Breakdown of Έχοντας πάρει την παράταση, τελείωσα την υποβολή χωρίς βιασύνη το απόγευμα.
έχω
to have
χωρίς
without
τελειώνω
to finish
το απόγευμα
in the afternoon
Questions & Answers about Έχοντας πάρει την παράταση, τελείωσα την υποβολή χωρίς βιασύνη το απόγευμα.
What is Έχοντας πάρει doing at the start of the sentence?
It is an adverbial participial expression meaning having received / after getting. It gives background information that happened before the main action τελείωσα. So the timeline is: first the extension was received, then the submission was finished.
Is Έχοντας πάρει a formal way to say this?
It is completely natural, but it is a bit more compact and slightly more written in style than αφού πήρα την παράταση. In everyday speech, many speakers might prefer αφού πήρα. Both are correct; the difference is mostly one of style, not meaning.
Does Έχοντας πάρει have to refer to the same person as τελείωσα?
Yes. In this kind of -οντας construction, the understood subject is normally the same as the subject of the main verb. Here, the meaning is I, having received the extension, finished... If the two subjects were different, Greek would usually use a full clause instead.
What exactly is πάρει here?
It is the form used with έχω in combinations like έχω πάρει = I have received / I have gotten. So έχοντας πάρει is built from that same pattern and works like having received. It is not the simple past form; that would be πήρα.