Χωρίς ρεζέρβα δεν θα έφτανα σπίτι, γιατί το λάστιχο έχανε αέρα πολύ γρήγορα.

Without a spare tire I wouldn’t have made it home, because the tire was losing air very quickly.

Breakdown of Χωρίς ρεζέρβα δεν θα έφτανα σπίτι, γιατί το λάστιχο έχανε αέρα πολύ γρήγορα.

• το σπίτι: the home
• πολύ: very
• δεν: not
• γιατί: because

Questions & Answers about Χωρίς ρεζέρβα δεν θα έφτανα σπίτι, γιατί το λάστιχο έχανε αέρα πολύ γρήγορα.

Why is there no αν in the first part of the sentence?

Because χωρίς + noun already creates an implied condition.

So Χωρίς ρεζέρβα, δεν θα έφτανα σπίτι means something like Without a spare tire, I wouldn’t get home or If I didn’t have a spare tire, I wouldn’t get home.

Greek does not need αν here, because χωρίς already sets up the hypothetical situation.

A more explicit alternative would be:

Αν δεν είχα ρεζέρβα, δεν θα έφτανα σπίτι.

What does ρεζέρβα mean here?

Here ρεζέρβα means spare tire / spare wheel.

In everyday Greek, especially in driving contexts, ρεζέρβα is a very normal word for the spare. It can also mean reserve more generally in other contexts, but here the meaning is clearly car-related.

Why is it χωρίς ρεζέρβα and not χωρίς τη ρεζέρβα?

Because the sentence is talking about a spare tire in general, not a specific spare tire already identified.

• χωρίς ρεζέρβα = without a spare tire
• χωρίς τη ρεζέρβα = without the spare tire

Also, χωρίς takes the accusative case. In this noun, the accusative singular looks the same as the nominative, so the form stays ρεζέρβα.

Why is the verb δεν θα έφτανα? What tense is that?