Learn Hardcore Greek: Μου αρέσει να κοιτάω τα φυτά και να βγάζω φωτογραφίες από την κορυφή. - I like to look at the plants and take photos from the peak.

English: I like the plants.
Subject = I, object = the plants.
Greek: Μου αρέσουν τα φυτά.
Literal structure: The plants are pleasing to me.
Subject = τα φυτά, indirect object = μου.

In your sentence:

Μου αρέσει να κοιτάω…
Literally: It is pleasing to me to look…

So:

You use μου (to me) instead of εγώ (I).
αρέσει agrees in number with what is liked (here, the whole activity να κοιτάω… και να βγάζω…, treated as one thing), not with μου.

That’s why Μου αρέσει is correct and Εγώ αρέσω is not used in this meaning.

What case is μου, and why is it used here?

Μου is the weak (clitic) genitive form of εγώ (I).

Key points:

μου = (to) me / my, depending on context.
With αρέσει, the person who likes something is always in the genitive:
- Μου αρέσει… = I like…
- Του αρέσει… = He likes…
- Της αρέσει… = She likes…
- Μας αρέσει… = We like…

So μου here functions like an indirect object: pleasing to me.
That’s why Greek uses μου (genitive) instead of με (accusative) or εγώ (nominative).

Why is there a να before κοιτάω and βγάζω? Is this like an infinitive?

Modern Greek does not have a true infinitive like English to look, to take.

Instead, Greek uses να + verb to express what English often expresses with to + verb:

να κοιτάω ≈ to look
να βγάζω ≈ to take (photos)

Grammatically, να + verb is usually called the subjunctive.
In sentences with Μου αρέσει…, it’s the normal way to say what you like doing:

Μου αρέσει να διαβάζω. = I like to read / I like reading.
Μου αρέσει να τρέχω. = I like to run.

So here να κοιτάω and να βγάζω are Greek’s way of expressing activities in a general, “to do / doing” sense.

Why does the sentence repeat να: να κοιτάω … και να βγάζω …? Can I drop the second να?

The repetition is:

να κοιτάω τα φυτά και να βγάζω φωτογραφίες…

You will also hear and see:

να κοιτάω τα φυτά και βγάζω φωτογραφίες…

Both are possible, but:

Repeating να (να κοιτάω… και να βγάζω…) sounds clearer and more balanced, especially in careful speech or writing.
Omitting the second να is more colloquial and still acceptable, but the version with the two να is stylistically neater and very common in textbooks.

So you don’t have to repeat να, but doing so is very natural and often preferred.

Why are κοιτάω and βγάζω in the present tense? The sentence sounds general, like “I like looking / taking photos (in general).”

With να, the present form usually expresses:

ongoing / repeated / habitual actions,
not a single, completed event.

Here:

να κοιτάω = to be looking / to look (as an activity)
να βγάζω = to be taking / to take (photos habitually)

So Μου αρέσει να κοιτάω… και να βγάζω… means:

I enjoy the activity of looking at the plants and taking photos (whenever I do it).

If you used an aorist subjunctive (e.g. να κοιτάξω, να βγάλω), it would sound more like to look once / to take (a photo) once, which doesn’t fit the “I like doing this (in general)” meaning.

Is there a difference between κοιτάω and κοιτάζω?

κοιτάω and κοιτάζω are essentially the same verb in everyday Modern Greek.

Both mean to look (at), to watch, to gaze at.
They are largely interchangeable in this sentence:
- Μου αρέσει να κοιτάω τα φυτά…
- Μου αρέσει να κοιτάζω τα φυτά…

Nuance:

κοιτάω is a bit more common in casual speech.
κοιτάζω can feel slightly more “bookish” or neutral, but the difference is very small here.

So you can safely treat them as synonyms in this context.

What does βγάζω φωτογραφίες literally mean? Why not a verb that directly means “to photograph”?

Literally:

βγάζω = I take out / bring out / remove / produce.
φωτογραφίες = photos, photographs.

The idiomatic phrase βγάζω φωτογραφίες means to take photos.

You can also say:

φωτογραφίζω = I photograph / I take a picture of.

Both are correct, but:

βγάζω φωτογραφίες is extremely common and natural in everyday speech.
φωτογραφίζω is a bit more formal or technical, but still very normal.

So the sentence could also be:

Μου αρέσει να κοιτάω τα φυτά και να φωτογραφίζω από την κορυφή.

The original with βγάζω φωτογραφίες just sounds more conversational.

Why does it say τα φυτά with the definite article τα? Could you just say φυτά?

Greek often uses the definite article where English uses no article.

Here, τα φυτά can mean:

the plants (specific plants you’re looking at), or
plants in general, depending on context.

You could say just:

Μου αρέσει να κοιτάω φυτά…

but:

τα φυτά sounds more natural in many contexts, especially when talking about:
- plants in your garden,
- plants in a particular place,
- or the ones you’re currently seeing from the top.

So both are grammatically possible, but τα φυτά is very idiomatic Greek, even for a general statement.

What does από την κορυφή mean exactly? Why από and not στην κορυφή?

από την κορυφή = from the top (as a vantage point).
στην κορυφή = at/on the top (location).

In your sentence:

να βγάζω φωτογραφίες από την κορυφή
= to take photos from the top (i.e. while you are at the top, looking down).

Using από emphasizes the point of view / origin of the photos: they are taken from that high place.

If you said:

να βγάζω φωτογραφίες στην κορυφή,
this would focus more on taking photos while you’re at the top, but without strongly stressing that the perspective is “from above”. It can sound odd or less clear in some contexts.

So από την κορυφή is the natural choice to express the idea of photos taken from above.

Why is it την κορυφή and not η κορυφή? What gender and case is this?

The base noun is:

η κορυφή = the top / the peak (feminine, nominative singular).

After most prepositions in Modern Greek (including από), the noun goes into the accusative:

Feminine accusative singular of η κορυφή is την κορυφή.

So:

η κορυφή (subject form)
την κορυφή after από:
- από την κορυφή = from the top

Gender: feminine
Case: accusative
Number: singular

Why is αρέσει singular when there are two actions (να κοιτάω… και να βγάζω…)?

The verb αρέσει agrees with what is liked.

In this sentence, what you like is one combined activity:

να κοιτάω τα φυτά και να βγάζω φωτογραφίες από την κορυφή

Greek treats that whole clause as a single idea, so the verb is singular:

Μου αρέσει [να κοιτάω… και να βγάζω…].

Compare:

Μου αρέσει να τρέχω και να κολυμπάω.
I like running and swimming. (one general “liking”)

If you had multiple plural subjects, then you’d see the plural form αρέσουν:

Μου αρέσουν τα φυτά και τα δέντρα.
I like the plants and the trees.

Here, since it’s “this whole activity” that pleases you, αρέσει stays singular.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say Μου αρέσει να κοιτάω τα φυτά από την κορυφή και να βγάζω φωτογραφίες instead?

Greek word order is fairly flexible.

Both of these are acceptable:

Μου αρέσει να κοιτάω τα φυτά και να βγάζω φωτογραφίες από την κορυφή.
→ Emphasis: taking photos from the top.
Μου αρέσει να κοιτάω τα φυτά από την κορυφή και να βγάζω φωτογραφίες.
→ Emphasis: looking at the plants from the top; you also take photos (unspecified from where, but usually understood as from the same place).

The chosen version:

να κοιτάω τα φυτά και να βγάζω φωτογραφίες από την κορυφή
suggests:
- you look at the plants (probably from the top too, by context),
- you specifically take photos from the top.

In practice, both word orders are possible; Greek speakers rearrange phrases to highlight what matters (looking from the top vs. taking photos from the top).