Δεν είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος σήμερα.

Breakdown of Δεν είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος σήμερα.

είμαι
to be
δεν
not
σήμερα
today
κουρασμένος
tired
τόσο
so much
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Questions & Answers about Δεν είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος σήμερα.

What does each word in Δεν είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος σήμερα correspond to in English?

Word by word, it breaks down like this:

  • Δενnot (negative particle)
  • είμαιI am (1st person singular of to be)
  • τόσοso / that / this (much), an adverb of degree
  • κουρασμένοςtired (masculine singular form of the adjective)
  • σήμεραtoday

So literally: Not I-am so tired today.I’m not so / that tired today.

Why is there no separate word for I in this sentence?

Greek is a pro‑drop language, which means subject pronouns are often left out when the verb ending already makes the subject clear.

  • είμαι can only mean I am, so adding εγώ (I) is not necessary.
  • Δεν είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος σήμερα already means I’m not so tired today.

If you say Εγώ δεν είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος σήμερα, you are adding emphasis to I (for example, contrasting with someone else: I’m not so tired today, but maybe others are).

What exactly does δεν do, and where does it go in the sentence?

Δεν is the basic negation particle used with verbs in the present and simple past tenses.

  • It normally goes directly before the verb:
    • Δεν είμαιI am not
    • Δεν θέλωI don’t want

So in this sentence, δεν must come before είμαι:

  • Δεν είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος σήμερα.
  • Είμαι δεν τόσο κουρασμένος σήμερα. (incorrect)
Why is it είμαι and not είναι or something else?

The verb είμαι means to be, and it changes form with each person:

  • (εγώ) είμαι – I am
  • (εσύ) είσαι – you are (singular)
  • (αυτός/αυτή/αυτό) είναι – he / she / it is
  • (εμείς) είμαστε – we are
  • (εσείς) είστε / είσαστε – you are (plural / polite)
  • (αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά) είναι – they are

Since the meaning is I am not so tired today, the correct form is the 1st person singular: είμαι.

What does τόσο mean here, and how is it different from πολύ?

In this sentence, τόσο means so / that / this (much) and expresses degree:

  • τόσο κουρασμένοςso tired / that tired / this tired

The nuance:

  • τόσο often implies a comparison or expectation, even if it’s not said:
    • Δεν είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος σήμερα (όσο χθες).
      I’m not as tired today (as yesterday).
  • πολύ means very / a lot and doesn’t necessarily imply comparison:
    • Δεν είμαι πολύ κουρασμένος σήμερα.
      I’m not very tired today.

In many everyday contexts, Δεν είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος σήμερα can feel like I’m not that tired today, hinting that you were more tired before or than someone might expect.

Why does κουρασμένος end in -ος? Would a woman say the same form?

κουρασμένος is an adjective meaning tired, and Greek adjectives must agree with the gender, number, and case of the noun (or pronoun) they describe.

  • Masculine singular: κουρασμένος
  • Feminine singular: κουρασμένη
  • Neuter singular: κουρασμένο

So:

  • A man would say: Δεν είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος σήμερα.
  • A woman would say: Δεν είμαι τόσο κουρασμένη σήμερα.
  • For a neuter noun like το παιδί (the child):
    • Το παιδί δεν είναι τόσο κουρασμένο σήμερα.

In your sentence, κουρασμένος is masculine singular, matching an implied masculine εγώ (I).

Is τόσο κουρασμένος one unit, like so tired in English?

Yes. τόσο here functions as an adverb of degree modifying the adjective κουρασμένος.

  • τόσο (so / that much) + κουρασμένος (tired)
    → together they express how tired you are.

It’s similar to English so tired, that tired, or this tired: you normally keep them together as one idea of degree + adjective.

Can I change the word order, or must σήμερα be at the end?

Greek word order is relatively flexible, especially with adverbs like σήμερα (today). All of these are grammatically correct:

  • Δεν είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος σήμερα.
  • Σήμερα δεν είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος.
  • Δεν είμαι σήμερα τόσο κουρασμένος.

They all mean roughly I’m not so tired today, but the slight emphasis can shift:

  • Starting with Σήμερα highlights today:
    Σήμερα δεν είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος. = Today, I’m not so tired.
  • Keeping σήμερα at the end is very neutral and common in speech.
How do you pronounce Δεν είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος σήμερα?

A careful pronunciation in IPA (Modern Greek) is:

  • [ðen ˈime ˈtoso kuraˈzmenos ˈsimera]

Approximate English-friendly breakdown (stressed syllables in capitals):

  • Δεν – THEN (with a soft th as in this)
  • είμαι – EE-meh
  • τόσο – TO-so
  • κουρασμένος – koo-raz-ME-nos (the z is like z in zebra)
  • σήμερα – SEE-me-ra

So said smoothly: then EE-meh TO-so koo-raz-ME-nos SEE-me-ra.

Is there a difference between Δεν είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος σήμερα and Δεν είμαι πολύ κουρασμένος σήμερα?

Both can be translated as I’m not very tired today, but the nuance changes:

  • Δεν είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος σήμερα.
    – Often feels like I’m not that tired today
    – Slightly more comparative or contrastive (e.g. compared to yesterday or compared to what you might think).

  • Δεν είμαι πολύ κουρασμένος σήμερα.
    – More neutral I’m not very tired today
    – Just states the degree without strongly hinting at comparison.

In casual conversation, they overlap a lot, but τόσο tends to carry that “not as much as expected / as before” flavor.

Can I say Δεν είμαι και τόσο κουρασμένος σήμερα? What does και add?

Yes, Δεν είμαι και τόσο κουρασμένος σήμερα is very natural and common.

  • The και here adds a softening, almost like English really / all that.
  • A good feel translation is:
    I’m not really that tired today / I’m not all that tired today.

It can sound a bit more casual and conversational than the plain Δεν είμαι τόσο κουρασμένος σήμερα.