Άφησα τη χτένα δίπλα στον νεροχύτη, γιατί χτενίστηκα βιαστικά πριν φύγω.

Greek often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed. The verb endings already show the person.

• άφησα = I left
• χτενίστηκα = I combed my hair / I got combed
• φύγω here is understood as I leave / left from the context

So Greek does not need εγώ unless the speaker wants emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

Άφησα is the aorist of αφήνω.

Here it means I left or I left behind. In this sentence, the idea is:

• I left the comb next to the sink

The Greek aorist usually presents an action as a single completed event. So άφησα is not I was leaving or I have been leaving; it is a simple completed past action.

Because χτένα is the direct object of the verb άφησα.

• η χτένα = the comb as the subject
• τη χτένα = the comb as the object

Greek articles change with case. Here the noun is feminine singular, and as a direct object it takes the accusative article τη.

So:

• Η χτένα είναι εδώ. = The comb is here.
• Άφησα τη χτένα εδώ. = I left the comb here.

Στον is a contraction of:

• σε = to / at / in / on
• τον = the (masculine accusative singular)

So:

• σε τον νεροχύτη → στον νεροχύτη

This is extremely common in Greek:

• σε + το → στο
• σε + τη(ν) → στη(ν)
• σε + τους → στους

Here στον νεροχύτη means next to the sink together with δίπλα.

Because after σε and after expressions like δίπλα σε, Greek uses the accusative.

The dictionary form is:

• ο νεροχύτης = the sink (nominative)

But in this sentence it becomes:

• στον νεροχύτη = at / next to the sink (accusative)

Many masculine nouns in -ης change to -η in the singular accusative:

• ο μαθητής → τον μαθητή
• ο νεροχύτης → τον νεροχύτη

Δίπλα means next to / beside / nearby.

Very often it is used with σε + accusative:

• δίπλα στον νεροχύτη = next to the sink
• δίπλα στην πόρτα = next to the door

It can also appear by itself in some contexts, meaning nearby:

• Περίμενε δίπλα. = Wait nearby.

In your sentence, δίπλα στον νεροχύτη is a full location phrase: next to the sink.

Here γιατί means because.

Greek γιατί can mean two different things depending on context:

• why? in a question
• because in a statement

In this sentence it clearly means because, since it introduces the reason:

• I left the comb next to the sink, because I combed my hair quickly before leaving.

Because the second part gives the reason for the first part, and Greek commonly separates that kind of explanatory clause with a comma.

So the structure is:

• main statement: Άφησα τη χτένα δίπλα στον νεροχύτη
• reason clause: γιατί χτενίστηκα βιαστικά πριν φύγω

In practice, a comma before γιατί meaning because is very normal in written Greek.

This is a very common learner question.

Χτενίστηκα is the aorist of χτενίζομαι, which has middle/passive morphology. But in real usage it often means something like:

• I combed my hair
• I got myself combed
• I did my hair

Greek often uses these middle/passive-type forms for actions people do to themselves or as part of personal grooming.

Compare:

• χτενίζω κάποιον = I comb someone
• χτενίζομαι = I comb my hair / I comb myself

So although the form looks passive to an English speaker, the meaning is often not a true English passive.

Yes. They come from the same basic idea of combing.

• χτένα = comb (the noun)
• χτενίζω / χτενίζομαι = to comb / to comb one’s hair

So the sentence has a nice natural connection:

• the comb
• I combed my hair

English does this too: comb and to comb are clearly related.

Βιαστικά means hurriedly, in a hurry, or quickly.

It is an adverb, so it describes how the action happened:

• χτενίστηκα βιαστικά = I combed my hair hurriedly

It comes from the adjective βιαστικός:

• βιαστικός = hurried / rushed
• βιαστικά = hurriedly

A lot of Greek adverbs are formed this way.

Because after πριν, Greek normally uses a subjunctive-type form, not a simple past indicative.

So:

• πριν φύγω = before I leave / before I left / before leaving, depending on context

Here φύγω is the aorist subjunctive form of φεύγω. Even though the main verb is in the past, Greek still uses this form after πριν.

That is why πριν έφυγα would sound wrong in standard Greek.

You may also see:

• πριν να φύγω

But πριν φύγω is very common and natural.

Formally, φύγω is not a past indicative form, so if you translate word-for-word it can look like before I leave. But in context, the whole sentence is about past events, so the natural English meaning is:

• before I left
• or before leaving

This is one of those places where Greek and English do not line up word-for-word. The Greek form is chosen by grammar after πριν, while the English translation is chosen by the overall time reference of the sentence.

Greek word order is more flexible than English, but the given order is very natural.

The sentence is arranged in a clear way:

1. action: Άφησα
2. object: τη χτένα
3. place: δίπλα στον νεροχύτη
4. reason: γιατί χτενίστηκα βιαστικά πριν φύγω

You could move things around for emphasis, but not every change would sound equally natural. For example, putting βιαστικά earlier or later is possible, but the original version is smooth and standard.

So the word order is not absolutely fixed, but it is a very good neutral choice.