Learn Hardcore Greek: Θα μπορούσατε να μου φτιάξετε έναν καφέ, αν έχετε χρόνο; - Could you make me a coffee, if you have time?

Μπορείτε να μου φτιάξετε έναν καφέ; = Can you make me a coffee? (polite but more direct)
Θα μπορούσατε να μου φτιάξετε έναν καφέ; = Could you make me a coffee? (softer, more formal)

Using θα + μπορούσατε makes the request sound less like a demand and more like a courteous question.

Why do we have θα plus a past form (μπορούσατε) together? Doesn’t that mix future and past?

In Modern Greek, θα + past tense (here, the imperfect μπορούσατε) often expresses:

polite requests
hypothetical / conditional situations

So θα μπορούσατε is not literally “you would be able” in a time sense; it’s functioning like English “could you / would you be able to” as a polite, hypothetical request, not as a real past or future statement.

What is the role of να in να μου φτιάξετε?

Να introduces the subjunctive mood in Greek.

φτιάξετε is the aorist subjunctive, 2nd person plural of φτιάχνω (to make).
να φτιάξετε roughly means “(for you) to make”.

In many request structures, Greek uses modal verb + να + subjunctive, e.g.:

Μπορείτε να έρθετε; – Can you come?
Θα μπορούσατε να μου φτιάξετε έναν καφέ; – Could you make me a coffee?

So να is grammatically required here to form this kind of “to do X” clause after θα μπορούσατε.

Why is φτιάξετε used and not φτιάχνετε?

Φτιάξετε is aorist subjunctive; φτιάχνετε would be present indicative (or imperfective subjunctive in another context).

For requests about a single, complete action, Greek typically prefers the aorist subjunctive:

να μου φτιάξετε έναν καφέ – to make me a coffee (one whole action)

If we used a form like να μου φτιάχνετε καφέ, it would suggest ongoing/repeated action (e.g. “for you to be making me coffee regularly”), which is not what we mean here.

What does μου add to να μου φτιάξετε έναν καφέ? Could we omit it?

Μου is the unstressed pronoun meaning “to me / for me”. It marks the indirect object, indicating who the coffee is for.

να μου φτιάξετε έναν καφέ = to make me a coffee

Without μου, it would just be “to make a coffee” with no person specified.

You cannot omit μου if you want to say “make me a coffee” and you don’t add something like για μένα:

να φτιάξετε έναν καφέ – to make a coffee (for someone, not specified)
να μου φτιάξετε έναν καφέ – to make me a coffee
να φτιάξετε έναν καφέ για μένα – to make a coffee for me (more explicit/longer)

Why is it έναν καφέ and not just ένα καφέ or ο καφές?

Καφές is masculine, so the accusative singular with the indefinite article is έναν καφέ:

nominative: ο καφές (the coffee)
accusative: έναν καφέ (a coffee – as a direct object)

So in this sentence:

φτιάξετε (make) – verb
έναν καφέ – direct object in the accusative (what you’re making)

Ένα καφέ is sometimes heard colloquially in speech, but έναν καφέ is the grammatically correct standard form.

Why is the verb in αν έχετε χρόνο present tense and not something like αν θα έχετε χρόνο?

After αν (if), Greek normally does not use θα for this kind of condition.

αν έχετε χρόνο literally: if you have time
It expresses an open, general condition, just like English “if you have time”.

Using αν θα έχετε χρόνο would sound strange or overly marked in this context. For plain “if” conditions, you use:

αν + present (or other simple tense), no θα:
- αν έχετε χρόνο – if you have time
- αν έρθεις – if you come

What is the difference in tone between Θα μπορούσατε να μου φτιάξετε έναν καφέ; and Μπορείτε να μου φτιάξετε έναν καφέ;?

Both are polite, but:

Μπορείτε να μου φτιάξετε έναν καφέ;
– neutral-polite, like “Can you make me a coffee?”
Θα μπορούσατε να μου φτιάξετε έναν καφέ;
– more formal and more tentative, like “Could you make me a coffee?”

The version with θα μπορούσατε can sound especially appropriate with strangers, in customer service, or when you want to be extra courteous.

Why is the verb ending -τε in μπορούσατε, φτιάξετε, and έχετε?

The ending -τε here marks the second person plural (you plural), which is also the polite singular in Greek.

So:

μπορούσατε – you (pl./polite) could / were able
φτιάξετε – you (pl./polite) make (subjunctive)
έχετε – you (pl./polite) have

To a single friend you’d normally use the singular forms:

Θα μπορούσες να μου φτιάξεις έναν καφέ, αν έχεις χρόνο;
(more informal, “Could you make me a coffee, if you have time?”)

What does αν έχετε χρόνο add to the sentence? Is it necessary?

Αν έχετε χρόνο means “if you have time”. It softens the request further:

Without it: Θα μπορούσατε να μου φτιάξετε έναν καφέ;
– straightforward polite request.
With it: Θα μπορούσατε να μου φτιάξετε έναν καφέ, αν έχετε χρόνο;
– implies “Only if it’s not a problem / if you’re not busy.”

It is not grammatically necessary, but it makes the request sound more considerate.

Why is the Greek question mark at the end a semicolon (;) and not a normal ??

In Greek typography, the question mark is written as a semicolon (;).

So:

Greek: Θα μπορούσατε να μου φτιάξετε έναν καφέ, αν έχετε χρόνο;
English-style punctuation: Θα μπορούσατε να μου φτιάξετε έναν καφέ, αν έχετε χρόνο?

The character ; in Greek plays the role of the English question mark.

Can we use κάνετε instead of φτιάξετε, as in Θα μπορούσατε να μου κάνετε έναν καφέ?

You can say να μου κάνετε έναν καφέ and people will understand you, but:

φτιάχνω καφέ is the more natural, idiomatic way to say “make coffee”.
κάνω is very general (“do/make”) and is often used with services (e.g. να μου κάνετε μια εξυπηρέτηση – do me a favor), but for coffee, φτιάχνω sounds more precise and standard.

So the original να μου φτιάξετε έναν καφέ is the best, most idiomatic choice here.