care of the cars.

What is the function of που in τα αυτοκίνητα που στρίβουν?

Here που is a relative pronoun / conjunction introducing a relative clause, similar to English “that / which / who”.

τα αυτοκίνητα = the cars
που στρίβουν = that turn

So:

τα αυτοκίνητα που στρίβουν = the cars that turn

Notes:

που is invariable – it doesn’t change for gender, number, or case.
It’s the most common way to form relative clauses in everyday Greek.
A more formal alternative is ο οποίος / η οποία / το οποίο, but που is far more frequent in speech.

What does στρίβουν mean exactly, and how is it used?

Στρίβουν is the 3rd person plural of στρίβω = to turn (usually in the sense of changing direction).

στρίβω δεξιά = I turn right
στρίβω αριστερά = I turn left
Τα αυτοκίνητα στρίβουν. = The cars are turning / turn.

In this context:

τα αυτοκίνητα που στρίβουν = the cars that are turning (off somewhere)

It typically refers to cars turning at a junction, turning off the road, etc.

How does the structure χωρίς να κοιτάνε work? Why χωρίς + να + verb?

Greek doesn’t use a -ing form (like “without looking”) the same way English does. Instead, it often uses:

χωρίς + να + verb (subjunctive)

This corresponds nicely to English “without doing something”.

Here:

χωρίς = without
να = introduces the verb
κοιτάνε = they look (3rd person plural, present, colloquial form)

So:

χωρίς να κοιτάνε = without looking

Other examples:

Ήρθε χωρίς να με δει. = He came without seeing me.
Έφυγε χωρίς να πει τίποτα. = She left without saying anything.

What’s the difference between κοιτάνε, κοιτάζουν, and βλέπουν?

All relate to seeing, but with slightly different nuances:

κοιτάω / κοιτάζω = to look (at), to watch
- κοιτάνε = they look (colloquial)
- κοιτάζουν = they look (slightly more “full” / careful form)
- κοιτάνε / κοιτάζουν τον δρόμο = they look at the road
βλέπω = to see (perceive with the eyes)
- βλέπουν = they see
- δεν βλέπουν καλά = they don’t see well

In this sentence:

χωρίς να κοιτάνε = without looking (i.e. they don’t bother to turn their heads / check)

If you said χωρίς να βλέπουν, it would sound more like “without being able to see”, which is not the point here.

Could we change the word order, e.g. say Βλέπεις το λιμάνι πολύ καλά στη γέφυρα? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can change the word order; Greek is quite flexible. But the natural emphasis shifts.

Original:
- Στη γέφυρα βλέπεις το λιμάνι πολύ καλά...
  Focus: On the bridge is set up as the context (from there, you see the port well).
Alternative:
- Βλέπεις το λιμάνι πολύ καλά στη γέφυρα.
  This is understandable, but can sound a bit like:
- You see the port very well on the bridge (with a bit more weight on “the port very well” first, then where).

A very natural alternative keeping the same nuance would be:

Από τη γέφυρα βλέπεις το λιμάνι πολύ καλά.
(From the bridge you can see the port very well.)

The original word order, starting with Στη γέφυρα, nicely sets the location as the starting point.

How do you pronounce γέφυρα and λιμάνι?

Approximate pronunciations:

γέφυρα → [ˈʝe.fi.ra]
- γ before ε/ι is a soft sound, like a voiced “y”-fricative (similar to the “y” in yes, but more fricative).
- Stress on the first syllable: ΓΈ-φυ-ρα.
λιμάνι → [liˈma.ni]
- Straightforward: li-MA-ni.
- Stress on the second syllable: λι-ΜΆ-νι.

Stress marks (´) in Greek are important: they show which syllable is stressed and can distinguish words.