Προτού κοιμηθώ, πετάω το ληγμένο κουπόνι και κρατάω μόνο το έγκυρο αποδεικτικό.

Προτού means before.

In this sentence, it introduces a time clause:

• Προτού κοιμηθώ = before I go to sleep / before I fall asleep

A very common pattern in Greek is:

• προτού + subjunctive verb

So after προτού, you often see a verb form like κοιμηθώ, not an ordinary present-tense form.

A close synonym is πριν. In many everyday situations, πριν is more common:

• Πριν κοιμηθώ, ...
• Προτού κοιμηθώ, ...

Both are natural.

Because after προτού, Greek normally uses the subjunctive.

κοιμηθώ is the aorist subjunctive form of κοιμάμαι.

Here is the idea:

• κοιμάμαι = I sleep / I am sleeping
• να κοιμηθώ = to fall asleep / to go to sleep as a single completed event

So:

• Προτού κοιμηθώ means before I go to sleep / before I fall asleep

If you used κοιμάμαι, it would not fit this structure in standard Greek.

This is about aspect, which is very important in Greek.

Greek often chooses between:

• present subjunctive = ongoing, repeated, continuous action
• aorist subjunctive = single whole action, seen as complete

Here, going to sleep is treated as one event:

• Προτού κοιμηθώ = before I fall asleep / before I go to sleep

That is why the aorist is used.

If the present subjunctive were used in a similar context, it would suggest something more ongoing or repeated, which would not match the usual meaning here.

They are in the 1st person singular present:

• πετάω = I throw away
• κρατάω = I keep / I hold

In a sentence like this, the Greek present often describes:

• a habitual action
• a routine
• a general statement about what the speaker does

So the sentence sounds like:

• Before going to sleep, I throw away the expired coupon and keep only the valid receipt/document.

It does not have to mean the action is happening exactly at this second. Greek present tense, like English present, can describe regular behavior.

Yes, basically.

Both can mean I throw or I throw away, depending on context.

• πετάω is very common in everyday spoken Greek.
• πετώ is also correct, but can sound a bit more formal or less colloquial in some contexts.

In this sentence, πετάω το ληγμένο κουπόνι is very natural everyday Greek.

Because adjectives in Greek must agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here both nouns are:

• neuter
• singular
• accusative (because they are direct objects)

So the adjectives also appear in neuter singular accusative:

• το ληγμένο κουπόνι
• το έγκυρο αποδεικτικό

You can think of it like this:

• ληγμένο matches κουπόνι
• έγκυρο matches αποδεικτικό

This agreement is one of the most important features of Greek grammar.

Because they are the direct objects of the verbs.

• πετάω what? → το ληγμένο κουπόνι
• κρατάω what? → μόνο το έγκυρο αποδεικτικό

In Greek, direct objects commonly appear in the accusative.

For neuter singular nouns, the nominative and accusative are often the same in form, so the change may not be obvious. But grammatically, these are accusative objects.

ληγμένο means:

• expired
• out of date
• no longer valid because its validity period has ended

It comes from the idea of something expiring or coming to an end.

You will often see it with things like:

• ληγμένο γάλα = expired milk
• ληγμένο διαβατήριο = expired passport
• ληγμένο κουπόνι = expired coupon

So it is not just about food; it can describe anything with an expiration or validity date.

έγκυρο means:

• valid
• officially acceptable
• still in force

So:

• έγκυρο αποδεικτικό = valid proof / valid document / valid receipt-like proof

This is different from σωστό, which means:

• correct
• right

So:

• σωστό = correct in content
• έγκυρο = valid in legal, formal, or procedural terms

For example, a document can be:

• σωστό in its information
• but not έγκυρο if it is expired or not officially accepted

αποδεικτικό literally means something like:

• proof
• supporting document
• evidence
• sometimes receipt/proof of transaction, depending on context

It is broader than one single English word.

So το έγκυρο αποδεικτικό could mean:

• the valid proof document
• the valid receipt
• the valid supporting document

The best English translation depends on the situation. In administrative or formal contexts, αποδεικτικό often means some document that proves something.

Because each noun phrase normally keeps its own article:

• το ληγμένο κουπόνι
• το έγκυρο αποδεικτικό

Greek usually repeats the article when two separate noun phrases are joined by και.

That is very natural and standard.

Compare:

• πετάω το ληγμένο κουπόνι και κρατάω μόνο το έγκυρο αποδεικτικό

It would sound wrong or at least unnatural to try to have one article cover both of these different noun phrases.

Here μόνο means only, and it modifies the second object:

• κρατάω μόνο το έγκυρο αποδεικτικό
• I keep only the valid proof/document

So the meaning is:

• I throw away the expired coupon
• and the only thing I keep is the valid proof/document

Its position is very natural in Greek:

• μόνο το έγκυρο αποδεικτικό

This clearly tells us that only the valid proof/document is being kept.

Because Greek usually does not need subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the person.

Here:

• κοιμηθώ = I go to sleep
• πετάω = I throw away
• κρατάω = I keep

The I is already built into the verb forms.

Greek is a pro-drop language, so subject pronouns are often omitted unless needed for emphasis or contrast.

If you said εγώ, it would usually add emphasis:

• Εγώ πετάω το ληγμένο κουπόνι...
• I’m the one who throws away the expired coupon...

Yes, Greek word order is more flexible than English word order.

The sentence starts with the time clause:

• Προτού κοιμηθώ, ...
• Before I go to sleep, ...

This is very natural because it sets the time frame first.

The rest is also straightforward:

• πετάω το ληγμένο κουπόνι
• και κρατάω μόνο το έγκυρο αποδεικτικό

You could rearrange parts of the sentence for emphasis, but the original is neutral and natural.

For example, Greek can sometimes move words around to highlight contrast:

• Προτού κοιμηθώ, το ληγμένο κουπόνι το πετάω και κρατάω μόνο το έγκυρο αποδεικτικό.

That version gives more emphasis to the expired coupon. But the original sentence is the most standard and simple.

Yes.

You can say:

• Πριν κοιμηθώ, πετάω το ληγμένο κουπόνι και κρατάω μόνο το έγκυρο αποδεικτικό.

This is very natural and probably even more common in everyday speech.

In many contexts:

• πριν = before
• προτού = before

Both are correct. Προτού can sound a little more careful or slightly more formal/literary in some contexts, but it is still perfectly normal Greek.

Most naturally, it sounds like a general habit or routine, because of the present tense:

• πετάω
• κρατάω

So it suggests something like:

• Before I go to sleep, I throw away the expired coupon and keep only the valid proof.

If the speaker wanted to describe one specific past event, Greek would use past forms instead.

If the speaker wanted to emphasize a future one-time action, Greek would usually phrase it differently, often with θα or a different structure.

So in its current form, it most naturally reads as a regular practice.

Yes, κουπόνι is a neuter noun, and the ending -ι is a very common neuter ending in Greek.

That is why you get:

• το κουπόνι
• το ληγμένο κουπόνι

Similarly, αποδεικτικό is also neuter:

• το αποδεικτικό
• το έγκυρο αποδεικτικό

So both objects in the sentence are neuter singular.

All of those are possible translations of κρατάω, depending on context.

In this sentence, keep is the most natural English choice:

• κρατάω μόνο το έγκυρο αποδεικτικό
• I keep only the valid proof/document

Why keep works best here:

• The sentence contrasts throwing away one item with keeping another.
• English naturally pairs throw away and keep.

So even though κρατάω can also mean hold physically, here it means keep / retain.