Learn Hardcore Greek: Όταν δεν στρώνω το κρεβάτι, το δωμάτιο φαίνεται πιο ακατάστατο. - When I don’t make the bed, the room looks messier.

στρώνω means I make / I am making.
- The ending -ω marks 1st person singular (I).
So Όταν δεν στρώνω το κρεβάτι is understood as When I don’t make the bed, even without a separate εγώ (I).

You could say Όταν εγώ δεν στρώνω το κρεβάτι, but that sounds emphatic (like “when I don’t make the bed”).

What does Όταν mean here, and how is it different from αν?

Όταν means when in the sense of whenever / every time that for repeated or general situations.

Όταν δεν στρώνω το κρεβάτι = When(ever) I don’t make the bed (a habitual situation).

αν usually means if (a condition):

Αν δεν στρώσω το κρεβάτι = If I don’t make the bed (as a condition for something else happening).

So Όταν is about time (“when this happens”), while αν is about condition (“if this happens”).

Why is the negative word δεν placed before στρώνω?

In Greek, the basic rule is:

δεν + verb

So you put δεν directly in front of the verb it negates:

στρώνω → δεν στρώνω (I don’t make)
φαίνεται → δεν φαίνεται (it doesn’t seem / look)

That’s why we say:

Όταν δεν στρώνω το κρεβάτι…
not Όταν στρώνω δεν το κρεβάτι (which would be wrong).

Why is the verb στρώνω in the present tense and not something like a future or past tense?

The Greek present tense here expresses a general, habitual action:

Όταν δεν στρώνω το κρεβάτι = When(ever) I don’t make the bed (in general / habitually).

If you wanted a single event in the future, you might say:

Αν δεν στρώσω το κρεβάτι, το δωμάτιο θα φαίνεται πιο ακατάστατο.
(If I don’t make the bed, the room will look messier.)

So the present στρώνω matches the idea of a regular pattern, not a one‑time event.

What’s the difference between στρώνω and στρώσω?

They are two different aspects of the same verb:

στρώνω = present/imperfective aspect
→ focus on ongoing or repeated action
→ Όταν δεν στρώνω το κρεβάτι = whenever I (normally) don’t make the bed
στρώσω = aorist/perfective (used in να / αν / θα clauses)
→ focus on a single, complete action
→ Αν δεν στρώσω το κρεβάτι = if I don’t (on that occasion) make the bed

In this sentence, we talk about a habitual situation, so στρώνω is correct.

Why do we use the definite article το with κρεβάτι and δωμάτιο?

Both nouns are specific here:

το κρεβάτι = the bed (not just any bed; my/our bed in this room)
το δωμάτιο = the room (a specific room, usually my room)

Greek tends to use the definite article more often than English, even where English might allow dropping the.

Without the article:

στρώνω κρεβάτι sounds more like I make a bed (at all / as a job).
δωμάτιο φαίνεται… without το would be ungrammatical here.

So here the articles are necessary and natural.

Why is δωμάτιο neuter, and how does that affect ακατάστατο?

δωμάτιο (room) is a neuter noun in Greek:

το δωμάτιο (neuter singular)

Adjectives must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case, so:

masculine: ακατάστατος
feminine: ακατάστατη
neuter: ακατάστατο

Since δωμάτιο is neuter singular, the adjective must also be neuter singular:

το δωμάτιο είναι / φαίνεται πιο ακατάστατο

That’s why we don’t say ακατάστατος or ακατάστατη here.

What exactly does φαίνεται mean here, and how is it different from είναι?

φαίνεται is the 3rd person singular of φαίνομαι, which usually means:

to seem / to appear / to look

So:

το δωμάτιο φαίνεται πιο ακατάστατο
= the room looks/seems messier

If you used είναι:

το δωμάτιο είναι πιο ακατάστατο
= the room is messier

So:

φαίνεται focuses on how it appears to someone’s eyes.
είναι makes a more direct statement of fact.

Both can be correct depending on the nuance you want.

Why do we say πιο ακατάστατο instead of changing the ending of the adjective to make a comparative?

In modern Greek, the usual way to make the comparative of most adjectives is:

πιο + adjective

So:

ακατάστατος → πιο ακατάστατος / πιο ακατάστατο
(more messy, messier)
όμορφος → πιο όμορφος (more beautiful, prettier)
δυστυχισμένος → πιο δυστυχισμένος (more unhappy)

There are a few irregular forms (like καλύτερος from καλός), but ακατάστατος has no special comparative form, so πιο ακατάστατο is the normal and correct choice.

Why is there a comma after κρεβάτι?

The sentence has two clauses:

Όταν δεν στρώνω το κρεβάτι (subordinate time clause: when I don’t make the bed)
το δωμάτιο φαίνεται πιο ακατάστατο (main clause: the room looks messier)

In Greek, when a sentence begins with a subordinate clause introduced by Όταν, we usually separate it from the main clause with a comma:

Όταν δεν στρώνω το κρεβάτι, το δωμάτιο φαίνεται πιο ακατάστατο.

If you reverse the order, you usually don’t need a comma:

Το δωμάτιο φαίνεται πιο ακατάστατο όταν δεν στρώνω το κρεβάτι.

Can I change the word order? For example, put the main clause first?

Yes, you can change the order of the two clauses without changing the basic meaning:

Όταν δεν στρώνω το κρεβάτι, το δωμάτιο φαίνεται πιο ακατάστατο.
Το δωμάτιο φαίνεται πιο ακατάστατο όταν δεν στρώνω το κρεβάτι.

Both are correct. The difference is just which part you want to highlight:

Starting with Όταν… puts more focus on the condition/time.
Starting with Το δωμάτιο… puts more focus on how the room looks.

Inside each clause, though, word order is more restricted; for example, δεν must stay before the verb: δεν στρώνω, not στρώνω δεν.

Is στρώνω το κρεβάτι really how you say make the bed in Greek?

Yes. στρώνω το κρεβάτι is the standard, idiomatic way to say make the bed:

literally: I lay / spread the bed
idiomatically: I make the bed

You will see and hear it very often:

Έστρωσες το κρεβάτι; – Did you make the bed?
Πάντα στρώνω το κρεβάτι το πρωί. – I always make the bed in the morning.

How is the whole sentence pronounced, and where is the stress?

Syllable-by-syllable (stressed syllables in bold caps):

Όταν → Ó‑tan
δεν → then (like then in English, with soft th /ð/)
στρώνω → STRÓ‑no
(the ω is stressed and sounds like o in “for”)
το → to (unstressed)
κρεβάτι → kre‑VÁ‑ti
το → to
δωμάτιο → tho‑MÁ‑ti‑o
φαίνεται → FÉ‑ne‑te
πιο → pyo (like “pyo”, one syllable)
ακατάστατο → a‑ka‑TÁ‑sta‑to

So, in natural speech:

Ótan then STRÓ‑no to kre‑VÁ‑ti, to tho‑MÁ‑ti‑o FÉ‑ne‑te pyo a‑ka‑TÁ‑sta‑to.