Συνηθίζω να διαβάζω ελληνικά κάθε πρωί πριν από τη δουλειά.

I usually read Greek every morning before work.

Breakdown of Συνηθίζω να διαβάζω ελληνικά κάθε πρωί πριν από τη δουλειά.

• η δουλειά: the work
• ελληνικά: in Greek
• να: to
• διαβάζω: to read

Questions & Answers about Συνηθίζω να διαβάζω ελληνικά κάθε πρωί πριν από τη δουλειά.

What exactly does συνηθίζω mean here? Is it “I usually read” or “I am used to reading”?

Συνηθίζω literally means “I am accustomed / I have the habit (of)”.

In this sentence:

Συνηθίζω να διαβάζω ελληνικά κάθε πρωί…

the most natural English translation is:

I usually read Greek every morning…
or
I have the habit of reading Greek every morning…

So it’s closer to “I usually…” than to “I am used to …” (which in Greek is more often είμαι συνηθισμένος/συνηθισμένη σε…).

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Why do we say συνηθίζω να διαβάζω and not συνηθίζω διαβάζω?

In Modern Greek, when one verb depends on another (like “I want to eat”, “I like to read”, “I usually read”), the second verb is normally introduced by να:

• συνηθίζω να διαβάζω – I usually read / I’m used to reading
• θέλω να διαβάσω – I want to read
• προσπαθώ να διαβάσω – I try to read

Greek no longer has an infinitive form like English “to read”; instead, it uses να + verb. So να διαβάζω plays the role that “to read” plays in English.

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Why is it να διαβάζω and not να διαβάσω?