Learn Hardcore Greek: Έχουμε συνδρομή σε μια πλατφόρμα με ταινίες, ώστε να βλέπουμε ό,τι θέλουμε χωρίς διαφήμιση. - We have a subscription to a movie platform so that we can watch whatever we want without advertising.

Έχουμε συνδρομή σε μια πλατφόρμα…
Sounds general and neutral: We have a subscription (to some platform)…. Greek often drops the article with abstract or “status” nouns (e.g. έχω δουλειά, έχω ραντεβού, έχω υποχρεώσεις).
Έχουμε μια συνδρομή σε μια πλατφόρμα…
Grammatically correct, but it slightly emphasizes “one subscription” as a countable thing. You might say this if you contrast it with other subscriptions:
We have one subscription on a movie platform and another on a sports platform.

In everyday speech, the version without μια is very common and natural here.

Why is it σε μια πλατφόρμα and not something else, like just μια πλατφόρμα or a different preposition?

In Greek, έχω συνδρομή σε κάτι is the standard pattern:

έχω συνδρομή σε μια πλατφόρμα = I have a subscription *on/to a platform*.
The preposition σε is used for “having a subscription/membership in/on/with” a service, organization, etc.

Examples:

έχω συνδρομή σε γυμναστήριο – I have a gym membership.
έχω συνδρομή σε περιοδικό – I subscribe to a magazine.

Without σε, it would be ungrammatical: ✗ έχω συνδρομή μια πλατφόρμα is not allowed.

Why is it με ταινίες and not για ταινίες?

Both could appear in Greek, but they don’t mean exactly the same:

πλατφόρμα με ταινίες
Literally: a platform *with movies*.
Emphasizes that a main feature or content of the platform is movies. It’s very natural here.
πλατφόρμα για ταινίες
Literally: a platform *for movies.
Sounds more like a platform whose purpose is related to movies (e.g. made for movies, dedicated to movies). It’s also possible, but *με ταινίες feels more like “a platform that has movies available.”

In everyday speech describing streaming services, με ταινίες is very common and idiomatic.

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

Ώστε να introduces a clause of purpose or intended result, similar to:

so that, in order that, so as to.

In this sentence:

ώστε να βλέπουμε ό,τι θέλουμε ≈ so that we (can) watch whatever we want.

Differences from για να:

για να is the most common everyday way to say in order to / so that.
ώστε να often feels a bit more formal or more explicit about result or intention.
In many contexts, you can use either without changing the meaning much:
- Έχουμε συνδρομή… για να βλέπουμε ό,τι θέλουμε… – also fine.

Here ώστε να is a nice, natural choice connecting cause (having a subscription) and intended result (being able to watch what we want).

Why is the verb βλέπουμε (present) used after ώστε να, and not a future form like θα βλέπουμε?

After να, Greek uses the subjunctive, and in the present subjunctive the verb form is identical to the present indicative for most verbs:

indicative: βλέπουμε = we watch / we see
subjunctive: (να) βλέπουμε = (that) we watch / may watch

You cannot say ✗ ώστε να θα βλέπουμε. Θα never combines with να like that.

Ώστε να βλέπουμε… here expresses:

purpose / potential: so that we may watch / so that we can watch…

English adds can to show the idea of capability. Greek doesn’t need a separate “can” verb; the subjunctive with να already covers that idea in this context.

What exactly is ό,τι, and how is it different from ότι?

These are two completely different words:

ό,τι (with a comma)
Means whatever / anything that.
It’s an indefinite relative pronoun.
- ό,τι θέλουμε = whatever we want / anything we want.
ότι (no comma)
Means that (as a conjunction, like “I think that…”).
- Ξέρω ότι έχεις δίκιο. = I know that you are right.

In the sentence, it must be ό,τι θέλουμε, because the meaning is “whatever we want”, not “that we want”.

Why is there a comma in ό,τι? Is it punctuation?

The comma in ό,τι is not punctuation. It is part of the spelling of the word.

It’s used to visually distinguish:

ό,τι = whatever / anything that
ότι = that (conjunction)

So:

ό,τι θέλουμε – whatever we want
ξέρω ότι θέλεις – I know that you want

Even if ό,τι is at the beginning of a line or after another comma, the little comma inside is still written, because it belongs to the word itself.

Why is it χωρίς διαφήμιση (singular) and not χωρίς διαφημίσεις (plural)?

Both forms are grammatically correct, but they have a slightly different feel:

χωρίς διαφήμιση (singular)
Means “without advertising” as a general concept or activity.
It sounds like ad‑free, with no advertising at all.
- Similar to English “without advertising” (uncountable).
χωρίς διαφημίσεις (plural)
Means literally “without (any) ads”.
Emphasizes individual ads, like specific commercials, banners, etc.

In the context of a streaming platform, χωρίς διαφήμιση is very natural, as services are often described as having or not having “advertising” in general.

Could we change the word order to ώστε να βλέπουμε χωρίς διαφήμιση ό,τι θέλουμε? Would that be correct?

Yes, that word order is also grammatically correct:

ώστε να βλέπουμε χωρίς διαφήμιση ό,τι θέλουμε

Greek word order is relatively flexible. Moving χωρίς διαφήμιση can change the focus slightly, but not the basic meaning:

Original: … ώστε να βλέπουμε ό,τι θέλουμε χωρίς διαφήμιση.
Feels like: so that we watch whatever we want, without ads.
Variant: … ώστε να βλέπουμε χωρίς διαφήμιση ό,τι θέλουμε.
Slightly emphasizes the ad‑free watching before specifying whatever we want.

Both are natural; the original is probably a bit more typical.

Why is it ό,τι θέλουμε and not να θέλουμε or something like that?

In ό,τι θέλουμε, the structure is:

ό,τι = whatever / anything that
θέλουμε = we want (present indicative)

So it literally means “whatever we want”.

You don’t use να θέλουμε here because:

After ό,τι, you usually follow with a normal finite verb (indicative), not a να‑clause.
ό,τι να θέλουμε would sound odd or ungrammatical in this meaning.

Examples of the same pattern:

Πάρε ό,τι χρειάζεσαι. – Take whatever you need.
Φάε ό,τι θέλεις. – Eat whatever you like.

So ό,τι θέλουμε is the standard and correct pattern.

Could we say πλατφόρμα ταινιών instead of πλατφόρμα με ταινίες?

You could say πλατφόρμα ταινιών, and it would be understood as “movie platform / platform of movies”. However, there is a nuance:

πλατφόρμα με ταινίες
= a platform with movies (it has movies available; it carries movies as content).
This sounds very natural in everyday speech for streaming services.
πλατφόρμα ταινιών
Sounds slightly more like a label or title: “a platform of movies, a movie platform” – a bit more compact and “nouny”. It’s fine, but με ταινίες feels more colloquial and descriptive in this context.

So the original πλατφόρμα με ταινίες is idiomatic and well‑suited for talking about a streaming platform.