Breakdown of Πριν φύγω, εκτυπώνω το email και μετά το σκανάρω για να το έχω και στον υπολογιστή.
Questions & Answers about Πριν φύγω, εκτυπώνω το email και μετά το σκανάρω για να το έχω και στον υπολογιστή.
Why is it πριν φύγω and not πριν φεύγω?
Because Greek is treating leave as a single event that has not happened yet: before I leave.
After πριν, Greek very often uses the subjunctive, and here the verb appears in the aorist subjunctive: φύγω. That is the normal way to express before I leave.
Using πριν φεύγω would not sound natural in this sentence.
Why is there no να after πριν?
After πριν, Greek can use the subjunctive without an explicit να:
- Πριν φύγω
- also possible: Πριν να φύγω
In modern Greek, πριν φύγω is very common and completely normal. So even though φύγω is a subjunctive form, the να does not have to appear here.
What exactly is φύγω?
Φύγω is the 1st person singular aorist subjunctive of φεύγω.
So:
- φεύγω = I leave / I am leaving
- να φύγω = that I leave / for me to leave / to leave
- πριν φύγω = before I leave
The aorist here does not mean past. In this kind of structure, it shows the action as a complete event.
Why are εκτυπώνω and σκανάρω in the present tense if the sentence talks about something I do before leaving?
Greek often uses the present tense for:
- habits
- routines
- instructions
- describing a usual sequence of actions
So this sentence sounds like a normal routine:
- Before I leave, I print the email and then scan it...
It does not necessarily mean the speaker is doing it right this second. It can mean this is what I usually do.
Why does Greek say το email? Why is there an article before email?
Greek uses the definite article much more regularly than English.
Here email is a specific thing, so Greek naturally says το email = the email.
Also, borrowed nouns in Greek are given grammatical gender. Email is commonly treated as neuter, so the article is το.
So:
- το email = the email
- ένα email = an email
What does το mean in το σκανάρω and το έχω?
Here το means it.
It refers back to το email. Since email is neuter singular, the object pronoun is also το.
So:
- εκτυπώνω το email = I print the email
- μετά το σκανάρω = then I scan it
- για να το έχω = so that I have it
Why is the pronoun before the verb in το σκανάρω instead of after it?
In normal modern Greek, short object pronouns like το, τον, την, μου, σου usually come before a finite verb.
So Greek says:
- το σκανάρω
- το έχω
- τον βλέπω
- τη θέλω
This is just the usual clitic position in Greek.
A common exception is the imperative, where the pronoun usually comes after:
- Σκάναρέ το = Scan it
But in your sentence the verbs are not imperatives, so the pronoun goes before them.
What does για να mean here?
Για να means so that or in order to. It introduces a purpose.
So:
- για να το έχω και στον υπολογιστή = so that I have it on the computer too = in order to have it on the computer too
This is a very common Greek pattern:
- για να δω = so that I can see
- για να πάω = in order to go
- για να το κρατήσω = in order to keep it
Why is the verb after για να written as έχω? Is that indicative or subjunctive?
After για να, Greek uses the subjunctive.
So in this sentence έχω is functioning as a subjunctive form. The reason it may look confusing is that in the present tense, many Greek subjunctive forms look exactly the same as the ordinary present form.
Compare:
- έχω = I have
- να έχω = that I have / to have
- για να έχω = so that I have
So the form is the same, but the construction tells you the function.
Does και mean two different things in this sentence?
Yes.
In this sentence, και appears twice, with two different meanings:
εκτυπώνω το email και μετά το σκανάρω
- here και = and
για να το έχω και στον υπολογιστή
- here και = also / too / as well
So και can mean both and and also, depending on context.
Why is it στον υπολογιστή and not σε τον υπολογιστή?
Because στον is the contracted form of σε + τον.
This contraction is standard and very common:
- σε + τον → στον
- σε + τη(ν) → στη(ν)
- σε + το → στο
So:
- στον υπολογιστή = on / in / at the computer
Also, υπολογιστής is a masculine noun, so it takes τον in this form.
Is σκανάρω a normal Greek word?
Yes. Σκανάρω is a very common modern Greek verb, borrowed from English scan.
It is especially natural in everyday speech, technology, office language, and informal conversation.
Greek often creates verbs like this from foreign words, especially with endings like -άρω:
- σκανάρω = scan
- παρκάρω = park
- σερφάρω = surf
So in a sentence about email and computer, σκανάρω sounds completely natural.
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