English cannot say when without a preposition: on Sunday, in the morning, for two days, in August, three times a week. Greek can, and normally does. A time expression in the bare accusative — article plus noun, no preposition in front — is the default way to locate an event in time or to measure how long it lasted. Once you see this, a whole layer of clumsy translation-Greek disappears from your speech.
The technical name for this is the adverbial accusative: a noun phrase in the accusative that is not the object of anything, but is functioning as an adverb. It is the same machinery behind the accusative of measure — περπάτησα πέντε χιλιόμετρα — and understanding them as one phenomenon is far more useful than learning two lists.
Points in time: when did it happen?
Days, parts of the day, months, seasons, holidays and years all take a bare accusative with the definite article.
| Greek | English | What English adds |
|---|---|---|
| την Κυριακή | on Sunday | on |
| τη Δευτέρα το πρωί | on Monday morning | on / in |
| το πρωί / το μεσημέρι / το βράδυ | in the morning / at midday / in the evening | in / at |
| τον Αύγουστο | in August | in |
| το καλοκαίρι / τον χειμώνα | in summer / in winter | in |
| τα Χριστούγεννα / το Πάσχα | at Christmas / at Easter | at |
| αυτή την εβδομάδα | this week | — |
| την άλλη Δευτέρα | next Monday | — |
| εκείνο το βράδυ | that evening | — |
| το 1999 | in 1999 | in |
Την Κυριακή τρώμε όλοι μαζί στη γιαγιά.
tin Kiriakí tróme óli mazí sti yayá
On Sundays we all eat together at my grandmother's.
Το πρωί δεν μιλάω σε κανέναν πριν από τον καφέ μου.
to proí dhen miláo se kanénan prin apó ton kafé mu
In the morning I don't talk to anyone before my coffee.
Τον Αύγουστο κλείνουν τα πάντα και η Αθήνα αδειάζει.
ton Ávghusto klínun ta pánda ke i Athína adhiázi
In August everything shuts and Athens empties out.
The article is obligatory — this is not the English pattern where "Sunday" can stand alone. ×Κυριακή πάμε εκδρομή is not standard Greek; it must be την Κυριακή. The one systematic exception is κάθε ("every"), which replaces the article: κάθε μέρα, κάθε Κυριακή, κάθε καλοκαίρι.
Κάθε Δευτέρα λέω ότι θα ξεκινήσω γυμναστήριο.
káthe Dheftéra léo óti tha ksekiníso yimnastírio
Every Monday I say I'm going to start going to the gym.
Τα βράδια βλέπω σειρές μέχρι πολύ αργά.
ta vrádhia vlépo sirés méchri polí arghá
In the evenings I watch series until really late.
Duration: how long did it last?
A stretch of time also stands in the bare accusative — and here the missing English word is for.
Έμεινα δύο μέρες στη Θεσσαλονίκη και γύρισα.
émina dhío méres sti Thesaloníki ke yírisa
I stayed in Thessaloniki for two days and came back.
Περιμέναμε δύο ώρες στην ουρά για ένα χαρτί.
periméname dhío óres stin urá ya éna chartí
We waited in the queue for two hours for one document.
Έβρεχε όλη τη νύχτα και το πρωί είχε πλημμυρίσει ο δρόμος.
évreche óli ti níchta ke to proí íche plimirísi o dhrómos
It rained all night and by morning the street had flooded.
Note όλη τη νύχτα, όλη μέρα, όλο τον χρόνο — "all night / all day / all year". The quantifier όλος agrees with the noun and the whole phrase sits in the accusative. Watch the article in the last one: χρόνος is masculine, so it is τον χρόνο. Masculine τον never drops its -ν, however casually people type it.
Δουλεύει όλο τον χρόνο και παίρνει άδεια μόνο τον Αύγουστο.
dhulévi ólo ton chróno ke pérni ádhia móno ton Ávghusto
He works all year round and only takes leave in August.
Περίμενα όλη μέρα ένα τηλέφωνο που δεν ήρθε ποτέ.
perímena óli méra éna tiléfono pu dhen írthe poté
I waited all day for a call that never came.
Frequency: "three times a week"
English uses an indefinite article for the distributive "per": twice *a week. Greek uses the *definite article in the accusative — literally "twice the week". This one is unintuitive and worth drilling.
| Greek | English |
|---|---|
| τρεις φορές την εβδομάδα | three times a week |
| δύο φορές την ημέρα | twice a day |
| μία φορά τον μήνα | once a month |
| εκατό ευρώ την ώρα | a hundred euros an hour |
Πάω γυμναστήριο τρεις φορές την εβδομάδα, όταν προλαβαίνω.
páo yimnastírio tris forés tin evdhomádha, ótan prolavéno
I go to the gym three times a week, when I have time.
Το φάρμακο το παίρνεις δύο φορές την ημέρα, μετά το φαγητό.
to fármako to pérnis dhío forés tin iméra, metá to fayitó
You take the medicine twice a day, after meals.
When a preposition is needed
The bare accusative is the default, not a universal. Four situations genuinely call for a preposition, and each carries a meaning the bare form cannot express.
σε + time = "in X's time" (from now). This is a future interval before something happens, not a duration.
Σε δέκα λεπτά είμαι εκεί, μη φύγεις.
se dhéka leptá íme ekí, mi fíyis
I'll be there in ten minutes — don't leave.
για + duration = planned or intended duration. Compare carefully: Έμεινα δύο μέρες reports how long a stay actually was; Θα μείνω για δύο μέρες frames two days as the plan or the allocation. Both are grammatical; the bare form is the neutral report, για adds intent.
Θα λείψω για μια βδομάδα, θα σου αφήσω τα κλειδιά.
tha lípso ya mia vdhomádha, tha su afíso ta klidhiá
I'll be away for a week — I'll leave you the keys.
από … μέχρι / ως = a bounded span with endpoints.
Το μαγαζί είναι ανοιχτό από τις εννιά μέχρι τις εννιά.
to maghazí íne anichtó apó tis eniá méchri tis eniá
The shop is open from nine to nine.
μέσα σε = "within".
Μέσα σε έναν χρόνο άλλαξε τελείως.
mésa se énan chróno álakse telíos
Within a year he changed completely.
Clock time is the odd one out: σε + accusative
Telling the time breaks the bare-accusative pattern, because the hour takes σε, contracted with the feminine plural article: στις.
Το ραντεβού είναι στις τρεις, μην αργήσεις πάλι.
to randevú íne stis tris, min aryísis páli
The appointment is at three — don't be late again.
Ξυπνάω στις έξι και μισή κάθε μέρα, ακόμα και το Σάββατο.
ksipnáo stis éksi ke misí káthe méra, akóma ke to Sávato
I wake up at half past six every day, even on Saturdays.
So: στις πέντε (at five o'clock) but την Παρασκευή (on Friday) and το πρωί (in the morning) — and all three can stack in one phrase: την Παρασκευή το πρωί στις εννιά. Full detail on Telling the time.
Common Mistakes
1. Adding σε before a day or a part of the day. English "on Sunday" tempts an unnecessary preposition.
❌ Σε την Κυριακή πάμε εκδρομή.
Incorrect — a day of the week takes the bare accusative.
✅ Την Κυριακή πάμε εκδρομή.
tin Kiriakí páme ekdhromí
On Sunday we're going on a day trip.
2. Leaving the day in the nominative. Since English marks nothing, learners leave the dictionary form standing.
❌ Η Κυριακή πάμε στη θάλασσα.
Incorrect — this reads as 'Sunday goes to the sea'; the time phrase must be accusative.
✅ Την Κυριακή πάμε στη θάλασσα.
tin Kiriakí páme sti thálasa
On Sunday we're going to the beach.
3. Using σε for the distributive "per". Frequency takes the plain accusative article.
❌ Δουλεύω τρεις φορές σε την εβδομάδα.
Incorrect — it is τρεις φορές την εβδομάδα, with no preposition.
✅ Δουλεύω τρεις φορές την εβδομάδα.
dhulévo tris forés tin evdhomádha
I work three times a week.
4. Reaching for για every time English says "for". This one is not an error — both versions are grammatical, as noted above — but they are not interchangeable. The bare accusative is the neutral report of a stretch that actually happened; για frames the stretch as planned or allocated, so using it for a finished session makes it sound like a booked slot.
✅ Διάβαζα τρεις ώρες χθες το βράδυ.
dhiávaza tris óres chthes to vrádhi
I studied for three hours last night. (More idiomatic for a completed stretch — the neutral report.)
✅ Θα διαβάσω για τρεις ώρες και μετά τα παρατάω.
tha dhiaváso ya tris óres ke metá ta paratáo
I'm going to study for three hours and then I'm giving up. (Here για is right: the three hours are the plan.)
5. Saying "two days ago" with a bare accusative. "Ago" needs πριν, and in careful Greek πριν από.
❌ Έφυγε δύο μέρες.
Incorrect — a bare accusative means 'for two days', not 'two days ago'.
✅ Έφυγε πριν από δύο μέρες.
éfiye prin apó dhío méres
He left two days ago. (Bare πριν δύο μέρες is extremely common in speech; πριν από is the careful written form.)
Key Takeaways
- Bare accusative = the default time expression. την Κυριακή, το πρωί, τον Μάιο, δύο μέρες — no preposition, and the definite article is obligatory.
- The same construction covers English on, in, at, for and the distributive per (τρεις φορές την εβδομάδα).
- Singular = one occasion, plural = habit: το βράδυ vs τα βράδια, την Κυριακή vs τις Κυριακές.
- κάθε replaces the article: κάθε μέρα, κάθε Δευτέρα.
- Prepositions are reserved for meanings the bare form cannot carry: σε = in X's time, για = planned duration, από…μέχρι = bounded span, μέσα σε = within.
- Clock time is the exception: στις τρεις, στις έξι και μισή.
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Start learning Greek →Related Topics
- Accusative for Extent and MeasureB1 — Distance, weight, price and height all stand in a bare accusative with no preposition — Περπάτησα πέντε χιλιόμετρα, Ζυγίζει δύο κιλά, Κόστισε δέκα ευρώ — plus the one measurement that escapes it (age takes the genitive: τριάντα χρονών) and the colloquial article-less destination accusative behind πάμε σπίτι and πάω δουλειά.