Word
Έχοντας βάλει σπρέι, καθίσαμε στον κήπο χωρίς να μας ενοχλούν τα κουνούπια.
Meaning
Having put on spray, we sat in the garden without the mosquitoes bothering us.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Έχοντας βάλει σπρέι, καθίσαμε στον κήπο χωρίς να μας ενοχλούν τα κουνούπια.
έχω
to have
σε
in
βάζω
to put
κάθομαι
to sit
Questions & Answers about Έχοντας βάλει σπρέι, καθίσαμε στον κήπο χωρίς να μας ενοχλούν τα κουνούπια.
What does Έχοντας βάλει mean grammatically?
It is a participial phrase meaning something like having put on / after putting on.
- έχοντας = the participle of έχω (having)
- βάλει = the perfective non-past stem form of βάζω used here after έχοντας
Together, έχοντας βάλει expresses an action that happened before the main action:
- first, they put on the spray
- then, they sat in the garden
So it works a lot like English having done... or after doing....
Why does Greek use Έχοντας βάλει here instead of a normal finite verb like Αφού βάλαμε?
Both are possible, but they sound a bit different.
- Έχοντας βάλει σπρέι... = Having put on spray...
- Αφού βάλαμε σπρέι... = After we put on spray...
The version with έχοντας is a bit more compact and written-style, though it is also common in speech. It links the two actions smoothly.
A learner should notice that Greek often uses this structure where English might prefer:
- after putting on spray
- having put on spray
Why is it and not ?