Learn Hardcore Greek: Όταν είμαι στην παραλία, βγάζω πάντα πολλές φωτογραφίες της θάλασσας. - When I am at the beach, I always take many photos of the sea.

είμαι = I am
- (you are = είσαι, he/she is = είναι, etc.)
βγάζω = I take / I pull out
- (you take = βγάζεις, he/she takes = βγάζει)

So the forms είμαι and βγάζω clearly indicate first person singular, I. That’s why Greek doesn’t need to say εγώ here: it’s understood from the verb.

Why is the present tense used in Όταν είμαι… βγάζω… if this describes a general habit?

In Greek, the simple present tense is used both:

for things happening right now, and
for habits / repeated actions.

So:

Όταν είμαι στην παραλία, βγάζω πάντα πολλές φωτογραφίες της θάλασσας.
= When I’m at the beach, I always take lots of pictures of the sea.

This is a general, habitual action, and Greek uses the present tense for that, just like English uses the simple present in I always take.

If you want to emphasise “right now” in Greek, you usually rely on context or add time expressions like:

Τώρα βγάζω φωτογραφίες. = I’m taking photos now.

Why is it Όταν and not Αν or Όποτε?

All three exist, but they’re used differently:

Όταν = when (for time, real situations)
- Όταν είμαι στην παραλία, βγάζω φωτογραφίες.
  When I’m at the beach, I take photos.
Αν = if (for conditions, possibilities)
- Αν είμαι στην παραλία, θα βγάλω φωτογραφίες.
  If I’m at the beach, I’ll take photos.
Όποτε = whenever / any time that
- Όποτε είμαι στην παραλία, βγάζω φωτογραφίες.
  Whenever I am at the beach, I take photos.

In your sentence, we’re not talking about a condition (if) but about what happens whenever that time occurs, so Όταν (or Όποτε) fits. Όταν is more common and neutral here.

Why is there a comma after Όταν είμαι στην παραλία?

Greek uses a comma after a dependent clause at the start of a sentence, very much like English:

Όταν είμαι στην παραλία, βγάζω πάντα πολλές φωτογραφίες…
When I am at the beach, I always take lots of pictures…

If the όταν-clause comes second, a comma is usually not needed:

Βγάζω πάντα πολλές φωτογραφίες της θάλασσας όταν είμαι στην παραλία.
I always take lots of pictures of the sea when I’m at the beach.

What exactly does βγάζω mean? Why does it mean take (photos) here?

The basic meaning of βγάζω (vgázo) is to take out / to remove / to bring out. From that, it developed several uses:

βγάζω τα παπούτσια μου = I take off my shoes
βγάζω το ψωμί από τον φούρνο = I take the bread out of the oven
βγάζω λεφτά = I earn money
βγάζω νόημα = it makes sense

With photos, the idea is to produce / bring out a photo, so:

βγάζω φωτογραφίες = I take photos / I shoot photos

You may also hear:

βγάζω μια φωτογραφία
τραβάω/τραβώ φωτογραφίες (also very common in everyday speech)

All of these can mean to take photos.

Can I change the position of πάντα? Is Βγάζω πάντα… the only correct order?

Greek word order is fairly flexible, especially for adverbs like πάντα (always). All of these are possible and natural, with small differences in emphasis:

Βγάζω πάντα πολλές φωτογραφίες της θάλασσας.
Neutral: I always take lots of pictures…
Πάντα βγάζω πολλές φωτογραφίες της θάλασσας.
Emphasis on always: It’s always that I take…
Βγάζω πολλές φωτογραφίες της θάλασσας πάντα.
Possible, but sounds a bit more marked; πάντα at the end can sound more emphatic or stylistic.

The most “textbook” order is the one you have: βγάζω πάντα πολλές φωτογραφίες…

Why is it στην παραλία? What is στην made from?

στην is a contraction of:

σε (in / at / to) + την (the, feminine accusative singular)

So:

σε + την παραλία → στην παραλία

This contraction is standard and almost always used in speech and writing. Similarly:

σε + τον δρόμο → στον δρόμο (on the road)
σε + το σπίτι → στο σπίτι (at home)

Using σε την παραλία separately would sound unnatural in modern Greek.

Why is παραλία used and not θάλασσα for at the beach?

Greek distinguishes between:

η θάλασσα = the sea (the water itself, the body of water)
η παραλία = the beach / shore (the sandy/pebbly area where you sit, swim from, sunbathe)

So:

Είμαι στην παραλία. = I’m at the beach.
Είμαι στη θάλασσα.
Can mean I’m in/at the sea (often implying in the water or at the seaside generally).

In your sentence, στην παραλία is natural because we imagine you standing/sitting on the beach taking photos.

Why do we say πολλές φωτογραφίες and not something like πολύ φωτογραφίες?

πολύ / πολλή / πολύς / πολλά / πολλές must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun.

φωτογραφία is feminine: η φωτογραφία (singular), οι φωτογραφίες (plural).
Here we have plural feminine (accusative): τι; → φωτογραφίες.

So:

πολλές φωτογραφίες = many / lots of photos
- πολλές: feminine, plural, accusative
- φωτογραφίες: feminine, plural, accusative

πολύ φωτογραφίες is ungrammatical because πολύ does not agree in gender/number with φωτογραφίες in this context.

Why is it φωτογραφίες της θάλασσας and not just φωτογραφίες τη θάλασσα?

Greek uses the genitive case to express of (possession, origin, content, etc.). So:

της θάλασσας = of the sea

The structure here is:

πολλές φωτογραφίες της θάλασσας
literally: many photos of the sea

If you said βγάζω τη θάλασσα (accusative), that sounds like I take out the sea (nonsense in this context) or possibly I shoot the sea as a bare object, but it’s not the natural way to say photos of the sea. For content of photos, Greek normally uses the genitive:

φωτογραφίες του βουνού = photos of the mountain
φωτογραφίες των παιδιών = photos of the children

What is the function of της in της θάλασσας?

της is the feminine genitive singular article, “the” in the of-phrase:

η θάλασσα (nominative: the sea – subject)
της θάλασσας (genitive: of the sea)

So:

πολλές φωτογραφίες της θάλασσας
= many photos of the sea

Greek generally keeps the definite article in such genitive phrases, where English might or might not use the.

How is βγάζω pronounced, especially the βγ cluster?

βγάζω is pronounced approximately:

[ˈvɣazo] → VGÁ-zo

Details:

β = [v], like v in victory.
γ before α = a voiced velar fricative [ɣ], similar to a soft g sound from the throat.
βγ together sound like a smooth vg: vgázo.
Stress is on the first syllable: ΒΓΆ-ζω.

So you can think of it as VGÁ-zo in English-friendly spelling.

Could I say Όποτε είμαι στην παραλία, βγάζω πάντα πολλές φωτογραφίες της θάλασσας instead? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, that sentence is correct too:

Όποτε είμαι στην παραλία, βγάζω πάντα πολλές φωτογραφίες της θάλασσας.

Nuance:

Όταν = when (each time that something happens)
Όποτε = whenever / any time that (slightly more general and sometimes a bit more formal or “whenever-type” in feel)

In everyday conversation, Όταν είμαι στην παραλία… is very natural and probably more common, but Όποτε is also fine and close in meaning.

Could the subject pronoun εγώ be added? Would that sound strange?

You can add εγώ for emphasis:

Όταν εγώ είμαι στην παραλία, βγάζω πάντα πολλές φωτογραφίες της θάλασσας.

This would sound like:

When I’m at the beach (as opposed to others), I always take lots of photos…

So:

Without εγώ: neutral, normal, default.
With εγώ: emphasis or contrast (me, not someone else).

In neutral statements, Greeks typically omit εγώ because the verb ending already shows the person.

Does this sentence also mean “When I am at the beach, I am always taking lots of photos of the sea” (continuous) in English?

Yes. Greek doesn’t formally separate simple and continuous present the way English does. The same Greek present form can correspond to:

I take photos (habitually)
I am taking photos (right now), depending on context.

In your sentence, because of όταν and πάντα, it’s clearly about a habit, so the best English translation is:

When I’m at the beach, I always take lots of pictures of the sea.

But grammatically, the Greek form is just present, and context decides whether you understand it as simple or continuous.