Learn Hardcore Greek: Απόψε πρόκειται να κάνουμε βόλτα στο πάρκο. - Tonight we are going to take a walk in the park.

Πρόκειται να literally comes from a verb meaning “it is about / it is going to happen,” and in modern Greek it’s used a lot like English “be going to” for planned, arranged, or expected actions.

Απόψε πρόκειται να κάνουμε βόλτα στο πάρκο.
≈ “Tonight we’re going to take a walk in the park.” (there’s a plan/arrangement)

You could also say:

Απόψε θα κάνουμε βόλτα στο πάρκο.

This is also correct and often means almost the same thing. Very roughly:

πρόκειται να: tends to sound like something already arranged or quite certain/imminent.
θα: the general future; can be neutral future, prediction, intention, etc.

In many everyday contexts they overlap a lot, so both are acceptable.

Why is πρόκειται in the third person singular even though the subject is “we” (κάνουμε)?

Πρόκειται is used impersonally here, a bit like English “it is going to happen that…”.

You can think of the structure as:

Πρόκειται (it is going to happen) να κάνουμε βόλτα… (that we will take a walk…)

The verb πρόκειται does not change with the person:

Πρόκειται να πάω. – I am going to go.
Πρόκειται να πάμε. – We are going to go.
Πρόκειται να φύγουν. – They are going to leave.

So regardless of who is doing the action in the να-clause, πρόκειται itself stays in third person singular.

What does κάνουμε βόλτα literally mean, and why is κάνουμε used with βόλτα?

Literally:

κάνουμε = “we do / we make”
βόλτα = “walk, stroll, outing, ride”

So κάνουμε βόλτα is literally “we make/do a walk/stroll”, but idiomatically it means “we take a walk / go for a stroll / go out for a little outing.”

Greek often uses κάνω with nouns the same way English uses verbs like “take / have / go for”:

κάνω μπάνιο – take a bath / have a bath
κάνω διάλειμμα – take a break
κάνω ταξίδι – take a trip / go on a trip

So κάνουμε βόλτα is completely natural and very common.

Can I add μια and say να κάνουμε μια βόλτα? Is there a difference?

Yes, and in fact να κάνουμε μια βόλτα is extremely common:

Απόψε πρόκειται να κάνουμε μια βόλτα στο πάρκο.

Meaning-wise in this sentence there is almost no practical difference between:

να κάνουμε βόλτα
να κάνουμε μια βόλτα

Both mean “to take a (little) walk/stroll.”

Μια βόλτα can feel slightly more like “one walk / a specific outing,” but in everyday speech speakers use both quite freely, and both sound natural here.

What exactly does Απόψε mean, and how is it different from σήμερα το βράδυ?

Απόψε means “tonight” – it refers to this upcoming night/evening.

Σήμερα το βράδυ literally means “today in the evening / this evening.” In practice:

Απόψε and σήμερα το βράδυ overlap a lot and are often interchangeable.
Απόψε is shorter and very common in everyday speech.
Σήμερα το βράδυ can sometimes sound a bit more neutral or slightly more formal, depending on context.

So:

Απόψε πρόκειται να κάνουμε βόλτα στο πάρκο.
Σήμερα το βράδυ πρόκειται να κάνουμε βόλτα στο πάρκο.

Both are fine and both mean “Tonight we’re going to take a walk in the park.”

Why is it στο πάρκο and not just σε πάρκο?

Στο is a contraction of σε + το:

σε = in / at / to
το = the (neuter, singular)

So στο πάρκο literally means “in/to the park.”

Greek normally uses a definite article (the equivalent of “the”) much more often than English does, especially with places:

στο σχολείο – at school
στο σπίτι – at home
στο γραφείο – at the office

Saying σε πάρκο (“in a park”) is grammatically correct but sounds less natural here unless you really mean “in some park or other, not a specific one.” In everyday speech people usually say στο πάρκο, even when English might use “in the park” or just “in a park.”

What case is πάρκο in, and what gender is it?

Πάρκο here is in the accusative case and it is neuter.

Nominative (subject form): το πάρκο
Accusative (after many prepositions, direct object): το πάρκο (same form as nominative for neuter nouns)

In στο πάρκο, we have:

σε + το πάρκο → στο πάρκο (accusative)

So the noun’s dictionary form is (το) πάρκο, a neuter noun, and in this sentence it functions as the object of the preposition σε.

Can I change the word order, for example: Πρόκειται απόψε να κάνουμε βόλτα στο πάρκο?

Yes. Greek word order is fairly flexible, especially with adverbs of time like απόψε.

All of these are possible and natural:

Απόψε πρόκειται να κάνουμε βόλτα στο πάρκο.
Πρόκειται απόψε να κάνουμε βόλτα στο πάρκο.
Πρόκειται να κάνουμε απόψε βόλτα στο πάρκο.
Πρόκειται να κάνουμε βόλτα στο πάρκο απόψε.

The basic information doesn’t change. Putting απόψε at the beginning (Απόψε…) just lightly emphasizes “tonight” (“as for tonight, we’re going to…”), but all versions are understood the same in everyday conversation.

Instead of κάνουμε βόλτα, can I say περπατήσουμε στο πάρκο to mean “walk in the park”?

Yes. For example:

Απόψε πρόκειται να περπατήσουμε στο πάρκο.
= “Tonight we’re going to walk in the park.”

Differences in nuance:

κάνουμε (μια) βόλτα: emphasizes the idea of a stroll / outing; it can be walking, but it could also sometimes be a drive or ride, depending on context.
περπατήσουμε: specifically “we walk (on foot)”.

So if you want to highlight that it’s a relaxed outing, κάνουμε βόλτα is perfect. If you want to highlight the act of walking on foot, περπατάμε / περπατήσουμε is more direct.

How is πρόκειται pronounced, and where is the stress?

Πρόκειται is pronounced approximately:

[PRO-ke-tee] in simple English-like transcription.

Details:

Stress on the first syllable: ΠΡΌ-κει-ται.
πρό like pro in “problem”.
-κει- like “ke” in “kettle” (a hard k, not like English “key”).
The final -ται in modern everyday speech usually sounds like a light -te or -tee.

So you get something close to PRO-ke-tee (with the stress on PRO).