Learn how to use the sentence pattern "... because..."
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Michael: Hi everyone, I'm Michael. |
| Chrissi: And I'm Chrissi. |
| Michael: And welcome to Must-Know Greek Sentence Structures, Season 1, Lesson 24. Explaining a Reason or Cause. |
| Michael: In this lesson, you'll learn how to use a sentence pattern for explaining the cause or reason for an action or condition. |
| PATTERN |
| Michael: For example, |
| Michael: "I bought this because it was cheaper." |
| Chrissi: Αγόρασα αυτό, επειδή ήταν φτηνότερο. (Agórasa aftó, epidí ítan ftinótero.) |
| Chrissi: [slow] Αγόρασα αυτό, επειδή ήταν φτηνότερο. (Agórasa aftó, epidí ítan ftinótero.) |
| Michael: The pattern for explaining the cause or reason for an action or condition has three elements. First, the main clause meaning "I bought this". |
| Chrissi: Αγόρασα αυτό (Agórasa aftó). |
| Michael: Second, the causative conjunction meaning "because". |
| Chrissi: επειδή (epidí). |
| Michael: Third, the part of a subordinate clause meaning "it was cheaper". |
| Chrissi: ήταν φτηνότερο (ítan ftinótero). |
| Michael: Altogether, we have... "I bought this because it was cheaper." |
| Chrissi: Αγόρασα αυτό, επειδή ήταν φτηνότερο. (Agórasa aftó, epidí ítan ftinótero.) [slow] Αγόρασα αυτό, επειδή ήταν φτηνότερο. (Agórasa aftó, epidí ítan ftinótero.) [normal] Αγόρασα αυτό, επειδή ήταν φτηνότερο. (Agórasa aftó, epidí ítan ftinótero.) |
| Michael: To start explaining the cause or reason for an action or condition, you need to start with a main clause that describes that action or condition. You can apply any of the sentence patterns you've learned so far to form a main clause. Next, you'll need to use the conjunction meaning "because," |
| Chrissi: επειδή (epidí), |
| Michael: which introduces a subordinate clause that explains the cause or reason. In written speech, it's necessary to add a comma before the conjunction to separate the main clause from the subordinate clause. Keeping the same elements, you can also place the main clause at the very end, after the conjunction and the subordinate clause. In that case, a comma needs to be added between the subordinate clause and the main clause. |
| Chrissi: For example, Επειδή ήταν φτηνότερο, αγόρασα αυτό. (Epidí ítan ftinótero, agórasa aftó.) |
| Michael: "Because it was cheaper, I bought this." |
| Michael: Sometimes a verb alone followed by the conjunction "because" and another verb may be enough to explain the reason for something, for example, you can say "I can't, because I work." |
| Chrissi: Δεν μπορώ, επειδή δουλεύω. (Den boró, epidí dulévo.) |
| Michael: So remember, to explain the cause or reason for an action or condition, start with a main clause that describes that action or condition. |
| Chrissi: Next, use the conjunction meaning "because," επειδή (epidí), |
| Michael: followed by a subordinate clause that explains the cause or reason. |
| Michael: Here is another example meaning, "I'm lighting up the fireplace because it's cold." First, we have the main clause meaning "I'm lighting up the fireplace." |
| Chrissi: Ανάβω το τζάκι (Anávo to jáki). |
| Michael: Second, we have the causative conjunction meaning "because". |
| Chrissi: επειδή (epidí). |
| Michael: Third, we have the part of a subordinate clause meaning "it's cold". |
| Chrissi: κάνει κρύο (káni krío). |
| Michael: Altogether we have... |
| Chrissi: Ανάβω το τζάκι, επειδή κάνει κρύο. (Anávo to jáki, epidí káni krío.) [slow] Ανάβω το τζάκι, επειδή κάνει κρύο. (Anávo to jáki, epidí káni krío.) [normal] Ανάβω το τζάκι, επειδή κάνει κρύο. (Anávo to jáki, epidí káni krío.) |
| Michael: "I'm lighting up the fireplace because it's cold." |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Ανάβω το τζάκι, επειδή κάνει κρύο. (Anávo to jáki, epidí káni krío.) |
| Michael: How do you say — "Don't wash the car because it will rain."? To give you a hint, "Don't wash" is... |
| Chrissi: Μην πλύνεις (Min plínis). [slow] Μην πλύνεις (Min plínis). [normal] Μην πλύνεις (Min plínis). |
| Michael: "Don't wash the car because it will rain." |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Μην πλύνεις το αυτοκίνητο, επειδή θα βρέξει. (Min plínis to aftokínito, epidí tha vréxi.) [slow] Μην πλύνεις το αυτοκίνητο, επειδή θα βρέξει. (Min plínis to aftokínito, epidí tha vréxi.) [normal] Μην πλύνεις το αυτοκίνητο, επειδή θα βρέξει. (Min plínis to aftokínito, epidí tha vréxi.) |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Μην πλύνεις το αυτοκίνητο, επειδή θα βρέξει. (Min plínis to aftokínito, epidí tha vréxi.) |
| REVIEW |
| Michael: Let's review the sentences from this lesson. I will tell you the English equivalent of the phrase and you are responsible for shouting it out loud in Greek. Here we go. |
| Michael: "I bought this because it was cheaper." |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Αγόρασα αυτό, επειδή ήταν φτηνότερο. (Agórasa aftó, epidí ítan ftinótero.) |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Αγόρασα αυτό, επειδή ήταν φτηνότερο. (Agórasa aftó, epidí ítan ftinótero.) |
| Michael: "I'm lighting up the fireplace because it's cold." |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Ανάβω το τζάκι, επειδή κάνει κρύο. (Anávo to jáki, epidí káni krío.) |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Ανάβω το τζάκι, επειδή κάνει κρύο. (Anávo to jáki, epidí káni krío.) |
| Michael: "Don't wash the car because it will rain." |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Μην πλύνεις το αυτοκίνητο, επειδή θα βρέξει. (Min plínis to aftokínito, epidí tha vréxi.) |
| [pause] |
| Chrissi: Μην πλύνεις το αυτοκίνητο, επειδή θα βρέξει. (Min plínis to aftokínito, epidí tha vréxi.) |
Outro |
|---|
| Michael: Okay. That's all for this lesson. You learned a pattern for explaining the cause or reason for an action or condition, as in... |
| Chrissi: Αγόρασα αυτό, επειδή ήταν φτηνότερο. (Agórasa aftó, epidí ítan ftinótero.) |
| Michael: meaning "I bought this because it was cheaper." |
| Michael: You can find more vocab or phrases that go with this sentence pattern in the lesson notes. So please be sure to check them out on GreekPod101.com. Thanks everyone, see you next time! |
| Chrissi: Γεια χαρά! |
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