Η δουλειά σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίς.

Work ends early today.

Breakdown of Η δουλειά σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίς.

• σήμερα: today
• νωρίς: early
• τελειώνω: to finish
• η δουλειά: the job

Questions & Answers about Η δουλειά σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίς.

Why does the sentence use the article Η before δουλειά? In English we just say “work finishes early today”, without the.

Greek uses the definite article much more often than English, especially with abstract or general nouns.

• Η δουλειά literally is “the work”, but in many contexts it simply means “work” in general.
• In Greek, a bare noun without an article often sounds:
  • indefinite (μια δουλειά = a job / some work), or
  • incomplete, especially as a subject.

So:

• Η δουλειά σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίς.
  = Work finishes early today (the workday, our work today).

Leaving out the article (Δουλειά σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίς) would sound ungrammatical or at least very odd in standard Greek here. The article is basically required with this subject noun.

What gender and case is δουλειά here, and how can I recognize that?

In the sentence Η δουλειά σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίς:

• δουλειά is feminine, singular, nominative.
• You can tell because:
  • The article η is the feminine nominative singular definite article.
  • Feminine nouns often end in -α in the nominative singular.

As the subject of the verb (τελειώνει), the noun must be in the nominative case.

Very basic paradigm (one common pattern):

• Nominative: η δουλειά – the work (subject)
• Genitive: της δουλειάς – of the work
• Accusative: τη(ν) δουλειά – the work (object)
• Vocative: δουλειά (when addressing, rarely used for this word)

Does δουλειά mean “work” or “job”? How is it used?

δουλειά can mean both, depending on context:

1. Work (in general, tasks, labor)

   • Έχω πολλή δουλειά. – I have a lot of work.
   • Η δουλειά σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίς. – Work finishes early today.

2. Job / employment position

   • Έχω καλή δουλειά. – I have a good job.
   • Έχασα τη δουλειά μου. – I lost my job.

By contrast, εργασία is more formal or technical:

• εργασία = work, project, assignment, employment (more official style).
• You might see ώρα εργασίας (working hour), πεδίο εργασίας (field of work), etc.

In everyday speech, δουλειά is the normal word you’ll hear.

What tense is τελειώνει and how would I translate its tense value?

τελειώνει is:

• Present tense
• 3rd person singular
• Indicative mood
• From the verb τελειώνω (to finish, to end).

Literally:

• Η δουλειά … τελειώνει = The work is finishing / finishes.

In English, we often use present simple or present progressive, but here, with σήμερα, we naturally translate it as:

• Work *finishes early today.*
  (like a scheduled event for today)

You could also say in Greek:

• Η δουλειά σήμερα θα τελειώσει νωρίς. – Work will finish early today.

That future form (θα τελειώσει) is a bit more explicitly “future”, but with σήμερα (today) the present τελειώνει is perfectly natural to describe a planned or expected event happening later today.

How is τελειώνω conjugated in the present for all persons?

Present tense of τελειώνω (to finish/end):

• εγώ τελειώνω – I finish
• εσύ τελειώνεις – you finish (singular, informal)
• αυτός/αυτή/αυτό τελειώνει – he/she/it finishes
  → our sentence uses τελειώνει.
• εμείς τελειώνουμε – we finish
• εσείς τελειώνετε – you finish (plural or polite)
• αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά τελειώνουν(ε) – they finish

Note: In speech, the final -ε in τελειώνουνε is often optional and may be dropped: τελειώνουν.

Could I say Σήμερα η δουλειά τελειώνει νωρίς instead? Does the word order change the meaning?

Yes, you can absolutely say:

• Σήμερα η δουλειά τελειώνει νωρίς.
• Η δουλειά σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίς.
• Η δουλειά τελειώνει νωρίς σήμερα.

They all mean essentially the same thing: Work finishes early today.

Word order in Greek is relatively flexible. Subtle differences:

• Σήμερα η δουλειά τελειώνει νωρίς.
  Slightly more emphasis on σήμερα (“Today, work finishes early…”, maybe in contrast with other days).

• Η δουλειά σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίς.
  A bit more neutral; many learners find this order easy to process.

• Η δουλειά τελειώνει νωρίς σήμερα.
  The focus drifts slightly toward νωρίς σήμερα as a time frame (“finishes early today”), but it’s still natural.

In everyday speech, all three are fine; context and intonation carry most of the emphasis.

Could I drop the subject and just say Σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίς?

Grammatically, yes, because Greek is a pro‑drop language: the subject can be omitted if it’s understood from context.

• Σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίς.
  Literally: Today (it) finishes early.

But then what finishes early becomes ambiguous and must be clear from context:

• At work, everybody might already be talking about working hours, so Σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίς would be understood as Work finishes early today.
• In another context, it could refer to school, a meeting, a show, etc.

So the full sentence Η δουλειά σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίς is clearer in isolation; the shorter version works when the topic is obvious.

What exactly does νωρίς mean? Is it “early” in general, or “earlier than usual”?

νωρίς means “early” as an adverb.

• Ξυπνάω νωρίς. – I wake up early.
• Η δουλειά σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίς. – Work finishes early today.

If you want to stress earlier than usual, Greek more commonly uses:

• νωρίτερα – earlier (comparative of νωρίς)
• or πιο νωρίς – more early / earlier

For example:

• Η δουλειά σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίτερα.
  = Work finishes earlier today (than it usually does).
• Σήμερα φεύγουμε πιο νωρίς.
  = Today we’re leaving earlier.

Your sentence with just νωρίς can imply “earlier than usual” from context, but grammatically it only means “early”.

Where can νωρίς go in the sentence? Can I change its position?

Yes, νωρίς is an adverb, and adverbs in Greek are fairly flexible in position. All of these are possible:

• Η δουλειά σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίς.
• Η δουλειά σήμερα νωρίς τελειώνει. (less common, slightly marked)
• Νωρίς σήμερα τελειώνει η δουλειά.
• Σήμερα η δουλειά τελειώνει νωρίς.

Most natural/common in everyday speech:

• Η δουλειά σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίς.
• Σήμερα η δουλειά τελειώνει νωρίς.
• Η δουλειά τελειώνει νωρίς σήμερα.

Moving νωρίς to the very beginning (Νωρίς σήμερα…) adds a bit of emphasis to the “early” part: “Early today, work finishes.” Still correct, just more stylistic.

How do I pronounce δουλειά, σήμερα, τελειώνει, and νωρίς?

Pronunciation (stress marked with bold syllable):

• δουλειά → /ðuˈlja/

  • δου‑ like thoo with voiced “th” (/ð/) as in this.
  • ‑λειά pronounced like lya (one sound cluster /lja/).
  • Stress on the last syllable: δου‑λειά.

• σήμερα → /ˈsimeɾa/

  • σί‑ like see.
  • ‑με‑ like meh.
  • ‑ρα like ra.
  • Stress on the first syllable: σί‑με‑ρα.

• τελειώνει → /teˈʎoni/ or /teˈʝoni/ (depending on accent)

  • τε‑ like te in ten.
  • λει‑ here often sounds like a palatalized ly / y: /ʎo/ or /ʝo/.
  • ‑ώνει like OH‑ni.
  • Stress on the second syllable: τε‑λει‑ω‑νει.

• νωρίς → /noˈris/

  • νω‑ like no (but rounded Greek o).
  • ‑ρίς like rees.
  • Stress on the last syllable: νω‑ρίς.

Is there a difference between Η δουλειά τελειώνει νωρίς and Τελειώνει νωρίς η δουλειά?

Both are grammatical and mean essentially the same thing: Work finishes early.

• Η δουλειά τελειώνει νωρίς.
  Neutral order: subject–verb–adverb.

• Τελειώνει νωρίς η δουλειά.
  Verb comes first; in many contexts this slightly emphasizes the event “finishes early” rather than the subject itself.

In everyday speech, both sound natural. The second order might feel a bit more “spoken” or slightly more emphatic, like:

• “It finishes early, the work.”

But the meaning difference is very subtle and often only carried by intonation and context.

Could I replace δουλειά with εργασία here? Would that sound normal?

You could say:

• Η εργασία σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίς.

It is grammatically correct, but stylistically different.

• δουλειά is colloquial, everyday speech.
• εργασία is more formal or technical, used in:
  • official documents,
  • academic contexts,
  • bureaucratic language.

So for talking about when you finish work today, δουλειά is definitely more natural. εργασία here might sound like you’re reading from a formal announcement from HR or a government office.

How would I say “Work finishes earlier today than usual” using this sentence?

You can keep the structure and adjust the adverb:

• Η δουλειά σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίτερα από το συνηθισμένο.
  = Work finishes earlier than usual today.

or a bit shorter:

• Η δουλειά σήμερα τελειώνει νωρίτερα.
  = Work finishes earlier today. (the “than usual” is understood from context)

You can also use πιο νωρίς:

• Η δουλειά σήμερα τελειώνει πιο νωρίς απ’ ό,τι συνήθως.
  = Work finishes earlier than it usually does today.