Breakdown of Δεν θέλω να αναβάλλω άλλο το δύσκολο κεφάλαιο, γιατί ξέρω ότι θα με βοηθήσει.
Questions & Answers about Δεν θέλω να αναβάλλω άλλο το δύσκολο κεφάλαιο, γιατί ξέρω ότι θα με βοηθήσει.
Modern Greek does not use an infinitive the way English does (“to postpone”, “to see”, etc.).
Instead, it uses να + verb in the subjunctive.
- Δεν θέλω να αναβάλλω…
literally: “I don’t want that I postpone…”, but it functions like
“I don’t want to postpone…”
After verbs like:
- θέλω (I want)
- μπορώ (I can)
- πρέπει (I must / have to)
- αρχίζω (I start)
you normally put να + verb where English would put “to + verb”:
- Θέλω να φάω. = I want to eat.
- Πρέπει να διαβάσω. = I have to study.
So να here is the normal marker that introduces the verb you want to do (or not do).
Δεν always comes right before the conjugated verb it negates. Here, that verb is θέλω:
- Δεν θέλω να αναβάλλω…
= I don’t want to postpone…
So what is being negated is your wanting, not the act of postponing itself.
If you instead say:
- Θέλω να μη(ν) αναβάλλω…
you are saying: “I want not to postpone…” (i.e. I want the action itself to be negative).
These two are logically different:
- Δεν θέλω να αναβάλλω… → I don’t have the desire to postpone.
- Θέλω να μη(ν) αναβάλλω… → I do have a desire, and what I desire is not to postpone.
In normal speech, for “I don’t want to postpone…”, you use Δεν θέλω να…
In Δεν θέλω να αναβάλλω…, the verb αναβάλλω is in the present subjunctive (1st person singular).
In Greek, after να, you usually have a choice between:
- Present subjunctive: ongoing / repeated / “in general”
- Aorist (simple) subjunctive: one whole event, “once / as a single action”
For this verb:
- να αναβάλλω = present subjunctive
- να αναβάλω = aorist (simple) subjunctive
They differ in spelling and stress:
- Present: αναβάλλω (double λ, stress on -βά-)
- Aorist subj.: να αναβάλω (single λ, stress on -βά- but on a shorter form)
In this sentence:
- Δεν θέλω να αναβάλλω άλλο…
leans toward the idea of “I don’t want to keep postponing / postponing any more”, i.e. an action that has been happening or could continue.
If you said:
- Δεν θέλω να αναβάλω άλλο το δύσκολο κεφάλαιο.
it would focus more on “I don’t want to (once again) postpone the difficult chapter” as a single act.
Both can be possible depending on nuance, but learners mostly just need to recognize that να + verb here is subjunctive, and that να αναβάλλω ≠ να αναβάλω.
Here άλλο means “any more / any longer / further”, not “other” in the sense of “a different one”.
So:
- Δεν θέλω να αναβάλλω άλλο το δύσκολο κεφάλαιο…
≈ “I don’t want to postpone the difficult chapter any longer / any more.”
Common uses of άλλο:
“Another / other / different”
- Θέλω ένα άλλο βιβλίο. = I want another book / a different book.
“Any more / any longer / further” (often with negation)
- Δεν θέλω άλλο καφέ. = I don’t want (any) more coffee.
- Δεν θέλω να περιμένω άλλο. = I don’t want to wait any longer.
In your sentence it’s type 2.
Yes, that word order is possible and understandable, but the original:
- Δεν θέλω να αναβάλλω άλλο το δύσκολο κεφάλαιο…
sounds more natural and is the typical placement.
Rough guidelines:
- Short adverbs like άλλο, πολύ, πια, καθόλου very often come right after the verb:
- Δεν θέλω να περιμένω άλλο. = I don’t want to wait any more.
- Δεν τρώω πια κρέας. = I don’t eat meat any more.
Putting άλλο after the object (το δύσκολο κεφάλαιο) is not wrong, but it’s less neutral and can sound a bit marked or emphatic. For everyday speech, stick with:
- να αναβάλλω άλλο το δύσκολο κεφάλαιο
In this sentence το δύσκολο κεφάλαιο clearly means “the difficult chapter” (of a book, course, textbook, etc.).
The noun κεφάλαιο is neuter: το κεφάλαιο, plural τα κεφάλαια.
Common meanings:
Chapter (of a book)
- Διάβασε το πρώτο κεφάλαιο. = Read the first chapter.
A big topic / important issue (figurative, like “a major chapter in life / politics”)
- Το κεφάλαιο της υγείας είναι πολύ σημαντικό.
= The issue (chapter) of health is very important.
- Το κεφάλαιο της υγείας είναι πολύ σημαντικό.
Capital (money, assets, capital in economics)
- Επενδύω το κεφάλαιό μου. = I invest my capital.
It does not mean “capital city”; that is η πρωτεύουσα.
So here there’s no money or city involved, just a chapter.
Greek uses commas similarly to English when connecting two clauses with γιατί meaning “because”.
The sentence has two clauses:
- Δεν θέλω να αναβάλλω άλλο το δύσκολο κεφάλαιο,
- γιατί ξέρω ότι θα με βοηθήσει.
The comma marks the boundary between the main clause and the reason clause (γιατί = because).
You will very often see:
- …, γιατί … when it means “because”.
- No comma when γιατί is clearly a question word “why” in simple questions:
- Γιατί δεν έρχεσαι; = Why aren’t you coming?
So the comma here is natural and standard.
Context and structure tell you.
It’s in the middle of a statement, not at the start of a direct question:
- Δεν θέλω να αναβάλλω άλλο το δύσκολο κεφάλαιο, γιατί ξέρω ότι θα με βοηθήσει.
= “…, because I know that it will help me.”
- Δεν θέλω να αναβάλλω άλλο το δύσκολο κεφάλαιο, γιατί ξέρω ότι θα με βοηθήσει.
The clause after γιατί is a reason, not a question:
- … γιατί ξέρω ότι θα με βοηθήσει.
You’re giving an explanation: because I know that it will help me.
- … γιατί ξέρω ότι θα με βοηθήσει.
When γιατί means “why”, it normally:
- Introduces a question:
- Γιατί έφυγες; = Why did you leave?
- Or is used in reported questions:
- Δεν ξέρω γιατί έφυγες. = I don’t know why you left.
So here it is clearly “because”.
Ότι here is a complementizer (a conjunction), similar to English “that”.
- Ξέρω ότι θα με βοηθήσει.
= I know that it will help me.
You can generally replace ότι with πως in such sentences:
- Ξέρω πως θα με βοηθήσει.
Also: I know that it will help me.
Both are common and correct. Some notes:
- Ότι is often a bit more standard / neutral, especially in writing.
- Πως is very common in speech and is also standard in many contexts.
Be careful not to confuse ότι (conjunction = “that”) with ό,τι (pronoun = “whatever / anything that”).
Here you need the conjunction ότι / πως, not ό,τι.
Greek unstressed object pronouns like με, σε, τον, την, το (me, you, him, her, it) usually go before the verb in simple clauses.
So the natural order is:
- θα με βοηθήσει = it will help me
not - θα βοηθήσει με (incorrect in standard Greek)
General rule for simple tenses:
- Με βοηθάει. = It helps me.
- Θα με βοηθήσει. = It will help me.
- Δεν με βοήθησε. = It didn’t help me.
Only in some special constructions (imperatives, some infinitive-like forms with να/ας, etc.) can the pronoun come after the verb:
- Βοήθησέ με! = Help me!
- Μπορείς να με βοηθήσεις; (before the verb again with να)
So in your sentence, θα με βοηθήσει is the correct and natural order.
In standard, careful Greek, after ξέρω + a clause, you normally use ότι or πως:
- Ξέρω ότι θα με βοηθήσει.
- Ξέρω πως θα με βοηθήσει.
Using που like this is colloquial and more common in spoken, informal Greek in some regions:
- Ξέρω που θα με βοηθήσει.
Many native speakers do say this in everyday speech, but it is considered non‑standard in writing and in formal contexts.
Also note that που usually means:
- “who/that/which” as a relative pronoun:
- Ο φίλος που με βοηθάει. = The friend who helps me.
- “where” in some uses:
- Το μέρος που μένω. = The place where I live.
For learners, the safest and most correct choices after ξέρω in this meaning are:
- Ξέρω ότι…
- Ξέρω πως…
Both are seen in real Greek:
- Δεν θέλω
- Δε θέλω
The consonant ν at the end of δεν (and some other little words) can drop before certain consonants in everyday usage:
- Before consonants like θ, σ, ζ, ξ, ψ, φ, χ, etc., many people say and write δε:
- δε θέλω, δε φεύγω.
In more careful / formal writing, it is very common to keep the ν:
- Δεν θέλω, Δεν φεύγω.
As a learner, it’s safe to:
- Write: Δεν θέλω (always correct).
- Recognize / accept: Δε θέλω in speech and informal writing.
Because the speaker is talking about something that will happen after they finally study the difficult chapter: its future helpful effect.
- … γιατί ξέρω ότι θα με βοηθήσει.
= “… because I know that it will help me (in the future).”
If you said:
- ξέρω ότι με βοηθάει.
that would mean: “I know that it helps me (now / in general).”
Here the idea is: Once I deal with this difficult chapter, it is going to help me later (with understanding, exams, etc.). That’s why the future θα με βοηθήσει is chosen.