Learn Hardcore Greek: Σήμερα μετά το μπάνιο σκουπίζομαι με μια πετσέτα. - Today after the bath I dry myself with a towel.

In this sentence you are talking about what you do to your own body after a bath, so Greek uses the reflexive form σκουπίζομαι, not the active σκουπίζω.

Where is the word “myself” in Greek? Why is there no separate word for it?

In Greek, “myself” is usually built into the verb ending, not a separate word.

σκουπίζομαι literally combines the verb stem σκουπίζ- with the reflexive/middle ending -ομαι.
So σκουπίζομαι means I wipe myself / I dry myself.

You generally do not add an extra word like τον εαυτό μου here. Saying:

σκουπίζομαι = I dry myself (perfectly natural)
σκουπίζω τον εαυτό μου = I dry myself (grammatically correct but sounds heavy/over‑explicit in this everyday context)

Why is there no εγώ (I) in the sentence?

Greek is a “pro-drop” language: the verb ending already shows the subject.

σκουπίζομαι is 1st person singular, so it already means I dry myself.

You can add εγώ for emphasis:

Εγώ σκουπίζομαι με μια πετσέτα. = I (as opposed to someone else) dry myself with a towel.

But in neutral, everyday speech, you normally omit the subject pronoun when it’s clear from the verb.

Why is it το μπάνιο with the definite article?

Μπάνιο is a noun, so in Greek it usually takes an article.
Το μπάνιο here means the bath / my bath (the one I’m taking today), a specific event, not “bathing in general”.

In English you might say “after (my) bath” without the article, but Greek prefers:

μετά το μπάνιο (after the bath) not just μετά μπάνιο, which would sound wrong.

So το is the neuter singular definite article in the accusative case, matching μπάνιο.

Why does μετά take το μπάνιο in the accusative? Could it be του μπάνιου?

In modern Greek, when μετά means after, it normally takes the accusative:

μετά το μάθημα = after the lesson
μετά τη δουλειά = after work
μετά το μπάνιο = after the bath

You will also see μετά από το μπάνιο, but that is just a slightly longer variant with από; the case is still accusative.

Using του μπάνιου (genitive) after μετά would be considered old‑fashioned or incorrect in contemporary standard Greek in this meaning.

What exactly does με mean in με μια πετσέτα?

Με is a preposition that often corresponds to English with / by / using.

Here με μια πετσέτα means with a towel / using a towel, showing the instrument you use to dry yourself.

Greek doesn’t have a separate “instrumental” case like some languages, so it uses με + accusative:

Γράφω με μολύβι. = I write with a pencil.
Τρώω με πιρούνι. = I eat with a fork.
Σκουπίζομαι με μια πετσέτα. = I dry myself with a towel.

What is the difference between μια and μία?

Both forms are written and pronounced the same way ([mia]), but:

μια is the usual indefinite article: a / an
- με μια πετσέτα = with a towel
μία is more often used as the numeral one, or when you really want to stress “one (and not more)”:
- Έχω μία πετσέτα, όχι δύο. = I have one towel, not two.

In everyday writing you often see μια as the article in neutral contexts like this sentence.

Why is it μια πετσέτα and not ένα πετσέτα?

In Greek, the article must agree with the gender of the noun.

πετσέτα (towel) is feminine.
The feminine singular accusative indefinite article is μια.
ένα is neuter; it would go with a neuter noun like παιδί (child): ένα παιδί.

So:

μια πετσέτα = a towel (correct)
ένα πετσέτα = wrong, because πετσέτα is not neuter.

Can the word order change? For example, can I say Σήμερα σκουπίζομαι με μια πετσέτα μετά το μπάνιο?

Yes. Greek word order is quite flexible, especially with adverbial phrases like σήμερα, μετά το μπάνιο, με μια πετσέτα.

All of these are acceptable and natural:

Σήμερα μετά το μπάνιο σκουπίζομαι με μια πετσέτα.
Σήμερα σκουπίζομαι με μια πετσέτα μετά το μπάνιο.
Μετά το μπάνιο σήμερα σκουπίζομαι με μια πετσέτα.

The basic meaning stays the same, but the rhythm and emphasis can change slightly. Placing something earlier tends to highlight it more.

Does σκουπίζομαι here mean a habit or something I’m doing today only?

The present tense in Greek can be:

habitual: what you usually do
present / near-present: what is happening now or around now
sometimes near future with time expressions

So:

Σήμερα μετά το μπάνιο σκουπίζομαι με μια πετσέτα.
can mean either
- what you typically do every time you bathe today / these days, or
- what you (will) do today when you have your bath.

Context (and sometimes intonation) decides whether the speaker is describing a routine or a specific event.

What is the nuance of μπάνιο here? Is it the room or the act of bathing?

Το μπάνιο can mean:

the act of bathing / taking a bath, or
the bathroom (the room).

In μετά το μπάνιο the normal interpretation is “after (my) bath / after bathing”, i.e., the activity, not the room.

If you wanted to emphasize the room (coming out of the bathroom), you would typically phrase it differently, for example:

Αφού βγω από το μπάνιο, σκουπίζομαι με μια πετσέτα.
(After I come out of the bathroom, I dry myself with a towel.)

How is σκουπίζομαι pronounced, and where is the stress?

The stress mark shows the stressed syllable: σκουπίζομαι.

Pronunciation (roughly in English terms):

σκου = “skoo”
-πί- = “PEE” (this is the stressed syllable)
-ζο- = “zo”
-μαι = “me” (like “meh / me” depending on accent)

So you say: skou-PEE-zo-me with the main emphasis on -πί-.