Προχτές επέστρεψα αργά από τη δουλειά και δεν πρόλαβα ούτε να φάω καλά.

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Breakdown of Προχτές επέστρεψα αργά από τη δουλειά και δεν πρόλαβα ούτε να φάω καλά.

• τρώω: to eat
• η δουλειά: the work
• δεν: not

Questions & Answers about Προχτές επέστρεψα αργά από τη δουλειά και δεν πρόλαβα ούτε να φάω καλά.

What does Προχτές mean, and is it a common word?

Προχτές means the day before yesterday. It is very common in everyday spoken Greek.

You may also see προχθές, which means the same thing.

• προχτές is very common in speech and informal writing
• προχθές can sound a bit more formal or careful

So in this sentence, Προχτές is simply setting the time: the day before yesterday.

Why are επέστρεψα and πρόλαβα in this form?

Both are in the aorist tense, 1st person singular: I returned / I managed.

• επέστρεψα = I returned / came back
• πρόλαβα = I had time / I managed

The Greek aorist is often used for completed past events, so it fits well here:

• I came back late
• I didn’t manage even to eat properly

These are viewed as single completed events in the past, not ongoing actions.

Why is it επέστρεψα and not something like a Greek equivalent of was returning?

Because the sentence is talking about a finished event: the speaker got back from work at some point that night.

If Greek wanted to emphasize an ongoing or repeated action, a different tense might be used. But here the idea is:

• one completed return from work
• one resulting failure to have enough time to eat properly

So the aorist is the natural choice.