Η κουζίνα καθαρίζεται κάθε Παρασκευή το πρωί.

in the morning

Breakdown of Η κουζίνα καθαρίζεται κάθε Παρασκευή το πρωί.

• η κουζίνα: the kitchen
• καθαρίζομαι: to be cleaned
• κάθε Παρασκευή: every Friday

Questions & Answers about Η κουζίνα καθαρίζεται κάθε Παρασκευή το πρωί.

Why is καθαρίζεται used instead of καθαρίζει? What’s the difference in meaning?

Καθαρίζει is active voice: "he/she/it cleans".
Καθαρίζεται is passive (or “middle-passive”): "it is cleaned".

So:

• Η κουζίνα καθαρίζει = The kitchen cleans (something) → ungrammatical here, because a kitchen doesn’t clean.
• Η κουζίνα καθαρίζεται = The kitchen is cleaned (by someone) → correct meaning.

Greek uses the passive form when:

• the focus is on the action itself, not on who does it
• or the agent (the cleaner) is unknown/irrelevant.

That’s exactly like English “is cleaned” vs “cleans.”

How is the verb καθαρίζεται formed? What is its base form?

The base (dictionary) form is καθαρίζω = to clean.
Greek forms the present passive with a special ending:

• Active: (εγώ) καθαρίζω – I clean
• Passive: (αυτό) καθαρίζεται – it is cleaned

Rough pattern (present tense):

• Active 3rd sg.: -ζει / -ζει or -ει → καθαρίζ-ει (he/she/it cleans)
• Passive 3rd sg.: -ζεται → καθαρίζ-εται (he/she/it is cleaned)

So -εται is the passive ending in the 3rd person singular present.

Does καθαρίζεται mean “is being cleaned right now” or “is cleaned regularly”?

By itself, καθαρίζεται can mean either:

• is being cleaned (right now)
• is cleaned (in general / habitually)

In this sentence, the time expression κάθε Παρασκευή το πρωί (every Friday morning) makes it clearly habitual:

• Η κουζίνα καθαρίζεται κάθε Παρασκευή το πρωί.
  → The kitchen is cleaned every Friday morning.

If you wanted “right now,” you’d use a context like:

• Η κουζίνα καθαρίζεται αυτή τη στιγμή.
  → The kitchen is being cleaned right now.

What does κάθε mean, and why is there no article after it?

Κάθε means “every” or “each.”

In Greek, when κάθε is used before a singular noun to mean “every X”, you do not use a definite article afterward:

• κάθε Παρασκευή = every Friday (not κάθε την Παρασκευή)
• κάθε μέρα = every day
• κάθε χρόνο = every year

So:

• κάθε + singular noun → every + noun
  No article needed.

Why is it Η κουζίνα and not Το κουζίνα? How do I know the gender?

Κουζίνα is a feminine noun in Greek, so it takes the feminine article η in the nominative singular:

• η κουζίνα – the kitchen (subject)
• της κουζίνας – of the kitchen
• την κουζίνα – the kitchen (object)

There is no strict rule to predict gender from meaning; you typically learn each noun with its article. But some patterns help:

• Many nouns ending in -α or -η are feminine:
  
  • η πόρτα (door), η καρέκλα (chair), η ντουλάπα (wardrobe), η κουζίνα (kitchen).

So Η κουζίνα is the correct subject form.

Why is there no word for “on” before Παρασκευή? In English we say “on Friday.”

Greek often expresses “on [day]” without a preposition. There are a few options:

• την Παρασκευή = on Friday
• κάθε Παρασκευή = every Friday

In your sentence, κάθε Παρασκευή already includes the sense of “on,” so no extra preposition is needed:

• κάθε Παρασκευή το πρωί = every Friday morning

If you talk about a single Friday, you’d usually say:

• Την Παρασκευή θα καθαρίσουμε την κουζίνα.
  → On Friday we’ll clean the kitchen.

Why is Παρασκευή capitalized? Are days of the week always capitalized in Greek?

Traditionally in modern Greek, days of the week are not capitalized unless they start the sentence:

• η Δευτέρα, η Τρίτη, η Παρασκευή → often written δευτέρα, τρίτη, παρασκευή in everyday usage.

However, in many textbooks, formal writing, or by analogy with English, you will see them capitalized. So Παρασκευή here is acceptable, but παρασκευή (lowercase) is also common and more in line with modern spelling conventions.

What exactly does το πρωί mean, and how is it different from πρωινό?

• το πρωί literally means “the morning” and is used as a time expression:

  • το πρωί = in the morning

• το πρωινό means “breakfast” (or occasionally “the morning [as a noun]”), but in everyday language it’s mainly “breakfast”:

  • Τρώω το πρωινό μου. = I eat my breakfast.

So:

• κάθε Παρασκευή το πρωί = every Friday morning
• It does not mean “every Friday breakfast.”

Why is it το πρωί and not something like στο πρωί? Don’t we need a preposition for “in the morning”?

Greek very often uses bare time phrases without a preposition:

• το πρωί = in the morning
• το βράδυ = in the evening / at night
• το μεσημέρι = at noon / midday

You can add το (the definite article) and use the noun as a time adverbial:

• Δουλεύω το πρωί. = I work in the morning.

You’d use a preposition like το πρωί στις 9 (in the morning at 9), but το πρωί by itself already means in the morning, so στο πρωί would be wrong here.

What is the word order rule here? Could I say Κάθε Παρασκευή το πρωί η κουζίνα καθαρίζεται instead?

Greek word order is more flexible than English. The basic structure is:

• Η κουζίνα (subject)
• καθαρίζεται (verb)
• κάθε Παρασκευή το πρωί (time phrase)

But you can absolutely say:

• Κάθε Παρασκευή το πρωί η κουζίνα καθαρίζεται.

This is also correct and natural. Moving the time phrase to the beginning can slightly emphasize when it happens. The core meaning remains the same.

What is the grammatical subject in this sentence?

The grammatical subject is Η κουζίνα = the kitchen.

Even though the sentence is passive (καθαρίζεται = is cleaned), the subject is still the thing that undergoes the action, not the doer.

• Subject: η κουζίνα (the thing being cleaned)
• Verb: καθαρίζεται (is cleaned)
• Time expression: κάθε Παρασκευή το πρωί (every Friday morning)

There is no explicit agent (no από κάποιον / “by someone”).

How would I say “They clean the kitchen every Friday morning” instead of “The kitchen is cleaned every Friday morning”?

You would switch to the active voice and add an explicit subject:

• Καθαρίζουν την κουζίνα κάθε Παρασκευή το πρωί.

Here:

• Καθαρίζουν = they clean (3rd person plural active)
• την κουζίνα = the kitchen (object)

Meaning: They clean the kitchen every Friday morning.

Passive version:

• Η κουζίνα καθαρίζεται κάθε Παρασκευή το πρωί.
  → The kitchen is cleaned every Friday morning.

Why is it η κουζίνα but την κουζίνα in other sentences? What changes?

Greek articles change form depending on the case (subject vs object, etc.):

For feminine singular nouns like κουζίνα:

• Nominative (subject): η κουζίνα

  • Η κουζίνα καθαρίζεται. = The kitchen is cleaned.

• Accusative (direct object): την κουζίνα

  • Καθαρίζουν την κουζίνα. = They clean the kitchen.

In your sentence, η κουζίνα is the subject of the passive verb, so nominative η is used.