Breakdown of Ο γιατρός είπε να πάρω ένα χάπι τώρα και σιρόπι πριν κοιμηθώ.
τώρα
now
και
and
να
to
πριν
before
Questions & Answers about Ο γιατρός είπε να πάρω ένα χάπι τώρα και σιρόπι πριν κοιμηθώ.
Why does Greek say είπε να πάρω instead of using an infinitive like said to take?
Modern Greek normally does not use an infinitive the way English does. Instead, it uses να + a finite verb.
So είπε να πάρω is literally something like:
- he/she said
- that I take / for me to take
In natural English, that becomes the doctor said for me to take or more simply the doctor said to take.
This is a very common Greek pattern:
- μου είπε να φύγω = he told me to leave
- είπε να περιμένουμε = he said for us to wait
Why is it πάρω and not παίρνω?
Because πάρω is the aorist subjunctive form of παίρνω.
After να, Greek often chooses between:
- an imperfective/present form for ongoing, repeated, or habitual action
- an aorist form for a single, complete action
Here the doctor is talking about a single act: taking a pill now. So Greek uses να πάρω, not να παίρνω.
Compare:
- να πάρω ένα χάπι τώρα = take one pill now, one complete action
- να παίρνω χάπια κάθε μέρα = take pills every day, repeated action