Όταν έχει πολλή ζέστη, πίνω έναν δροσερό χυμό πορτοκάλι αντί για δεύτερο καφέ.

When it is very hot, I drink a cool orange juice instead of a second coffee.

Breakdown of Όταν έχει πολλή ζέστη, πίνω έναν δροσερό χυμό πορτοκάλι αντί για δεύτερο καφέ.

• ο καφές: the coffee
• πίνω: to drink
• πολύς: much
• έχω: to have
• όταν: when
• ένας: one
• αντί για: instead of
• δεύτερος: second
• το πορτοκάλι: the orange
• ο χυμός: the juice
• η ζέστη: the heat
• δροσερός: cool

Questions & Answers about Όταν έχει πολλή ζέστη, πίνω έναν δροσερό χυμό πορτοκάλι αντί για δεύτερο καφέ.

Why does the sentence use έχει πολλή ζέστη instead of something with είναι, like είναι ζεστό?

In Greek, one very common way to talk about weather/temperature is with έχει + noun:

• έχει ζέστη = it is hot (literally “it has heat”)
• έχει κρύο = it is cold
• έχει υγρασία = it is humid

So Όταν έχει πολλή ζέστη is the natural way to say “When it’s very hot”.

You can use είναι with adjectives or with “ο καιρός”:

• Είναι ζεστός ο καιρός σήμερα. = The weather is warm today. But in everyday speech, for this meaning, έχει ζέστη is more usual and idiomatic.

Why is it πολλή ζέστη and not πολύ ζέστη?

Ζέστη is a feminine noun, so the word “much/a lot of” has to agree with it in gender and number:

• Feminine singular: πολλή ζέστη
• Masculine plural: πολλοί άνθρωποι (many people)
• Neuter plural: πολλά παιδιά (many children)

Πολύ (without an extra λ and with -ύ) is usually:

• an adverb: τρέχει πολύ (he runs a lot)
• or an invariable form before adjectives/adverbs: πολύ καλός, πολύ γρήγορα

In πολλή ζέστη, it’s describing a feminine noun, so you need the adjective form πολλή, written with -ή at the end:

• πολλή ζέστη = a lot of heat Spoken, they can sound similar; the difference is mainly in grammar and spelling.

What is the role of the comma after Όταν έχει πολλή ζέστη?

Greek uses a comma between a dependent clause and the main clause, especially when the dependent clause comes first.

• Όταν έχει πολλή ζέστη, πίνω…
  • Dependent clause: Όταν έχει πολλή ζέστη (When it is very hot)
  • Main clause: πίνω έναν δροσερό χυμό… (I drink a cool juice…)

You could also reverse the order:

• Πίνω έναν δροσερό χυμό πορτοκάλι, όταν έχει πολλή ζέστη.

The comma helps mark the pause and separate the two clauses, just like in English.

Why is πίνω (present) used here, instead of θα πιω (future)?

The present tense πίνω in Greek is often used for habits and general truths, just like the English simple present:

• Πίνω καφέ κάθε πρωί. = I drink coffee every morning.
• Όταν έχει πολλή ζέστη, πίνω έναν δροσερό χυμό…
  = Whenever it’s very hot, I drink a cool orange juice (that’s my habit).

If you said:

• Όταν έχει πολλή ζέστη, θα πιω έναν δροσερό χυμό… it would sound more like a specific future situation: When it’s very hot (on that occasion), I will drink…

Why do we say έναν δροσερό χυμό and not just δροσερό χυμό or ο δροσερός χυμός?

Χυμός is a masculine noun:

• Nominative: ο χυμός
• Accusative: τον χυμό

Here we need the accusative, because it’s the direct object of πίνω:

• (Πίνω) έναν δροσερό χυμό = I drink a cool juice.

We use the indefinite article:

• ένας (nom.) → έναν (acc.) = a / one

So:

• έναν δροσερό χυμό = a cool juice (not a specific, already known one)
• τον δροσερό χυμό would mean the cool juice (some particular juice we both know about). You can drop the article (πίνω δροσερό χυμό), but with a countable thing like “juice”, using έναν is very natural in this context and matches the English “a”.

Why is it χυμό πορτοκάλι and not χυμό πορτοκαλιού?

Both forms exist in modern Greek:

1. χυμός πορτοκάλι / χυμό πορτοκάλι

   • Colloquial, very common on menus, packaging, everyday speech.
   • The second noun acts like a “flavor label”: χυμός πορτοκάλι, παγωτό σοκολάτα, χυμός μήλο.

2. χυμός πορτοκαλιού / χυμό πορτοκαλιού

   • Uses the genitive of πορτοκάλι (του πορτοκαλιού).
   • More transparent as “juice of orange”.

In your sentence, έναν δροσερό χυμό πορτοκάλι sounds very natural and informal, like saying “a cool orange juice” on a café menu.
If you say χυμό πορτοκαλιού, it’s also correct, just a bit more “standard”/neutral in style.

Why is the adjective δροσερό placed before χυμό? Could it come after the noun?

The most common pattern is:

• article + adjective + noun
• έναν δροσερό χυμό (a cool juice)

You can place the adjective after the noun, but then usually with a repeated article, and it often has a more “descriptive” or contrastive feel:

• έναν χυμό δροσερό – possible, but sounds marked or stylistic here.
• ο δροσερός χυμός (attributive) vs. ο χυμός είναι δροσερός (predicative).

For an everyday phrase like “a cool orange juice”, έναν δροσερό χυμό is the normal, idiomatic order.

What does αντί για mean exactly, and why do we need για?

Αντί για is a fixed expression meaning “instead of”:

• αντί για δεύτερο καφέ = instead of a second coffee
• Θα πάρω τσάι αντί για καφέ. = I’ll have tea instead of coffee.

Grammatically:

• αντί originally means “in place of”, and it governs the genitive in older/very formal Greek.
• In modern everyday language, people very often say αντί για + accusative, which feels more natural.

So:

• Very formal: αντί δευτέρου καφέ (genitive)
• Normal spoken Greek: αντί για δεύτερο καφέ (accusative)

You can sometimes drop για (αντί καφέ), but αντί για + accusative is the safest and most common pattern for learners.

Why is there no article before δεύτερο καφέ? Why not τον δεύτερο καφέ?

In Greek, when you talk about a routine “numbered” item in a general way, you often omit the article:

• Πίνω δεύτερο καφέ κάθε μέρα. = I drink a second coffee every day.
• Θα πάρω τρίτο ποτό. = I’ll have a third drink.

Here, δεύτερο καφέ means “a second coffee” in the sense of “one more coffee”.

If you say:

• αντί για τον δεύτερο καφέ,
  it sounds more like you have a very specific “second coffee” in mind in a particular situation (the second coffee we discussed, or the one you usually have at a fixed time).

So for a habitual, general statement, αντί για δεύτερο καφέ without the article is more natural.

Why is it καφέ and not καφές at the end?

Καφές is a masculine noun:

• Nominative: ο καφές
• Accusative: τον καφέ

In δεύτερο καφέ, the noun is in the accusative, because it is governed by αντί για:

• αντί για τι; → αντί για δεύτερο καφέ

The form καφέ (with the accent on the last syllable) is the accusative singular.
So:

• ο καφές (subject) – “the coffee”
• πίνω καφέ / δεύτερο καφέ (object) – “(a) coffee / (a) second coffee”

What is the difference between Όταν έχει πολλή ζέστη and Αν έχει πολλή ζέστη?

Both can sometimes be translated as “when”, but they are not the same:

• Όταν έχει πολλή ζέστη, πίνω έναν δροσερό χυμό…
  Describes a repeated, typical situation.
  = Whenever it’s very hot, I (normally) drink a cool orange juice.

• Αν έχει πολλή ζέστη, θα πιω έναν δροσερό χυμό…
  Expresses a condition or uncertainty: if it happens to be very hot (on that occasion), I will drink…

So:

• όταν + present = “whenever”, for habits and general rules
• αν + verb = “if”, for conditional situations

Why are both verbs in the present: Όταν έχει… πίνω…? Could I mix tenses?

With όταν in a general, habitual statement, Greek usually uses the present–present pattern:

• Όταν έχει πολλή ζέστη, πίνω έναν δροσερό χυμό.
  Whenever it’s very hot, I drink a cool orange juice.

For specific time frames, you change the tenses accordingly:

• Past habit:
  Όταν είχε πολλή ζέστη, έπινα έναν δροσερό χυμό.
  When it was very hot, I used to drink…

• Future specific:
  Όταν έχει πολλή ζέστη, θα πιω έναν δροσερό χυμό.
  When it is very hot (then), I will drink…

So in your sentence, the double present describes a regular habit, which is exactly the intended meaning.