Μην χύνεις νερό στο πάτωμα, γιατί γλιστράει.

the water

Breakdown of Μην χύνεις νερό στο πάτωμα, γιατί γλιστράει.

• γιατί: because
• μην: not
• σε: on

Questions & Answers about Μην χύνεις νερό στο πάτωμα, γιατί γλιστράει.

Why does the sentence start with Μην?

Μην is the word used to make a negative command in Modern Greek.

So:

• Μην χύνεις... = Don’t spill...

Greek normally does not form negative commands the way English does with don’t + imperative. Instead, it uses μην + subjunctive form of the verb.

Why is it χύνεις? It looks like a present-tense form, not a command.

That is very normal in Greek. After μην, Greek uses a subjunctive form that often looks exactly like the present tense.

Here, χύνεις is the 2nd person singular form, so it is addressed to one person in an informal way.

This pattern is common:

• γράφεις = you write / are writing
• μην γράφεις = don’t write / don’t keep writing

So even though χύνεις looks like you spill / you are spilling, with Μην it becomes don’t spill.

What is the difference between Μην χύνεις and Μην χύσεις?