Learn Hardcore Greek: Κάθε φορά που πηγαίνω σε μια άλλη ταράτσα, αισθάνομαι σαν να γυρίζω σε εκείνες τις παλιές αναμνήσεις. - Every time I go to another rooftop, I feel as if I am returning to those old memories.

Κάθε φορά που sounds a bit more explicit and slightly more emphatic about each occurrence.
Όταν is shorter and more general: when / whenever.

So:

Κάθε φορά που πηγαίνω σε μια άλλη ταράτσα… emphasizes the repeated pattern more strongly than just Όταν πηγαίνω….

Why is it πηγαίνω and not πάω? Are they interchangeable?

Both πηγαίνω and πάω mean “I go”.

πηγαίνω = full, more “complete” form, very common in writing and neutral speech.
πάω = shorter, very common in everyday spoken Greek, slightly more colloquial.

In this sentence, you could say:

Κάθε φορά που πηγαίνω σε μια άλλη ταράτσα… (as given)
Κάθε φορά που πάω σε μια άλλη ταράτσα… (more casual)

Both are correct; the choice is mostly a question of style/register.

Why is it σε μια άλλη ταράτσα and not just σε άλλη ταράτσα?

Μια is the indefinite article, like “a / an” in English.

σε μια άλλη ταράτσα = to another roof / to a different roof (a specific but unidentified “other” roof in each case).
σε άλλη ταράτσα (without μια) is also possible, but:
- It sounds a bit more bare or abstract.
- σε μια άλλη ταράτσα is more natural and conversational, closer to English “to another roof”.

So the article μια helps mark the noun as a concrete, countable thing, similar to English usage.

What is the gender and case of ταράτσα, and how do μια and άλλη agree with it?

Ταράτσα is:

Gender: feminine
Base form (nominative singular): η ταράτσα

In the phrase σε μια άλλη ταράτσα, the noun is in the accusative singular (because of the preposition σε):

σε
- μια (feminine accusative singular)
άλλη (feminine accusative singular)
ταράτσα (feminine accusative singular)

All three words agree in gender (feminine), number (singular), and case (accusative):

η ταράτσα → σε μια άλλη ταράτσα

What exactly does αισθάνομαι mean, and why does it look “reflexive”? Is it different from νιώθω?

Αισθάνομαι means “I feel” (emotionally or physically).

Formally, it’s the middle/passive form of the verb αισθάνω (which doesn’t really appear on its own in modern usage). So grammatically it behaves like a “reflexive-like” verb:

εγώ αισθάνομαι = I feel
εσύ αισθάνεσαι = you feel
αυτός/αυτή αισθάνεται = he/she feels, etc.

In modern Greek, αισθάνομαι is used without an explicit reflexive pronoun; it’s just the normal way to say “I feel”.

Difference from νιώθω:

νιώθω: I feel, I sense, often sounds a bit more informal and is very common in everyday speech.
αισθάνομαι: can sound slightly more formal or introspective, but in many contexts they can substitute for each other.

In this sentence, αισθάνομαι fits well because it talks about a recurring emotional experience.

What does the structure σαν να γυρίζω mean? Why σαν να and not just σαν or just να γυρίζω?

Σαν να introduces something like a hypothetical or “as if” situation.

σαν να γυρίζω ≈ “as if I were returning” / “like I’m returning”

Breakdown:

σαν = “like / as”
να
- verb = introduces a non-finite clause (similar to a subjunctive-like structure in Greek)

Together:

σαν να + verb = “as if (I) + verb”

So:

αισθάνομαι σαν να γυρίζω… = I feel as if I am going back…

If you used:

μόνο σαν γυρίζω → not correct here; σαν alone before a verb normally needs να (σαν να γυρίζω) or an indicative clause (σαν γυρίζω σπίτι, τρώω in a different meaning).
μόνο να γυρίζω → would change the meaning to something like “I feel like returning…” (a desire or inclination), which is different from “as if I were returning.”

Why is it γυρίζω and not γυρίσω after σαν να? What’s the aspect difference here?

Greek distinguishes imperfective and perfective aspects:

γυρίζω = imperfective, “I return / I am returning / I keep returning”
γυρίσω = perfective, “I return (as a single, complete event)”

After σαν να, both forms are possible in general, but they change the nuance:

σαν να γυρίζω: focuses on the process or the ongoing/typical experience of returning.
σαν να γυρίσω: would sound more like a single, completed return (less natural in this emotional, habitual context).

Here the speaker is talking about how they always feel in that situation, so the imperfective (γυρίζω) matches the idea of a repeated or “felt as ongoing” return to memories.

Could we use another verb instead of γυρίζω, like επιστρέφω? Would it change the tone?

Yes, you could say:

…αισθάνομαι σαν να επιστρέφω σε εκείνες τις παλιές αναμνήσεις.

Both γυρίζω and επιστρέφω mean “I return / go back”, but the nuance differs slightly:

γυρίζω: very common, colloquial, can feel more vivid and informal.
επιστρέφω: a bit more formal or neutral; often used in written language and more “standard” contexts.

In this sentence, γυρίζω gives a slightly more personal, informal, spoken feel, which fits well with talking about memories and feelings.

In σε εκείνες τις παλιές αναμνήσεις, why do we have both εκείνες and τις? Isn’t that redundant?

This is a standard pattern in Greek when using a demonstrative adjective with a noun:

εκείνες τις παλιές αναμνήσεις

Structure:

εκείνες = demonstrative (those)
τις = definite article (“the”)
παλιές = adjective (“old”)
αναμνήσεις = noun (“memories”)

Greek typically keeps the article even when a demonstrative is present. It’s not redundant; it’s just the normal syntax:

αυτές οι αναμνήσεις = these memories
εκείνες οι αναμνήσεις = those memories
With adjective: εκείνες τις παλιές αναμνήσεις

Omitting τις here would sound wrong: σε εκείνες παλιές αναμνήσεις is not natural Greek.

What exactly does εκείνες τις παλιές αναμνήσεις convey? Is the demonstrative εκείνες just “those,” or is there extra nuance?

Yes, εκείνες means “those”, but it also carries a sense of distance, often emotional or temporal:

εκείνες τις παλιές αναμνήσεις = those old memories (back then / far away in the past)

Nuance:

τις παλιές αναμνήσεις = the old memories (just identifying them).
εκείνες τις παλιές αναμνήσεις = those old memories (the speaker is picking them out from all possible memories, often implying they’re from a distant or specific past).

So εκείνες adds emphasis and a feeling of remoteness or distinctness in time or emotion.

What case are εκείνες and τις παλιές αναμνήσεις in, and how do they agree?

They are all in the accusative plural feminine, because of the preposition σε and because they refer to “memories” as the object of “returning.”

Base noun: η ανάμνηση (singular), οι αναμνήσεις (plural)
In our phrase: σε εκείνες τις παλιές αναμνήσεις

Agreement:

εκείνες — demonstrative, feminine accusative plural
τις — article, feminine accusative plural
παλιές — adjective, feminine accusative plural
αναμνήσεις — noun, feminine accusative plural

They all match in gender, number, and case.

Why is the present tense (πηγαίνω, αισθάνομαι, γυρίζω) used, even though the speaker might be describing past experiences?

Greek, like English, often uses the present tense to describe:

Habitual actions: things that happen repeatedly.
Timeless or repeated experiences: how someone typically feels in a situation.

In this sentence:

Κάθε φορά που πηγαίνω… αισθάνομαι…
= Every time I go… I feel…

Even if the person is talking about something that has been happening for a while, the present tense expresses a general pattern. It’s the same in English: you also say “Every time I go to another roof, I feel as if I’m going back to those old memories” in the present tense.

Using a past tense (e.g. κάθε φορά που πήγαινα… αισθανόμουν…) would shift it to a past habitual that may no longer be true now.