Χτες το μεσημέρι έφαγα ψωμί και ήπια τσάι.

the tea

Breakdown of Χτες το μεσημέρι έφαγα ψωμί και ήπια τσάι.

• πίνω: to drink
• και: and
• τρώω: to eat

Questions & Answers about Χτες το μεσημέρι έφαγα ψωμί και ήπια τσάι.

What tense are the verbs έφαγα and ήπια?

They are in the aorist (simple past), used for completed events. Both are irregular:

• τρώω → έφαγα (aorist), θα φάω (future), έχω φάει (perfect)
• πίνω → ήπια (aorist), θα πιω (future), έχω πιει (perfect)

Could I say έτρωγα ψωμί και έπινα τσάι instead? What changes?

Yes; that’s the imperfect (past continuous/habitual). It means “I was eating bread and drinking tea (at that time)” or describes a repeated habit. The original aorist (έφαγα, ήπια) presents the events as completed once.

Why is there a definite article το before μεσημέρι? Do I need a preposition like “at”?

Greek uses the definite article with parts of the day to form time expressions, without a preposition: το πρωί, το μεσημέρι, το βράδυ. So χτες το μεσημέρι = “yesterday at noon/early afternoon.” No extra “at” is needed.

Is χτες the same as χθες or εχτές? Which one should I use?

All mean “yesterday.” χτες is the most common in everyday speech; χθες is a bit more formal; εχτές is also common. Use χτες unless you want a more formal tone. Related adjective: χτεσινός/ή/ό (“yesterday’s”).