Για την υποτροφία πρέπει να κάνω μια γραπτή δήλωση στα ελληνικά.

For the scholarship I must make a written statement in Greek.

Breakdown of Για την υποτροφία πρέπει να κάνω μια γραπτή δήλωση στα ελληνικά.

• να: to
• πρέπει: to have to
• για: for
• σε: in

Questions & Answers about Για την υποτροφία πρέπει να κάνω μια γραπτή δήλωση στα ελληνικά.

Why does the sentence start with Για την υποτροφία instead of just Για υποτροφία?

In Greek, abstract nouns like υποτροφία (scholarship) very often take the definite article, even when in English we don’t use the.

• Για την υποτροφία literally = for the scholarship
• But in English we usually say for a scholarship or just for the scholarship depending on context.

Here την (the, feminine accusative singular) is required because:

• για takes the accusative case,
• υποτροφία is feminine,
• and Greek tends to use the article more than English, especially for specific things being talked about (here, some specific scholarship application).

What exactly does πρέπει να κάνω mean? Is it like “I must” or “I have to”?

πρέπει να κάνω is best understood as:

• πρέπει = it is necessary / one must
• να κάνω = that I do / that I make (subjunctive, 1st person singular)

Together: πρέπει να κάνω ≈ I must do / I have to do.

So πρέπει να + [subjunctive] expresses obligation or necessity:

• Πρέπει να φύγω. = I must go / I have to leave.
• Πρέπει να διαβάσεις. = You must study.

The English subject (“I”) is included inside the verb ending -ω in κάνω.

Why isn’t there an explicit word for “I” in the Greek sentence?