Μόλις ζεσταθεί η τοστιέρα, βάζω μέσα το τοστ.

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Breakdown of Μόλις ζεσταθεί η τοστιέρα, βάζω μέσα το τοστ.

• βάζω: to put
• μόλις: as soon as
• η τοστιέρα: the sandwich maker

Questions & Answers about Μόλις ζεσταθεί η τοστιέρα, βάζω μέσα το τοστ.

Why is μόλις used here? Doesn’t it also mean just?

Yes. Μόλις has two very common meanings:

• as soon as
• just / just now

In this sentence, it means as soon as because it introduces a time clause:

• Μόλις ζεσταθεί η τοστιέρα... = As soon as the toaster heats up...

So the meaning depends on context. For example:

• Μόλις έφαγα. = I just ate.
• Μόλις έρθει, φεύγουμε. = As soon as he comes, we leave.

Why is it ζεσταθεί and not ζεσταίνει or ζεσταίνεται?

Ζεσταθεί is the form Greek normally uses after μόλις when talking about a future event that must happen before something else.

This is an aorist subjunctive form. In English grammar terms, you can think of it as the form used for once/when/as soon as something happens.

So:

• μόλις ζεσταθεί η τοστιέρα = as soon as the toaster gets heated / heats up

By contrast:

• ζεσταίνει = it heats / it is heating (active)
• ζεσταίνεται = it is heating up / gets warm (present middle-passive)
• ζεσταθεί = it heat up / get heated in this kind of dependent clause

After words like όταν, μόλις, άμα, Greek often uses this kind of form for future-related subordinate clauses.

Is ζεσταθεί passive?