Breakdown of Όταν έχει πολλή κίνηση, το τραμ κινείται πιο αργά από ό,τι η γραμμή του μετρό.
Questions & Answers about Όταν έχει πολλή κίνηση, το τραμ κινείται πιο αργά από ό,τι η γραμμή του μετρό.
In Greek, έχει (literally “it has”) is often used impersonally to mean “there is / there are” in everyday expressions.
- έχει πολλή κίνηση = “there is a lot of traffic”
(literal: “it has much traffic”)
Similar expressions:
- έχει ζέστη = “it’s hot” / “there is heat”
- έχει φασαρία = “it’s noisy” / “there is noise”
- έχει ομίχλη = “it’s foggy” / “there is fog”
You can say υπάρχει πολλή κίνηση (“there is a lot of traffic”), but έχει πολλή κίνηση is more colloquial and more common in spoken Greek.
πολλή is the feminine singular form of the adjective πολύς (“much / many”) and it has to agree with the noun κίνηση in gender, number, and case.
- Noun: κίνηση – feminine, singular, accusative.
- Adjective: πολλή – feminine, singular, accusative, agreeing with κίνηση.
So:
- πολλή κίνηση = “a lot of traffic” / “much traffic”
πολύ can also be an adverb meaning “a lot / very”, and as an adverb it does not change:
- τρέχει πολύ = “he/she runs a lot”
- είναι πολύ αργό = “it is very slow”
In very colloquial speech, some speakers say έχει πολύ κίνηση, but according to the standard grammar usually taught to learners, πολλή κίνηση is the correct, fully agreed form.
κινείται is the 3rd person singular of the verb κινούμαι (“to move”), which is a middle/passive-voice verb.
Present tense of κινούμαι:
- εγώ κινούμαι
- εσύ κινείσαι
- αυτός / αυτή / αυτό κινείται
- εμείς κινούμαστε
- εσείς κινείστε
- αυτοί / αυτές / αυτά κινούνται
We use κινούμαι (and therefore κινείται) when the subject is moving by itself:
- Το τραμ κινείται. = “The tram moves / is moving.”
- Το αυτοκίνητο κινείται αργά. = “The car moves slowly.”
There is also an active verb κινώ (“to move something”) and a colloquial κινάω / κινώ meaning “to set in motion”:
- Κινώ το τραπέζι. = “I move the table.”
For vehicles in traffic, κινείται is the natural, standard way to say “moves”.
Because here we are modifying a verb (“moves”), so we need an adverb (“slowly”), not an adjective (“slow”).
- Adjective: αργός, -ή, -ό = “slow”
- Το τραμ είναι πιο αργό. = “The tram is slower.”
- Adverb: αργά = “slowly”
- Το τραμ κινείται πιο αργά. = “The tram moves more slowly.”
Comparatives:
- πιο αργός = “slower” (adjective; describes a noun)
- πιο αργά = “more slowly” (adverb; describes a verb)
Since it describes κινείται, the adverb πιο αργά is correct.
Both patterns are possible but they are slightly different grammatically.
- πιο αργά από τη γραμμή του μετρό
Here από is directly followed by a noun phrase. Literally:
- “more slowly than the metro line”
- πιο αργά από ό,τι η γραμμή του μετρό
Here από ό,τι introduces an elliptical clause where the verb is understood and left out:
- Full form:
- Το τραμ κινείται πιο αργά από ό,τι (κινείται) η γραμμή του μετρό.
- “The tram moves more slowly than the metro line (moves).”
So από ό,τι here means roughly “than what … (does)” and lets you compare two actions (two clauses), not just two noun phrases.
In everyday speech you will very often hear the simpler:
- Το τραμ κινείται πιο αργά από τη γραμμή του μετρό.
The version with από ό,τι is a bit more explicit/standard when the comparison is understood as “slower than the metro line does”.
Greek distinguishes two different words:
ότι (no comma)
- Conjunction meaning “that”, introducing a subordinate clause.
- Similar to English “that” after verbs like “say”, “think”, “know”.
- Example: Ξέρω ότι έχει πολλή κίνηση. = “I know that there is a lot of traffic.”
ό,τι (with comma)
- Pronoun meaning “whatever / anything that / that which”.
- Example: Φάε ό,τι θέλεις. = “Eat whatever you want.”
In the sentence πιο αργά από ό,τι η γραμμή του μετρό, the standard spelling is ό,τι because it stands for “that which / what (the metro line does)”:
- πιο αργά από ό,τι (κινείται) η γραμμή του μετρό
- “more slowly than what the metro line (does)”
In pronunciation, ότι and ό,τι sound the same; the comma is only a written convention that clarifies the function.
Greek uses the definite article much more widely than English, especially for general statements about a type of thing.
Το τραμ κινείται πιο αργά...
- Literally: “The tram moves more slowly…”
- Meaning in context: “Trams move more slowly…” (in general)
η γραμμή του μετρό
- Literally: “the line of the metro”
- Used generically: “the metro line / metro lines”
For generic statements, Greek usually prefers a definite article:
- Το αυτοκίνητο ρυπαίνει. = “Cars pollute.”
- Ο σκύλος είναι πιστός. = “Dogs are faithful.”
Leaving the article out (τραμ κινείται…) sounds unnatural or wrong in standard Greek.
του μετρό is in the genitive case and expresses a relationship similar to English “of” or the ’s possessive.
- η γραμμή του μετρό = “the line of the metro” / “the metro line”
This is the normal Greek way to link two nouns where one belongs to or is associated with the other:
- η πόρτα του σπιτιού = “the door of the house” / “the house door”
- ο οδηγός του λεωφορείου = “the bus driver”
- ο χάρτης της πόλης = “the map of the city” / “the city map”
A bare structure like η γραμμή μετρό (two nouns directly together, as in many English noun–noun compounds) is not standard Greek; you normally need the article + genitive (η γραμμή του μετρό).
Yes. Greek allows quite flexible word order with clauses like όταν... (“when…”). These are all grammatical:
- Όταν έχει πολλή κίνηση, το τραμ κινείται πιο αργά από ό,τι η γραμμή του μετρό.
- Το τραμ, όταν έχει πολλή κίνηση, κινείται πιο αργά από ό,τι η γραμμή του μετρό.
- Το τραμ κινείται πιο αργά από ό,τι η γραμμή του μετρό, όταν έχει πολλή κίνηση.
Placing Όταν έχει πολλή κίνηση at the beginning (as in the original) is very natural and slightly emphasizes the condition: “When there is a lot of traffic…”
What you would not normally do is break fixed phrases in unnatural ways, e.g. separating πιο from αργά, or η γραμμή from του μετρό.
The present tense in Greek is commonly used, as in English, for general truths, habits, and repeated situations.
Here, the sentence describes a general rule:
- Whenever there is a lot of traffic, the tram (typically) moves more slowly than the metro line.
So the present tense expresses this typical behavior:
- Όταν έχει πολλή κίνηση, το τραμ κινείται...
- “When there is a lot of traffic, the tram moves…”
Other tenses would refer to specific times:
Όταν είχε πολλή κίνηση, το τραμ κινούνταν πιο αργά...
- “When there was a lot of traffic, the tram was moving more slowly...” (past)
Όταν θα έχει πολλή κίνηση, το τραμ θα κινείται πιο αργά...
- “When there is / will be a lot of traffic, the tram will move more slowly...” (future)
For a timeless, general statement, the present (έχει, κινείται) is the natural choice.