Η μπαταρία κρατάει περισσότερο απ' όσο έγραφε η διαφήμιση, οπότε είμαι χαρούμενος.

The battery lasts longer than the advertisement said, so I am happy.

Breakdown of Η μπαταρία κρατάει περισσότερο απ' όσο έγραφε η διαφήμιση, οπότε είμαι χαρούμενος.

• είμαι: to be
• γράφω: to write
• από: than
• χαρούμενος: happy
• οπότε: so
• περισσότερο: more
• η διαφήμιση: the advertisement
• κρατάω: to last
• όσο: as much as
• η μπαταρία: the battery

Questions & Answers about Η μπαταρία κρατάει περισσότερο απ' όσο έγραφε η διαφήμιση, οπότε είμαι χαρούμενος.

What does κρατάει mean here? I thought κρατάω means to hold.

The verb κρατάω / κρατώ does literally mean to hold, but it also has the idiomatic meaning to last / to keep going / to endure.

So in this sentence:

• Η μπαταρία κρατάει = The battery lasts (i.e. it stays charged, it keeps working).

This is very common with things like:

• Η ταινία κρατάει δύο ώρες. = The movie lasts two hours.
• Η ζέστη θα κρατήσει μέχρι αύριο. = The heat will last until tomorrow.

Why is it κρατάει and not κρατά?

Both κρατάει and κρατά are correct 3rd person singular present tense of κρατάω.

• κρατά is a bit more standard/literary.
• κρατάει is very common in everyday spoken Greek and is slightly more colloquial.

Meaning-wise they are the same:

• Η μπαταρία κρατά περισσότερο.
• Η μπαταρία κρατάει περισσότερο.

Both mean: The battery lasts longer.

Why is it Η μπαταρία and not Το μπαταρία?

Greek nouns have grammatical gender. μπαταρία is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine article η.

Singular definite articles:

• ο (masculine) – e.g. ο φίλος (the friend, m.)
• η (feminine) – e.g. η μπαταρία (the battery)
• το (neuter) – e.g. το βιβλίο (the book)

Many nouns ending in -α are feminine, and μπαταρία follows that pattern.

What is the role of περισσότερο here? Is it an adjective or an adverb?

In this sentence, περισσότερο functions as an adverb, modifying the verb κρατάει:

• Η μπαταρία κρατάει περισσότερο.
  = The battery lasts more / longer.

If you wanted to use it as an adjective with a noun, you’d say for example:

• περισσότερη μπαταρία (more battery)
• περισσότερη ώρα (more time / a longer time)

So:

• κρατάει περισσότερο = lasts longer (adverb)
• κρατάει περισσότερη ώρα = lasts more time / a longer time (adjective + noun)

What exactly does απ' όσο mean, and why is it contracted?

απ' όσο is the contracted form of από όσο.

• από
  • όσο → απ' όσο (the ο of από is dropped before the vowel ο of όσο; the apostrophe marks this elision).

In this construction, περισσότερο απ' όσο... roughly means more than (what/that)...

Here:

• περισσότερο απ' όσο έγραφε η διαφήμιση
  = more (longer) than what the advertisement said / than the ad claimed.

So απ' όσο introduces the clause that you are comparing to.

Why do we use έγραφε (imperfect) and not έγραψε (aorist)?

Both έγραφε and έγραψε are past tenses of γράφω (to write), but they have different aspects:

• έγραφε (imperfect): past continuous / repeated / background or “what it was saying”.
• έγραψε (aorist): a single, completed event “wrote (once)”.

With things like advertisements, books, signs, etc., Greek often uses the imperfect when referring to what they said/were saying (their content), not the one-time act of writing them.

So η διαφήμιση έγραφε... is like saying:

• the advertisement said / stated / was saying...

You could hear η διαφήμιση έγραψε in some contexts, but έγραφε is much more natural for “what the ad said” as information that existed over a period of time.

Why does Greek use έγραφε η διαφήμιση to mean the advertisement said?

In Greek, γράφω (to write) is often used in the sense of to say when you are talking about something written:

• Τι γράφει εδώ; = What does it say here? (on a sign, page, etc.)
• Η εφημερίδα έγραφε ότι... = The newspaper said that...

So η διαφήμιση έγραφε literally is the advertisement was writing, but idiomatically it means the advertisement said / the advertisement stated.

English normally uses say; Greek uses γράφω when referring to written text.

What does οπότε mean, and is the comma before it necessary?

οπότε is a conjunction that means something like so / therefore / and so / which means (that).

In the sentence:

• ..., οπότε είμαι χαρούμενος.
  ≈ ..., so I'm happy.

The comma is standard because οπότε introduces a new clause that gives the result of the previous statement. You can think of it like the comma before so in English:

• The battery lasts longer than the ad said, so I'm happy.

Why is it είμαι χαρούμενος and not είμαι χαρούμενο or είμαι χαρούμενη?

The form of the adjective agrees with the gender (and number) of the speaker:

• είμαι χαρούμενος – I’m happy (said by a man)
• είμαι χαρούμενη – I’m happy (said by a woman)

είμαι χαρούμενο would usually refer to a neuter subject (e.g. Το παιδί είναι χαρούμενο. – The child is happy).

In your sentence, είμαι χαρούμενος implies the speaker is male. A female speaker would naturally say οπότε είμαι χαρούμενη.

Could I say είμαι ευχαριστημένος instead of είμαι χαρούμενος? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say είμαι ευχαριστημένος; it’s very natural here. The nuance:

• χαρούμενος = happy, joyful (general emotional state).
• ευχαριστημένος = satisfied, pleased (specifically pleased with a result or outcome).

In this context (a battery performing better than expected), είμαι ευχαριστημένος actually fits slightly better, because you are satisfied/pleased with the product.

So you could say:

• ..., οπότε είμαι ευχαριστημένος.
  = ..., so I’m pleased (with it).

Why is there no εγώ in είμαι χαρούμενος? Would εγώ είμαι χαρούμενος be wrong?

Greek usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person:

• είμαι already tells you it is I am.

So είμαι χαρούμενος is the normal, neutral version: I’m happy.

You can say Εγώ είμαι χαρούμενος if you want to emphasize I (contrast):

• Οι άλλοι είναι απογοητευμένοι, αλλά εγώ είμαι χαρούμενος.
  = The others are disappointed, but I am happy.

So it’s not wrong, just more emphatic.

Is the mix of tenses (κρατάει in the present and έγραφε in the past) normal in Greek?

Yes, it’s completely normal and appropriate here.

• κρατάει (present): describes the current reality – the battery lasts (now, in general).
• έγραφε (imperfect past): describes what the advertisement said in the past.

You are comparing a current situation with what was previously claimed, so Greek (like English) naturally uses present for the current fact and past for the old statement:

• The battery lasts longer than the ad said.
• Η μπαταρία κρατάει περισσότερο απ' όσο έγραφε η διαφήμιση.

Could I use another verb instead of κρατάει, like διαρκεί?

Yes, you could say:

• Η μπαταρία διαρκεί περισσότερο απ' όσο έγραφε η διαφήμιση.

διαρκεί also means lasts / endures and is perfectly correct. The nuance:

• κρατάει is more colloquial and very common in everyday speech.
• διαρκεί sounds a bit more formal or technical, but is also widely used.

In spoken, casual Greek about a battery, κρατάει is probably the most natural choice.