Μην πατάς τα λουλούδια στην αυλή.

Don't step on the flowers in the yard.

Breakdown of Μην πατάς τα λουλούδια στην αυλή.

• μην: not
• σε: in
• η αυλή: the yard
• το λουλούδι: the flower

Questions & Answers about Μην πατάς τα λουλούδια στην αυλή.

Why is μην used instead of δεν?

Because this is a negative command: Don’t step on the flowers...

In Greek:

• δεν negates ordinary statements: Δεν πατάς τα λουλούδια = You are not stepping on the flowers / You don’t step on the flowers
• μην is used for prohibitions and other non-indicative uses: Μην πατάς τα λουλούδια = Don’t step on the flowers

So μην is the correct negative word here.

What exactly is πατάς here?

Πατάς is the 2nd person singular form of πατάω / πατώ.

That means it is used when speaking to one person in an informal way:

• (εσύ) πατάς = you step / you are stepping

With μην, it becomes the normal way to make a negative command:

• Μην πατάς = Don’t step

So the sentence is addressed to one person: a child, a friend, someone nearby, etc.

Is this an imperative?

Functionally, yes: it is a command.

But in Modern Greek, a negative imperative is usually not formed with a special imperative verb form. Instead, Greek normally uses:

• μην + verb form

So instead of a separate negative imperative like English don’t step, Greek says:

• Μην πατάς

That is the standard way to say a negative command.