Όταν διαβάζω αργά το βράδυ, ξεχνιέμαι και δεν κοιτάω καθόλου την ώρα.

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Breakdown of Όταν διαβάζω αργά το βράδυ, ξεχνιέμαι και δεν κοιτάω καθόλου την ώρα.

• δεν: not
• η ώρα: the time
• αργά: late

Questions & Answers about Όταν διαβάζω αργά το βράδυ, ξεχνιέμαι και δεν κοιτάω καθόλου την ώρα.

Why is Όταν used here, and what exactly does it mean?

Όταν means when in the sense of whenever or every time that.

In this sentence, Όταν διαβάζω αργά το βράδυ means:

• When I read late at night
• or more naturally: Whenever I read late at night

So this is not just about one specific occasion. It describes a habitual situation.

A useful comparison:

• όταν = when / whenever
• αν = if

So here όταν is correct because the speaker means that this regularly happens when they read late at night.

Why are the verbs διαβάζω, ξεχνιέμαι, and κοιτάω all in the present tense?

They are in the present tense because Greek often uses the present to describe repeated, habitual, or general actions.

So this sentence does not mean only right now. It means something like:

• When I read late at night, I tend to lose track of things and I don’t look at the time at all.

This is very similar to English:

• When I read late at night, I forget myself and don’t check the time.

Even though English also uses the present here, it can help to think of Greek present as covering:

• what is happening now
• what happens regularly
• what generally happens

Why is there a comma after βράδυ?