Κράτα το τηλέφωνό σου κοντά, μήπως σε πάρω αργότερα.

your

Breakdown of Κράτα το τηλέφωνό σου κοντά, μήπως σε πάρω αργότερα.

• το τηλέφωνο: the phone
• σε: you
• παίρνω: to call

Questions & Answers about Κράτα το τηλέφωνό σου κοντά, μήπως σε πάρω αργότερα.

What form is Κράτα?

Κράτα is the 2nd person singular imperative of κρατάω / κρατώ. In other words, it is a command addressed to one person in an informal way.

So here it means something like keep or hold.

If you were speaking to more than one person, or being polite/formal, you would say Κρατήστε.

Why is it Κράτα and not Κράτησε?

This is a very common Greek aspect question.

• Κράτα is the imperfective imperative.
• Κράτησε is the perfective imperative.

The difference is not really past vs present. It is about how the action is viewed:

• Κράτα suggests an ongoing state: keep it near, have it with you, continue keeping it handy.
• Κράτησε sounds more like a single action: take it and hold onto it.

In this sentence, the speaker means keep your phone nearby for some time, so Κράτα is the natural choice.

Why does Greek say το τηλέφωνό σου with το? In English we just say your phone.