# Expresion of time in modern greek



## larshgf

Hello!,

There are so many ways in greek to express time. One of these are to define something to occur in the start, the middle or the end of a time unit.
As an example:

first in the month            στην αρχή του μήνα
middle of the month      στα μέσα του μήνα
end of the month           στο τέλος του μήνα

Wonder if the translation to Greek is correct?
στα μέσα = pluralis of στο μέσο? (if so - why pluralis?)

Best Regards
Lars


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## dmtrs

larshgf said:


> first in the month στην αρχή του μήνα
> middle of the month στα μέσα του μήνα
> end of the month στο τέλος του μήνα
> 
> Wonder if the translation to Greek is correct?
> στα μέσα = pluralis of στο μέσο? (if so - why pluralis?)



Τhe translations are OK (although 'first in the month' I just get intuitively as 'in the beginning of the month').

I really do not know where this plural comes from -I guess it's less of an exact moment and more of a few days' period.
But if it makes you feel more comfortable (   ) we also use plural for the other two:
στις αρχές του μήνα
στα τέλη του μήνα
It's all Greek...


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## larshgf

Thank you Dimitris!
A lot to know about expression of time in Greek and therefore a lot of questions ;-)
If I look in my dictionary there seems to be a difference between πρωί and βράδυ when using the "accusative of time":

το πρωί = in the morning
σήμερα το πρωί = this morning
αύριο το πρωί = tomorrow morning

το βράδυ = in the evening, this evening, yesterday evening

My question here is a little broader: when you use the "accusative of time" for description of time it often has more than one meaning. For instance if you say την Τρίτη it might be translated last Tuesday, on Tuesday or next Tuesday.
This does apparently not apply to all units of time (day of week, month, season of year etc.).? Any rules? (sorry - I like rules ;-/


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## dmtrs

larshgf said:


> sorry - I like rules ;-/



Don't be sorry; many of us do - but sometimes there just ain't no rules or there are too many exceptions or the rules are very 'flexible'...



larshgf said:


> if you say την Τρίτη it might be translated last Tuesday, on Tuesday or next Tuesday



It might also mean on Tuesdays.



larshgf said:


> This does apparently not apply to all units of time (day of week, month, season of year etc.).? Any rules?



Any recurring unit of time can be such.
But there are indicators that imply the meaning, or simply the context.
You can say το χειμώνα and refer to the winter past, the winter present or the forthcoming winter, even winters in general.
But there will be a verb in the tense that clears things out:
Το χειμώνα *θα έρθει* ο γιος μου. (obviously the forthcoming winter)
Το χειμώνα *ήρθε *ο γιος μου. (obviously last winter)
Το χειμώνα *κάνει* κρύο. (obviously every winter)

Δεν θα ταξιδέψουμε μέσα στο χειμώνα. Την άνοιξη βλέπουμε. (obviously this winter)
Το χειμώνα *έρχεται *ο γιος μου. (every winter - but it may refer to the forthcoming winter if the certainty or the imminence of the son's visit is to be stressed)


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## larshgf

dmtrs said:


> Any recurring unit of time can be such.
> But there are indicators that imply the meaning, or simply the context.
> You can say το χειμώνα and refer to the winter past, the winter present or the forthcoming winter, even winters in general.


So (as an example) το πρωί might refer to yesterday morning, this morning, next morning or mornings in general. But usually the right translation depends on the context as you mentioned. Like in these sentences:

το πρωί σηκώνομαι νωρίς = every morning I get up early
χθες το πρωί έφαγα το πρωινό μου στις εφτά = yesterday morning I got my breakfast at seven o clock
σήμερα το πρωί ο καιρός ήταν καλός = this morning the weather was fine
αύριο το πρωί θα πάμε στην εκκλησία = tomorrow morning we go to church

So apparently one can't expect the dictionaries to bring every possible meaning of these Words. ;-)


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## dmtrs

larshgf said:


> χθες το πρωί έφαγα το πρωινό μου στις εφτά = yesterday morning I got my breakfast at seven o clock
> σήμερα το πρωί ο καιρός ήταν καλός = this morning the weather was fine
> αύριο το πρωί θα πάμε στην εκκλησία = tomorrow morning we go to church



There is some misunderstanding here, I believe.
I really cannot see any difference between the use of the English word 'morning' and the Greek 'πρωί' since they both need another word in order to specify which morning/πρωί: χθες/yesterday, σήμερα/this, αύριο/tomorrow.


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## larshgf

You are right Dimitris. In English it is straight forward. Thank you for your help so far.


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## dmtrs




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