Σκύβω για να πιάσω το κέρμα από το πάτωμα.

Because Greek often drops the subject pronoun when it is clear from the verb ending.

• σκύβω = I bend / I’m bending / I bend down
• The ending -ω shows 1st person singular, so εγώ (I) is usually unnecessary.

You could say Εγώ σκύβω if you want emphasis, but normally Σκύβω is enough.

Here σκύβω means I bend down, I lean down, or I stoop.

It is commonly used when you lower your upper body, for example to:

• pick something up
• look closely at something low down
• go under something

So in this sentence, it gives the idea of bending down toward the floor.

για να introduces a purpose clause. It means in order to or simply to.

So:

• Σκύβω = I bend down
• για να πιάσω το κέρμα = to pick up the coin

A very natural translation is I bend down to pick up the coin.

Greek often uses για να + verb where English just uses to + verb.

After να (and therefore after για να), Greek uses the subjunctive, not the ordinary finite present in the same way English does.

Here πιάσω is the aorist subjunctive of πιάνω.

Why aorist subjunctive? Because the action is seen as:

• single
• complete
• one whole event

So πιάσω το κέρμα means pick up / grab the coin as one completed action.

If you said για να πιάνω, that would sound more like:

• so that I keep catching / keep grabbing
• a repeated or ongoing action

That does not fit this sentence well.

Because verb meanings depend heavily on context.

πιάνω can mean:

• catch
• grab
• hold
• touch
• arrest
• and in contexts like this, pick up

With το κέρμα από το πάτωμα, the natural meaning is:

• grab the coin
• pick the coin up from the floor

So the context tells you that πιάσω here is not catch in the sense of catching a ball or a thief.

Because το κέρμα is the direct object of πιάσω.

You are picking up the coin, so the coin is the thing affected by the action.

• το = the (neuter singular accusative/nominative)
• κέρμα = coin

Since κέρμα is a neuter noun, the form here is the same in nominative and accusative singular:

• nominative: το κέρμα
• accusative: το κέρμα

So even though it is the object, its form does not change visibly.

It means from the floor or off the floor.

• από = from
• το πάτωμα = the floor

This phrase shows the source or place from which the coin is being picked up.

So the idea is:

• the coin is on the floor
• you bend down
• you pick it up from there

In natural English, from the floor and off the floor would both fit.

Because the sentence is focusing on the act of taking the coin from a surface.

• από το πάτωμα = from the floor / off the floor
• στο πάτωμα = on the floor

If you said το κέρμα στο πάτωμα, that would describe where the coin is. If you say πιάσω το κέρμα από το πάτωμα, that describes where I am taking it from.

So:

• στο πάτωμα = location
• από το πάτωμα = source

Both ideas are related, but this sentence needs the second one.

This is a very common Greek pattern.

• σκύβω is the main verb, in the present/imperfective form
• πιάσω is in the aorist subjunctive because it comes after για να

They do different jobs:

1. σκύβω tells you what I am doing:
   I bend down / I’m bending down

2. πιάσω tells you the purpose, seen as a complete action:
   to pick up

So Greek is not mixing tenses randomly. It is using:

• a normal present-form main verb
• a subjunctive verb after για να, with aspect chosen according to meaning

It can be understood in more than one way, depending on context.

Σκύβω can mean:

• I am bending down (right now, in a present situation)
• I bend down (more general or narrative present)

In a real situation, this sentence will often mean:

• I’m bending down to pick up the coin from the floor

But without more context, Greek present can sometimes be broader than the English progressive.

Yes. Greek word order is more flexible than English.

The neutral order here is:

• Σκύβω για να πιάσω το κέρμα από το πάτωμα.

But you could also hear variations such as:

• Για να πιάσω το κέρμα από το πάτωμα, σκύβω.
• Σκύβω να πιάσω το κέρμα από το πάτωμα. (more informal/common in speech, depending on context)

Changing the order can shift:

• emphasis
• rhythm
• style

But the original version is clear and natural.

Yes, but it would not mean exactly the same thing.

• πιάσω το κέρμα = grab/pick up the coin
• σηκώσω το κέρμα = lift the coin

πιάσω focuses on getting hold of it. σηκώσω focuses on raising it up.

In this context, πιάσω is very natural because when you bend down toward a coin, the first relevant action is grabbing/picking it up.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

SKEE-vo ya na PYA-so to KER-ma a-PO to PA-to-ma

A few helpful notes:

• σκ sounds like sk
• ύ/ι here sounds like ee
• για sounds like ya
• πιάσω has the stress on πιά-
• κέρμα has the stress on κέρ-
• πάτωμα has the stress on πά-

The written stress marks are important in Greek, because they show which syllable is stressed.

They are:

• σκύβω = to bend down / stoop
• πιάνω = to catch / grab / pick up
• κέρμα = coin
• πάτωμα = floor
• από = from
• για να = in order to / to

This is useful because some forms in the sentence are not the exact dictionary form:

• πιάσω comes from πιάνω

A natural past version would be:

Έσκυψα για να πιάσω το κέρμα από το πάτωμα.

That means:

• I bent down to pick up the coin from the floor

Here:

• έσκυψα = I bent down (aorist, completed past action)
• πιάσω stays in the subjunctive after για να

So even when the main verb changes to the past, the purpose clause still uses για να + subjunctive.