Μην πατάς την κόρνα χωρίς λόγο, γιατί το μωρό κοιμάται στο πίσω κάθισμα.

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Breakdown of Μην πατάς την κόρνα χωρίς λόγο, γιατί το μωρό κοιμάται στο πίσω κάθισμα.

• κοιμάμαι: to sleep
• μην: not
• σε: in

Questions & Answers about Μην πατάς την κόρνα χωρίς λόγο, γιατί το μωρό κοιμάται στο πίσω κάθισμα.

Why does the sentence start with Μην instead of Δεν?

Because Μην is used for negative commands in Modern Greek.

• Μην πατάς = Don’t press / stop pressing
• Δεν πατάς would usually mean you are not pressing or you don’t press, which is a statement, not a command.

So if you want to tell someone not to do something, Greek normally uses μη(ν) + the appropriate verb form.

What exactly is πατάς here?

Πατάς is the 2nd person singular form of πατάω / πατώ, meaning to press or step on.

Here it means:

• πατάς την κόρνα = you press the horn / you honk the horn

Greek often expresses this idea literally as press the horn, whereas English more naturally says honk the horn or just honk.

Why is it Μην πατάς and not some other verb form?