Breakdown of Την Κυριακή έχουν αγώνα ποδοσφαίρου και θέλουν πολύ να κερδίσουν.
θέλω
to want
και
and
έχω
to have
να
to
Questions & Answers about Την Κυριακή έχουν αγώνα ποδοσφαίρου και θέλουν πολύ να κερδίσουν.
Why do we say Την Κυριακή and not Η Κυριακή or Στην Κυριακή for on Sunday?
Greek usually expresses on + day / part of the day by putting the time word in the accusative with the definite article, without a preposition:
- Την Κυριακή = on Sunday
- Τη Δευτέρα = on Monday
- Το βράδυ = in the evening
So Την Κυριακή is just the normal way to say on Sunday.
Η Κυριακή (nominative) would be Sunday (as a subject), e.g. Η Κυριακή είναι μέρα ξεκούρασης (Sunday is a day of rest).
Στην Κυριακή would only make sense if Κυριακή were a person’s name or a place (e.g. to/at Kyriaki), not a day of the week.
Is the article Την necessary? Could we just say Κυριακή έχουν αγώνα ποδοσφαίρου?
You can hear both with and without the article, but:
- Την Κυριακή έχουν αγώνα… is the most natural, neutral way to say on Sunday they have a match…
- Κυριακή έχουν αγώνα… is also possible in speech, a bit more clipped or colloquial, but still understandable.
The article makes the time expression feel a bit more complete and specific. Leaving it out is not wrong, but Την Κυριακή is the default.
Why is it έχουν αγώνα ποδοσφαίρου and not something like παίζουν ποδόσφαιρο?