Breakdown of Μην κόβεις τα λαχανικά πολύ γρήγορα, γιατί μπορεί να κόψεις το χέρι σου.
μπορώ
to be able
να
to
σου
your
γιατί
because
Questions & Answers about Μην κόβεις τα λαχανικά πολύ γρήγορα, γιατί μπορεί να κόψεις το χέρι σου.
Why does the sentence start with Μην? Is it the same as όχι?
Μην is used for negative commands / prohibitions and with να-clauses (subjunctive). It corresponds to don’t in English.
Όχι is the general word for no/not (answering a question, contradicting, etc.), but you normally don’t use όχι to form “Don’t + verb” commands.
Why is it Μην κόβεις and not Μην κόψε?
Greek negative commands use μην + subjunctive, not the positive imperative form.
So you say μην κόβεις / μην κόψεις, not μην κόψε.
What’s the difference between Μην κόβεις and Μην κόψεις?
It’s mainly aspect:
- Μην κόβεις (present subjunctive) = “Don’t be cutting / don’t cut (in an ongoing/continuous way)” → focuses on the process, e.g. don’t keep doing it fast.
- Μην κόψεις (aorist subjunctive) = “Don’t cut (even once) / don’t make that cut” → focuses on a single completed action.
Both can translate as Don’t cut, but the nuance differs.
Why does κόβεις look like the present indicative (“you cut”) instead of something clearly “subjunctive”?