Learn Hardcore Greek: Θα μπορούσα να δουλέψω λίγο τώρα, αλλά προτιμώ να ξεκουραστώ. - I could work a bit now, but I prefer to rest.

μπορούσα by itself = “I could / I was able (repeatedly / generally in the past)”.
θα μπορούσα = “I could / I would be able (now or in some hypothetical situation)”.

So in this sentence, Θα μπορούσα… means “I could work (if I wanted to)”, not “I was able to work (in the past)”. It’s a polite, tentative, or hypothetical way of speaking about an option.

Why do we need να before δουλέψω, and what form is δουλέψω?

In Greek, many verbs are followed by a clause introduced by να plus a subjunctive verb form.

να here is a particle (not translated directly into English).
δουλέψω is the subjunctive, aorist, 1st person singular of δουλεύω (“to work”).

The pattern is:

μπορώ / θα μπορούσα + να + subjunctive
- Μπορώ να δουλέψω. = I can work.
- Θα μπορούσα να δουλέψω. = I could work / I would be able to work.

So να δουλέψω is required after (θα) μπορούσα to express “(to) work” as a possible action.

What is the difference between δουλέψω and δουλεύω after να?

Greek distinguishes aspect (kind of like “single action” vs “ongoing / repeated”).

After να:

να δουλέψω (aorist) = focus on one, complete action of working.
- “to work (once / a bit / to get it done)”
να δουλεύω (present) = focus on ongoing / repeated working.
- “to be working / to keep working / to work regularly”

In Θα μπορούσα να δουλέψω λίγο τώρα, using να δουλέψω fits the idea of doing some work as a single stretch (a bit now, and then it’s over).

If you said Θα μπορούσα να δουλεύω λίγο τώρα, it would sound more like:

“I could be working a bit now” (emphasizing the ongoing process of being at work now), often with a nuance of “instead of what I’m actually doing”.

Why is there no word for “I” in the sentence? Where is the subject?

Greek verb endings show the person, so the subject pronoun is often dropped:

μπορούσα already means “I could / I was able” (1st person singular).
δουλέψω, προτιμώ, ξεκουραστώ are all in 1st person singular.

So the subject “I” is understood from the verb forms, and εγώ (I) is not needed. You would use εγώ only for emphasis:

Εγώ θα μπορούσα να δουλέψω λίγο τώρα…
“I could work a bit now (as opposed to someone else).”

Why is it λίγο and not something like λίγα or λίγη? What is λίγο doing here?

Λίγο is an indeclinable adverb here, meaning “a little / a bit” (in quantity or degree).

να δουλέψω λίγο = “to work a bit / a little.”

The form λίγο in this use does not change for gender or number, unlike the adjective forms:

λίγος χρόνος (a little time, masculine)
λίγη δουλειά (a little work, feminine)
λίγα χρήματα (a little money, neuter plural)

In the sentence, λίγο modifies the verb (“work a bit”), not a noun, so the adverb form λίγο is used.

Why is τώρα placed after λίγο? Could we change the order?

The sentence has:

…να δουλέψω λίγο τώρα… = “to work a bit now”

This word order is very natural: verb + λίγο + τώρα.

You could also say:

να δουλέψω τώρα λίγο – possible, but sounds a bit less neutral; it might add a slight emphasis on “now”.
να δουλέψω λίγο (without τώρα) – just “work a bit”, with no explicit “now”.

In everyday speech, να δουλέψω λίγο τώρα is the most straightforward and natural order for “work a bit now”.

Why is it να ξεκουραστώ and not να ξεκουράζομαι?

Again this is about aspect:

να ξεκουραστώ (aorist subjunctive) = focus on the whole action of resting as one complete event:
- “to rest / to have a rest (get some rest)”
να ξεκουράζομαι (present subjunctive) = focus on the ongoing process:
- “to be resting / to rest (habitually / continuously)”

In the sentence, the speaker is choosing the single act of taking a rest instead of working a bit now, so να ξεκουραστώ fits better:

…αλλά προτιμώ να ξεκουραστώ.
“...but I prefer to (go and) rest / to have a rest.”

Να ξεκουράζομαι would sound more like “I prefer to be resting / to spend my time resting” (more ongoing/habitual).

What is the nuance difference between Μπορώ να δουλέψω λίγο τώρα and Θα μπορούσα να δουλέψω λίγο τώρα?

Μπορώ να δουλέψω λίγο τώρα.
- Straightforward present ability: “I can work a bit now.”
- Neutral, factual.
Θα μπορούσα να δουλέψω λίγο τώρα.
- Conditional / tentative: “I could work a bit now.”
- Often softer, more polite or hypothetical; it can imply:
  - “It’s possible, if needed / if you want.”
  - “Instead of doing something else (which I might prefer).”

In the full sentence, Θα μπορούσα… αλλά προτιμώ…, the conditional form works well to present working as just an option that the speaker chooses not to take.

Could I say Μπορούσα να δουλέψω λίγο τώρα without θα?

You can say it, but the meaning changes:

Μπορούσα να δουλέψω λίγο τώρα.
Grammatically sounds odd, because μπορούσα is past (“I used to be able / I could in the past”) but τώρα is “now”. The time references clash.

More natural uses of μπορούσα:

Μπορούσα να δουλέψω πολύ όταν ήμουν μικρός.
“I could work a lot when I was young.”

For the present conditional “I could work (now)”, Greek prefers θα μπορούσα, not plain μπορούσα. So for this sentence, you need the θα.

What exactly does αλλά do here? Is it like English “but”?

Yes, αλλά is the usual Greek conjunction for “but”, introducing a contrast or opposition.

In:

Θα μπορούσα να δουλέψω λίγο τώρα, αλλά προτιμώ να ξεκουραστώ.

the contrast is:

Option 1 (possible): I could work a bit now,
Option 2 (preferred): but I prefer to rest.

The comma before αλλά is normal punctuation, just like in English: “..., but ...”.

Is προτιμώ here present tense? Does it imply a general preference or only a preference right now?

Προτιμώ is present tense, 1st person singular: “I prefer”.

Present tense in Greek can express:

a general preference:
Γενικά προτιμώ να ξεκουράζομαι το απόγευμα. – “In general, I prefer to rest in the afternoon.”
a preference in the current situation (often the case in this kind of sentence):
Here, context “now” (τώρα) makes it clear that the preference is for the current moment.

So in this sentence, προτιμώ means “(Right now) I prefer to rest (rather than work a bit).”

Could I replace δουλέψω with something like εργαστώ? What would change?

Yes, you could say:

Θα μπορούσα να εργαστώ λίγο τώρα, αλλά προτιμώ να ξεκουραστώ.

δουλεύω and εργάζομαι / εργαστώ both mean “to work”, but:

δουλεύω / δουλέψω is more colloquial and general – the most common everyday word.
εργάζομαι / εργαστώ is more formal or specific, often used for professional / paid work.

In this sentence, δουλέψω sounds more natural and everyday.
Εργαστώ would make it sound slightly more formal, or more clearly about professional work.