Βήχω πολύ το βράδυ και δεν μπορώ να κοιμηθώ.

I cough a lot at night and I can’t sleep.

Breakdown of Βήχω πολύ το βράδυ και δεν μπορώ να κοιμηθώ.

• και: and
• δεν: not
• μπορώ: to be able
• να: to
• κοιμάμαι: to sleep
• πολύ: a lot
• βήχω: to cough
• το βράδυ: at night

Questions & Answers about Βήχω πολύ το βράδυ και δεν μπορώ να κοιμηθώ.

Why is there no word for “I” in the Greek sentence?

Greek is a “pro-drop” language: the subject pronoun (like εγώ = I) is usually left out when the verb ending already shows the person.

• Βήχω is the 1st person singular form: “I cough”.
• Μπορώ is also 1st person singular: “I can / I am able”.

So:

• Βήχω πολύ το βράδυ = (I) cough a lot at night
• Δεν μπορώ να κοιμηθώ = (I) can’t sleep

You only add εγώ for emphasis or contrast, e.g. Εγώ βήχω πολύ, όχι εσύ. — I cough a lot, not you.

What exactly does βήχω mean, and what form is it?

Βήχω is a verb meaning “to cough”. In this sentence it is:

• tense: present
• person/number: 1st person singular
• meaning here: I cough (habitually / right now)

Basic forms you might see:

• βήχω – I cough
• έβηξα – I coughed (simple past)
• θα βήξω – I will cough

It’s an intransitive verb in Greek, like in English: you just say βήχω, not βήχω κάτι (I cough something).

Why is it πολύ and not πολλά or πολύς?

In βήχω πολύ το βράδυ, πολύ is an adverb meaning “a lot / very much” and it modifies the verb βήχω:

• βήχω πολύ = I cough a lot

Compare:

• πολύς / πολλή / πολύ (with gender/number changes) = adjective:

  • πολύς καφές – a lot of coffee
  • πολλές μέρες – many days

• πολύ (invariable) = adverb:

  • τρέχει πολύ – he/she runs a lot
  • βήχω πολύ – I cough a lot

So you use πολύ (adverb form) because it’s describing how much you cough, not how many coughs as a noun.

Why do we say το βράδυ with the article το? Does it really mean “the evening”?

Literally, το βράδυ is “the evening / the night” (neuter singular, with article το).

But in time expressions, Greek very often uses the definite article even when English doesn’t:

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

So:

• Βήχω πολύ το βράδυ = I cough a lot at night / in the evenings.

Here, το βράδυ has a general meaning (“at night” in general), not just one specific evening. Using the article is simply the normal Greek pattern for these time phrases.

What gender is βράδυ, and why is the article το?

Βράδυ is a neuter noun, so it takes the neuter article το in the singular:

• το βράδυ – the evening / the night
• τα βράδια – the evenings / nights (plural, with τα)

That’s why the sentence has το βράδυ, not ο βράδυ or η βράδυ.

Can I change the word order? For example, can I say Το βράδυ βήχω πολύ?

Yes. Greek word order is quite flexible.

All of these are grammatical:

• Βήχω πολύ το βράδυ.
• Το βράδυ βήχω πολύ.
• Το βράδυ, βήχω πολύ.

They all mean roughly “I cough a lot at night.”
The differences are only in emphasis:

• Βήχω πολύ το βράδυ slightly focuses on the coughing.
• Το βράδυ βήχω πολύ puts a bit more emphasis on “at night” as the time frame.

In everyday speech you’ll hear both orders.

How does δεν work? Why is it δεν μπορώ and not something else?

Δεν is the standard negation word used with verbs in modern Greek.

Rules in this sentence:

• It goes directly before the verb:
  
  • δεν μπορώ – I can’t / I am not able
  • δεν βήχω – I don’t cough

So:

• Δεν μπορώ να κοιμηθώ. = I can’t sleep.

In informal speech you may hear δε (without the final -ν) before consonants: δε μπορώ. In writing, δεν is the regular form, and using δεν μπορώ is always safe and correct.

What is the function of να in δεν μπορώ να κοιμηθώ?

Να is a particle that introduces a subordinate verb form (traditionally called the subjunctive). After many verbs, Greek uses να + subjunctive where English uses “to + verb” or “that I + verb”.

Common pattern:

• μπορώ να + [subjunctive] = can / be able to do something

So:

• Δεν μπορώ να κοιμηθώ.
  = (Literally) I am not able that-I-sleep
  ≈ I can’t sleep / I am unable to sleep.

Να doesn’t translate cleanly as one specific English word; here it’s part of the “να κοιμηθώ” structure and shows this is a non‑finite / dependent verb (“to sleep”).

Why is it να κοιμηθώ and not να κοιμάμαι?

Greek distinguishes between:

• Aorist subjunctive: single, complete event
• Present subjunctive: ongoing / repeated action

Here:

• κοιμηθώ = aorist subjunctive of κοιμάμαι

  • focus: the act of falling asleep / managing to sleep at all

• κοιμάμαι = present (indicative) “I sleep / I am sleeping”

  • subjunctive form is να κοιμάμαι, focusing on ongoing / repeated sleeping

In Δεν μπορώ να κοιμηθώ, you mean:

• I can’t (manage to) fall asleep / I can’t get to sleep.

If you said Δεν μπορώ να κοιμάμαι, that would suggest:

• I can’t be (in the state of) sleeping (which is a much less natural idea in this context).

So να κοιμηθώ is the natural choice for “I can’t get to sleep.”

What tense/aspect combination is δεν μπορώ να κοιμηθώ expressing?

There are two pieces:

1. μπορώ – present tense, indicative

   • current ability or lack of ability: “I can / I’m able”

2. να κοιμηθώ – aorist subjunctive

   • a single, complete event of sleeping / falling asleep

So together:

• Δεν μπορώ να κοιμηθώ.
  = Right now / these nights, I am not able to (fall asleep).

It describes a present, ongoing problem of not being able to achieve the event of sleeping.

How do you pronounce βήχω πολύ το βράδυ?

Approximate pronunciation (stress in bold):

• βήχω → VEE‑ho

  • β = v
  • ή = ee sound, stressed
  • χ = a rough h sound, like German Bach

• πολύ → po‑LEE

  • π = p
  • ο = short o (as in “pot”)
  • υ here = ee sound

• το → to (short “toh”)

• βράδυ → VRA‑dhi

  • βρ = “vr”
  • ά = stressed a (like “father”)
  • δ before front vowels is like English “th” in “this”
  • final ι = short ee

Whole sentence:
ΒΗ‑ho po‑LÍ to VRÁ‑dhi ke then bo‑RÓ na ki‑mi‑THÓ

(και δεν μπορώ να κοιμηθώ is: ke then bo‑RÓ na ki‑mi‑THÓ)

Why is there και between the two parts, and why no comma before it?

Και is the normal Greek coordinating conjunction meaning “and”.

• Βήχω πολύ το βράδυ – I cough a lot at night
• και – and
• δεν μπορώ να κοιμηθώ – I can’t sleep

In Greek punctuation, you usually do not put a comma before και when it links two closely connected clauses, especially short ones. So:

• Βήχω πολύ το βράδυ και δεν μπορώ να κοιμηθώ.

is standard and natural, without a comma before και.