Learn Hardcore Greek: Η βόλτα σήμερα ακυρώνεται γιατί βρέχει. - The walk is cancelled today because it is raining.

Its core meaning is “stroll / outing / going out for leisure.”
In this sentence, Η βόλτα σήμερα ακυρώνεται γιατί βρέχει, it means something like:
- “The outing today is canceled” or
- “Today’s trip/walk is canceled.”

You can use βόλτα for:

a casual walk:
- Πάμε βόλτα; – “Shall we go for a walk / out?”
a drive or ride for fun:
- Πήγαμε βόλτα με το αυτοκίνητο. – “We went for a drive.”

So it’s any relaxed, recreational going-out, not just walking on foot.

Why do we say Η βόλτα with η (the definite article)? Could we just say Βόλτα σήμερα ακυρώνεται?

In Greek, you almost always use the definite article (ο, η, το) with specific things, including events and outings.

Η βόλτα σήμερα ακυρώνεται literally: “The outing today is canceled.”
We’re talking about a particular, known outing (for example, the one everyone already agreed on), so it naturally takes the definite article.

Saying Βόλτα σήμερα ακυρώνεται (without η) is not normal in standard Greek; it sounds incomplete or very telegraphic (like a newspaper headline). In everyday speech, you need Η βόλτα.

What does η in η βόλτα tell me about the word? What gender is βόλτα?

The article η tells you that βόλτα is feminine.

η βόλτα – the outing (feminine)
If it were masculine: ο βόλτας (not a real word, just an example of form)
If it were neuter: το βόλτα (again, hypothetical)

So the form is:

Nominative singular (subject): η βόλτα
Accusative singular (object): τη(ν) βόλτα

Example:

Η βόλτα ακυρώνεται. – “The outing is canceled.” (subject)
Ακυρώνουμε τη βόλτα. – “We are canceling the outing.” (object)

Why is σήμερα in the middle (Η βόλτα σήμερα ακυρώνεται)? Could I put it somewhere else?

Yes, you can move σήμερα; word order is flexible in Greek.

All of these are possible and natural, with slightly different emphasis:

Η βόλτα σήμερα ακυρώνεται γιατί βρέχει.
Neutral: “The outing today is canceled because it’s raining.”
Σήμερα η βόλτα ακυρώνεται γιατί βρέχει.
Emphasizes today: “Today, the outing is canceled because it’s raining.”
Η βόλτα ακυρώνεται σήμερα γιατί βρέχει.
Emphasizes when the cancellation is in effect: “The outing is canceled today because it’s raining.”

So σήμερα (today) can appear before the subject, after the subject, or after the verb; the basic meaning doesn’t change, just the focus.

Why is the verb ακυρώνεται (passive) used instead of an active form like ακυρώνουμε τη βόλτα?

Ακυρώνεται is the present passive form of ακυρώνω (“to cancel”).

Η βόλτα ακυρώνεται literally: “The outing is being canceled / is canceled.”
This matches the English passive: “The outing is canceled.”

We use the passive when:

We want to focus on what happens to the outing (it’s canceled),
and we don’t care (or don’t want to say) who is canceling it.

If you want an active version, you can say:

Ακυρώνουμε τη βόλτα σήμερα γιατί βρέχει.
“We are canceling the outing today because it’s raining.”

Both are correct; the passive just shifts the focus away from the person/people canceling it.

How is ακυρώνεται formed? What is the base verb and what tense is this?

The base (active) verb is ακυρώνω = “I cancel.”

Present active:

(εγώ) ακυρώνω – I cancel
(εσύ) ακυρώνεις
(αυτός/αυτή/αυτό) ακυρώνει
(εμείς) ακυρώνουμε
(εσείς) ακυρώνετε
(αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά) ακυρώνουν(ε)

Present passive:

(εγώ) ακυρώνομαι
(εσύ) ακυρώνεσαι
(αυτός/αυτή/αυτό) ακυρώνεται
(εμείς) ακυρωνόμαστε
(εσείς) ακυρώνεστε
(αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά) ακυρώνονται

So ακυρώνεται is:

present tense,
passive voice,
3rd person singular (“he/she/it is canceled”).

In the sentence, η βόλτα is the subject, so:

Η βόλτα … ακυρώνεται – “The outing is canceled.”

Why is the present tense used (ακυρώνεται) when in English we might say “will be canceled”?

Greek often uses the present tense for scheduled or decided near-future events, especially with a time expression like σήμερα (“today”).

So:

Η βόλτα σήμερα ακυρώνεται.
Literally: “The outing today is being canceled / is canceled.”
Idiomatically: “Today’s outing is canceled” or “The outing will be canceled today.”

If you really want a clearly future form, you can say:

Η βόλτα σήμερα θα ακυρωθεί. – “The outing will be canceled today.”

But in everyday speech, ακυρώνεται with σήμερα already strongly implies a present decision about today’s plan, much like English “The meeting is canceled.”

Γιατί can mean both “why” and “because”. How do I know which it is in γιατί βρέχει?

Same word, two functions:

Question “why” at the beginning of a question:
- Γιατί ακυρώνεται η βόλτα; – “Why is the outing canceled?”
- Spoken with rising question intonation.
“Because” introducing a reason clause:
- Η βόλτα ακυρώνεται γιατί βρέχει.
  “The outing is canceled because it’s raining.”

How to tell which is which:

Position: at the very start of a sentence + question intonation and ? → usually “why”.
In the middle of a statement → “because”.

In your sentence (… ακυρώνεται γιατί βρέχει), it clearly introduces the reason, so it means “because.”

What is βρέχει exactly? Why don’t we have a subject like “it” in Greek?

Βρέχει is the 3rd person singular form of the verb βρέχω used impersonally to mean “it is raining.”

Greek does not use a dummy subject like English “it” for weather. The verb simply appears in 3rd person singular with no expressed subject:

Βρέχει. – “It’s raining.”
Χιονίζει. – “It’s snowing.”
Φυσάει. – “It’s windy / The wind is blowing.”
Έχει ήλιο. – “It’s sunny.” (literally “it has sun”)

So in γιατί βρέχει, the idea “it” is built into the verb form; you don’t say anything like *αυτό βρέχει in this context.

What’s the difference between βρέχει and βροχή? They look related.

Yes, they are related:

βρέχει – verb: “it is raining”
- Σήμερα βρέχει. – “Today it’s raining.”
η βροχή – noun: “the rain”
- Η βροχή είναι δυνατή. – “The rain is strong/heavy.”
- Μου αρέσει η βροχή. – “I like the rain.”

In your sentence, we need the verb (the action: “it’s raining”), so γιατί βρέχει, not γιατί έχει βροχή (though έχει βροχή is also possible, but less common than βρέχει for simple “it’s raining”).