Γυρίζω σπίτι όταν νυχτώνει.

I return home when it gets dark.

Breakdown of Γυρίζω σπίτι όταν νυχτώνει.

• το σπίτι: the home
• όταν: when
• νυχτώνω: to get dark
• γυρίζω: to go back

Questions & Answers about Γυρίζω σπίτι όταν νυχτώνει.

What does Γυρίζω mean here, and is it the same as επιστρέφω?

Γυρίζω literally means I turn or I return / go back.

In everyday speech, γυρίζω σπίτι is very common and natural for:

• I go back home
• I return home

Επιστρέφω is a bit more formal or neutral, closer to I return in a more standard way. You could also say:

• Επιστρέφω σπίτι όταν νυχτώνει.

That is grammatically correct, but γυρίζω σπίτι sounds more colloquial and is extremely common in spoken Greek.

Why is there no word for to before σπίτι? In English we say go to home, return to home.

In Greek, with verbs of motion like πάω, έρχομαι, γυρίζω, you often use a bare noun in the accusative case for home:

• Πάω σπίτι. – I’m going (to) home.
• Γυρίζω σπίτι. – I go back (to) home.

You do not normally say γυρίζω σε σπίτι for I go back home.

The preposition σε is only used if you specify which home or house more precisely, e.g.:

• Γυρίζω στο σπίτι των γονιών μου. – I go back to my parents’ house.
• Γυρίζω στο καινούριο σπίτι. – I go back to the new house.

So σπίτι alone already includes the idea of to home with these verbs of motion.

Why is there no article before σπίτι? Why not στο σπίτι?

Both exist, but they have slightly different uses:

• Γυρίζω σπίτι.
  Very common, neutral, means I go back home in a general sense.

• Γυρίζω στο σπίτι.
  Also correct, but it tends to refer more to a specific house / the house, or it can sound a bit more literal: I go back to the house.

For home as the place where you live, the bare σπίτι without an article is extremely frequent with motion verbs:

• Πάω σπίτι. – I’m going home.
• Είμαι σπίτι. – I’m at home.

Using the article στο σπίτι is not wrong; it just slightly shifts the feeling toward a particular house rather than the abstract idea of home.

Why is the verb γυρίζω in the present tense if in English it could feel like the future, as in I’ll go home when it gets dark?

Greek uses the present tense much more than English for:

• general habits
• repeated actions
• typical situations

Γυρίζω σπίτι όταν νυχτώνει. expresses a habitual action or general rule:

• I go back home when it gets dark.
• I return home when it gets dark.

If you want to clearly talk about a single future event, Greek normally uses a future form plus a different tense in the όταν clause:

• Θα γυρίσω σπίτι όταν νυχτώσει.
  I’ll go back home when it gets dark. (this particular time)

So:

• present + present (γυρίζω … νυχτώνει) → general / habitual.
• future + subjunctive (θα γυρίσω … νυχτώσει) → one specific future event.

What is the difference between όταν νυχτώνει and όταν νυχτώσει?

Both have to do with it getting dark, but they differ in aspect and typical use:

• όταν νυχτώνει – when it gets dark / whenever it gets dark
  Present tense; describes a repeated or general situation.
  Example: Γυρίζω σπίτι όταν νυχτώνει. – I habitually go home when it gets dark.

• όταν νυχτώσει – when it gets dark (this time / at that point)
  Aorist subjunctive; used after things like θα (future), θέλω να, etc., to refer to the moment it gets dark, often a specific future moment.
  Example: Θα γυρίσω σπίτι όταν νυχτώσει. – I will go home when it gets dark (on that occasion).

So νυχτώνει = it (generally) gets dark;
νυχτώσει = it gets dark at that particular moment.

What exactly does νυχτώνει mean, and who is the subject? There is no it written.

Νυχτώνει translates to it gets dark or night is falling.

Grammar points:

• It is an impersonal verb in Greek: there is no explicit subject word like it.
• In English we need a dummy subject it: it gets dark.
• In Greek, you just say the verb: Νυχτώνει. – It’s getting dark.

Other common impersonal verbs work the same way:

• Βρέχει. – It’s raining.
• Χιονίζει. – It’s snowing.
• Ξημερώνει. – It’s getting light / dawn is breaking.

So in όταν νυχτώνει, you literally have when it-gets-dark, but it is understood, not written.

Can I move όταν νυχτώνει to the beginning of the sentence? Is the meaning the same?

Yes, Greek word order is flexible here, and both of these are correct:

• Γυρίζω σπίτι όταν νυχτώνει.
• Όταν νυχτώνει, γυρίζω σπίτι.

They both mean I go back home when it gets dark.

Putting Όταν νυχτώνει first adds a tiny bit more emphasis to the time condition, but in everyday speech the meaning is essentially the same either way.

How do you pronounce Γυρίζω σπίτι όταν νυχτώνει?

Approximate pronunciation with stress marked in capital letters:

• Γυρίζω → yee-REE-zo
• σπίτι → SPEE-tee
• όταν → O-tan
• νυχτώνει → nee-HTO-nee

So the whole sentence:

yee-REE-zo SPEE-tee O-tan nee-HTO-nee

Notes:

• γ before υ in γυ- sounds like a soft y sound: yee.
• χτ in νυχτώνει is a combination: χ is like the ch in German Bach or Spanish j in José; then τ is t.
• The stressed syllables are: γυρί, σπί, ό, νυχτώ.

What tense and person is γυρίζω exactly? How would I conjugate it?

Γυρίζω is:

• present tense
• active voice
• first person singular

from the verb γυρίζω.

Present tense (active) of γυρίζω:

• εγώ γυρίζω – I return / I go back
• εσύ γυρίζεις – you return (singular, informal)
• αυτός / αυτή / αυτό γυρίζει – he / she / it returns
• εμείς γυρίζουμε – we return
• εσείς γυρίζετε – you return (plural / polite)
• αυτοί / αυτές / αυτά γυρίζουν(ε) – they return

In the sentence Γυρίζω σπίτι όταν νυχτώνει, the subject εγώ is understood, not written, which is very common in Greek.

Why is σπίτι in this form? What gender and case is it?

The noun σπίτι is:

• neuter gender
• basic form: το σπίτι – the house, the home

In Γυρίζω σπίτι, the word σπίτι is in the accusative case, which is the usual case for:

• the direct object of the verb
• or the destination of motion (where you go to)

Here, it functions as the destination of the motion verb γυρίζω, so it appears in the accusative σπίτι (same form as the nominative for neuter).

You could also explicitly add the article:

• Γυρίζω στο σπίτι. – I go back to the house / home.
  (στο = σε
  • το, and σπίτι again is accusative.)

Could I use πάω instead of γυρίζω and say Πάω σπίτι όταν νυχτώνει?

Yes, that is grammatically fine:

• Πάω σπίτι όταν νυχτώνει. – I go home when it gets dark.

Difference in nuance:

• Γυρίζω σπίτι emphasizes going back to somewhere you were before (returning).
• Πάω σπίτι is more neutral: I go home, without the specific sense of going back after being away.

In many situations, both are possible, but γυρίζω σπίτι highlights the idea of returning at the end of the day.

Is there any difference between όταν and όποτε in this kind of sentence?

Both can appear with similar meaning, but there is a nuance:

• όταν νυχτώνει – when it gets dark
  Common, neutral; used for whenever / every time in many contexts.

• όποτε νυχτώνει – whenever it gets dark
  Puts a bit more focus on any time that this happens, sometimes sounding more open-ended or slightly more formal.

So you could say:

• Γυρίζω σπίτι όταν νυχτώνει. – I go home when it gets dark.
• Γυρίζω σπίτι όποτε νυχτώνει. – I go home whenever it gets dark.

In everyday speech, όταν is more frequent here; όποτε is also correct but less common.

Could I say Μόλις νυχτώνει, γυρίζω σπίτι instead of Όταν νυχτώνει, γυρίζω σπίτι? What is the difference?

You can, and the meaning changes slightly:

• Όταν νυχτώνει, γυρίζω σπίτι.
  When / whenever it gets dark, I go home.
  General timing, not very precise.

• Μόλις νυχτώνει, γυρίζω σπίτι.
  As soon as it gets dark, I go home.
  Μόλις adds the idea of immediately, right when it gets dark.

So μόλις makes the relationship between the darkness and going home tighter and more immediate than όταν.