Breakdown of Ξέρω ότι ο δρόμος μέχρι το όνειρό μου είναι μακρύς, αλλά κάθε μέρα κάνω τουλάχιστον ένα μικρό βήμα.
Questions & Answers about Ξέρω ότι ο δρόμος μέχρι το όνειρό μου είναι μακρύς, αλλά κάθε μέρα κάνω τουλάχιστον ένα μικρό βήμα.
Ότι is a conjunction meaning that (introducing a clause), like in English:
- Ξέρω ότι... = I know that...
It is not a question word.
Τι is an interrogative meaning what:
- Τι ξέρεις; = What do you know?
So:
- Ξέρω ότι ο δρόμος... = I know that the road...
- Ξέρω τι θέλω. = I know what I want.
They are pronounced almost the same in everyday speech, but they function differently in the sentence and are written differently.
No, you need the article here. In Greek, the definite article is used much more than in English.
Ο δρόμος is the subject of the verb είναι and in Greek, singular countable nouns used as specific subjects almost always take the article:
- Ο δρόμος είναι μακρύς. = The road is long.
Saying ξέρω ότι δρόμος μέχρι το όνειρό μου είναι μακρύς sounds ungrammatical. You need ο to mark δρόμος as a definite, specific thing: the road (path), not just a road in general.
Μέχρι means up to / as far as / until. Here it expresses a metaphorical path leading up to your dream (goal).
- μέχρι το όνειρό μου literally: up to my dream → the path that leads to fulfilling my dream.
Other prepositions would change the meaning:
- για το όνειρό μου = about / for my dream (purpose or topic, not a path).
- προς το όνειρό μου = towards my dream (direction, but less idiomatic in this fixed idea of “the road to my dream”).
- στο όνειρό μου = to/in my dream, usually more literal (to/in a dream, not so much the life goal idea).
For the metaphor the road to my dream, μέχρι or προς can both appear, but μέχρι + accusative is a very natural choice.
This is because of Greek accent rules with enclitic pronouns like μου.
- The basic word is το όνειρο (stress on the first syllable: Ό-νει-ρο).
- When you add the enclitic μου (my), the stress must move to keep the accent in a correct position.
With many proparoxytone words (stress 3 syllables from the end) plus an enclitic, the stress shifts one syllable to the right and is written again:
- το όνειρο → το όνειρό μου
So το όνειρό μου is the correct spelling. Writing το όνειρο μου (accent only on the first syllable) breaks the standard accent rule.
Μου is the weak (unstressed) form of the first-person singular possessive pronoun, meaning my.
- το όνειρο = the dream
- το όνειρό μου = my dream
It is written as a separate word, but it is an enclitic: it leans on the previous word for stress and cannot stand alone. It always follows the noun:
- το βιβλίο μου = my book
- ο δρόμος μου = my road
So it’s not an ending, but it behaves somewhat like one in that it always comes after and attaches closely to the noun.
Μακρύς is the masculine nominative singular form of the adjective, agreeing with ο δρόμος, which is masculine nominative singular.
The basic forms of this adjective are:
- masculine: μακρύς
- feminine: μακριά
- neuter: μακρύ
In the sentence:
- ο δρόμος (masc. nominative singular, subject)
- είναι (is)
- μακρύς (masc. nominative singular, describing the subject)
If δρόμος were neuter (it is not, but just hypothetically), then you would use μακρύ:
- το βήμα είναι μακρύ (neuter subject → neuter adjective)
So you cannot use μακρύ with ο δρόμος in this structure; it must agree in gender, number, and case: ο δρόμος είναι μακρύς.
In modern Greek, a comma before αλλά (but) when it connects two clauses is standard and strongly preferred, much like in English when you join two independent clauses:
- Ξέρω ότι ο δρόμος... είναι μακρύς, αλλά κάθε μέρα κάνω...
Without the comma, the sentence is still usually understandable, but it feels less correct in writing. The comma marks the contrast clearly and helps readability.
So, when αλλά connects two full clauses, you should normally use a comma before it.
All of them relate to every day / daily, but there are small differences:
κάθε μέρα
- Most common in everyday speech.
- Neutral, natural: κάθε μέρα κάνω... = every day I do...
κάθε ημέρα
- More formal / written style, or a bit old-fashioned in casual conversation.
- Meaning is the same as κάθε μέρα.
καθημερινά
- Adverb meaning daily / on a daily basis.
- Example: Καθημερινά κάνω τουλάχιστον ένα μικρό βήμα.
In this sentence, κάθε μέρα gives a clear, natural, conversational feel: every single day.
Greek uses a different verb–noun combination here.
The natural collocation is:
- κάνω ένα βήμα = I take a step / I make a step
Using παίρνω with βήμα (e.g. παίρνω ένα βήμα) sounds unnatural or wrong in most contexts.
With movement or progress, Greek often uses κάνω:
- κάνω ένα βήμα μπροστά = take a step forward
- κάνω πρόοδο = make progress
- κάνω μια προσπάθεια = make an effort
So in Greek you “do/make” the step, not “take” it.
Τουλάχιστον means at least and modifies the quantity ένα μικρό βήμα.
In the sentence, it comes before the numeral:
- κάνω τουλάχιστον ένα μικρό βήμα
→ I take at least one small step.
It can move a bit for emphasis, but not anywhere:
- Τουλάχιστον ένα μικρό βήμα κάνω κάθε μέρα.
(emphasis on at least one small step)
But you would not normally separate it far from the quantity it modifies. You would not say:
- ✗ Κάνω ένα τουλάχιστον μικρό βήμα (possible but awkward here)
- ✗ Κάνω ένα μικρό βήμα τουλάχιστον (sounds off in this context)
The default, most natural word order is exactly what you see: κάνω τουλάχιστον ένα μικρό βήμα.
Βήμα (step) is a neuter noun.
The article and adjective must agree in gender, number, and case:
- ένα = neuter accusative singular (indefinite article / numeral one)
- μικρό = neuter accusative singular (adjective)
- βήμα = neuter accusative singular (direct object of κάνω)
So:
- ένα μικρό βήμα is grammatically consistent.
- ένας μικρός βήμα or μία μικρή βήμα would be incorrect, because ένας / μικρός are masculine and μία / μικρή are feminine, but βήμα is neuter.
Here, κάνω in the present tense expresses a habitual / repeated action, not just something happening at this exact moment.
- κάθε μέρα κάνω... → every day I do...
In Greek, the simple present is used for:
- General truths: Ο ήλιος ανατέλλει.
- Habits: Πηγαίνω γυμναστήριο κάθε μέρα.
- Actions happening now: Τώρα πηγαίνω γυμναστήριο.
Because the sentence includes κάθε μέρα (every day), the natural reading is habitual: this is something the speaker does regularly, as a routine.
Yes, that word order is also grammatically correct and natural:
- ...αλλά κάθε μέρα κάνω τουλάχιστον ένα μικρό βήμα.
- ...αλλά κάνω κάθε μέρα τουλάχιστον ένα μικρό βήμα.
Both are fine. Differences are slight:
- κάθε μέρα κάνω...: small emphasis on the frequency (every day).
- κάνω κάθε μέρα...: slight emphasis on the action (I do... every day).
In everyday speech, the original order (αλλά κάθε μέρα κάνω...) is probably a bit more common here, but both versions are idiomatic.