Όταν γυρίζω σπίτι αργά, αφήνω την τσάντα στο σκαμπό και ζεσταίνω το φαγητό από το τάπερ.

Because the sentence describes a habitual routine, not a single event happening right now.

• γυρίζω
• αφήνω
• ζεσταίνω

are all in the present tense, and together they mean something like whenever I get home late, I do these things.

Greek often uses the present this way, just like English in sentences such as When I get home late, I leave my bag...

Όταν means when or whenever.

In this sentence, it introduces a repeated situation:

• Όταν γυρίζω σπίτι αργά... = When/Whenever I get home late...

Because the meaning is habitual, Greek uses the present tense: γυρίζω.

If you were talking about one specific future time, Greek would often use a different form, for example:

• Όταν γυρίσω σπίτι... = When I get home...

So here όταν + present fits the idea of a repeated action.

Yes, γυρίζω can mean different things depending on context.

Common meanings include:

• turn
• return
• come back
• go around

In this sentence, because it is followed by σπίτι, it clearly means:

• I return / I come back home

So γυρίζω σπίτι is a very natural everyday way to say I go back home or I get home.

Because σπίτι can be used without an article or preposition to mean home in a general, destination sense.

So:

• γυρίζω σπίτι = I go/come home

This is similar to English, where we say go home, not go to home.

You can also say γυρίζω στο σπίτι, but that feels more like to the house/home as a physical place. The version without στο is very common and natural when home is the destination.

Αργά is an adverb, meaning late.

It modifies γυρίζω, so:

• γυρίζω αργά = I come back late

In the sentence it appears after σπίτι:

• γυρίζω σπίτι αργά

Greek word order is fairly flexible, and this placement sounds natural. The meaning is still that the speaker gets home late.

Because την τσάντα is the direct object of αφήνω.

The verb αφήνω takes an object: you leave or put down something. That object goes in the accusative case.

So:

• η τσάντα = the bag as subject
• την τσάντα = the bag as object

Here the speaker is doing the action to the bag, so Greek uses the accusative:

• αφήνω την τσάντα = I leave/put down the bag

Literally, αφήνω often means leave, but in everyday contexts it can also mean:

• put down
• set down
• leave somewhere

So here:

• αφήνω την τσάντα στο σκαμπό

most naturally means something like:

• I put/leave my bag on the stool

It does not necessarily mean abandon or leave behind forever. It just means placing it there.

Στο is a contraction of:

• σε + το = στο

So:

• στο σκαμπό = on/to the stool

In Modern Greek, σε often combines with the definite article:

• σε + το = στο
• σε + τη(ν) = στη(ν)
• σε + τα = στα

This is completely standard.

Good question. Σε has a broad range of meanings, and in natural Greek it often covers what English expresses with in, at, on, or to, depending on context.

So:

• στο σκαμπό literally uses σε, but in context it means on the stool

Greek does not always match English prepositions one-to-one. You have to learn many of them by usage rather than by exact translation.

Because they are neuter nouns, and in these phrases their form stays the same.

You see:

• το σκαμπό
• στο σκαμπό
• το τάπερ
• από το τάπερ

A big clue comes from the article:

• το
• στο
• από το

Also, words like σκαμπό and especially τάπερ are loanwords, and τάπερ is often treated as indeclinable in everyday Greek, meaning the noun itself does not change form.

Ζεσταίνω can mean both, depending on context:

• warm
• heat
• heat up

In this sentence:

• ζεσταίνω το φαγητό

the natural meaning is I heat up the food.

So this is the kind of thing you would say about reheating a meal.

Greek uses the definite article more often than English does.

Here το φαγητό refers to a specific meal/food the speaker already has in mind — the food in the container.

So:

• ζεσταίνω το φαγητό = I heat up the food / my food / the meal

In English we might sometimes just say I heat up some food, but Greek very naturally uses the article here.

It means from the container or out of the Tupperware.

So:

• ζεσταίνω το φαγητό από το τάπερ

means the food is coming from that container.

Greek often uses από to show source or origin, including a container something comes out of.

It is a very common everyday Greek word, but it comes from the brand name Tupperware.

In modern spoken Greek, τάπερ usually means:

• a plastic food container
• a lunch container
• a leftovers container

So even though its origin is foreign, it functions like a normal everyday noun in Greek.

Because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause:

• Όταν γυρίζω σπίτι αργά, ...

Then the main clause follows:

• αφήνω την τσάντα... και ζεσταίνω...

That comma helps separate the when-clause from the main part of the sentence. This is very normal punctuation in Greek, just as it often is in English.