Learn Hardcore Greek: Πηγαίνω στο πάρκο χωρίς να πάρω το τηλέφωνό μου. - I go to the park without taking my phone.

Greek doesn’t have a separate continuous form like I’m going, so πηγαίνω is used for both. Context or extra words (like τώρα = now) show which meaning is intended.

Why is it Πηγαίνω and not πάω? What is the difference?

Both πηγαίνω and πάω mean to go, but they’re used slightly differently:

Πηγαίνω is the more standard, “full” present form.
πάω is shorter, very common in everyday speech, and often used in many tenses (especially with να, θα, etc.).

For to go, the usual set of forms is:

Present: πηγαίνω / πάω
Subjunctive / future stem: να πάω, θα πάω
Simple past (aorist): πήγα
Perfect: έχω πάει

In your sentence, Πηγαίνω στο πάρκο… could very naturally also be Πάω στο πάρκο…, especially in casual speech. Both are correct.

What exactly is στο in στο πάρκο?

στο is a contraction:

σε (to / at / in) + το (the, neuter singular) → στο

So:

στο πάρκο literally = to the park or at the park, depending on the verb.
With πηγαίνω, it means to the park (direction).

You will also see:

στον = σε + τον (to the, masculine)
στη / στην = σε + τη(ν) (to the, feminine)

Why is it το πάρκο? Is πάρκο always neuter?

Yes, πάρκο is a neuter noun in Greek:

το πάρκο = the park

Most loanwords from other languages that end in -ο are neuter in Greek (for example: το ραδιόφωνο, το σινεμά).

So:

στο πάρκο = σε + το πάρκο = to the park / at the park

How does the structure χωρίς να + verb work?

χωρίς means without, and when followed by a verb it usually takes να plus the subjunctive form of the verb:

χωρίς να πάρω = without (me) taking / without taking

There is no infinitive in modern Greek like to take or taking, so να + subjunctive often fills that role.

Some common patterns:

χωρίς να φάω = without eating
χωρίς να μιλήσεις = without speaking (you)
χωρίς να πεις τίποτα = without saying anything

So χωρίς να πάρω το τηλέφωνό μου is the natural way to say without taking my phone.

Why is it να πάρω and not να παίρνω after χωρίς?

Greek distinguishes between two aspects in the subjunctive:

να παίρνω → imperfective aspect (focus on the process / repetition)
να πάρω → perfective (aorist) aspect (focus on the whole action as a single event)

In χωρίς να πάρω το τηλέφωνό μου, the idea is “without (doing) this one action of taking my phone”. That’s a single, complete action, so Greek prefers the perfective form:

χωρίς να πάρω το τηλέφωνό μου = without taking my phone (at all, even once)

You might see χωρίς να παίρνω in sentences about repeated or ongoing behaviour, e.g.:

Πάντα φεύγω χωρίς να παίρνω ομπρέλα.
= I always leave without taking an umbrella (habitually).

But for one concrete event, χωρίς να πάρω is the natural choice.

Is πάρω actually related to παίρνω? The forms look quite different.

Yes. παίρνω (I take) is the present form of the verb, and πάρω is its subjunctive / future stem in the perfective (aorist) aspect. This verb is irregular. Its main forms are:

Present: παίρνω (I take)
Subjunctive / future (perfective): να πάρω, θα πάρω (to take / I will take)
Simple past (aorist): πήρα (I took)
Perfect: έχω πάρει (I have taken)

So να πάρω literally means (for me) to take, but with the perfective idea of a single, complete action.

Why is the possessive μου placed after το τηλέφωνό and not before, like in English?

In Greek, unstressed possessive pronouns (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) usually come after the noun as enclitics:

το τηλέφωνό μου = my phone
το βιβλίο σου = your book
το σπίτι μας = our house

You do not normally say μου τηλέφωνο for my phone.

If you want to emphasize the possession, you use δικός / δική / δικό:

το δικό μου τηλέφωνο = my (own) phone

But in neutral sentences like this one, you simply put μου after the noun: το τηλέφωνό μου.

Why does the accent move and become το τηλέφωνό μου, instead of το τηλέφωνο μου?

This is because of the three‑syllable stress rule in Greek.

On its own, the noun is:

το τηλέφωνο (stress on the antepenultimate syllable: τη‑ΛΕ‑φο‑νο)

When you add the enclitic μου, it becomes one phonological word: τηλέφωνομου. Now there are more syllables in the group, and Greek stress is not allowed to fall earlier than the third syllable from the end of the whole group.

To keep the stress within this limit, it shifts one syllable to the right:

το τηλέφωνό μου (stress on the penultimate syllable: τη‑λε‑ΦΩ‑νο‑μου)

So the written accent moves to -νό-. This is why you must write το τηλέφωνό μου, not το τηλέφωνο μου.

Could we say χωρίς το τηλέφωνό μου instead of χωρίς να πάρω το τηλέφωνό μου?

You can say χωρίς το τηλέφωνό μου, but the meaning is slightly different:

χωρίς το τηλέφωνό μου = without my phone (with me / present)
χωρίς να πάρω το τηλέφωνό μου = without taking my phone (focusing on the action of taking it)

In many real-life contexts the end result is the same (you are at the park and you don’t have your phone), so both might be used. But:

If you want to emphasize the action (you deliberately didn’t take it), χωρίς να πάρω… is clearer.
If you want to emphasize the state / result (I’m there with no phone), χωρίς το τηλέφωνό μου is more direct.

In your sentence, χωρίς να πάρω το τηλέφωνό μου sounds very natural and idiomatic.