Όταν βρέχει, φοράω το παλιό μου παλτό και τις μπότες μου.

Όταν means when. It introduces a time clause:

• Όταν βρέχει = when it rains

In Greek, όταν is very commonly used for things that happen regularly or whenever a condition is true, just like English when in sentences such as When it rains, I wear...

Because the sentence describes a habitual situation or something that happens generally:

• Όταν βρέχει = when it rains
• not necessarily right now, but whenever this situation happens

Greek often uses the present tense for repeated or general actions in this kind of sentence, just as English does.

In Greek, weather verbs often work without a separate subject pronoun.

So:

• βρέχει = it rains / it is raining

The it in English is just a grammatical placeholder. Greek does not need it here.

Φοράω means I wear / I am wearing.

Greek verbs usually already show the subject in their ending, so a separate pronoun is often unnecessary:

• φοράω = I wear
• φοράς = you wear
• φοράει = he/she/it wears

That is why Greek often omits εγώ. You would only add εγώ for emphasis or contrast.

Both are used.

• φοράω is very common in everyday Modern Greek
• φορώ is also correct and common

So:

• Όταν βρέχει, φοράω...
• Όταν βρέχει, φορώ...

Both mean the same thing here.

Greek normally uses the definite article with possessed nouns, much more often than English does.

So Greek says literally something like:

• the old my coat

but the real English meaning is:

• my old coat

Structure:

• το = the
• παλιό = old
• μου = my
• παλτό = coat

This pattern is very normal in Greek:

• το βιβλίο μου = my book
• η αδερφή μου = my sister

Greek usually expresses my, your, his/her, etc. with a weak possessive pronoun placed after the noun:

• το παλτό μου = my coat
• οι μπότες μου = my boots

When there is an adjective, the possessive still usually comes after the adjective + noun group:

• το παλιό μου παλτό = my old coat

So the word order is different from English, but it is completely natural in Greek.

Because the nouns have different gender and number.

• το παλτό is neuter singular
• οι μπότες is feminine plural

So the article and adjective forms must match the noun:

• το παλιό παλτό

  • το = neuter singular article
  • παλιό = neuter singular adjective

• τις μπότες

  • τις = feminine plural article in the accusative
  • no adjective here, just the noun

Because μπότες is the direct object of φοράω.

You are wearing the boots, so Greek uses the accusative case:

• nominative: οι μπότες = the boots as subject
• accusative: τις μπότες = the boots as object

The same idea appears in the singular too:

• η μπότα → τη/την μπότα

Some Greek nouns have the same form in nominative and accusative singular. Παλτό is one of them.

So:

• το παλτό can be subject or object, depending on context

In this sentence, it is the object of φοράω, but the form stays παλτό.

Greek normally keeps the article with each noun in a list when each noun is separately identified:

• το παλιό μου παλτό και τις μπότες μου

This is very natural Greek. English can sometimes drop repeated words more easily, but Greek often keeps them.

It helps show the structure clearly:

• first object: το παλιό μου παλτό
• second object: τις μπότες μου

The comma separates the time clause from the main clause:

• Όταν βρέχει, = subordinate clause
• φοράω το παλιό μου παλτό και τις μπότες μου. = main clause

This is similar to English:

• When it rains, I wear my old coat and my boots.

Greek punctuation often follows the same logic here.

Yes. In Greek, the present tense can cover both ideas depending on context:

• φοράω = I wear
• φοράω = I am wearing

In this sentence, because of Όταν βρέχει, the meaning is more habitual:

• When it rains, I wear...

not necessarily I am wearing right now.

The sentence as given is very natural, but Greek word order is fairly flexible.

Standard version:

• Όταν βρέχει, φοράω το παλιό μου παλτό και τις μπότες μου.

You could also hear variations for emphasis, such as:

• Φοράω το παλιό μου παλτό και τις μπότες μου όταν βρέχει.

Both are understandable. The original version is especially natural because it puts the condition first: When it rains...

Παλιό usually means old, but like English old, its exact sense depends on context.

Here το παλιό μου παλτό most naturally means:

• my old coat
• possibly the coat I've had for a long time
• or simply my older/old coat, as opposed to another one

It does not necessarily sound negative by itself.

A very literal breakdown would be:

• Όταν = when
• βρέχει = it rains
• φοράω = I wear
• το παλιό μου παλτό = the old my coat
• και = and
• τις μπότες μου = the boots my

That literal version is not natural English, but it helps show Greek structure. The natural English meaning is:

• When it rains, I wear my old coat and my boots.