Δεν φοράει πολύ μακιγιάζ όταν πηγαίνει στο πανεπιστήμιο.

She doesn’t wear much makeup when she goes to the university.

Breakdown of Δεν φοράει πολύ μακιγιάζ όταν πηγαίνει στο πανεπιστήμιο.

• πολύς: much
• πάω: to go
• δεν: not
• σε: to

Questions & Answers about Δεν φοράει πολύ μακιγιάζ όταν πηγαίνει στο πανεπιστήμιο.

Why is δεν used here instead of όχι to mean not?

Modern Greek has two main ways to say not, but they’re used in different places:

• δεν (or δε before some consonants) is used before verbs to make a sentence negative.

  • Δεν φοράει… = She doesn’t wear…

• όχι is used:

  • as a stand‑alone no (answer to a question)
    
    • – Φοράει πολύ μακιγιάζ; – Όχι.
  • or to negate a noun, adjective, or whole phrase in contrast:
    • Όχι πολύ μακιγιάζ, αλλά λίγο. = Not much makeup, but a little.

So in Δεν φοράει πολύ μακιγιάζ…, we must use δεν because we are negating the verb.

What tense and aspect is φοράει, and why is it translated as doesn’t wear (habitually)?

Φοράει is:

• Present tense
• 3rd person singular
• From the verb φοράω / φορώ (to wear)

In Greek, the present tense is used for both:

• right now actions:
  
  • Τώρα φοράει ένα κόκκινο φόρεμα. = Right now she’s wearing a red dress.
• habitual / general actions:
  
  • Δεν φοράει πολύ μακιγιάζ όταν πηγαίνει στο πανεπιστήμιο.
    = She doesn’t wear much makeup when she goes to university (in general).

English distinguishes wears vs is wearing, but Greek uses the same present tense form φοράει for both; the context gives you the meaning.