Μου αρέσει να περπατάω στο πάρκο, ειδικά το καλοκαίρι.

I like to walk in the park, especially in the summer.

Breakdown of Μου αρέσει να περπατάω στο πάρκο, ειδικά το καλοκαίρι.

• να: to
• μου: me
• σε: in
• περπατάω: to walk
• το πάρκο: the park
• αρέσω: to like
• το καλοκαίρι: in the summer
• ειδικά: especially

Questions & Answers about Μου αρέσει να περπατάω στο πάρκο, ειδικά το καλοκαίρι.

What does μου αρέσει literally mean, and why is it not just “I like”?

Μου αρέσει literally means “it pleases me” (or “to me it is pleasing”), not “I like” in structure.

• μου = to me / my (indirect object clitic pronoun, genitive case)
• αρέσει = (it) pleases (3rd person singular of the verb αρέσω)

So the Greek structure is like “to me pleases X”, where X is the thing you like. In normal English we flip it to “I like X.”

Example:

• Μου αρέσει το πάρκο. = I like the park. (literally: The park pleases me.)

Why is it μου αρέσει (singular) and not μου αρέσουν (plural) here?

The form of αρέσει agrees with what is liked, not with the person.

• Μου αρέσει is used when the thing you like is singular or an activity:

  • Μου αρέσει το πάρκο. – I like the park.
  • Μου αρέσει να περπατάω. – I like walking.

• Μου αρέσουν is used when the things you like are plural:

  • Μου αρέσουν τα πάρκα. – I like parks.

In your sentence, the “thing” you like is the activity να περπατάω (walking), treated as a single idea, so you use μου αρέσει.

What role does να play in να περπατάω? Is it like “to” in English?

Να introduces a verb in the subjunctive mood. Modern Greek has no true infinitive like English “to walk”, so it uses να + verb instead.

• να περπατάω ≈ to walk / walking (as an activity)
• να τρώω ≈ to eat / eating
• να διαβάζω ≈ to read / reading

In this sentence, να περπατάω functions like an English -ing form (a gerund): I like walking in the park.

Why is it να περπατάω and not να περπατήσω?

Greek makes a difference between imperfective (ongoing/habitual) and perfective (one-time/complete) aspect.

• να περπατάω (imperfective) – focus on the activity itself, ongoing or as a habit:

  • Μου αρέσει να περπατάω στο πάρκο.
    I like walking in the park (as an activity / habit).

• να περπατήσω (perfective) – focus on a single, complete action:

  • Θέλω να περπατήσω στο πάρκο.
    I want to take a (single) walk in the park.

With μου αρέσει, you normally talk about what you generally enjoy doing, so the imperfective (να περπατάω) is the natural choice.

Why do I see both περπατάω and περπατώ in dictionaries? Which is correct?

Both are correct; they are two present-tense forms of the same verb περπατάω / περπατώ = to walk.

• περπατάω is more colloquial and very common in everyday speech.
• περπατώ is a bit more formal or “standard,” often seen in writing.

In spoken modern Greek, περπατάω is extremely common, so the sentence Μου αρέσει να περπατάω στο πάρκο sounds very natural.

What does στο mean in στο πάρκο?

Στο is the contraction of the preposition σε + the masculine/neuter article το:

• σε = in / at / to
• το = the (neuter singular)
• σε + το → στο

So:

• στο πάρκο = σε + το πάρκο = in the park / at the park / to the park

Here, στο πάρκο is naturally translated as in the park.

Why is it στο πάρκο and not just σε πάρκο, since in English we often say “I like walking in parks” or “in a park”?

Greek tends to use the definite article το much more than English uses “the.”

• στο πάρκο literally is “in the park”, but it often means “in the park” in general as an idea, not a specific, one-time park.
• If you specifically wanted to emphasize “in a park (any park)”, you could say σε ένα πάρκο, but that’s less natural in this kind of general statement.

So Μου αρέσει να περπατάω στο πάρκο is the usual way to say I like walking in the park in a general, habitual sense.

What does ειδικά mean and how does it work in this sentence?

Ειδικά means especially / particularly.

In Μου αρέσει να περπατάω στο πάρκο, ειδικά το καλοκαίρι, it modifies the time phrase:

• ειδικά το καλοκαίρι = especially in the summer.

So the meaning is:

• I like walking in the park, especially in summer.
  (Summer is the time when this is particularly true.)

Why is there a comma before ειδικά το καλοκαίρι?

The comma separates an extra comment or qualification from the main clause.

• Main idea: Μου αρέσει να περπατάω στο πάρκο. (I like walking in the park.)
• Extra specification: ειδικά το καλοκαίρι. (especially in summer.)

Greek often uses a comma here, similar to English:
I like walking in the park, especially in summer.

Why is it το καλοκαίρι and not simply καλοκαίρι?

In Greek, seasons and some time expressions often use the definite article when you mean “in (the) X season / time in general”.

• το καλοκαίρι = literally “the summer”, but used like “(in) summer / in the summer”
• τον χειμώνα = (in) winter
• την άνοιξη = (in) spring
• το φθινόπωρο = (in) autumn / fall

So:

• ειδικά το καλοκαίρι ≈ especially in summer

Can I change the word order and say Μου αρέσει στο πάρκο να περπατάω? Does it sound natural?

Greek word order is flexible, but not every permutation sounds equally natural.

• Most natural:
  Μου αρέσει να περπατάω στο πάρκο, ειδικά το καλοκαίρι.
• Μου αρέσει στο πάρκο να περπατάω is grammatically possible, but it sounds a bit marked or unusual; the focus shifts slightly onto στο πάρκο (as if contrasting places).

For a learner, it’s best to stick with:

• Μου αρέσει να περπατάω στο πάρκο as the default word order.

Can ειδικά be placed somewhere else, like Μου αρέσει ειδικά να περπατάω στο πάρκο? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, you can move ειδικά, and the nuance changes slightly.

1. Μου αρέσει να περπατάω στο πάρκο, ειδικά το καλοκαίρι.

   • I like walking in the park, especially in summer.
     Focus: summer is the special time.

2. Μου αρέσει ειδικά να περπατάω στο πάρκο.

   • I especially like walking in the park (as opposed to other activities).
     Focus: walking in the park is particularly liked compared to other things.

Both are correct; they just highlight different things as “special.”

How do you pronounce each word in this sentence, and where is the stress?

Stress in Greek is marked by the accent (´) on a vowel. Each word here has one stressed syllable:

• Μου – /mu/ (like “moo”), no written accent because it’s a clitic and always unstressed.
• αρέσει – /a-RÉ-si/ – stress on ρέ.
• να – /na/, short and unstressed.
• περπατάω – /per-pa-TÁ-o/ (often /per-pa-TÁ-o/ or /per-pa-TÁw/), stress on τά.
• στο – /sto/, unstressed.
• πάρκο – /PÁR-ko/, stress on παρ.
• ειδικά – /i-ði-KÁ/ (the δ is like the th in “this”), stress on κά.
• το – /to/, unstressed.
• καλοκαίρι – /ka-lo-KÉ-ri/, stress on κέ.

So out loud:
Μου αρέσει να περπατάω στο πάρκο, ειδικά το καλοκαίρι.
/ mu a-RÉ-si na per-pa-TÁ-o sto PÁR-ko i-ði-KÁ to ka-lo-KÉ-ri /

What is the grammar of μου in this sentence? Is it like “my”?

Μου can mean “my” in some contexts (as a possessive), but here it functions differently.

In Μου αρέσει…:

• μου is an unstressed genitive personal pronoun, acting like an indirect object: to me.

So:

• Μου αρέσει να περπατάω στο πάρκο.
  Literally: To me is pleasing to walk in the park.
  Natural English: I like walking in the park.

When μου is used before a noun, it’s possessive:

• το βιβλίο μου – my book (literally: the book of me).