Learn Hardcore Greek: Θα μπορούσες κι εσύ να βοηθήσεις λίγο, αλλά δεν έχεις την ίδια υποχρέωση. - You could help a bit too, but you don’t have the same obligation.

μπορούσες on its own is past tense: you were able (to).
When you add θα in front of that past form (θα μπορούσες), it becomes a hypothetical / conditional idea: you could / you would be able to.

So:

Μπορούσες να βοηθήσεις → You were able to help (in the past).
Θα μπορούσες να βοηθήσεις → You could help (now or in general, hypothetically, as a suggestion).

In this sentence it is a soft suggestion: You could (always) help a bit…

What is the difference between Θα μπορούσες and Μπορείς?

Both involve the verb μπορώ (can / be able to), but the nuance is different:

Μπορείς να βοηθήσεις λίγο
→ You can help a bit (stating ability; also easily felt as a request, more direct).
Θα μπορούσες να βοηθήσεις λίγο
→ You could help a bit (more hypothetical / tentative, often more polite or softer, like a suggestion).

In English we also use could as a softer form of can; Greek does something similar with θα + past form (θα μπορούσες).

What does κι mean in κι εσύ, and how is it different from και?

Κι is simply a shortened form of και, which means and / also / too.

και εσύ and κι εσύ both mean you too / you also.
κι is very common before vowels or for smoother speech and rhythm:
- κι εσύ (instead of και εσύ)
- κι εγώ, κι εκείνος, etc.

Meaning-wise, there is no difference here between και and κι.

Why do we say κι εσύ? What is the function of εσύ here, since Greek usually drops subject pronouns?

Greek often omits subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person. But pronouns like εγώ, εσύ, αυτός are used when we want emphasis or contrast.

In Θα μπορούσες κι εσύ να βοηθήσεις λίγο:

εσύ is used for emphasis: you in particular.
κι εσύ means you too or you as well, implying:
- Others can / do help, and you could also help.
- Or: someone else has more obligation, but you could still help a bit.

Without εσύ, we would lose that clear sense of you too / you as well.

What is the role of να in να βοηθήσεις, and what form is βοηθήσεις?

Να is the marker of the subjunctive mood in modern Greek. After many verbs (including modal-like verbs such as μπορώ), when we want to express to do something / that someone do something, we use να + subjunctive.

βοηθήσεις here is the aorist subjunctive, 2nd person singular of βοηθάω / βοηθώ (to help).

So:

να βοηθήσεις ≈ to help / (for you) to help.

Putting it together:

Θα μπορούσες να βοηθήσεις → You could help
literally: You would be able that you-help.

Why is it να βοηθήσεις and not να βοηθάς?

Greek subjunctive has an aspect contrast:

να βοηθάς → present (imperfective) subjunctive
Focus on ongoing / repeated action: to be helping, to keep helping, to help regularly.
να βοηθήσεις → aorist (perfective) subjunctive
Focus on a single, complete action: to help (once), to give help (as a single act).

In να βοηθήσεις λίγο, the speaker means help a bit, give some help (as a limited, more or less complete action), so the aorist subjunctive βοηθήσεις is more appropriate than βοηθάς.

What nuance does λίγο add in να βοηθήσεις λίγο?

Λίγο means a little, a bit, a small amount. Here it has two effects:

It limits the amount of help:
- να βοηθήσεις λίγο → to help a little / to help a bit.
It softens the request/suggestion:
- Asking someone to help a bit sounds less demanding than asking them simply to help.
- Combined with Θα μπορούσες and κι εσύ, it makes the whole sentence more gentle and less bossy.

The position να βοηθήσεις λίγο (verb + λίγο) is very natural in Greek.

In δεν έχεις την ίδια υποχρέωση, why do we use the definite article την?

Την is the feminine accusative singular definite article (the). In την ίδια υποχρέωση, it does two main things:

It makes the phrase specific and comparational:
- την ίδια υποχρέωση → the same obligation (as someone else / as another case).
- It implies a comparison that is understood from context, e.g. as they have.
It is normal Greek usage with ίδια (same):
- Greek usually says η ίδια μέρα (the same day), το ίδιο πράγμα (the same thing), την ίδια υποχρέωση (the same obligation).

If you said δεν έχεις ίδια υποχρέωση (without την), it would sound odd or incomplete in standard modern Greek.

Why is it την ίδια υποχρέωση and not το ίδιο υποχρέωση?

In Greek, adjectives agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

υποχρέωση (obligation) is feminine, singular, accusative here.
So:
- article: την (feminine, singular, accusative)
- adjective: ίδια (feminine, singular, accusative)
- noun: υποχρέωση (feminine, singular, accusative)

Το ίδιο υποχρέωση would be ungrammatical because το ίδιο is neuter, but υποχρέωση is feminine. Correct agreement: την ίδια υποχρέωση.

Could we say something like δεν έχεις καμία υποχρέωση instead of δεν έχεις την ίδια υποχρέωση? What would be the difference?

Yes, you can say:

Δεν έχεις καμία υποχρέωση.
→ You have no obligation (at all).

The difference in meaning:

δεν έχεις την ίδια υποχρέωση
→ You do not have the same obligation (as someone else / as others).
There is some obligation in the situation, but not the same level / type as another person’s.
δεν έχεις καμία υποχρέωση
→ You have no obligation whatsoever.
It denies any obligation, not just equality with someone else’s.

In the original sentence, the idea is contrastive: others might be more obligated, but you could still help a bit even though you don’t have the same obligation.

Is the word order fixed, or could we move κι εσύ and λίγο around?

Greek word order is relatively flexible, so you can rearrange parts while keeping the same basic meaning, only changing emphasis. For example:

Θα μπορούσες κι εσύ να βοηθήσεις λίγο (original)
Θα μπορούσες να βοηθήσεις κι εσύ λίγο.
Θα μπορούσες να βοηθήσεις λίγο κι εσύ.

All are natural. Differences:

κι εσύ earlier → stronger emphasis on you too.
λίγο later → sometimes a bit more emphasis on the small amount of help.

The original order nicely balances the emphasis:
You too could help a bit, but you don’t have the same obligation.