Η ιστορία που διαβάζω σήμερα είναι ενδιαφέρουσα.

to be

Breakdown of Η ιστορία που διαβάζω σήμερα είναι ενδιαφέρουσα.

• σήμερα: today
• διαβάζω: to read
• που: that
• ενδιαφέρων: interesting
• η ιστορία: the history

Questions & Answers about Η ιστορία που διαβάζω σήμερα είναι ενδιαφέρουσα.

Why is Η used before ιστορία, and what does it mean?

Η is the feminine singular definite article in the nominative case.
It means the, so Η ιστορία = the story.

It is feminine because ιστορία is a feminine noun, and nominative because it is the subject of the sentence.

Does ιστορία mean story or history in Greek?

Ιστορία can mean both story and history.
Which meaning is intended depends on context:

• Η ιστορία που διαβάζω σήμερα είναι ενδιαφέρουσα.
  → clearly story (something you read, like in a book).
• Η ιστορία της Ελλάδας είναι ενδιαφέρουσα.
  → history (the history of Greece).

In many everyday contexts, especially with reading, it is understood as story.

What does που mean here, and how does it compare to English that/which?

In this sentence, που introduces a relative clause and corresponds to English that or which:

• Η ιστορία που διαβάζω σήμερα
  = The story that/which I am reading today

So που διαβάζω σήμερα = that I am reading today.
In modern Greek, που is the usual, neutral way to form relative clauses. It does not change its form for gender or case.

Why is ότι not used instead of που here?

Ότι (often written ότι / πως) is used mainly for content clauses, like English that in sentences such as:

• Ξέρω ότι διαβάζεις. = I know that you are reading.

In Η ιστορία που διαβάζω σήμερα, we need a relative clause (the story that I am reading), not a content clause.
For this, Greek uses που, not ότι.

Could we use την οποία instead of που, and what would change?

Yes, more formally you can say:

• Η ιστορία την οποία διαβάζω σήμερα είναι ενδιαφέρουσα.

Here την οποία is a more formal relative pronoun meaning which / that and it appears in the accusative feminine singular to match ιστορία (as the object of διαβάζω).

Meaning is the same, but:

• που = neutral, everyday, very common
• την οποία = more formal / written style

Why is there no separate word for “am” (as in “I am reading”) before διαβάζω?

Greek does not use a separate auxiliary verb like English am / is / are to make a present continuous form.
The simple present διαβάζω covers both:

• I read
• I am reading

Context and adverbs like σήμερα (today), τώρα (now) show that it is an action happening now.

Why is there no “I” pronoun before διαβάζω?

Greek is a pro‑drop language: subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending shows the subject.

• διαβάζω by itself already means I read / I am reading (1st person singular).
• You only add εγώ (εγώ διαβάζω) for emphasis or contrast, like I am the one who is reading.

What tense and aspect is διαβάζω here, and why not an -ing form?

Διαβάζω is the present indicative. In Greek, the present tense normally expresses an action that is:

• happening now (I am reading), or
• a general habit (I read).

Greek does not have a special -ing form for continuous actions in the way English does; the simple present is used instead. Context (σήμερα) indicates that it refers to an action going on today.

Where can σήμερα go in the sentence, and does the position change the meaning?

In Greek, adverbs like σήμερα are quite flexible. All of these are possible:

• Η ιστορία που διαβάζω σήμερα είναι ενδιαφέρουσα.
• Σήμερα η ιστορία που διαβάζω είναι ενδιαφέρουσα.
• Η ιστορία που διαβάζω είναι ενδιαφέρουσα σήμερα.

The basic meaning stays the same: the story I am reading today is interesting.

Position slightly shifts emphasis:

• At the beginning (Σήμερα…): emphasis on today.
• Before ενδιαφέρουσα: can sound like it is interesting today (as opposed to some other time), but in practice it’s often just stylistic.

Why is there no comma before που διαβάζω σήμερα?

Που διαβάζω σήμερα is a defining (restrictive) relative clause: it tells us which story we are talking about (the one I’m reading today, not some other story).

In Greek, defining relative clauses with που are written without commas:

• Η ιστορία που διαβάζω σήμερα είναι ενδιαφέρουσα.

If you add commas (Η ιστορία, που διαβάζω σήμερα, είναι ενδιαφέρουσα), it sounds like non‑defining: “…the story, which I am reading today, is interesting”, implying you and your listener already know exactly which story, and the clause is more of a side remark.

What is ενδιαφέρουσα, and how does it relate to ιστορία?

Ενδιαφέρουσα is an adjective meaning interesting. Its basic dictionary form is ενδιαφέρων, -ουσα, -ον (masc.‑fem.‑neut.).

Here it is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

to agree with η ιστορία, which is also feminine, singular, nominative (subject).
So:

• Η ιστορία (fem. nom. sg.)
• είναι ενδιαφέρουσα (fem. nom. sg.)

Everything matches in gender, number, and case.

Why is the adjective at the end (είναι ενδιαφέρουσα) and not before the noun as in English?

Greek distinguishes two main positions:

1. Predicate position (with είναι):

   • Η ιστορία είναι ενδιαφέρουσα.
     = The story is interesting.
     This is what we have in the sentence.

2. Attributive position (before or after the noun, with the article):

   • Η ενδιαφέρουσα ιστορία
     = the interesting story

So Η ιστορία είναι ενδιαφέρουσα is a complete sentence with “is”.
If you said Η ενδιαφέρουσα ιστορία που διαβάζω σήμερα, you would mean “the interesting story that I am reading today” (as a noun phrase, not a full sentence).

Why can’t we say Η ιστορία που διαβάζω σήμερα είναι ενδιαφέρον?

Ενδιαφέρον (neuter) is not correct here because it does not agree in gender with η ιστορία (feminine).

• Η ιστορία is feminine, so the adjective must be feminine: ενδιαφέρουσα.
• Ενδιαφέρον would agree with a neuter noun, e.g.
  
  • Το βιβλίο είναι ενδιαφέρον. = The book is interesting. (neuter)

Can we say Η ιστορία είναι ενδιαφέρουσα που διαβάζω σήμερα with που at the end?

No, that is not natural Greek word order. The relative clause introduced by που must follow directly the noun it describes:

• Correct: Η ιστορία που διαβάζω σήμερα είναι ενδιαφέρουσα.
• Incorrect / unnatural: Η ιστορία είναι ενδιαφέρουσα που διαβάζω σήμερα.

In Greek, you keep που + clause right after ιστορία.

How would we say “The story I read yesterday was interesting” in Greek?

You would change the verb tenses to past:

• Η ιστορία που διάβασα χθες ήταν ενδιαφέρουσα.

Breakdown:

• διάβασα = I read (past, aorist)
• χθες = yesterday
• ήταν = was (past of είναι)
• ενδιαφέρουσα stays the same to agree with η ιστορία.

How do you pronounce the whole sentence?

A simple phonetic approximation in Latin letters:

• Η ιστορία που διαβάζω σήμερα είναι ενδιαφέρουσα.
  → i istoría pu dhiavázo símera íne endhiaférusa

Very roughly in English-like syllables:

• ee ee-sto-REE-a poo thee-a-VA-zo SEE-me-ra EE-ne en-thia-FE-rou-sa

(Main stress is on the capitalized syllables.)