Questions & Answers about Θέλω να ξεκαθαρίσω ότι είμαι απλώς κουρασμένος.
Why do we need να after θέλω? In English we just say “I want to clarify”.
In Greek, verbs like θέλω (I want), μπορώ (I can), πρέπει (I must) normally take another verb introduced by να.
So θέλω να ξεκαθαρίσω literally is “I want that I (should) clarify”.
The να marks a subordinate verb (subjunctive-type clause). You cannot say ✱θέλω ξεκαθαρίσω; the να is required.
Why is it ξεκαθαρίσω and not ξεκαθαρίζω after θέλω να?
Ξεκαθαρίσω is the aorist subjunctive; ξεκαθαρίζω is present.
- θέλω να ξεκαθαρίσω = “I want to clarify (this) once / make it clear now.”
- θέλω να ξεκαθαρίζω would mean “I want to be clarifying (habitually, repeatedly).”
Because the speaker is talking about one specific act of clarification, the aorist ξεκαθαρίσω is the natural choice.
Is ξεκαθαρίσω a past tense? It looks like the aorist form I learned for past.
The form you see (aorist stem) is used both:
- as simple past indicative: ξεκαθάρισα = I clarified
- and as aorist subjunctive: να ξεκαθαρίσω = (that) I clarify (once).
Here, because it follows να, it is subjunctive, not past. Greek reuses the same stem for these two functions; the context (να) tells you which it is.