Learn Hardcore Greek: Όποτε σκέφτομαι το εξωτερικό, θυμάμαι ότι η οικογένειά μου είναι πολύ σημαντική. - Whenever I think about going abroad, I remember that my family is very important.

Όποτε = whenever / every time that (emphasizes repetition or general rule).
- Όποτε σκέφτομαι το εξωτερικό… = Whenever I think about going abroad… (any time this happens).
Όταν = when (more neutral; can be one time or repeated, context decides).
- Όταν σκέφτομαι το εξωτερικό… could mean the same here, but όποτε makes the habitual, repeated nature clearer.

In this sentence, Όποτε is natural because the speaker means every time I think of going abroad, I remember….

Why is it σκέφτομαι and not something like σκέφω?

Modern Greek has many verbs that are middle / “reflexive” in form but active in meaning. Σκέφτομαι is one of them.

Full dictionary form: σκέφτομαι (I think)
There is no common active form σκέφω in modern usage.

Conjugation (present tense):

εγώ σκέφτομαι – I think
εσύ σκέφτεσαι – you think
αυτός/αυτή/αυτό σκέφτεται – he/she/it thinks
εμείς σκεφτόμαστε – we think
εσείς σκέφτεστε – you (pl./formal) think
αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά σκέφτονται – they think

So you must always use the -ομαι form: σκέφτομαι.

Why is it το εξωτερικό with the article το? Why not just εξωτερικό?

In Greek, many abstract or “place” nouns are regularly used with the definite article, even when English has none.

το εξωτερικό literally: the abroad
Meaning: abroad / foreign countries in general.

The neuter article το is required because:

εξωτερικό is a neuter noun (το εξωτερικό).
In this sentence it is the direct object of σκέφτομαι:
- σκέφτομαι το εξωτερικό = I think about abroad / foreign countries.

In English we say abroad without “the”, but in Greek the article here is normal and sounds natural.

Could you say στο εξωτερικό instead of το εξωτερικό here?

Not in exactly the same structure.

σκέφτομαι το εξωτερικό = I think about abroad (abroad as a concept / option).
στο εξωτερικό = to abroad / in a foreign country (with a sense of location).

Usually you would see στο εξωτερικό with verbs of movement or being somewhere, for example:

Θέλω να πάω στο εξωτερικό. – I want to go abroad.
Μένω στο εξωτερικό. – I live abroad.

Your sentence focuses on the idea of abroad itself, so το εξωτερικό as a direct object works: σκέφτομαι το εξωτερικό.

Why is there a comma before θυμάμαι?

Because Όποτε σκέφτομαι το εξωτερικό is a subordinate clause of time that comes before the main clause.

Subordinate time clause: Όποτε σκέφτομαι το εξωτερικό
Main clause: θυμάμαι ότι η οικογένειά μου είναι πολύ σημαντική.

In Greek, when a subordinate clause (introduced by όταν, όποτε, επειδή, αν, etc.) comes first, it is normally followed by a comma. When the order is reversed, the comma is usually not needed:

Θυμάμαι ότι η οικογένειά μου είναι πολύ σημαντική όποτε σκέφτομαι το εξωτερικό. (no comma needed in the middle)

What is the role of ότι here, and could we use πως instead?

Ότι introduces a that-clause:

θυμάμαι ότι η οικογένειά μου είναι πολύ σημαντική
= I remember that my family is very important.

Here ότι works exactly like English that.

You can usually replace ότι with πως in this kind of sentence:

θυμάμαι πως η οικογένειά μου είναι πολύ σημαντική

Both are acceptable and common in modern Greek.
Ότι is slightly more neutral/formal in writing; πως can sound a bit more conversational, but the difference is minimal in this context.

Why does η οικογένειά μου have two accents?

Normally, a word only has one written accent, but when you add an enclitic (like μου, σου, του), an extra accent can appear to keep the original stress clear.

Base word: η οικογένεια (accent on γέν: οικογένεια)
With enclitic μου: η οικογένειά μου

Greek rule:
When a word stressed on the antepenultimate syllable (third from last) takes an enclitic, a second accent is added to the last syllable to preserve correct stress placement.

So:

η οικογένεια → η οικογένειά μου
το σπίτι → το σπίτι μου (no extra accent, because the stress is not on the antepenultimate)

Why do we use η with οικογένεια? Could we drop the article and just say οικογένειά μου?

Οικογένεια is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine singular article η:

η οικογένεια – the family
Thus: η οικογένειά μου – my family.

In normal speech, with a possessive like μου, Greeks almost always keep the article:

η οικογένειά μου, ο αδερφός μου, το σπίτι μου, etc.

Saying οικογένειά μου without η is grammatically possible but sounds poetic or very marked. In everyday language η οικογένειά μου is the natural choice.

Why is it είναι πολύ σημαντική and not είναι πολύ σημαντικό?

The adjective must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun it describes.

Noun: η οικογένεια (feminine, singular, nominative)
So the adjective σημαντικός must be in feminine singular nominative:
- masculine: σημαντικός
- feminine: σημαντική
- neuter: σημαντικό

Therefore:

η οικογένειά μου είναι πολύ σημαντική
= My family is very important.

Using σημαντικό (neuter) would be incorrect here because οικογένεια is not neuter.

What exactly does πολύ mean here, and why doesn’t it change form?

Πολύ can function as:

Adjective (agreeing with nouns):
- πολλοί άνθρωποι – many people
- πολλές χώρες – many countries
Adverb (modifying adjectives/adverbs/verbs):
- είναι πολύ σημαντική – is very important
- δουλεύει πολύ – works a lot

In είναι πολύ σημαντική, πολύ is an adverb modifying the adjective σημαντική.
As an adverb, πολύ is invariable – it does not change form for gender, number, or case.

Could we change the word order and say: Θυμάμαι ότι η οικογένειά μου είναι πολύ σημαντική όποτε σκέφτομαι το εξωτερικό?

Yes, that word order is grammatically correct.

Όποτε σκέφτομαι το εξωτερικό, θυμάμαι ότι…
Θυμάμαι ότι… όποτε σκέφτομαι το εξωτερικό.

Both are fine. The difference is in focus and rhythm:

Starting with Όποτε σκέφτομαι το εξωτερικό emphasizes the condition / trigger: Whenever this happens…
Ending with όποτε σκέφτομαι το εξωτερικό presents it more like an additional detail: I remember that my family is very important whenever I think about going abroad.

In everyday speech, the original version (time clause first) is very natural.

Can we say σκέφτομαι για το εξωτερικό or is για wrong here?

With σκέφτομαι, Greek usually does not need a preposition like για when you have a direct object:

Natural: σκέφτομαι το εξωτερικό – I think about abroad.
Less natural / often avoided: σκέφτομαι για το εξωτερικό.

You do use για with other verbs:

μιλάω για το εξωτερικό – I talk about abroad.
ανησυχώ για το μέλλον – I worry about the future.

But σκέφτομαι behaves more like “consider / think of” and directly takes its object: σκέφτομαι κάτι.

How would the meaning change if we said η οικογένεια είναι πολύ σημαντική instead of η οικογένειά μου είναι πολύ σημαντική?

η οικογένειά μου είναι πολύ σημαντική
= My family is very important (to me).
Refers to the speaker’s own family.
η οικογένεια είναι πολύ σημαντική
= Family is very important.
A general statement about the concept of family, not specifically the speaker’s.

So dropping μου changes it from a personal statement to a general one.