Breakdown of Για να κερδίσω την υποτροφία, πρέπει να συμπληρώσω προσεκτικά όλα τα έντυπα.
να
to
πρέπει
to have to
για να
in order to
κερδίζω
to win
Questions & Answers about Για να κερδίσω την υποτροφία, πρέπει να συμπληρώσω προσεκτικά όλα τα έντυπα.
What is the function of Για να here, and how is it different from just να?
Για να introduces a purpose clause and usually translates as “in order to / so as to / to (for the purpose of)”.
- Για να κερδίσω την υποτροφία → In order to get/win the scholarship
- It answers the question “Why? For what purpose?”
By contrast, plain να usually just introduces a subjunctive clause without necessarily expressing purpose:
- Θέλω να κερδίσω την υποτροφία. → I want to win the scholarship.
- Πρέπει να συμπληρώσω τα έντυπα. → I must fill in the forms.
So:
- να = links to a verb in the subjunctive (after verbs like θέλω, πρέπει, μπορώ etc.).
- για να = explicitly gives the goal/purpose of an action.
Why is the verb κερδίσω in this form and not κερδίζω?
Κερδίσω is the aorist subjunctive (1st person singular).
Κερδίζω is the present indicative (and also the present subjunctive form in modern Greek).
Here, για να κερδίσω expresses achieving a single, complete result in the future (winning the scholarship once), not an ongoing or repeated process. Greek uses the aorist in such cases:
- για να κερδίσω → for me to win (once, achieve the result)
- για να κερδίζω would sound like so that I may be (habitually/continuously) winning, which doesn’t fit this context.
So the aorist subjunctive κερδίσω is natural when the focus is on reaching a specific goal.