Time adverbs answer πότε; “when?” and place an event before, at, or after the moment of speaking. They also show whether a situation continues, has happened already, or no longer holds. Some strongly suggest a habitual or completed interpretation and therefore interact with verb aspect. Unmarked forms here are neutral Standard Modern Greek.
A basic timeline
Start with three calendar anchors and three relative points:
| Area | Greek | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| day | χθες / σήμερα / αύριο | yesterday / today / tomorrow |
| current point | τώρα | now |
| earlier point | πριν | before, earlier |
| later point | μετά / έπειτα | afterward, later / then, subsequently |
Χθες δούλεψα από το σπίτι, σήμερα είμαι στο γραφείο και αύριο έχω άδεια.
chthes dhúlepsa apó to spíti, símera íme sto ghrafío ke ávrio écho ádhia
Yesterday I worked from home, today I'm at the office, and tomorrow I have the day off.
Τώρα δεν μπορώ να μιλήσω· θα σε πάρω μετά.
tóra dhen boró na milíso; tha se páro metá
I can't talk now; I'll call you later.
Πήγαμε πρώτα στην τράπεζα και έπειτα για καφέ.
píghame próta stin trápeza ke épita ya kafé
We first went to the bank and then for coffee.
Μετά is the everyday all-purpose “after/later”; έπειτα is especially useful for ordered steps and narration. Standalone πριν and μετά rely on context: το είπα πριν means “I said it earlier,” while θα το πω μετά means “I'll say it later.”
Immediate time and clock position
Νωρίς and αργά place something earlier or later than the expected time. Αμέσως removes the delay entirely: “immediately, right away.”
Ξύπνησα νωρίς, αλλά έφυγα αργά από το σπίτι.
ksípnisa norís, alá éfigha arghá apó to spíti
I woke up early, but I left home late.
Μόλις άκουσε τα νέα, τηλεφώνησε αμέσως στη μητέρα της.
mólis ákuse ta néa, tilefónise amésos sti mitéra tis
As soon as she heard the news, she immediately called her mother.
Greek αργά concerns timing relative to an expected hour, not English of late “recently.” Γρήγορα means “quickly,” but αμέσως specifically removes any intervening delay.
already, still, yet, and anymore
This group is harder because English and Greek divide the meanings differently:
| Greek | Usual meaning | Perspective |
|---|---|---|
| ήδη | already | the event has occurred by the reference time |
| κιόλας | already, as early as | often adds surprise or emphasis |
| ακόμα | still; with negation, yet | continuation up to now |
| πια | now, by now; with negation, anymore/no longer | a changed state |
Έχω ήδη στείλει τα έγγραφα και περιμένω απάντηση.
écho ídhi stíli ta éngrafa ke periméno apándisi
I've already sent the documents and I'm waiting for a reply.
Ήρθες κιόλας; Νόμιζα ότι θα αργούσες.
írthes kiólas; nómiza óti tha arghúses
You're here already? I thought you'd be late.
Η Μαρία δουλεύει ακόμα, αλλά εγώ δεν μένω πια στο γραφείο τα βράδια.
i María dhulévi akóma, alá eghó dhen méno pia sto ghrafío ta vrádhia
Maria is still working, but I no longer stay at the office in the evenings.
Ήδη neutrally reports completion. Κιόλας is especially frequent in (informal) conversation when “already” feels earlier than expected. Positive ακόμα means “still”; after δεν, often “not yet.” Negative δεν ... πια says that a previous situation has stopped.
Δεν έχει απαντήσει ακόμα, αλλά δεν ανησυχώ.
dhen échi apandísi akóma, alá dhen anisichó
She hasn't replied yet, but I'm not worried.
ποτέ and polarity
In a negative statement, ποτέ means “never” and normally appears with δεν. In a question, it can mean “ever” without a negator. Greek negative concord is different from standard English: δεν ... ποτέ expresses one negative meaning, not a positive created by two negatives.
Δεν έχω πάει ποτέ στη Ρόδο, αλλά θα ήθελα.
dhen écho pái poté sti Ródho, alá tha íthela
I've never been to Rhodes, but I'd like to.
Έχεις ταξιδέψει ποτέ μόνη σου;
échis taksidhépsi poté móni su;
Have you ever traveled by yourself?
The written accent separates interrogative πότε “when?” from ποτέ “ever/never.” Compare Πότε φεύγεις; “When are you leaving?” with Δεν φεύγω ποτέ τόσο νωρίς “I never leave that early.”
Time adverbs as aspect cues
Σπάνια likewise describes a low-frequency habit; the full always-to-never scale belongs to frequency adverbs.
Όταν ήμουν φοιτητής, δούλευα συχνά τα Σαββατοκύριακα.
ótan ímun fititís, dhúleva sichná ta Savatokíriaka
When I was a student, I often worked weekends.
Χθες τελείωσα όλες τις εργασίες πριν από το βράδυ.
chthes telíosa óles tis erghasíes prin apó to vrádhi
Yesterday I finished all the assignments before evening.
But χθες does not force perfective aspect:
Χθες δούλευα όλη μέρα και δεν κοίταξα το κινητό.
chthes dhúleva óli méra ke dhen kítaksa to kinitó
Yesterday I was working all day and didn't look at my phone.
The imperfective δούλευα presents the work from inside its duration; the aorist κοίταξα presents a bounded event that did not occur. The adverb supplies time, while the speaker's view of the event supplies aspect. See aspect and adverbs for the full handoff.
Placement
Time-setting words often come first: Σήμερα θα μείνω σπίτι. They can also follow the verb: Θα φύγω αύριο. Ήδη, ακόμα, and πια often stay near the predicate; movement changes focus rather than grammaticality.
Αύριο θα φύγουμε νωρίς για να αποφύγουμε την κίνηση.
ávrio tha fíghume norís ya na apofíghume tin kínisi
Tomorrow we'll leave early to avoid the traffic.
Common Mistakes
1. Adding a preposition before the bare day adverb αύριο.
❌ Θα σε πάρω τηλέφωνο σε αύριο.
Incorrect—use bare αύριο for 'tomorrow.'
✅ Θα σε πάρω τηλέφωνο αύριο.
tha se páro tiléfono ávrio
I'll call you tomorrow.
2. Leaving negative ποτέ without the negator in a declarative sentence.
❌ Ποτέ πήγα στη Ρόδο.
Incorrect for 'I never went to Rhodes'—negative ποτέ requires δεν.
✅ Δεν πήγα ποτέ στη Ρόδο.
dhen pígha poté sti Ródho
I never went to Rhodes.
3. Placing δεν after the auxiliary because English puts not after have. Greek negation comes before the finite verb.
❌ Έχω δεν τελειώσει ακόμα.
Incorrect—δεν must precede έχω.
✅ Δεν έχω τελειώσει ακόμα.
dhen écho teliósi akóma
I haven't finished yet.
Key Takeaways
- Use χθες, σήμερα, αύριο for day reference and τώρα, πριν, μετά/έπειτα for relative time.
- Ήδη/κιόλας look back at something completed; ακόμα continues an expectation; negative πια ends an old state.
- Negative ποτέ appears with δεν; in questions, ποτέ can mean “ever.”
- Time adverbs cue aspect but do not dictate it: repetition favors imperfective aspect, while bounded sequences often favor perfective aspect.
Related Topics
- Aspect and Time AdverbsB2 — Time adverbs strongly cue an aspectual viewpoint but never select it mechanically: every, suddenly and constantly can combine with different aspects when the time horizon, lexical meaning or scope changes.
- Adverbs of FrequencyA2 — Talk naturally about Greek routines with always-to-never adverbs, repeated-time phrases, flexible placement, aspect, and ποτέ polarity.
- Perfect With ήδη, ακόμα, ποτέB1 — The adverbs that pull a sentence toward the present perfect — ήδη (already), δεν... ακόμα (not yet), ποτέ (ever/never), and τελευταία (lately) — where each one sits in the clause, how they map onto English already/yet/ever/never, and why ποτέ needs a δεν to mean 'never'.
- Adverb PositionB2 — Place Greek manner, time, frequency, and sentence adverbs by scope and information structure while keeping weak pronouns attached to their verb.