Learn Hardcore Greek: Στο σακίδιο βάζω και μια μικρή κουβέρτα, για να καθόμαστε στη σκιά όταν κάνουμε διάλειμμα. - In the backpack I also put a small blanket so that we can sit in the shade when we take a break.

nominative: το σακίδιο
accusative: το σακίδιο (same form) So it looks the same in nominative and accusative, but here it’s accusative because of στο.

Why is the verb βάζω in the first person singular (“I put”) when English might say “we put” or something else?

βάζω is indeed 1st person singular, present tense: εγώ βάζω = “I put / I am putting”.

Greek often omits the subject pronoun because the verb ending shows who the subject is. So:

(Εγώ) βάζω = I put
(Εσύ) βάζεις = you put
(Εμείς) βάζουμε = we put

In this sentence, βάζω implies “I” as the one packing the backpack.

If the speaker wanted “we put”, they would say βάζουμε:

Στο σακίδιο βάζουμε και μια μικρή κουβέρτα…

What is the role of και in βάζω και μια μικρή κουβέρτα? Does it mean “and” or “also”?

Here και is best understood as “also / too / as well”, not just “and”.

The idea is:

“In the backpack I (also) put a small blanket…”

Usually, this implies that other things have already been mentioned as being put into the backpack, and μια μικρή κουβέρτα is an additional item.

Position-wise, Greek often places και directly before the word/phrase it is adding:

βάζω και μια μικρή κουβέρτα = I also put a small blanket
βάζω μια μικρή κουβέρτα και ένα μπουκάλι νερό = I put a small blanket and a bottle of water (here και is just “and” joining two nouns)

Why is the article μια written like that, and what gender/number/case is it?

μια here is the indefinite article “a / one”:

Gender: feminine
Number: singular
Case: accusative (object of the verb βάζω)

It agrees with κουβέρτα, which is feminine.

You may also see the spelling μία in more careful or older writing, but in everyday modern Greek, μια (without accent) is extremely common when it’s just the article “a”. Both are accepted.

Why is it μια μικρή κουβέρτα and not μικρό κουβέρτα or μικρός κουβέρτα?

Because κουβέρτα is a feminine noun, the article and adjective must agree with it in gender, number, and case.

κουβέρτα → feminine, singular, accusative
So we need: μια (fem. sg. acc.) + μικρή (fem. sg. acc.)

Patterns:

masculine: μικρός (nom.) / μικρό (acc.)
feminine: μικρή (nom. & acc.)
neuter: μικρό (nom. & acc.)

So:

μια μικρή κουβέρτα = a small blanket (feminine)
ένα μικρό βιβλίο = a small book (neuter)
έναν μικρό σκύλο = a small dog (masculine)

What does για να do in this sentence? Why not just να?

για να introduces a purpose clause: it expresses why you do something.

βάζω μια μικρή κουβέρτα, για να καθόμαστε…
= “I put a small blanket in order to / so that we can sit…”

Grammar:

για = for
να = particle that introduces the subjunctive (or “να-clause”)

Together για να + verb is very common and roughly means “in order to do X / so that we do X”.

Using just να would normally give a more neutral “that / to” meaning, without explicitly marking purpose as strongly. για να makes the purpose explicit.

Why is the verb καθόμαστε in this form, and what verb does it come from?

καθόμαστε is:

1st person plural
present tense
of the verb κάθομαι (“to sit (down) / to sit”).

The full present conjugation:

(εγώ) κάθομαι
(εσύ) κάθεσαι
(αυτός/αυτή/αυτό) κάθεται
(εμείς) καθόμαστε
(εσείς) κάθεστε
(αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά) κάθονται

It’s in the middle/passive-type form, because κάθομαι is a so‑called “deponent” verb in Modern Greek: it only appears in the middle/passive endings but has an active meaning (“I sit”).

So για να καθόμαστε = “so that we (can) sit.”

What is στη σκιά exactly? Why στη and not στην?

στη is the contraction of σε + τη(ν):

σε = in / at / to
τη(ν) = the (feminine, singular, accusative)

So:

σε + την σκιά → στη(ν) σκιά = “in the shade”

In modern Greek, the final -ν in την is often dropped before many consonants, including σ. So:

στη σκιά and στην σκιά are both possible;
στη σκιά is more common in everyday spelling.

σκιά is a feminine noun; here it’s feminine, singular, accusative after σε.

Why do we say στη σκιά (“in the shade”) and not something like “κάτω από τη σκιά” (“under the shade”)?

Both are possible, but they’re not used in the same way.

στη σκιά literally = “in the shade / in the shadow”
→ very common to mean simply “in a shady spot”, “in the shade”.
κάτω από τη σκιά = “under the shade / under the shadow”
→ grammatically fine, but less natural in everyday speech for this idea; you’d more likely say κάτω από ένα δέντρο (“under a tree”).

For “sitting somewhere that is not in direct sun”, στη σκιά is the default natural phrase.

Why is it όταν κάνουμε διάλειμμα with the present tense, even though it refers to future breaks?

In Greek, when you talk about the future in a clause with όταν (“when”), you typically use:

future in the main clause (if explicit)
present tense in the όταν-clause

For example:

Θα φύγουμε όταν τελειώσει το μάθημα.
(We will leave when the lesson is over.)

In your sentence, it’s a more general/habitual idea:

…για να καθόμαστε στη σκιά όταν κάνουμε διάλειμμα.
= “so that we sit in the shade when we take a break.”

Even if those breaks are in the future, Greek keeps κάνουμε in the present with όταν to express “whenever we take a break”. It feels natural and is standard.

What does κάνουμε διάλειμμα literally mean, and is there another way to say “take a break”?

κάνουμε διάλειμμα literally is “we do a break”, but idiomatically it means “we take a break” / “we have a break”.

κάνω = I do / I make
διάλειμμα = a (short) break, recess, pause (neuter noun)

Other common options:

κάνω ένα διάλειμμα = I take a break
παίρνω ένα διάλειμμα is heard, but κάνω διάλειμμα is more standard/natural, especially in schools, work, etc.

Why is there a comma before για να in the sentence?

The comma marks a separation between:

the main clause:
Στο σακίδιο βάζω και μια μικρή κουβέρτα,
the purpose clause:
για να καθόμαστε στη σκιά όταν κάνουμε διάλειμμα.

In Greek, a για να-clause that clearly expresses purpose and follows the main clause is usually separated with a comma, similar to English:

“I put a small blanket in the backpack, so that we can sit in the shade…”