Breakdown of Πάω να βράσω λίγο νερό στον βραστήρα, για να φτιάξω τσάι πριν αρχίσει η ταινία.
Questions & Answers about Πάω να βράσω λίγο νερό στον βραστήρα, για να φτιάξω τσάι πριν αρχίσει η ταινία.
Πάω να + verb is a very common colloquial way to express that you are just about to do something, often literally going to do it right now.
- Πάω να βράσω λίγο νερό...
= I’m going to (go and) boil some water now / I’ll just go and boil some water.
If you said:
- Θα βράσω λίγο νερό...
it still means you will boil some water, but:
- it feels a bit more neutral, less “right now, I’m off to do it”.
- it focuses more on the future action itself, not on the movement or immediate intention.
So:
- Πάω να βράσω... = I’m (now) going to go and boil... (very immediate, informal)
- Θα βράσω... = I will boil... (plain future statement)
Both are correct; the sentence you have is the more natural everyday way to say it in this context.
Βράσω is the aorist subjunctive of the verb βράζω (to boil).
Basic forms:
- Present: βράζω (I boil / I am boiling)
- Aorist (past simple): έβρασα (I boiled)
- Aorist subjunctive: να βράσω (that I boil / to boil)
In modern Greek, after να, we almost always use the subjunctive, and we choose between:
- imperfective subjunctive (ongoing, repeated): e.g. να βράζω
- perfective (aorist) subjunctive (single, complete event): να βράσω
Here you’re talking about boiling the water once, to completion, so να βράσω (perfective) is appropriate.
Πάω να βράσω λίγο νερό = I’m going to boil some water (once, to get it ready).
Πάω να βράζω λίγο νερό would sound odd here, as if you intend to be in a state of boiling water (ongoing activity), which doesn’t fit the situation.
You cannot say Πάω βράσω. In modern Greek, when a verb is used as a complement of another verb (similar to an English infinitive like “to boil”), you usually need να plus the subjunctive:
- Πάω να βράσω = I’m going to boil
- Θέλω να βράσω = I want to boil
- Μπορώ να βράσω = I can boil
Greek does not have a true infinitive like English to boil, so να + subjunctive plays that role. Here, να βράσω functions like “to boil”, and πάω is the main verb.
They are two aspects of the same verb:
βράζω
- Present / imperfective aspect
- Focuses on the process or on repeated action
- e.g. Κάθε μέρα βράζω νερό. = I boil water every day.
- e.g. Το νερό βράζει. = The water is boiling.
βράσω (form used as να βράσω)
- Aorist / perfective subjunctive
- Focuses on the action as a single, complete event
- e.g. Θέλω να βράσω νερό. = I want to boil some water (once, to have it ready).
In your sentence, you’re talking about boiling the water once so that you can make tea, so the perfective form βράσω is the natural choice.
Νερό is an uncountable noun here, and λίγο means “a little / some” in the sense of quantity.
- λίγο νερό = a little (some) water
No article is needed, because you’re speaking about an indefinite amount.
If you add an article:
- το λίγο νερό = the small amount of water (that we have)
This refers to a specific, known small quantity. - ένα λίγο νερό is not used; λίγο already has that “some/a little” meaning.
So λίγο νερό is the normal, generic way to say “a bit of water / some water”.
Στον is the combination of σε + τον:
- σε = in / at / on / to (a general preposition)
- τον = the (masculine, singular, accusative)
So:
- στον βραστήρα = in the kettle
You use:
- σε + article (here στον) because you mean a specific kettle in the context (the one in the kitchen, for example).
- Just σε βραστήρα (without article) would sound like “in a kettle” in a very generic sense and is not the natural choice here.
- ο βραστήρας alone is just “the kettle” as a subject or standalone noun, not part of a prepositional phrase.
So the full phrase στον βραστήρα is required to express “in the kettle” correctly.
Για να + subjunctive expresses purpose: “in order to / so that (I) can”.
- Πάω να βράσω λίγο νερό, για να φτιάξω τσάι...
= I’m going to boil some water, in order to make tea...
If you said only:
- Πάω να βράσω λίγο νερό, να φτιάξω τσάι...
it could still be understood, but:
- it sounds more like you’re just listing two actions: “I’ll go boil some water, (and) make tea…”
- it doesn’t explicitly mark purpose as clearly or as naturally as για να does.
So για να is the standard way to introduce a purpose clause in modern Greek.
Again, this is the perfective vs imperfective choice in the subjunctive:
- φτιάχνω = present, imperfective (I make / I am making, habitually or as a process)
- Aorist: έφτιαξα
- Aorist subjunctive: να φτιάξω
In για να φτιάξω τσάι, you mean “to make tea (once, complete the action)”, so you want the perfective subjunctive:
- για να φτιάξω τσάι = in order to make tea (as a single completed action)
για να φτιάχνω τσάι would suggest:
- “so that I will be making tea (habitually / repeatedly)” or
- focusing on the ongoing process of making tea, which doesn’t match this context.
You can hear both, but they are not equally natural.
- να φτιάξω τσάι is the most natural way to say “to make tea” in this context.
- να κάνω τσάι is understandable and sometimes used, but:
- κάνω is a very general “do/make”.
- φτιάχνω / φτιάξω is the usual verb for preparing something (food, drink, an object).
So:
- Θα φτιάξω τσάι. = I’ll make tea. (very natural)
- Θα κάνω τσάι. = acceptable but sounds a bit less idiomatic in comparison.
Your sentence is using the most idiomatic choice.
Πριν is one of the words that can take the subjunctive without να. In time clauses like “before X happens”, modern Greek often uses:
- πριν + subjunctive (without να)
So:
- πριν αρχίσει η ταινία = before the movie starts
Here, αρχίσει is the aorist subjunctive of αρχίζω. The να is simply omitted because πριν itself is enough to trigger the subjunctive.
Other examples:
- Πριν φύγω, θα σε πάρω τηλέφωνο. = Before I leave, I’ll call you.
- Πριν κοιμηθείς, κλείσε το φως. = Before you sleep, turn off the light.
Πριν να + subjunctive is not strictly wrong, but:
In standard modern Greek, the most common and natural form is πριν + subjunctive without να:
- πριν αρχίσει η ταινία
πριν να αρχίσει is heard in some dialects and in more old-fashioned or regional speech, but many speakers avoid it in writing or in standard speech.
So you should prefer:
- πριν αρχίσει η ταινία as your default.
In πριν αρχίσει η ταινία:
- αρχίσει is the verb.
- η ταινία is the subject of that verb: “the movie starts”.
As the subject, η ταινία must be in the nominative case:
- η ταινία αρχίζει = the movie starts.
If you used την ταινία (accusative), it would mean “the movie” as an object, which doesn’t fit, because “start” here is intransitive (nothing is “starting” it in this sentence; the movie itself is starting).
Greek often drops the article with uncountable or mass nouns when you mean them in a general or indefinite sense, similar to English using bare nouns like “tea”, “water”, “coffee”.
- να φτιάξω τσάι = to make (some) tea
- να φτιάξω καφέ = to make (some) coffee
If you say το τσάι, you are referring to a specific tea:
- Θα πιω το τσάι μου. = I’ll drink my tea.
- Βάλε το τσάι στο τραπέζι. = Put the tea on the table.
In your sentence, you mean “some tea” in general, so χωρίς άρθρο (without article) is the natural form: να φτιάξω τσάι.
Approximate pronunciations (using English-like spelling):
- βραστήρα → [vra-STEE-ra]
- Stress on -στή-
- βρ like vr in “drive” (without the d)
- φτιάξω → [FTYAK-so] or, for many speakers, closer to [FTYAK-so] with a palatal tya
- Initial φτ sounds like ft in “after”
- ι before α and ξ gives a kind of “ya” quality: ft-YAK-so
- ταινία → [te-NEE-a] (often [te-NI-a])
- Stress on -νία
- Three syllables: τε-νί-α
Stress marks in Greek (βραστήρα, φτιάξω, ταινία) show exactly where the main stress falls; it’s important to follow them.