Το σαλόνι καθαρίζεται κάθε βράδυ.

The living room is cleaned every night.

Breakdown of Το σαλόνι καθαρίζεται κάθε βράδυ.

• το σαλόνι: the living room
• καθαρίζομαι: to be cleaned
• κάθε βράδυ: every night

Questions & Answers about Το σαλόνι καθαρίζεται κάθε βράδυ.

What exactly does καθαρίζεται mean, and how is it different from καθαρίζει?

Καθαρίζεται is the third person singular, present tense, middle–passive form of the verb καθαρίζω (to clean).

• καθαρίζει = he/she/it cleans (active voice)
• καθαρίζεται = he/she/it is cleaned (passive voice)

So in Το σαλόνι καθαρίζεται κάθε βράδυ, the focus is on the living room as the thing being cleaned, not on the person who does the cleaning.

How is καθαρίζεται formed from the verb καθαρίζω?

Greek often has an active form and a middle–passive form of the same verb.

• Active infinitive idea: καθαρίζω = to clean
• Middle–passive stem: καθαρίζομαι = to be cleaned / to clean oneself (depending on context)

Present tense, 3rd person singular:

• Active: (αυτός/αυτή/αυτό) καθαρίζει = he/she/it cleans
• Middle–passive: (αυτός/αυτή/αυτό) καθαρίζεται = he/she/it is cleaned

The -εται ending is the typical present middle–passive ending in the 3rd person singular.

Why is the passive form used here instead of an active sentence like I clean the living room every night?

Greek, like English, uses the passive when:

• The doer (agent) is unknown, unimportant, or obvious.
• The speaker wants to emphasize the result or the state of the object.

Το σαλόνι καθαρίζεται κάθε βράδυ.
= The living room is cleaned every night. (Focus on the living room and the fact that it regularly ends up clean.)

An active version would be:

• Καθαρίζω το σαλόνι κάθε βράδυ. = I clean the living room every night.
• Καθαρίζουν το σαλόνι κάθε βράδυ. = They clean the living room every night.

These active sentences put the focus on the person/people doing the cleaning.

What tense is καθαρίζεται here? Does it mean is cleaned or is being cleaned?

Καθαρίζεται is in the present tense, and in Greek the simple present covers both:

• English present simple: is cleaned
• English present continuous: is being cleaned

Here, because of κάθε βράδυ (every night), the sentence clearly expresses a habitual, repeated action:

• Το σαλόνι καθαρίζεται κάθε βράδυ.
  → The living room is cleaned / gets cleaned every night.

It is not about what is happening right now, but about what usually happens.

Could this sentence mean The living room cleans itself every night?

No, not in normal interpretation.

Even though Greek middle–passive forms can sometimes be reflexive (e.g. πλένομαι = I wash myself), in this sentence:

• Το σαλόνι (the living room) is not something that can realistically clean itself.
• καθαρίζεται here is understood as true passive = is cleaned (by someone).

So the natural meaning is The living room is cleaned every night, not The living room cleans itself.

How would I add who does the cleaning, like by the cleaner or by us?

In Greek passive sentences, the agent is typically introduced with από + accusative.

Examples:

• Το σαλόνι καθαρίζεται κάθε βράδυ από την καθαρίστρια.
  The living room is cleaned every night by the cleaner.

• Το σαλόνι καθαρίζεται κάθε βράδυ από εμάς.
  The living room is cleaned every night by us.

Structure:
[subject] + [passive verb] + [time expression] + από [agent]

Why is it Το σαλόνι and not something like Η σαλόνι or Ο σαλόνι?

Greek nouns have gender. σαλόνι is neuter, so it takes the neuter article:

• το σαλόνι = the living room (neuter)
• του σαλονιού = of the living room (genitive)
• το σαλόνι = (I see) the living room (accusative; same form as nominative)

The other definite articles are:

• ο: masculine (e.g. ο φίλος)
• η: feminine (e.g. η πόρτα)
• το: neuter (e.g. το σαλόνι)

So Το σαλόνι is the correct form because σαλόνι is a neuter noun.

Could I drop the article and just say Σαλόνι καθαρίζεται κάθε βράδυ?

In normal, standard Greek you cannot drop the article here. That would sound very unnatural.

Greek uses the definite article far more than English. When you mean the living room in a specific place (your house, a hotel, an office), you say:

• Το σαλόνι καθαρίζεται κάθε βράδυ.

Leaving the article out would only work in some headlines, signs, or very telegraphic language, and even there it’s not typical in this case.

What exactly does κάθε βράδυ mean, and why is βράδυ singular?

κάθε βράδυ literally means each night or every night.

• κάθε = each, every
• βράδυ = evening / night (neuter, singular)

With κάθε, Greek uses the singular:

• κάθε μέρα = every day
• κάθε εβδομάδα = every week
• κάθε μήνα = every month
• κάθε βράδυ = every night

So you do not say κάθε βράδια. The idea is already plural in meaning, but the form is singular.

Can I move κάθε βράδυ to the beginning or another position in the sentence?

Yes. Greek word order is fairly flexible, and κάθε βράδυ can move without changing the basic meaning:

• Το σαλόνι καθαρίζεται κάθε βράδυ. (neutral, common)
• Κάθε βράδυ το σαλόνι καθαρίζεται. (slight emphasis on the frequency)
• Το σαλόνι κάθε βράδυ καθαρίζεται. (more marked, emphasizing every night in contrast to other times)

The most natural, neutral one is the original: Το σαλόνι καθαρίζεται κάθε βράδυ.

Is σαλόνι the only way to say living room in Greek?

No, there are a couple of common options:

• το σαλόνι
  Very common, everyday word for living room, lounge.

• το καθιστικό
  Also means living room / sitting room. Depending on the speaker, it can sound a bit more neutral/formal, but in many contexts it’s interchangeable with σαλόνι.

You could say:

• Το καθιστικό καθαρίζεται κάθε βράδυ.
  The living room is cleaned every night.

The grammar (article, verb, word order) would be the same.

How would I make this sentence negative, like The living room is not cleaned every night?

To negate a present tense verb in Greek, you put δεν (or δε before some consonants) before the verb.

So:

• Το σαλόνι δεν καθαρίζεται κάθε βράδυ.
  = The living room is not cleaned every night.

Structure:
Το σαλόνι + δεν + καθαρίζεται + κάθε βράδυ.

How is this sentence pronounced? I’m not sure about αι, οι, and the stress.

Pronunciation (with main stress in capital letters):

• Το → [to] (short o, like o in not but shorter)

• σαΛΟνι (σαλόνι) → [saˈloni]

  • σα = [sa]
  • λό = [lo] (stressed syllable)
  • νι = [ni] (οι here pronounced [i])

• καθαΡΙζεται (καθαρίζεται) → [kaθaˈrizete]

  • κα = [ka]
  • θα = [θa] (θ like English th in think)
  • ρί = [ˈri] (stressed; ι = [i])
  • ζε = [ze] (ζ like z in zoo)
  • ται = [te] (αι = [e])
• ΚΑθε (κάθε) → [ˈkaθe] (stress on κά)
• ΒΡΑδυ (βράδυ) → [ˈvraði]
  
  • βρ = [vr]
  • ά = stressed [a]
  • δυ = [ði] (δ like th in this; υ = [i])

Overall:
[to saˈloni kaθaˈrizete ˈkaθe ˈvraði]