Πριν φύγω, κοιτάω αν έχω μαζί μου την ταυτότητά μου.

Because Greek is talking about one complete event: leaving.

• φεύγω = the basic present/imperfective form, I leave / I am leaving
• φύγω = the aorist subjunctive / perfective non-past form, used for a single, complete action

After πριν, Greek commonly uses this perfective form:

• Πριν φύγω = Before I leave

So φύγω here is not past tense. It just marks the action as a single whole event.

After πριν, Greek often leaves out να. So πριν φύγω is completely natural and very common.

You may also hear:

• πριν να φύγω

This means the same thing. In everyday Greek, the shorter πριν φύγω is extremely common.

Here κοιτάω means I check, I look to see, or I make sure.

So this is not just physically looking at something. It means checking whether a condition is true:

• κοιτάω αν έχω... = I check whether I have...

This is a very normal use of κοιτάω in everyday Greek.

Yes. They are two common present-tense forms of the same verb.

• κοιτάω
• κοιτάζω

Both are standard and both mean I look / I check. In everyday speech, either one may be used depending on the speaker.

So you could also say:

• Πριν φύγω, κοιτάζω αν έχω μαζί μου την ταυτότητά μου.

Grammatically, αν can mean both if and whether.

In this sentence, the natural English meaning is whether:

• κοιτάω αν έχω... = I check whether I have...

So even though Greek uses αν, you should understand it here as whether, not as a condition in the English sense.

μαζί μου literally means with me.

In this sentence, it means on me / with me / in my possession right now. It shows that the speaker is checking whether they are carrying the ID, not just whether they own one in general.

So:

• έχω την ταυτότητά μου = I have my ID
• έχω μαζί μου την ταυτότητά μου = I have my ID with me / on me

That extra phrase is important because it gives the idea of carrying it when leaving.

Because Greek normally keeps the definite article even with possessives.

So:

• την ταυτότητά μου literally looks like the ID my
• but it simply means my ID

This is standard Greek structure. English usually says just my ID, but Greek usually says the + noun + my.

Other examples:

• το σπίτι μου = my house
• η τσάντα μου = my bag

Because μου is an enclitic word, and Greek often adds an extra written accent to keep the correct stress clear.

The basic word is:

• ταυτότητα

But when followed by μου, it becomes:

• ταυτότητά μου

This helps show where the stress falls in the full phrase. You will see the same thing in many similar expressions.

It can mean both, depending on context.

• abstract meaning: identity
• everyday practical meaning: ID card / identity card

In this sentence, because the speaker is checking whether they have it with them before leaving, ταυτότητα clearly means ID card.

Because the sentence describes a habit or a usual action:

• Before I leave, I check whether I have my ID with me.

Greek uses the present tense here just like English does for routines and repeated actions.

So the sentence sounds like something the speaker usually does before going out, not a one-time past event.

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

For example, you could also say:

• Πριν φύγω, κοιτάω αν έχω την ταυτότητά μου μαζί μου.

This is also natural. The original version:

• αν έχω μαζί μου την ταυτότητά μου

puts μαζί μου a little earlier, which keeps the idea of having it on me very prominent.

So both are possible, but the original sentence sounds perfectly natural.