Learn Hardcore Greek: Προτού κοιμηθώ, πετάω το ληγμένο κουπόνι και κρατάω μόνο το έγκυρο αποδεικτικό. - Before I go to sleep, I throw away the expired coupon and keep only the valid proof.

Word

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

Meaning

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

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Lesson

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

What does Προτού mean, and how is it used here?

Προτού means before.

In this sentence, it introduces a time clause:

A very common pattern in Greek is:

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:

Both are natural.

Why is the verb κοιμηθώ used instead of κοιμάμαι?

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:

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

Why is κοιμηθώ aorist subjunctive and not present subjunctive?