Breakdown of Μήπως να ρωτήσουμε τον ιδιοκτήτη αν η επισκευή του νεροχύτη έχει τελειώσει και αν η έξοδος προς το γκαράζ μένει ανοιχτή;
και
and
έχω
to have
να
to
μένω
to stay
Questions & Answers about Μήπως να ρωτήσουμε τον ιδιοκτήτη αν η επισκευή του νεροχύτη έχει τελειώσει και αν η έξοδος προς το γκαράζ μένει ανοιχτή;
What does Μήπως να... do at the beginning of the sentence?
Μήπως να... is a very common way to make a polite suggestion in Greek.
So:
- Μήπως να ρωτήσουμε...; = Maybe we should ask... / How about asking... / Should we perhaps ask...?
It does not mean a literal perhaps not here, even though μήπως can look confusing at first.
In this kind of sentence:
- μήπως softens the suggestion
- να introduces the verb form used for the suggested action
It sounds less direct than a plain command or a stronger statement.
Why is it ρωτήσουμε and not ρωτάμε or ρωτήσουμεν?
ρωτήσουμε is the form used after να here. It is the aorist subjunctive of ρωτάω / ρωτώ (to ask).
In this sentence, Greek uses the aorist subjunctive because it is talking about one complete action:
- να ρωτήσουμε = to ask / that we ask
Compare:
- να ρωτήσουμε = ask once, as a complete act
- να ρωτάμε = be asking / ask repeatedly / ask as an ongoing action
Here, the speaker means let’s ask the landlord, so ρωτήσουμε is the natural choice.
As for ρωτήσουμεν, Modern Greek normally does not use that ending.
Why is τον ιδιοκτήτη in that form?