Breakdown of Αν όλοι αναβάλλουμε τις συναντήσεις μας, η παρουσία μας στην ομάδα γίνεται όλο και πιο σπάνια.
Questions & Answers about Αν όλοι αναβάλλουμε τις συναντήσεις μας, η παρουσία μας στην ομάδα γίνεται όλο και πιο σπάνια.
Αν means “if”.
In this sentence:
Αν όλοι αναβάλλουμε τις συναντήσεις μας, …
the condition is treated as real and possible, not purely hypothetical. It’s like saying in English:
- If we all (tend to) postpone our meetings, our presence in the group becomes rarer and rarer.
Greek doesn’t need a separate “would” form here. A present tense + Αν can already express:
- a general rule
- a realistic possibility with its typical result
So this is a real/general conditional, not a remote “if we were to…” type.
In Greek, the simple present is very often used in if-clauses to express:
- repeated / habitual actions
- general truths or typical consequences
So:
- Αν όλοι αναβάλλουμε τις συναντήσεις μας…
literally: If we all postpone our meetings…
meaning: If we (generally / habitually) put off our meetings…
You would use θα αναβάλουμε (“we will postpone”) inside an if-clause only for a more specific future plan, e.g.:
- Αν αύριο θα αναβάλουμε τη συνάντηση, να με ενημερώσεις.
(Even this sounds a bit awkward; normally you’d rephrase.)
For general conditions like the one in your sentence, present is the natural Greek choice where English might use either present (if we postpone) or “will” (if we will postpone, which is actually less common/idiomatic in English).
Αναβάλλουμε is the 1st person plural, present tense of the verb αναβάλλω, meaning:
- to postpone, to put off, to defer.
Usage is very similar to English:
- αναβάλλω μια συνάντηση – I postpone a meeting
- αναβάλλω το ταξίδι – I postpone the trip
In your sentence:
Αν όλοι αναβάλλουμε τις συναντήσεις μας…
it means If all of us keep putting our meetings off… or If we all postpone our meetings….
In Greek, when you show possession with a possessive pronoun like μας (“our”), the usual pattern with nouns is:
[article + noun] + possessive pronoun
τις συναντήσεις μας – our meetings
So:
- οι φίλοι μας – our friends
- το σπίτι μας – our house
- τις συναντήσεις μας – our meetings
Putting μας before the noun (μας τις συναντήσεις) is not correct here. The clitic pronoun μας can go before a verb as a direct/indirect object (e.g. μας βλέπει – he sees us), but for possession with a noun it goes after the noun.
Greek often uses abstract nouns where English might use a verb phrase.
- η παρουσία = presence
- η παρουσία μας στην ομάδα = our presence in the group
So instead of saying:
- we attend the group less often,
Greek naturally says:
- η παρουσία μας στην ομάδα γίνεται όλο και πιο σπάνια
literally: our presence in the group becomes more and more rare.
This kind of “noun + γίνεται + adjective” structure is very common:
- η κατάσταση γίνεται δύσκολη – the situation is becoming difficult
- η σχέση μας γίνεται περίπλοκη – our relationship is becoming complicated
Breakdown:
- γίνεται – becomes / is becoming (3rd person singular of γίνομαι)
- σπάνια – rare (here an adjective, feminine singular, agreeing with η παρουσία)
- όλο και πιο – literally “entirely and more”, but functionally means “more and more”.
So:
η παρουσία μας … γίνεται όλο και πιο σπάνια
= our presence … is becoming more and more rare.
όλο και πιο + adjective is a very productive pattern:
- όλο και πιο δύσκολο – more and more difficult
- όλο και πιο ακριβό – more and more expensive
- όλο και πιο σπάνια – more and more rare
Here σπάνια is an adjective, not an adverb.
- Noun: η παρουσία (feminine, singular)
- Predicate adjective agreeing with it: σπάνια (feminine, singular, nominative)
So structurally:
- η παρουσία (είναι/γίνεται) σπάνια
the presence is / becomes rare
There is also an adverb σπάνια meaning “rarely”:
- Σπάνια πηγαίνουμε στις συναντήσεις. – We rarely go to the meetings.
But in the sentence you gave, it’s clearly describing παρουσία (a noun), so it functions as an adjective: rare, not rarely.
Στην is the contracted form of σε + την.
- σε – in / at / to
- την – the (feminine accusative singular)
So:
- σε την ομάδα → στην ομάδα
Literally: “in the group” or “within the group”.
This contraction is standard and almost always used in speech and writing:
- σε τον → στον (e.g. στον γιατρό)
- σε το → στο (e.g. στο σπίτι)
- σε την → στην (e.g. στην ομάδα)
Όλοι is the masculine plural form of “all”:
- όλοι – all (masculine / mixed group)
- όλες – all (feminine plural only)
- όλα – all (neuter plural)
In Greek, when you mean “all of us” or “everyone” in a group that is:
- all male, or
- mixed male-female, or
- gender unspecified,
you use the masculine plural by default:
- Αν όλοι αναβάλλουμε… – If all (of us) postpone…
If you were specifically talking about a group known to be entirely female, you could say:
- Αν όλες αναβάλλουμε τις συναντήσεις μας…
Greek word order is relatively flexible, especially with pronouns and adverbs.
Both are possible:
Αν όλοι αναβάλλουμε τις συναντήσεις μας…
(If we all postpone our meetings…)Αν αναβάλλουμε όλοι τις συναντήσεις μας…
(If we all postpone our meetings…)
The meaning is the same; the difference is a slight emphasis shift:
- Version 1 puts a bit more focus on όλοι (“all of us”).
- Version 2 sounds a bit more neutral / balanced.
Both are fully grammatical and natural.
Μας here is the 1st person plural clitic pronoun in the genitive and it is:
- invariant (it doesn’t change with gender or number of the noun)
- used to mean our / of us
So:
- τις συναντήσεις μας – our meetings
- η παρουσία μας – our presence
- οι φίλοι μας – our friends
- τα παιδιά μας – our children
The form μας stays exactly the same in all these:
- it doesn’t change for masculine/feminine/neuter
- it doesn’t change for singular/plural nouns
It always follows the noun when it’s possessive:
- το βιβλίο μας – our book
- not: μας το βιβλίο (that would be ungrammatical as a possessive pattern).