Κρατάω την τσάντα της φίλης μου στο σαλόνι.

the female friend

Breakdown of Κρατάω την τσάντα της φίλης μου στο σαλόνι.

• μου: my
• σε: in
• η τσάντα: the bag

Questions & Answers about Κρατάω την τσάντα της φίλης μου στο σαλόνι.

What exactly does κρατάω mean here? Is it I hold or I keep?

Κρατάω can mean both:

• I am holding (physically, in my hands right now)
• I am keeping / I keep (I have it in my possession, often temporarily, looking after it)

Modern Greek has just one present tense for both English simple present and present continuous, so:

• Κρατάω την τσάντα της φίλης μου στο σαλόνι.
  can be:
  • I’m holding my friend’s bag in the living room. (right now, maybe standing there with it)
  • I keep my friend’s bag in the living room. (that’s where I store it / look after it)

Context decides which English translation fits better.

Why is it κρατάω and not κρατώ? Are they different?

They are two forms of the same verb.

• κρατάω and κρατώ both mean I hold / I keep.
• κρατάω is more common in everyday, spoken Modern Greek.
• κρατώ sounds a bit more formal, written, or old-fashioned, but it’s still correct.

They belong to the same pattern of verbs that have two possible 1st-person forms: -άω and -ώ (for example: αγαπάω / αγαπώ, ρωτάω / ρωτώ).

In normal conversation, you’ll mostly hear κρατάω.

Why is it την τσάντα and not η τσάντα?