Το μήνυμα στέλνεται το βράδυ.

The message is sent in the evening.

Breakdown of Το μήνυμα στέλνεται το βράδυ.

• το βράδυ: in the evening
• το μήνυμα: the message
• στέλνομαι: to be sent

Questions & Answers about Το μήνυμα στέλνεται το βράδυ.

Why is μήνυμα preceded by το? What does Το μήνυμα mean exactly?

Μήνυμα means message. In Greek every noun has a grammatical gender; μήνυμα is neuter.

• The neuter definite article in the nominative singular is το.
• So Το μήνυμα literally means the message.

The article agrees with the noun in:

• gender: neuter → το
• number: singular → το
• case: nominative (subject of the sentence) → το

So Το μήνυμα is the subject: The message.

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What is στέλνεται grammatically, and how is it related to στέλνω?

The base verb is στέλνω = I send (active voice).

Στέλνεται is:

• present tense
• 3rd person singular
• passive voice

Active vs passive:

• (Active) Αυτός στέλνει το μήνυμα. = He sends the message.
• (Passive) Το μήνυμα στέλνεται. = The message is sent / is being sent.

In the passive, the verb endings change:

• στέλνω → στέλνεται (he/she/it is sent)

So στέλνεται means it is sent / it gets sent / it is being sent.

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In English I’d say “is sent” with “is”. Why is there no είναι in Greek?

In modern Greek, the passive in the present tense is usually formed with one verb, not with “to be” + participle like English.

• English: is sent
• Greek: στέλνεται (one word)

So you do not say:

• ✗ Το μήνυμα είναι στέλνεται. (incorrect)

You just use the passive form:

• ✓ Το μήνυμα στέλνεται.

The ending -εται already encodes:

• person (3rd)
• number (singular)
• tense (present)
• voice (passive)

So no extra είναι is needed.

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Does στέλνεται mean “is sent”, “is being sent”, or “gets sent”?

Greek present passive can cover several English meanings. Στέλνεται can be translated as:

• The message is sent in the evening.
• The message is being sent in the evening.
• The message gets sent in the evening.

Which English version you choose depends on context:

• For a routine / rule:
  • Το μήνυμα στέλνεται το βράδυ.
  • → The message is sent / gets sent in the evening.
• For an action happening right now / today:
  • Το μήνυμα στέλνεται το βράδυ. (said earlier in the day)
  • → The message is being sent this evening.

Greek doesn’t force you to choose between simple and continuous like English; the simple present στέλνεται covers both.

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What does το βράδυ mean exactly? Is it “evening” or “night”?

Βράδυ refers roughly to the period from early evening to late evening, before “deep night”.

Approximate nuances:

• το απόγευμα = afternoon / early evening (say ~4–7 p.m.)
• το βράδυ = evening / night-time (~7–11 p.m.)
• τη νύχτα = (late) night (~11 p.m.–early morning), when people usually sleep

So Το μήνυμα στέλνεται το βράδυ. is best understood as:

• The message is sent in the evening. (not really “at 3 a.m.”)

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Why is there another το before βράδυ? Could I just say Βράδυ?

Βράδυ is also a neuter noun, so it normally takes the neuter article το in the nominative/accusative singular:

• το βράδυ = the evening

In time expressions, το + time word often means at / in the …:

• το πρωί = in the morning
• το μεσημέρι = at noon
• το απόγευμα = in the afternoon
• το βράδυ = in the evening

So:

• Το μήνυμα στέλνεται το βράδυ.
  • literally: The message is sent the evening.
  • naturally: The message is sent in the evening.

You may sometimes hear βράδυ without the article in very colloquial speech (e.g. Πάμε βόλτα βράδυ.), but το βράδυ is the normal, standard way to say in the evening.

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How flexible is the word order? Can I say Το βράδυ στέλνεται το μήνυμα?

Yes, Greek word order is relatively flexible. All of these are grammatically correct:

1. Το μήνυμα στέλνεται το βράδυ.
   (neutral: subject – verb – time)
2. Το βράδυ στέλνεται το μήνυμα.
   (puts more emphasis on the evening; “As for the evening, that’s when the message is sent.”)
3. Το βράδυ το μήνυμα στέλνεται.
   (also front-focuses the time; more marked style)
4. Στέλνεται το μήνυμα το βράδυ.
   (slight emphasis on the action “is sent”)

The meaning (who does what, and when) stays the same because:

• Το μήνυμα (with article, nominative) is still the subject.
• στέλνεται is still the verb.
• το βράδυ is still the time expression.

Word order in Greek mainly changes focus / emphasis, not basic grammar roles.

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How would I say “The messages are sent in the evening” (plural)?

You need to put both the noun and the verb in the plural:

• Singular:
  Το μήνυμα στέλνεται το βράδυ.
  = The message is sent in the evening.

• Plural:
  Τα μηνύματα στέλνονται το βράδυ.
  = The messages are sent in the evening.

Changes:

• Το μήνυμα → Τα μηνύματα (neuter plural)
• στέλνεται → στέλνονται (3rd person plural passive)

So:

• Τα μηνύματα στέλνονται το βράδυ.

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How would I say this in active voice: “Someone sends the message in the evening”?

Active voice uses στέλνω instead of στέλνομαι / στέλνεται.

Possible versions:

1. Emphasizing the subject “someone”:

   • Κάποιος στέλνει το μήνυμα το βράδυ.
     = Someone sends the message in the evening.

2. Keeping Greek order similar to the original passive sentence:

   • Το μήνυμα το στέλνει κάποιος το βράδυ.
     = The message, someone sends it in the evening.

Key change:

• Passive: Το μήνυμα στέλνεται το βράδυ.
  (The message is sent…)
• Active: Κάποιος στέλνει το μήνυμα το βράδυ.
  (Someone sends the message…)

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Does this sentence usually describe a routine, or a one-time action?

On its own, Το μήνυμα στέλνεται το βράδυ. most naturally sounds like a general rule / routine:

• The message (always / usually) gets sent in the evening.

If you want to make it very clearly a routine, you can add time adverbs:

• Το μήνυμα στέλνεται πάντα το βράδυ.
  = The message is always sent in the evening.
• Το μήνυμα στέλνεται κάθε βράδυ.
  = The message is sent every evening.

But in context (e.g. talking about today’s plan), the same sentence can refer to a specific future event:

• (Earlier in the day) Μην ανησυχείς. Το μήνυμα στέλνεται το βράδυ.
  = Don’t worry. The message is being sent / will be sent this evening.

Greek present tense is flexible; context decides whether it’s routine or specific.

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Why is the stress on μήνυμα in the singular but on μηνύματα in the plural?

Greek often shifts the stress when words change form.

• Singular: μήνυμα (stress on the first syllable)
• Plural: μηνύματα (stress moves to the second syllable)

This kind of stress movement is quite common with neuter nouns ending in -μα:

• γράμμα → γραμμάτα (ancient), modern: γράμματα
• πρόβλημα → προβλήματα
• μάθημα → μαθήματα
• μήνυμα → μηνύματα

So the change μήνυμα → μηνύματα is regular and something you just get used to as part of learning each noun’s full pattern.