Learn Hardcore Greek: Είμαι έτοιμη τώρα.

Είμαι: I am (verb, 1st person singular present of είμαι “to be”).
έτοιμη: ready (adjective, feminine, nominative singular; it agrees with the subject).
τώρα: now (adverb).
Final period: normal full stop in Greek too.

Why is it έτοιμη and not έτοιμος or έτοιμο?

Greek adjectives agree with the grammatical gender of the subject:

A woman says: Είμαι έτοιμη.
A man says: Είμαι έτοιμος.
Neuter is used with neuter nouns: Το φαγητό είναι έτοιμο “The food is ready.”

Plural:

Mixed group/men: Είμαστε έτοιμοι.
Group of women: Είμαστε έτοιμες.

How would a man or a group say this?

Man: Είμαι έτοιμος τώρα.
Mixed group/men: Είμαστε έτοιμοι τώρα.
Group of women: Είμαστε έτοιμες τώρα.

How do you pronounce the sentence?

IPA: [ˈime ˈetimi ˈtora]
Rough guide: EE-meh É-tee-mee TÓ-ra. Notes:
ει, οι, and η are all pronounced like “ee.”
αι (as in -μαι) is pronounced like “e” (as in “met”).
The r (ρ) is a quick tap/trill.

Do I need to say εγώ for “I”?

No. Greek normally drops subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the person. Εγώ is used for emphasis or contrast:

Είμαι έτοιμη τώρα. = I’m ready now.
Εγώ είμαι έτοιμη τώρα, όχι εκείνος. = I’m the one who’s ready now, not him.

Can I move τώρα to a different place in the sentence?

Yes. Word order is flexible, with slight changes in emphasis:

Είμαι έτοιμη τώρα. Neutral.
Τώρα είμαι έτοιμη. Emphasizes the time “now.”
Είμαι τώρα έτοιμη. Also fine; focuses on the current state.
Έτοιμη είμαι τώρα. Marked/contrastive emphasis (less common in everyday speech).

Why do these words have accent marks?

Modern Greek uses one accent mark (τόνος) to show the stressed syllable in polysyllabic words. Here:

Εί-μαι, Έ-τοι-μη, Τώ-ρα — stress on the first syllable of each word. The accent is placed on the vowel of the stressed syllable (e.g., τώρα has the accent on ω because that syllable is stressed).

Is είμαι irregular? What are the present tense forms of “to be”?

Yes, it’s irregular. Present tense:

είμαι = I am
είσαι = you are (singular, informal)
είναι = he/she/it is
είμαστε = we are
είστε (also είσαστε) = you are (plural or formal)
είναι = they are

Why does είμαι end in -μαι instead of -ω like many Greek verbs?

“Είμαι” is an irregular verb and historically uses endings that look like middle/passive (-μαι). You’ll see other common verbs with -μαι in the 1st person (e.g., κάθομαι “I sit,” κοιμάμαι “I sleep”). With είμαι, this -μαι ending is just part of its irregular present-tense form.

Should there be an article before the adjective (like η έτοιμη)?

No. After “to be,” adjectives used predicatively do not take an article:

Είμαι έτοιμη. = I am ready. But with a noun that has an article, you can have:
Η παραγγελία είναι έτοιμη. = The order is ready. When the adjective directly modifies a noun (attributive), it can appear with the noun’s article:
η έτοιμη παραγγελία = the ready order.

How would I ask “Are you ready now?” or say “We’re ready now”?

To a man (singular, informal): Είσαι έτοιμος τώρα;
To a woman (singular, informal): Είσαι έτοιμη τώρα;
Formal singular or plural to a mixed group/men: Είστε έτοιμοι τώρα;
To a group of women: Είστε έτοιμες τώρα;
“We’re ready now”: Είμαστε έτοιμοι τώρα (mixed/men) / Είμαστε έτοιμες τώρα (women).

What’s the difference between τώρα, ήδη, and πια/πλέον?

τώρα = now, at this moment. Example: Είμαι έτοιμη τώρα.
ήδη = already (focus on completion before now). Example: Είμαι ήδη έτοιμη.
πια/πλέον = by now/anymore/no longer (marks change over time).
- Positive: Είμαι πλέον (ή πια) έτοιμη. = I’m ready now (by this point).
- Negative: Δεν είμαι πια έτοιμη. = I’m not ready anymore.

Can I just say “Είμαι έτοιμη” without τώρα?

Yes. Είμαι έτοιμη means “I’m ready.” Add τώρα only if you want to highlight the timing: “I’m ready now.”

Why does έτοιμη have both οι and η for the “ee” sound?

Greek writes the “ee” sound in several ways: ι, η, υ, ει, οι, υι. In this sentence:

είμαι uses ει = “ee” in the first syllable and αι = “e” in the second.
έτοιμη uses οι = “ee” and final η = “ee.” This is normal; spelling reflects historical reasons more than sound.