Thats brilliant, thank you for helping meΠρόσεχε τη διαφορά πότε = when BUT ποτέ = never
Πότε is mainly used when it is referred for time and specific time.
Πότε θα ρίξεις τα μακαρόνια στην κατσαρόλα; (obviously we cook pasta when the water is boiling)
Όταν is used for implying reason.
Όταν ποντάρεις νευριασμένος τότε πας σίγουρα κουβάwhen you bet angry you will lose ca$h
That's helpful thanks, I like your explainationAvoiding the temptations of ποντάρω for a moment, I always thought the distinction between πότε and όταν was that πότε asked questions and όταν was relative:
- Πότε θα γυρίσεις σπίτι; When will you come home?
- Όταν γυρίζεις σπίτι μη ξυπνήσεις το μωρό. When you come home don't wake the baby up.
Is that just a simpler way of putting Yiorgos' comment above? In my second example however όταν γυρίζεις σπίτι is not the reason - but there could be plenty!
Exactly. Direct and indirect questions.I always thought the distinction between πότε and όταν was that πότε asked questions ...
Subordinate clauses introduced by the temporal conjunctions όταν, μόλις, ενώ etc. are called in Greek χρονικές προτάσεις (temporal clauses)....and όταν was relative:
Thanks Perseas. I did wonder about όταν γυρίσεις σπίτι. Is that subjunctive pretty much always with όταν + future* or only when you want to indicate some uncertainty? (*Because the future is always uncertain.)Subordinate clauses introduced by the temporal conjunctions όταν, μόλις, ενώ etc. are called in Greek χρονικές προτάσεις (temporal clauses).
E.g. Όταν γυρίσεις σπίτι, μη ξυπνήσεις το μωρό. When you come home don't wake the baby up.
In "Όταν γυρίσεις ..., (να) μην ξυπνήσεις ..." the actions are seen as a single event.Thanks Perseas. I did wonder about όταν γυρίσεις σπίτι. Is that subjunctive pretty much always with όταν + future* or only when you want to indicate some uncertainty? (*Because the future is always uncertain.)
πότε = when? όταν "ότ-αν" = 'Oτε και εάν = Then and If,......Probably a simple one but when should we use όταν instead of πότε and vice versa?