sentences and conjunctions

About sentences and conjunctions

We call sentence the smallest part of the written speech that can stand alone with a complete meaning. The basis of the sentence is the verb. One word, a verb, can be a sentence. For example:

Κοιμάμαι. This is a complete sentence that has a meaning: we know that the subject (me) is sleeping.

Sometimes we do not write the verb, because we can guess it easily. For example:

Τι κάνεις;

Καλά.  

The first sentence is ok, the verb is κάνεις

The second sentence is also ok, because we understand that the verb is είμαι.

Sentences are joined together with the conjunctions.

Conjunctions that connect main sentences, or equal parts of speech.
Η Ελένη  διαβάζει Helen reads	και and	γράφει ελληνικά κείμενα. writes Greek texts.
Δε σε βλέπω Ι can neither see you	ούτε/μήτε* nor	σε ακούω. listen to you.
Θα διαβάσεις You will read	ή or	θα τραγουδήσεις; you will sing?
Είτε της αρέσει Whether she likes it	είτε or	δεν της αρέσει, θα πάει στην πόλη. not, she will go to the city.
Δεν έφαγα I did not eat	αλλά/μα/ όμως/ωστόσο** but	δεν πεινάω. I am not hungry.
Δεν κάναμε τίποτα We did not do anything	παρά/μόνο** but	περιμέναμε για ώρες. waiting for hours.(The only thing that we did was to wait for hours)
Τον γνώριζε καλά She knew him very well	αν και /ενώ even if/whereas	δεν τον είχε συναντήσει ποτέ της. she had never met him.
Στον κήπο έχουμε άσπρα In our garden we have white	και and	κόκκινα λουλούδια red flowers.

*The words ούτε and μήτε are synonyms, they have exactly the same meaning. We use oύτε in everyday conversations whereas μήτε is used more in literature.  

In literature text we also find the conjunctions ουδέ and μηδέ that have the same meaning as ούτε. (Σε τούτα δω τα μάρμαρα κακιά σκουριά δεν πιάνει, μηδέ αλυσίδα στου Ρωμιού και στου αγεριού το πόδι)

**The words μα, αλλά, όμως, ωστόσο, are synonyms. Synonyms are also the words αν και, ενώ.

Subordinate clauses= δευτερεύουσες προτάσεις, are those clauses that do not have a complete meaning, therefore they cannot stand alone.  A subordinate clause may begin with the following conjunctions:

Αποτελεσματικοί σύνδεσμοι are conjunctions that show result/ outcome/ effect (=αποτέλεσμα)
Δεν έβρισκαν αυτοκίνητο. They could not find a car	Λοιπόν, So,	γύρισαν με τα πόδια. they came back on foot.
The clause, «Λοιπόν, γύρισαν με τα πόδια» is a subordinate clause that shows result/ effect. It could be a main clause without the conjunction «λοιπόν». Γύρισαν με τα πόδια= main clause. It is the conjunction «λοιπόν» that turns it to a subordinate clause. And, on the same time, it is the conjunction «λοιπόν» that conjuncts it to the previous main clause «δεν έβρισκαν αυτοκίνητο». Ιn other words the conjunction «λοιπόν»  gives the result of this main clause to the subordinate clause «λοιπόν, γύρισαν με τα πόδια».
Ελάτε μέσα μαζί μου. Come inside with me.	Ώστε, So,	συμφιλιωνόμαστε; do we become friends?(=is everything OK now between us?)
Σύμφωνα με το Πυθαγόρειο θεώρημα: a2 + b2 = h2 According to the Pythagorean Theorem: a2 + b2 = h2	Άρα/ επομένως Therefore,	a2  = h2_ b2 a2  = h2_ b2
Έχει τόσα χρόνια να με δει He has so many years to see me	που that	δεν θα με θυμάται. He would not remember me.
Επεξηγηματικός σύνδεσμος is the conjunction that shows the explanation.
Αστειεύομαι, Ι am joking,	δηλαδή that means	λέω αστεία. I say jokes.
Ειδικοί σύνδεσμοι, are the conjunctions that fill in (complete) the meaning of a previous sentence, acting as a subject, object or explanation(=επεξήγηση) to this sentence.
Φαίνεται	ότι	θα βρέξει
«ότι θα βρέξει» is called ειδική πρόταση and it is the subject of the impersonal verb φαίνεται. It seems THAT IT IS GOING TO RAIN. The fact of the rain is what it seems, and to understand it better you can say it φαίνεται βροχή. Who seems/appears? The rain.
Βλέπω	πως/ότι	έγραψες καλά.
«πως έγραψες καλά» is called ειδική πρόταση and it is the object of the verb βλέπω. What do I see? I see THAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN GOOD. Βλέπω=verb, εγώ=subject,  πως έγραψες καλά=object.
Ένα μόνο με πονούσε, There was one thing that hurt me,	που/ότι/πως the fact that	ήμουν ακόμα μικρός. I was still young.
«που ήμουν ακόμα μικρός» is called ειδική πρόταση and it is the explanation of the word ένα. What exactly was the one thing that hurt me? The fact that I was still young.
Είναι ψέμα	πως	αυτός άρχισε τον καυγά. (subject)
It is a lie that he has started the fight.
Ήξερα	ότι	ήσουν εκεί. (object)
Ι knew you were there.
Είναι κρίμα	που	έμεινε μόνος του. (subject)
It is a pity that he was left alone.
Την άκουγε	που	μιλούσε για τα όνειρά της.(object)
Χρονικοί σύνδεσμοι, are the conjunctions that give to the subordinate clause a time identity, (before, after, in the same time, every time etc). They identify the time relationship between two sentences…
Θα περάσουν δυο μέρες	ώσπου	να το κάνεις.
Two days will pass by, until you do it.
Xαίρεται	όταν	δουλεύει.
He/she is happy while working
Μιλήσαμε για τους συνδέσμους	μόλις/όταν	έφτασε η Nίκη στο Ίντερνετ.
We talked about conjunctions as soon as/when Niki was on internet.
….είναι μακρύς ο δρόμος	σαν	βγεις στον πηγαιμό για την Ιθάκη.
…it is a long way when you start going (your journey) to Ithaka.