Όταν φοράω ακουστικά, ρυθμίζω την ένταση αρκετά χαμηλά, για να ακούω και τους ήχους από το σπίτι.

When I wear headphones, I set the volume quite low so that I can also hear the sounds from the house.

Breakdown of Όταν φοράω ακουστικά, ρυθμίζω την ένταση αρκετά χαμηλά, για να ακούω και τους ήχους από το σπίτι.

• το σπίτι: the home
• από: from
• όταν: when
• φοράω: to wear
• για να: so that
• και: also
• ακούω: to hear
• αρκετά: quite
• ο ήχος: the sound
• η ένταση: the volume
• τα ακουστικά: the headphones
• ρυθμίζω: to set
• χαμηλά: low

Questions & Answers about Όταν φοράω ακουστικά, ρυθμίζω την ένταση αρκετά χαμηλά, για να ακούω και τους ήχους από το σπίτι.

What is the role of Όταν here, and how is it different from αν?

Όταν means “when (whenever)” and introduces a time clause. In this sentence:

• Όταν φοράω ακουστικά = When I wear headphones / Whenever I wear headphones

You use Όταν when you’re talking about something that happens every time a certain situation occurs, or at a specific time.

αν means “if” and introduces a condition:

• Αν φοράω ακουστικά = If I wear headphones (only if that condition is met)

Here, the speaker is not presenting a condition but describing what they usually do whenever they wear headphones, so Όταν is the natural choice.

Why is the verb φοράω used here? Is it different from φορώ?

Both φοράω and φορώ mean “I wear” (clothes, accessories, headphones, etc.).

• φοράω is the more colloquial, everyday spoken form.
• φορώ is a bit more formal or “neater” and is common in writing, news, instructions, etc.

In real speech, most people will say Όταν φοράω ακουστικά…
You could also say Όταν φορώ ακουστικά…, and it would still be correct, just slightly more formal or neutral.

Why is ακουστικά in the plural, and why is there no article (the)?

ακουστικά literally means “earphones / headphones” and it is:

• Neuter, plural: τα ακουστικά = the headphones

In Greek, as in English, this item is normally thought of as a pair, so it’s plural.

There is no article here (τα) because Greek often drops the article when talking about things in a general way:

• Φοράω ακουστικά. = I wear headphones. (not a specific pair, just “headphones” in general)

If you wanted to be specific, you’d say:

• Φοράω τα ακουστικά. = I’m wearing the headphones. (a particular pair we both know about)

What exactly does ρυθμίζω mean here? Could you say something simpler like βάζω την ένταση χαμηλά?

ρυθμίζω means “to adjust / to regulate / to set”. It’s used for settings, controls, technical adjustments:

• ρυθμίζω την ένταση = I adjust/set the volume
• ρυθμίζω τη θερμοκρασία = I set the temperature
• ρυθμίζω το ρολόι = I set the clock

You can say:

• Βάζω την ένταση χαμηλά. = I put the volume low.
• Χαμηλώνω την ένταση. = I lower the volume.

These are also natural, but ρυθμίζω emphasizes the idea of carefully setting/adjusting the level, which fits very well with volume controls.

Why is it την ένταση and not just ένταση without the article?

η ένταση means “intensity; volume; loudness”.

Here we have:

• ρυθμίζω την ένταση = I adjust the volume.

Greek tends to use the definite article more often than English, especially with abstract nouns like ένταση when they’re concretely referring to a specific “setting” or “level” (the volume control of your device).

Saying just ρυθμίζω ένταση would sound incomplete or unnatural in normal speech. The article την (feminine, singular, accusative) is expected here.

What does αρκετά mean in αρκετά χαμηλά, and how is it different from πολύ?

αρκετά has two main meanings depending on context:

1. “enough”

   • Έχω αρκετά χρήματα. = I have enough money.

2. “quite / rather / fairly”

   • Είναι αρκετά ψηλός. = He is quite tall.

In αρκετά χαμηλά, it means “quite low / fairly low”:

• ρυθμίζω την ένταση αρκετά χαμηλά
  = I set the volume quite low.

If you used πολύ instead:

• πολύ χαμηλά = very low

So αρκετά χαμηλά is softer than πολύ χαμηλά; it suggests a noticeable but not extreme lowering of volume.

Why is it χαμηλά and not χαμηλή or something similar?

χαμηλά here is an adverb, not an adjective. It describes how you set the volume:

• χαμηλός (adj., masc.) = low
• χαμηλή (adj., fem.) = low
• χαμηλό (adj., neut.) = low
• χαμηλά (adv.) = low(ly), in a low way

In English, you also use an adverb-like form: “I set the volume *low”* (functionally adverbial).

So:

• Η ένταση είναι χαμηλή. = The volume is low. (adjective, describing the noun)
• Ρυθμίζω την ένταση χαμηλά. = I set the volume low. (adverb, describing the action of setting)

What is the function of για να, and how is it different from just να?

για να introduces a purpose clause: it means “in order to / so that (I can)”.

• Ρυθμίζω την ένταση αρκετά χαμηλά, για να ακούω…
  = I set the volume quite low so that I can hear…
  = I set the volume quite low in order to hear…

Technically:

• να on its own often just introduces a subjunctive clause (wish, possibility, etc.).
• για να adds a clear idea of purpose/goal (why you do something).

Compare:

• Θέλω να ακούω μουσική. = I want to listen to music. (no explicit “in order to”)
• Ανεβάζω την ένταση, για να ακούω καλύτερα.
  = I turn up the volume in order to hear better.

Why is it να ακούω after για να? Is that a subjunctive form, and why does it look the same as the present tense?

Yes, after να (and για να) Greek uses the subjunctive.

For many verbs, the 1st person singular present subjunctive form looks identical to the present indicative:

• Indicative: (εγώ) ακούω = I hear / I listen
• Subjunctive: να ακούω = (that I) hear / (so that I) hear

In the sentence:

• …για να ακούω και τους ήχους…
  the να ακούω is subjunctive, required by για να.

English doesn’t mark this difference clearly, so both are just “to hear” or “so that I can hear” in translation. But in Greek, using να is what signals the subjunctive mood.

What is the role of και before τους ήχους? Does it just mean “and”?

Here και is used in the sense of “also / too / as well”, not simply “and”.

• να ακούω και τους ήχους από το σπίτι
  = to hear also the sounds from the house
  = to also hear the sounds from the house

Without και, it would still be grammatical:

• …για να ακούω τους ήχους από το σπίτι.
  = so that I hear the sounds from the house.

But και emphasizes that in addition to what you hear through the headphones (music, audio, etc.), you also want to hear the sounds from the house. It adds the idea of “as well”.

Why is it τους ήχους with the article? In English we just say “sounds from the house” without “the”.

ο ήχος = the sound
οι ήχοι = the sounds
τους ήχους = the sounds (accusative plural)

Greek uses the definite article more often than English, even when English would leave it out. Here, τους ήχους από το σπίτι corresponds to “the sounds from the house”, but English naturally drops the article.

Using τους makes ήχους feel more concrete and specific: the recognizable household sounds (people moving, doors, kids, etc.), not just random abstract “sound”.

Without the article:

• να ακούω ήχους από το σπίτι
  would still be understandable, but it sounds more indefinite or a bit less natural in this context. The version with τους is what you’d normally hear.

Why is the preposition από used with το σπίτι here? Could you say στο σπίτι instead?

από means “from”, indicating origin or source:

• τους ήχους από το σπίτι = the sounds from the house
  (their source is the house)

στο σπίτι means “in/at the house”, which would change the meaning:

• τους ήχους στο σπίτι = the sounds in the house

In this sentence, the idea is: “I set the volume low so that I can also hear the sounds that come from the house.”
So από το σπίτι is the correct preposition to express that the house is the source of the sounds.