Breakdown of Και εγώ θέλω να κάνω διακοπές στην Ελλάδα.
Questions & Answers about Και εγώ θέλω να κάνω διακοπές στην Ελλάδα.
Literally «Και εγώ» is “and I”.
In actual use, at the beginning of a sentence it usually corresponds to “me too” / “I too / I also”.
So in this sentence it means something like: “Me too, I want to go on holiday in Greece.”
You’ll often see and hear it as «Κι εγώ» (with κι instead of και) before a word that starts with a vowel. Both are correct; «Κι εγώ» sounds a bit more natural in everyday speech.
In Greek, subject pronouns like «εγώ» (I) are often dropped because the verb ending already shows the subject.
- «Θέλω» already means “I want”.
So grammatically you could say: - «Θέλω να κάνω διακοπές στην Ελλάδα.» → “I want to go on holiday in Greece.”
However, «Και εγώ…» adds emphasis:
- «Και εγώ θέλω…» = “I also want… / Me too, I want…”
Leaving out «εγώ» after «και» would sound incomplete or odd here. You want «Και εγώ» as a unit meaning “me too”.
«Να» is a particle that introduces a subjunctive verb in Modern Greek.
In many cases, especially after verbs like «θέλω» (I want), «μπορώ» (I can), «πρέπει» (I must), it corresponds quite well to English “to”:
- «θέλω να κάνω» ≈ “I want to do”
- «θέλω να κάνω διακοπές» ≈ “I want to go on holiday”
Grammatically though, «να» is not a preposition but a marker that turns «κάνω» into a subjunctive form (even though the form of the verb looks the same as the present). You normally must use «να» here;
«θέλω κάνω διακοπές» is wrong.
Both are possible, but they mean slightly different things.
«Θέλω να κάνω διακοπές»
Literally: “I want to do holidays” → idiomatically: “I want to go on vacation / have a holiday.”
You’re talking about the action of going on holiday.«Θέλω διακοπές»
Literally: “I want holidays.”
This is more like “I need a vacation / I want time off” (speaking about the thing you want, not the action of taking it).
In your sentence, «θέλω να κάνω διακοπές στην Ελλάδα» focuses on the act of going on vacation in Greece.
Literally, «κάνω διακοπές» is “I do holidays”.
It’s a very common idiomatic expression in Greek meaning:
- “to be on holiday,” “to go on vacation,” “to spend one’s holidays.”
So:
- «κάνω διακοπές στην Ελλάδα» → “I spend my holidays in Greece / I go on vacation in Greece.”
Yes, it’s a kind of fixed phrase. You don’t normally translate it word-for-word; you just remember that «κάνω διακοπές» = “go on holiday / be on vacation.”
In Greek, «οι διακοπές» (holidays/vacation) is normally plural when it means “vacation” in the usual sense:
- «Κάνω διακοπές.» → “I’m on holiday / I’m having a vacation.”
- «Πότε θα πας διακοπές;» → “When will you go on vacation?”
The singular «η διακοπή» exists, but it means “interruption, cut, break”, e.g.:
- «διακοπή ρεύματος» → power cut
- «μικρή διακοπή» → a short interruption
So you don’t use the singular «διακοπή» to mean “a vacation.” You stick with the plural «διακοπές» for holidays.
«Στην» is a contraction of:
- «σε» (in / at / to) +
- «την» (the, feminine singular accusative)
So:
- «σε την Ελλάδα» → «στην Ελλάδα»
Greek almost always contracts σε + article:
- σε + την → στην
- σε + τη → στη
- σε + τον → στον
- σε + το → στο, etc.
You would not normally say «σε Ελλάδα» here. You need the definite article: «στην Ελλάδα» = “in Greece / to Greece.”
It can mean both, depending on the verb:
With a motion idea (go, travel, fly):
«Πάω στην Ελλάδα.» → “I’m going to Greece.”With a location / state idea (be, live, stay):
«Μένω στην Ελλάδα.» → “I live in Greece.”
In «κάνω διακοπές στην Ελλάδα», the meaning is location:
- “I spend my holidays in Greece / I go on vacation in Greece.”
Greek «σε» (here: στην) covers “in / at / to” and the context plus the verb supplies the exact nuance.
«Ελλάδα» is the Greek word for “Greece”, and:
It is feminine:
- η Ελλάδα (nom.)
- την Ελλάδα (acc.) → hence στην Ελλάδα
It is capitalized because names of countries, cities, people, etc. are proper nouns in Greek, just like in English:
- η Ελλάδα – Greece
- η Γαλλία – France
- η Αθήνα – Athens
So «στην Ελλάδα» literally is “in/to the Greece”, but in English we drop “the” and just say “in/to Greece.”
Greek word order is quite flexible. You can move elements for emphasis. Some common variants:
«Και εγώ θέλω να κάνω διακοπές στην Ελλάδα.»
Neutral: “Me too, I want to go on holiday in Greece.”«Θέλω κι εγώ να κάνω διακοπές στην Ελλάδα.»
Emphasizes that you, as well as someone else, want this: “I also want to go on holiday in Greece.”«Θέλω να κάνω διακοπές κι εγώ στην Ελλάδα.»
Slight extra emphasis on you at the end: “I want to go on holiday in Greece as well.”
All are grammatical; the differences are mainly in emphasis and focus, not in basic meaning.
Approximate pronunciation (stress in CAPS):
Και εγώ → usually pronounced like [ke e‑GÓ]
- Και sounds like “ke” (not “kai” as in Ancient Greek).
- εγώ: e‑GÓ (with a soft g, like “go”)
θέλω → THÉ‑lo
- θ as in English “this / that”, not as in “thin.”
να κάνω → na KÁ‑no
διακοπές → dhia‑ko‑PÉS
- The δ is like “th” in “this” (a voiced th), so δια ≈ dhia.
- Stress on the last syllable: -πές.
στην Ελλάδα → stin e‑LÁ‑dha
- στην ≈ “steen”.
- λλ like a clear “l”.
- δ again is voiced “th”: LÁ‑dha.
Altogether: [ke eGÓ THÉlo na KÁno dhia‑ko‑PÉS stin e‑LÁ‑dha].