Learn Hardcore Greek: Τα βράδια βλέπουμε μια σειρά στην τηλεόραση πριν κοιμηθούμε. - In the evenings we watch a series on TV before we sleep.

Τα βράδια literally means “the evenings” (plural with a definite article), but as a time expression it corresponds to English “in the evenings / at night (in general)”.

In Greek, it’s very common to use:

the definite article +
a plural time word

to express habitual, repeated time:

Τα βράδια – in the evenings (as a habit)
Τα πρωινά – in the mornings
Τις Κυριακές – on Sundays

You could also say το βράδυ (singular) to mean “at night / in the evening” in a more general sense, but τα βράδια emphasizes repeated, regular occurrence: this is what happens on evenings in general, not just on one particular evening.

Στα βράδια is not used here; στα usually means “in/at/on the X” in a more concrete, physical sense, not a time phrase.

Exactly what does βλέπουμε mean here – “we see” or “we watch”? And what tense is it?

The verb βλέπουμε is the present tense, 1st person plural of βλέπω.

βλέπω can mean both “see” and “watch”, depending on context.
In the context of TV, βλέπουμε μια σειρά is understood as “we watch a series”, not just “we happen to see a series”.

About tense/aspect:

Greek present tense covers both simple present and present continuous in English.
- So βλέπουμε can mean “we watch” (habit) or “we are watching” (right now).
Here, combined with Τα βράδια, it clearly has a habitual meaning:
“In the evenings, we (usually) watch a series on TV before we go to sleep.”

What is μια σειρά exactly? Does it mean “one series” or “a series / a TV show”?

Μια σειρά means “a series”, i.e. a TV series or show.

Key points:

σειρά literally means “row, sequence, order”, but in modern usage it also means:
- μια τηλεοπτική σειρά – a TV series
- μια σειρά βιβλία – a book series
μια is the indefinite article for feminine nouns:
- μια σειρά = a series
- η σειρά = the series

So βλέπουμε μια σειρά = “we watch a (TV) series” (not specifying which one).

Could you say βλέπουμε σειρά without μια? Is that correct, and would it sound different?

You can sometimes drop μια, but it changes the feel slightly.

Βλέπουμε μια σειρά στην τηλεόραση.
Natural, neutral: “We watch a series on TV.”
Βλέπουμε σειρά στην τηλεόραση.
Grammatically possible, but:
- It sounds a bit shorter / less specific, more like “we watch (some) series on TV”.
- In everyday speech, most people keep the article here.

In this kind of sentence, using μια is the most natural and standard choice.

What is going on with στην τηλεόραση? Why στην and not σε την?

Στην is the usual contraction of σε + την.

σε = in / at / on
την = the (feminine, singular, accusative)
τηλεόραση = television (feminine noun)

So:

σε + την τηλεόραση → στην τηλεόραση

This contraction is standard and almost always used in speech and writing:

σε + τη(ν) → στη(ν)
σε + το → στο
σε + τους → στους, etc.

Meaning-wise, στην τηλεόραση = “on TV” / “on the television”.

Why is it πριν κοιμηθούμε and not πριν να κοιμηθούμε?

In modern Greek, with πριν (before) introducing a clause, the usual and most natural form is:

πριν + subjunctive verb (without να)
→ πριν κοιμηθούμε

Older or dialectal Greek sometimes used πριν να + subjunctive, and you may still see it occasionally, but in standard modern Greek:

πριν να κοιμηθούμε sounds old-fashioned or regional.
πριν κοιμηθούμε is the normal, recommended form.

So the pattern is:

πριν φύγεις – before you leave
πριν φάμε – before we eat
πριν κοιμηθούμε – before we sleep

Why is the form κοιμηθούμε used, and not something like κοιμόμαστε? What’s the difference?

Κοιμηθούμε is the aorist subjunctive (1st person plural) of κοιμάμαι (to sleep).

Contrast:

κοιμόμαστε – present tense, indicative
“we sleep / we are sleeping / we are asleep”
(να) κοιμηθούμε – aorist subjunctive
“(that) we sleep / (that) we go to sleep” (one completed event)

With πριν, Greek uses the subjunctive to talk about an action that will happen after another action:

Τα βράδια βλέπουμε μια σειρά στην τηλεόραση πριν κοιμηθούμε.
Each evening: first we watch a series, then we (go to) sleep.

If you said πριν κοιμόμαστε, it would sound wrong/ungrammatical, because πριν here requires a subjunctive, not a present indicative.

Also, the aorist here expresses the sleeping as a single, complete event that follows the TV-watching on each evening.

Which verb is κοιμηθούμε from, and is it “reflexive” like “we put ourselves to sleep”?

Κοιμηθούμε comes from the verb κοιμάμαι.

κοιμάμαι is a mediopassive-only verb in modern Greek (sometimes called “deponent”):
it only appears in middle/passive endings, but it has active meaning:
κοιμάμαι = I sleep, not “I am slept”.

Main forms you’ll see:

κοιμάμαι – I sleep / I am asleep (present)
κοιμήθηκα – I slept (aorist indicative)
να κοιμηθώ – (that) I sleep / go to sleep (aorist subjunctive)
να κοιμηθούμε – (that) we sleep / go to sleep

It is not felt as reflexive the way English says “I wash myself”. It simply means “to sleep” or “to go to sleep”.

Can I move πριν κοιμηθούμε to the beginning of the sentence? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, you can change the word order without changing the basic meaning. Greek is quite flexible with clause order.

All of these are correct and mean essentially the same:

Τα βράδια βλέπουμε μια σειρά στην τηλεόραση πριν κοιμηθούμε.
Τα βράδια, πριν κοιμηθούμε, βλέπουμε μια σειρά στην τηλεόραση.
Πριν κοιμηθούμε, τα βράδια βλέπουμε μια σειρά στην τηλεόραση.

Differences are mostly in rhythm and emphasis:

Starting with Πριν κοιμηθούμε puts more emphasis on the “before we sleep” part.
Keeping Τα βράδια first emphasizes the time (“in the evenings”) as the starting point of the sentence.

But grammatically and meaning-wise, they are all fine.

How would I say “In the evenings, we watch the same series on TV before we go to sleep”?

You would use the definite article with σειρά:

Τα βράδια βλέπουμε την ίδια σειρά στην τηλεόραση πριν κοιμηθούμε.

Breakdown:

τα βράδια – in the evenings
βλέπουμε – we watch
την ίδια σειρά – the same series
- την – the (feminine)
- ίδια – same
- σειρά – series
στην τηλεόραση – on TV
πριν κοιμηθούμε – before we go to sleep

Here την ίδια σειρά implies you are referring to one specific series, repeatedly, not just “some series”.