Κατά λάθος άφησα τα κλειδιά στο αυτοκίνητο.

in

Breakdown of Κατά λάθος άφησα τα κλειδιά στο αυτοκίνητο.

• το αυτοκίνητο: the car
• το κλειδί: the key
• αφήνω: to leave

Questions & Answers about Κατά λάθος άφησα τα κλειδιά στο αυτοκίνητο.

What does κατά λάθος mean exactly, and is it one expression?

Yes. κατά λάθος is a fixed expression meaning by mistake or accidentally.

• κατά is a preposition
• λάθος means mistake

But in this phrase, learners should usually treat κατά λάθος as one chunk with the meaning accidentally.

Examples:

• Το έκανα κατά λάθος. = I did it by mistake.
• Πάτησα το κουμπί κατά λάθος. = I pressed the button accidentally.

Why is it άφησα? What form is that?

άφησα is the 1st person singular aorist of αφήνω = to leave.

So:

• αφήνω = I leave / I am leaving
• άφησα = I left

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about a completed action in the past, so Greek uses the aorist:

• Κατά λάθος άφησα... = I accidentally left...

A few forms:

• άφησα = I left
• άφησες = you left
• άφησε = he/she/it left
• αφήσαμε = we left

Why isn’t εγώ included? Does Greek often leave out the subject pronoun?