Σήμερα είμαι χαρούμενος, αλλά χτες ήμουν λυπημένος.

to be

Breakdown of Σήμερα είμαι χαρούμενος, αλλά χτες ήμουν λυπημένος.

• σήμερα: today
• αλλά: but
• χτες: yesterday

Questions & Answers about Σήμερα είμαι χαρούμενος, αλλά χτες ήμουν λυπημένος.

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

In Greek you usually do not need a subject pronoun like εγώ (I), because the verb ending already shows the person.

• είμαι = I am
• είσαι = you are (singular)
• είναι = he / she / it is

From είμαι, a Greek speaker immediately knows the subject is I, so εγώ is normally omitted unless:

• you want to emphasize I (not someone else): Εγώ είμαι χαρούμενος.
• you contrast different people: Εγώ είμαι χαρούμενος, αυτός είναι λυπημένος.

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What is the difference between είμαι and ήμουν?

Both are forms of the verb είμαι (to be):

• είμαι = I am (present tense)
• ήμουν = I was (past tense)

More complete:

• Present:

  • είμαι – I am
  • είσαι – you are
  • είναι – he/she/it is, they are
  • είμαστε – we are
  • είστε – you are (plural/polite)

• Past:

  • ήμουν – I was
  • ήσουν – you were
  • ήταν / ήτανε – he/she/it was, they were
  • ήμασταν – we were
  • ήσασταν – you were (plural/polite)

In the sentence:

• είμαι χαρούμενος = I am happy (now, today)
• ήμουν λυπημένος = I was sad (before, yesterday)

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