Learn Hardcore Greek: Έβαλα ειδοποίηση στο ημερολόγιο, προκειμένου να θυμηθώ πότε θα κλείσει η πρόσβαση στη βιβλιοθήκη. - I set a notification in the calendar, in order to remember when access to the library will close.

If you said Βάζω ειδοποίηση στο ημερολόγιο, it would sound like you’re describing what you are doing right now or something you generally do, which doesn’t fit as well with the rest of the sentence.

Why is there no article before ειδοποίηση? Why not μια ειδοποίηση?

Greek often omits the indefinite article (ένας / μία / ένα) where English would use “a / an”.

So:

Έβαλα ειδοποίηση στο ημερολόγιο
literally: “I put notification in the calendar”
natural English: “I set a notification in the calendar.”

You could also say:

Έβαλα μια ειδοποίηση στο ημερολόγιο.

Both are correct. Omitting μια here feels a bit more neutral and compact; including μια can slightly emphasize “one specific notification”, but the difference is small. In everyday speech, both versions are common.

What exactly does ειδοποίηση mean here? Is it like “reminder” or “notification”?

Ειδοποίηση literally means “notification” or “alert”: a signal that informs you of something.

In app / phone / computer contexts:

ειδοποίηση = notification/alert (a message that pops up)
υπενθύμιση = reminder (something specifically meant to help you remember)

In practice, for a calendar, both can be used:

Έβαλα ειδοποίηση στο ημερολόγιο.
Έβαλα υπενθύμιση στο ημερολόγιο.

The sentence with ειδοποίηση matches very well with English “I set a notification” or “I added a notification.”

Why is it στο ημερολόγιο and not something like σε το ημερολόγιο or στον ημερολόγιο?

Στο is a contraction:

σε + το = στο

Ημερολόγιο is neuter:

το ημερολόγιο (neuter singular)

So:

στο ημερολόγιο = “in/to the calendar”

We do not say στον ημερολόγιο, because στον = σε + τον and τον is masculine accusative, but ημερολόγιο is neuter, not masculine.

If you want to say “in my calendar”, you can add the possessive:

στο ημερολόγιό μου = “in my calendar”
(note the accent on ημερολόγιό because it’s before μου)

What does προκειμένου να mean, and how is it different from για να?

Προκειμένου να means “in order to / in order that / so that”. It introduces a clause of purpose.

Έβαλα ειδοποίηση στο ημερολόγιο, προκειμένου να θυμηθώ…
“I put a notification in the calendar, in order to remember…”

Compared with για να:

για να = “to / in order to”, the everyday, very common way.
προκειμένου να = a bit more formal, often used in written language, explanations, instructions, official speech.

You could also say:

Έβαλα ειδοποίηση στο ημερολόγιο, για να θυμηθώ πότε…

Same meaning; it just sounds more casual/neutral than προκειμένου να.

Why do we use να θυμηθώ here? Is that like an infinitive?

Modern Greek doesn’t use an infinitive the way English does. Instead, it uses να + subjunctive.

Here:

να θυμηθώ is the subjunctive of the verb θυμάμαι (“I remember”).

So προκειμένου να θυμηθώ functions like English “in order (for me) to remember”. Greek expresses this “to remember” idea with να + subjunctive, not with an infinitive form.

Basic pattern:

purpose / intention: για να + subjunctive, προκειμένου να + subjunctive
example: Ήρθα για να σε δω. = “I came to see you.”

Why is it θυμηθώ and not θυμάμαι (προκειμένου να θυμηθώ vs να θυμάμαι)?

The difference is aspect:

θυμηθώ = aorist subjunctive → one, complete act of remembering
θυμάμαι / να θυμάμαι = present (indicative / subjunctive) → ongoing/habitual state of remembering

Here the speaker wants to remember at a specific future moment (when access to the library closes), so Greek prefers the aorist subjunctive:

προκειμένου να θυμηθώ ≈ “so that I (will) remember (at that moment).”

If you said προκειμένου να θυμάμαι, it would suggest a more continuous state, like “so that I keep remembering (all the time)”, which doesn’t fit as well here.

How is θυμηθώ formed from θυμάμαι? It looks very different.

Θυμάμαι is one of those verbs that:

look “middle/passive” in form
but are active in meaning (often called “deponent” verbs)

Its main forms here are:

Present: θυμάμαι = “I remember”
Aorist subjunctive: θυμηθώ (after να)
Aorist indicative (with θα): θα θυμηθώ = “I will remember”

So:

να θυμηθώ = “(that I) remember” (subjunctive, one-time)
προκειμένου να θυμηθώ = “in order for me to remember”

The internal change -μά- → -μη- is just part of the verb’s irregular aorist stem; you learn it with the verb.

In πότε θα κλείσει η πρόσβαση στη βιβλιοθήκη, why is the subject η πρόσβαση placed at the end?

Greek word order is fairly flexible. The basic pieces are:

πότε = when
θα κλείσει = will close
η πρόσβαση = the access (subject)
στη βιβλιοθήκη = to the library

Possible orders include:

Πότε θα κλείσει η πρόσβαση στη βιβλιοθήκη;
Πότε η πρόσβαση στη βιβλιοθήκη θα κλείσει;

Both are grammatical. The version in the sentence:

πότε θα κλείσει η πρόσβαση στη βιβλιοθήκη

is very natural: question word (πότε), then the verb (θα κλείσει), then the subject (η πρόσβαση), then its complement (στη βιβλιοθήκη). Greek often puts the subject after the verb, especially in questions.

Why is it θα κλείσει and not κλείνει? What’s the difference?

θα κλείσει = simple future (one event in the future) → “will close”
κλείνει = present (“closes / is closing”), or can also describe scheduled events (like a timetable) in some contexts.

Here we’re referring to a specific future event at some future time. So θα κλείσει is the natural choice:

…πότε θα κλείσει η πρόσβαση… = “when access will close…”

You could hear πότε κλείνει η πρόσβαση στη βιβλιοθήκη; in conversational Greek, especially if the closing is part of a regular schedule. But θα κλείσει aligns clearly with a future one-time change (access being cut off).

Is κλείσει here subjunctive or future? How does θα κλείσει work grammatically?

Formally, κλείσει is the aorist subjunctive form of κλείνω.

In Modern Greek, the simple future is formed with:

θα + aorist subjunctive form

So:

να κλείσει = “(that) it close” (subjunctive, after να)
θα κλείσει = “it will close” (future)

The same verb form κλείσει is used in both constructions; it’s θα or να that tells you whether you’re dealing with future or subjunctive.

Why is it η πρόσβαση στη βιβλιοθήκη and not something like η πρόσβαση της βιβλιοθήκης?

The phrase is:

η πρόσβαση στη βιβλιοθήκη
literally: “the access to the library”

Here στη is:

σε + τη(ν) = στη

So στη βιβλιοθήκη = “to the library / into the library / at the library”. With πρόσβαση, σε + accusative is the common way to say “access to something”:

πρόσβαση στο διαδίκτυο = access to the internet
πρόσβαση στην παραλία = access to the beach
πρόσβαση στη βιβλιοθήκη = access to the library

Η πρόσβαση της βιβλιοθήκης would sound more like “the library’s access” (possessive/genitive), which is not what we mean here.

What are the genders and cases of the main nouns in this sentence?

Key nouns:

ειδοποίηση
- gender: feminine
- here: accusative singular (object of έβαλα)
ημερολόγιο
- gender: neuter
- here: accusative singular after σε → στο ημερολόγιο
πρόσβαση
- gender: feminine
- here: nominative singular (subject of θα κλείσει)
βιβλιοθήκη
- gender: feminine
- here: accusative singular after σε → στη βιβλιοθήκη

Articles in the sentence:

στο ημερολόγιο = σε + το (neuter accusative)
η πρόσβαση = feminine nominative
στη βιβλιοθήκη = σε + τη (feminine accusative)

Why is there a comma before προκειμένου να?

The comma marks off a purpose clause:

Έβαλα ειδοποίηση στο ημερολόγιο, προκειμένου να θυμηθώ…

This is similar to English:

“I put a notification in the calendar, in order to remember when…”

In Greek, προκειμένου να-clauses are often separated by a comma, especially when they come after the main clause. Without the comma it’s still understandable, but the comma makes the structure and rhythm clearer.