Γύρισα τα μεσάνυχτα.

Γύρισα is the 1st person singular aorist active form of γυρίζω.

So it means I returned / I came back here.

A few useful points:

• γυρίζω is the dictionary form
• γύρισα is the simple past form
• the ending -α shows the subject is I

In this sentence, it describes one completed action in the past.

Because Greek usually does not need a subject pronoun when the verb ending already shows the subject.

So:

• γύρισα = I returned

You can add εγώ if you want emphasis or contrast:

• Εγώ γύρισα τα μεσάνυχτα = I came back at midnight

But in a neutral sentence, leaving out εγώ is completely normal.

Because γύρισα is aorist, which is used for a single completed event.

Here the speaker is talking about one finished action:

• Γύρισα τα μεσάνυχτα = I came back at midnight

By contrast, γύριζα is imperfect, which usually suggests:

• repeated action
• habitual action
• ongoing background action

So:

• Γύριζα τα μεσάνυχτα would more likely mean I used to come back at midnight or, in some contexts, I was coming back at midnight

No. Γυρίζω is a very common verb with several meanings, depending on context.

It can mean things like:

• turn
• rotate
• go around
• return / come back

In Γύρισα τα μεσάνυχτα, the natural meaning is I came back / I returned, because the sentence gives a time of return.

Τα μεσάνυχτα is the standard Greek expression for midnight or at midnight.

It is a fixed time expression. You will often see it in phrases like:

• γύρισα τα μεσάνυχτα = I came back at midnight
• μετά τα μεσάνυχτα = after midnight
• πριν από τα μεσάνυχτα = before midnight

Even though English uses the singular word midnight, Greek normally uses τα μεσάνυχτα.

Because τα μεσάνυχτα is the normal idiomatic expression.

Greek uses the definite article much more often than English, and in this case the article is part of the usual phrase:

• τα μεσάνυχτα = midnight / at midnight

So the article is not optional in the most standard version of this expression.

Greek often uses a bare time expression to say when something happened.

So instead of adding a word like at, Greek can simply say:

• τα μεσάνυχτα = at midnight

This is very common with time expressions. Compare:

• τη Δευτέρα = on Monday
• κάθε μέρα = every day
• τα ξημερώματα = at dawn / in the early hours

So Γύρισα τα μεσάνυχτα is a normal Greek structure: verb + time expression.

Grammatically, it is a neuter plural form, which is why it appears with τα.

But in meaning, it refers to one point in time: midnight.

So for an English speaker, the easiest way to think about it is:

• grammatically: plural form
• meaning: singular idea

That mismatch is just part of how this time expression works in Greek.

It is functioning as a time expression, traditionally explained as an accusative of time.

For a learner, the most important point is this:

• it tells you when the action happened
• it does that without a preposition

You do not need to analyze it too deeply every time you see it. It is best learned as the fixed phrase τα μεσάνυχτα = at midnight.

Yes. Greek word order is more flexible than English.

The neutral order here is:

• Γύρισα τα μεσάνυχτα

But you can also say:

• Τα μεσάνυχτα γύρισα

That version puts more focus on at midnight.

So the meaning stays basically the same, but the emphasis changes.

A rough pronunciation is:

YEE-ri-sa ta me-SA-neekh-ta

Stress falls on:

• ΓΥρισα
• μεΣΑνυχτα

A slightly more accurate guide:

• γύ sounds roughly like yee
• χ in -νυχ- is like the ch in Scottish loch or German Bach

So the full sentence is approximately:

YEE-ri-sa ta me-SA-neekh-ta