Κρατάω τις σημειώσεις μου τακτοποιημένες, ώστε να τις βρίσκω εύκολα πριν από κάθε διάλεξη.

I keep my notes tidy so that I can find them easily before each lecture.

Breakdown of Κρατάω τις σημειώσεις μου τακτοποιημένες, ώστε να τις βρίσκω εύκολα πριν από κάθε διάλεξη.

• μου: my
• βρίσκω: to find
• εύκολα: easily
• πριν από: before
• κάθε: each
• η σημείωση: the note
• κρατάω: to keep
• ώστε να: so that
• τις: them
• τακτοποιημένος: tidy
• η διάλεξη: the lecture

Questions & Answers about Κρατάω τις σημειώσεις μου τακτοποιημένες, ώστε να τις βρίσκω εύκολα πριν από κάθε διάλεξη.

In κρατάω τις σημειώσεις μου τακτοποιημένες, why is the verb κρατάω and not κρατώ? Are they different?

Κρατάω and κρατώ are two forms of the same verb, κρατάω/κρατώ = “to hold / to keep”.

• Κρατάω is the more common, colloquial spoken form.
• Κρατώ sounds a bit more formal or literary, though it’s also correct and used.

Here you could say either:

• Κρατάω τις σημειώσεις μου τακτοποιημένες… (very natural, everyday)
• Κρατώ τις σημειώσεις μου τακτοποιημένες… (slightly more formal style)

The meaning is identical; it’s just a stylistic choice.

What exactly is happening grammatically in κρατάω τις σημειώσεις μου τακτοποιημένες? Why is there an adjective after the noun?

This is a very common structure in Greek:

κρατάω + object + adjective
= I keep + object + in a certain state

• τις σημειώσεις μου = my notes (direct object, accusative plural)
• τακτοποιημένες = tidy/organized (adjective describing the state of the notes)

So literally:
Κρατάω τις σημειώσεις μου τακτοποιημένες =
“I keep my notes (in a) tidy/organized (state).”

The adjective τακτοποιημένες is called a predicative adjective: it doesn’t just describe the noun in general, it tells you the state in which the subject keeps the object.

Why is τακτοποιημένες in the feminine plural form? How does it agree with the noun?

Τακτοποιημένες agrees with τις σημειώσεις in:

• Gender: σημείωση = feminine → τακτοποιημένες = feminine
• Number: σημειώσεις = plural → τακτοποιημένες = plural
• Case: τις σημειώσεις = accusative → τακτοποιημένες = accusative

So:

• Singular: η σημείωση → τακτοποιημένη
• Plural: οι σημειώσεις → τακτοποιημένες

Because we have τις σημειώσεις (fem. acc. plural), the adjective must be τακτοποιημένες (fem. acc. plural).

Can we change the word order and say κρατάω τακτοποιημένες τις σημειώσεις μου?

Yes, that is also grammatically correct:

• Κρατάω τακτοποιημένες τις σημειώσεις μου…

Greek word order is fairly flexible. The usual, neutral word order here is:

• κρατάω τις σημειώσεις μου τακτοποιημένες

Putting τακτοποιημένες earlier can add slight emphasis to the state (“tidy”) but doesn’t change the core meaning. Both are natural.

What does ώστε να mean here? Is it like “so that” or “in order to”?

Ώστε να introduces a purpose/result clause. In this sentence it’s best understood as:

• ώστε να τις βρίσκω εύκολα
  = “so that I can find them easily” / “in order to find them easily”

Nuances:

• ώστε να often leans towards “so that”, showing the intended result.
• For pure purpose, you could also say για να τις βρίσκω εύκολα = “in order to find them easily.”

Here, ώστε να sounds slightly more “logical / consequence-like” than για να, but in everyday speech they often overlap.

Why do we repeat the object with τις in ώστε να τις βρίσκω? Can’t we just say ώστε να βρίσκω?

In Greek, it’s very common (and usually required) to repeat the object with a clitic pronoun when it’s understood from context.

• τις = “them” (feminine, accusative, plural), referring back to τις σημειώσεις.

So:

• ώστε να τις βρίσκω εύκολα
  = “so that I (can) find them easily”

If you say ώστε να βρίσκω εύκολα without τις, it sounds incomplete or unnatural, as if something is missing: “so that I find easily (what?)”.

Greek can drop the subject (the “I”), but usually does not drop a direct object if it’s being referred to; instead, it uses these short pronouns (τον, την, το, τους, τις, τα).

Is να βρίσκω here really a subjunctive? It looks the same as the present indicative βρίσκω.

Yes, να βρίσκω here is the present subjunctive.

Modern Greek subjunctive is formed with να + verb, and in many verbs the subjunctive form is identical to the present indicative. The difference is:

• βρίσκω (with no να) = indicative: “I find”
• να βρίσκω (after να) = subjunctive: “(that) I find / (for me) to find”

So in ώστε να τις βρίσκω εύκολα, the να marks this as a subjunctive clause expressing purpose/result, even though βρίσκω itself looks like the indicative form.

Why is it να βρίσκω and not να βρω after ώστε? Aren’t we supposed to use the subjunctive, and doesn’t that mean βρω?

We are using the subjunctive—but there are two subjunctive aspects:

• να βρίσκω = present subjunctive (ongoing / repeated / habitual)
• να βρω = aorist subjunctive (single, completed event)

In this sentence, the meaning is habitual:

• “I keep my notes organized so that I can (always / regularly) find them easily before each lecture.”

So present subjunctive (να βρίσκω) is appropriate.

If you said:

• …ώστε να τις βρω εύκολα πριν από κάθε διάλεξη,
  it would sound more like a single act of finding, which clashes with κάθε διάλεξη (every lecture). So να βρίσκω is the natural choice.

What is the role of the comma before ώστε? Could we omit it?

The comma marks the boundary between:

• the main clause: Κρατάω τις σημειώσεις μου τακτοποιημένες
• the subordinate clause of purpose/result: ώστε να τις βρίσκω εύκολα…

In writing, the comma makes the sentence clearer. You will almost always see a comma before ώστε when it introduces such a clause.

In casual writing, some people might omit it, but standard punctuation prefers:

• Κρατάω …, ώστε να …

Why do we say πριν από κάθε διάλεξη instead of just πριν κάθε διάλεξη? Is από necessary?

After πριν, when it’s followed by a noun, Greek very often uses από:

• πριν από κάθε διάλεξη = before every lecture

You can sometimes hear πριν κάθε διάλεξη in speech, and it’s understandable, but:

• πριν από + noun is the most standard and natural pattern.

• πριν without από is more typical when it’s followed by a clause (verb):

  • πριν αρχίσει η διάλεξη = before the lecture starts
  • πριν φύγω = before I leave

So:

• πριν από κάθε διάλεξη (standard with a noun)
• πριν αρχίσει η διάλεξη (with a clause, no από)

Why is there no article with κάθε διάλεξη? Why not πριν από την κάθε διάλεξη?

Κάθε (every/each) usually replaces the article rather than combining with it:

• κάθε διάλεξη = every lecture
• κάθε μέρα = every day
• κάθε άνθρωπος = every person

So the normal form is κάθε + noun without the definite article.

You can sometimes hear την κάθε διάλεξη in Greek, but that tends to add a nuance of emphasis or a slightly different tone, like “each and every lecture” or sometimes even a bit of impatience/negativity depending on context. In a neutral sentence like this one, κάθε διάλεξη is the natural choice.

Could we say μάθημα instead of διάλεξη? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, you could say:

• …πριν από κάθε μάθημα.

The difference:

• διάλεξη = “lecture” (more formal, often at university, one person speaks, others listen)
• μάθημα = “lesson/class” (more general: school lesson, university class, private lesson, etc.)

So:

• πριν από κάθε διάλεξη sounds specifically like “before each lecture (e.g. at university)”.
• πριν από κάθε μάθημα is broader: “before each class/lesson”.