Breakdown of Σήμερα ψήνω γλυκό στον φούρνο στο σπίτι.
Questions & Answers about Σήμερα ψήνω γλυκό στον φούρνο στο σπίτι.
Greek normally has no separate word for “a” (the indefinite article) in the singular. So:
- Ψήνω γλυκό = I am baking (a) dessert / some dessert.
The idea “a” or “some” is understood from context.
If you really want to stress that it’s one dessert, or contrast it with more, you can use:
- Ψήνω ένα γλυκό. = I’m baking one dessert / a single dessert.
For “the dessert” you must use the definite article:
- Ψήνω το γλυκό. = I’m baking the dessert. (a specific dessert that both speaker and listener know about)
So in your sentence, γλυκό without an article naturally corresponds to English “a dessert” or simply “dessert” in a general sense.
The word γλυκό comes from the adjective γλυκός, -ή, -ό (sweet).
As an adjective:
- γλυκό μήλο = sweet apple
- γλυκό κρασί = sweet wine
As a noun (neuter):
- το γλυκό = the sweet thing → in practice: dessert / sweet / cake / pastry.
In your sentence ψήνω γλυκό, γλυκό is used as a noun and means something like:
- a dessert,
- often something baked and sweet: a cake, pie, sweet tart, etc.
It doesn’t have to be a cake specifically, but very often in everyday speech γλυκό will be understood as a cake or some kind of sweet baked dessert, unless context says otherwise.
In Greek, the verb ending shows the subject, so the subject pronoun is usually dropped.
- ψήνω = I bake / I am baking (1st person singular)
- ψήνεις = you bake (singular)
- ψήνει = he/she/it bakes
- ψήνουμε = we bake, etc.
Because ψήνω clearly shows 1st person singular, you don’t need εγώ (I):
- Σήμερα ψήνω γλυκό… = Today I’m baking a dessert…
You only add εγώ when you want emphasis or contrast:
- Εγώ ψήνω γλυκό, όχι η αδερφή μου.
I’m the one baking a dessert, not my sister.
Modern Greek has only one present tense form for both:
- simple present (I bake) and
- present continuous (I am baking).
So ψήνω can mean:
- I bake dessert (in general), or
- I am baking dessert (right now / today).
The adverb σήμερα (today) makes it clear we’re talking about today’s action, so the natural English equivalent is:
- Today I am baking a dessert…
If you want to say “I will bake a dessert today” (future), you use:
- Σήμερα θα ψήσω γλυκό.
Today I will bake a dessert.
So: ψήνω = I bake / I am baking, depending on context.
στον is a combination of a preposition and the definite article:
- σε (in, at, to) + τον (the, masculine accusative) → στον
The noun:
- ο φούρνος = the oven (nominative)
- τον φούρνο = the oven (accusative, used after many prepositions)
So:
- σε + τον φούρνο → στον φούρνο = in the oven / in the bakery / at the bakery (depending on context, but here: in the oven).
You’ll also hear people say:
- στο φούρνο (dropping the ν), which is also very common in speech.
But grammatically, στον φούρνο clearly shows masculine and is fully correct.
In Modern Greek, the preposition σε is followed by the accusative case almost always, regardless of whether it means:
- location (in, at, on):
- στον φούρνο = in the oven
- στο σπίτι = at home / in the house
- direction (to, into):
- Πηγαίνω στο σπίτι. = I’m going home.
So even for static location, like in your sentence, you still use accusative after σε. That’s just how Modern Greek works: σε + accusative covers both in/at/on and to/into; the meaning comes from context.
Both phrases show location, but at different “levels”:
- στον φούρνο = in the oven (the exact place of the dessert)
- στο σπίτι = at home / at the house (the broader setting)
So the sentence is like saying:
- Today I am baking a dessert *in the oven, at home.*
You can keep both to be explicit, or drop one:
Σήμερα ψήνω γλυκό στον φούρνο.
Today I’m baking a dessert in the oven. (no info about where the oven is)Σήμερα ψήνω γλυκό στο σπίτι.
Today I’m baking a dessert at home. (no mention of the oven)
Using both is perfectly natural and just gives more detail.
Both forms exist, with a subtle difference:
στο σπίτι = σε + το σπίτι
- More like at the house / at home (as a place).
- Common with action verbs:
- Ψήνω γλυκό στο σπίτι. = I’m baking dessert at home.
σπίτι (no preposition, no article) can act like an adverb, meaning home:
- Είμαι σπίτι. = I am at home.
- Πάω σπίτι. = I am going home.
In your sentence, στο σπίτι is very natural because you’re focusing on where you’re doing the baking, not just your state of being.
Yes. Greek word order is quite flexible, especially for adverbs like σήμερα.
All of these are grammatical:
- Σήμερα ψήνω γλυκό στον φούρνο στο σπίτι.
- Ψήνω σήμερα γλυκό στον φούρνο στο σπίτι.
- Ψήνω γλυκό σήμερα στον φούρνο στο σπίτι.
The basic meaning (“Today I’m baking a dessert in the oven at home”) stays the same.
Placing σήμερα at the beginning is very natural and slightly emphasizes “today” as the frame of the sentence, much like in English when you start with “Today, I’m baking…”.
You’d still use the present tense ψήνω, but change the adverb:
- Κάθε μέρα ψήνω γλυκό.
Every day I bake dessert.
So:
- Σήμερα ψήνω γλυκό. = Today I’m baking dessert.
- Κάθε μέρα ψήνω γλυκό. = Every day I bake dessert.
Same verb form, different time expression.
The word ψήνω is pronounced roughly like [ˈpsino]:
- ψ = one sound, like “ps” in “lapse”, but at the start of the word.
- ή (ήτα with accent) = stressed “ee” sound.
- νω = “no”.
So you say something close to “PSEE-no”, but with p and s together: psí-no.
Full sentence pronunciation (in a simple phonetic style):
- Σήμερα ψήνω γλυκό στον φούρνο στο σπίτι.
≈ SEE-me-ra PSÍ-no gli-KÓ ston FÚR-no sto SPÍ-ti
(The actual Greek sounds are a bit different, but this is close enough for an English speaker to imitate.)
ψήνω is broader than just “bake in the oven.” It can mean:
- bake (in the oven):
- ψήνω κέικ στον φούρνο = I bake cake in the oven.
- roast:
- ψήνω κοτόπουλο = I roast chicken.
- grill / barbecue:
- ψήνω κρέας στα κάρβουνα = I’m grilling meat on charcoal.
In your sentence, because you have γλυκό (dessert) and στον φούρνο (in the oven), the natural English translation is “bake”. But the verb itself covers baking, roasting, grilling depending on the object and context.