Questions & Answers about Πριν φύγω, κοιτάω αν έχω μαζί μου το δίπλωμά μου.
Why is it φύγω and not φεύγω after πριν?
Because πριν + verb often introduces a clause about something that has not happened yet, so Greek normally uses the subjunctive form there.
- φεύγω = I leave / I am leaving
- να φύγω = for me to leave / that I leave
- after πριν, the να is usually omitted, but the verb still stays in the subjunctive form:
- πριν φύγω = before I leave
So in this sentence, πριν φύγω is the natural way to say before I leave.
Why isn’t there a να after πριν?
In Modern Greek, πριν commonly takes the subjunctive without να.
So you get:
- πριν φύγω = before I leave
- πριν πάμε = before we go
- πριν έρθει = before he/she comes
This is completely normal Greek. A learner may expect να because subjunctive forms often appear with να, but πριν is one of the cases where it is usually left out.
What exactly does κοιτάω mean here?