Learn Hardcore Greek: Αν δεν έχει κίνηση, περνάω από την τράπεζα πριν πάω στο σούπερ μάρκετ. - If there isn’t traffic, I stop by the bank before I go to the supermarket.

Αν introduces a condition: “if …”. Here it’s a real/possible condition about the present situation (traffic right now or at the time of speaking), not a hypothetical “if I were…” type.
Pattern you’re seeing: Αν + present → often used to talk about what you’ll do in the near future if the condition is met.

Why is it δεν έχει κίνηση and not something like “it doesn’t have traffic” with an explicit subject?

Greek commonly uses έχει (it has / there is) in expressions about “having” something in a place or situation.
So δεν έχει κίνηση is the natural Greek way to say “there isn’t traffic / it’s not busy (traffic-wise)”.
The subject is implicit (roughly “the road / the situation / the area”), and Greek doesn’t need to state it.

What exactly does κίνηση mean here? Does it mean “movement” or “traffic”?

κίνηση literally relates to movement, but in everyday speech έχει κίνηση is the standard phrase for “there’s traffic / it’s busy” (especially car traffic).
So in this context it specifically means traffic.

Why is περνάω in the present tense if the meaning is about something I’ll do later?

Greek often uses the present tense for planned/near-future actions, especially in spoken language: it can function like “I’m going to / I’ll” in English.
So περνάω από την τράπεζα can mean “I’ll stop by the bank / I’m going by the bank” (given the condition).

Could I also say θα περάσω instead of περνάω?

Yes. θα περάσω is the more explicit future (“I will stop by”).

περνάω = more conversational, “(so) I’m stopping by…” / near-future feel
θα περάσω = clearer “I will …” future statement
Both work with Αν δεν έχει κίνηση, …

What does περνάω από mean? Why από?

περνάω means “I pass (by)”, and περνάω από + place is a very common way to say “I stop by / I swing by / I pass through”.
από is used to mark the place you pass via or by.
Example pattern: Περνάω από το φαρμακείο = “I’m stopping by the pharmacy.”

Why is it την τράπεζα (accusative) after από? I thought από takes accusative anyway—how can I recognize it?

Yes, από takes the accusative. Here you see it in the article:

η τράπεζα (nom.)
την τράπεζα (acc.)
So από + την τράπεζα is grammatically expected.

Does τράπεζα always mean “bank”? I’ve heard it can mean “table.”

τράπεζα can mean:

bank (financial institution) — extremely common in modern speech
table — more formal/older usage; in modern everyday Greek, τραπέζι is the usual word for “table”
In this sentence, with περνάω από την τράπεζα, it’s clearly the bank.

Why is there πριν πάω and not πριν να πάω? Where is να?

After πριν, Greek can use the subjunctive with or without να in everyday language:

πριν πάω = common and natural
πριν να πάω = also correct; sometimes a bit more explicit/formal
In both cases, πάω is in the subjunctive form (it looks like the present, but it’s used with this “before” structure).

Why is it πάω στο σούπερ μάρκετ and not something like πηγαίνω?

πάω and πηγαίνω both mean “to go”.

πάω is very common in speech and often preferred for simple “go” actions.
πηγαίνω can feel slightly more neutral/formal or just a stylistic choice.
You could say πριν πάω / πριν πηγαίνω—but note that after πριν, you typically use the subjunctive-style present; in practice, πριν πάω is especially common.

Why is it στο σούπερ μάρκετ—what is στο?

στο is a contraction of σε + το:

σε = “to/in/at”
το = “the” (neuter)
So στο σούπερ μάρκετ = “to the supermarket / at the supermarket.”
Even though σούπερ μάρκετ is a borrowed word and doesn’t decline much, Greek still commonly uses the article with it.

What’s the purpose of the comma after κίνηση?

The comma separates the condition clause from the main clause, like English:
If there isn’t traffic, I’ll stop by the bank…
It’s standard punctuation when the Αν… clause comes first. If the order is reversed, the comma is often omitted:
Περνάω από την τράπεζα πριν πάω στο σούπερ μάρκετ αν δεν έχει κίνηση. (Possible, though the original is clearer.)

How is this sentence pronounced and where is the stress?

Stress (accent) is fixed and marked in Greek spelling; you pronounce the stressed syllable more strongly:

Αν
δεν
έχει (EH-khi)
κίνηση (KEE-ni-si)
περνάω (per-NA-o)
τράπεζα (TRA-pe-za)
πριν
πάω (PA-o)
σούπερ (SOO-per)
μάρκετ (MAR-ket)