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

When I am at the beach, I always take many photos of the sea.

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

• είμαι: to be
• σε: at
• πάντα: always
• πολύς: many

Questions & Answers about Όταν είμαι στην παραλία, βγάζω πάντα πολλές φωτογραφίες της θάλασσας.

How do we know the subject is I when there is no word for I in the sentence?

In Greek, the personal subject pronoun (εγώ = I) is usually omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• 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.