Questions & Answers about Όταν πηγαίνω σε άλλη χώρα, νιώθω ξένος στην αρχή.
Why does the sentence start with Όταν? Is it the same as saying αν ("if")?
Όταν means when in the sense of whenever / every time that and introduces a time clause.
Αν means if and introduces a condition.
- Όταν πηγαίνω σε άλλη χώρα, νιώθω ξένος στην αρχή.
= When(ever) I go to another country, I feel like a stranger at first.
If you used αν, it would sound like if I go to another country, which suggests a possibility, not a regular, repeated situation.
Why is it πηγαίνω (present) and not θα πάω (future), since in English we often say “When I go / when I will go”?
Greek normally uses the present tense in Όταν-clauses to express general or repeated situations, even if in English we sometimes think of them as future.
- Όταν πηγαίνω σε άλλη χώρα = Whenever I go to another country (a general habit).
Using θα πάω would point to one specific future occasion instead: - Όταν θα πάω σε άλλη χώρα… is possible but sounds more like talking about a particular future trip and is less common in everyday speech than simply Όταν πάω… or Όταν πηγαίνω….
What is the difference between πηγαίνω and πάω? Could I say Όταν πάω σε άλλη χώρα?