Κράτα το συμβόλαιο στην τσάντα σου, μην το χάσεις στον δρόμο.

your

Breakdown of Κράτα το συμβόλαιο στην τσάντα σου, μην το χάσεις στον δρόμο.

• μην: not
• σε: on
• σε: in

Questions & Answers about Κράτα το συμβόλαιο στην τσάντα σου, μην το χάσεις στον δρόμο.

How do I know this sentence is talking to one person, and not to several people?

Because the forms are second person singular:

• κράτα = singular informal imperative, keep
• χάσεις in μην το χάσεις = singular form
• σου = your for one person

So this is addressed to one person informally.

If you were speaking to more than one person, or using the polite plural, you would say something like:

• Κρατήστε το συμβόλαιο στην τσάντα σας, μην το χάσετε στον δρόμο.

What exactly does κράτα mean here, and why is it not κράτησε?

Κράτα is the present imperative of κρατάω / κρατώ.

Here it means something like:

• keep
• hold on to
• keep it with you

Greek often uses the present imperative when the idea is about an ongoing state or continued action. In this sentence, the point is not just take the contract once, but keep it in your bag.

By contrast, κράτησε is the aorist imperative, which often sounds more like a single, complete action. In some contexts it could work, but κράτα fits very naturally for the idea of keep it there / keep hold of it.

Why is used twice? Does it mean the same thing both times?