Breakdown of Σήμερα είμαι πολύ ενθουσιασμένος, γιατί πήρα καλό βαθμό στην εξέταση.
Questions & Answers about Σήμερα είμαι πολύ ενθουσιασμένος, γιατί πήρα καλό βαθμό στην εξέταση.
In Greek, adjectives change form to agree with the person or thing they describe in:
- gender (masculine, feminine, neuter)
- number (singular, plural)
- case (nominative, accusative, etc.)
Here ενθουσιασμένος (“excited”) describes εγώ (“I”), the speaker.
If the speaker is male:
- Σήμερα είμαι πολύ ενθουσιασμένος...
If the speaker is female:
- Σήμερα είμαι πολύ ενθουσιασμένη...
Basic forms of this adjective:
- masculine: ενθουσιασμένος
- feminine: ενθουσιασμένη
- neuter: ενθουσιασμένο
So the form depends on who is talking, not on any other word in the sentence.
Πήρα is the simple past (aorist) of the verb παίρνω (“to take / to get / to receive”).
Key forms:
- παίρνω = I take / I am taking / I get
- πήρα = I took / I got (one completed action in the past)
In this sentence:
- πήρα καλό βαθμό = “I got a good grade.”
We use the aorist πήρα because getting the grade is seen as one completed event in the past.
(Compare: έπαιρνα = “I was taking / I used to take” – repeated or ongoing action in the past. That would not fit here.)
Yes. Γιατί has two main uses:
As a question word = why
- Γιατί είσαι πολύ ενθουσιασμένος; = “Why are you very excited?”
As a conjunction = because
- Είμαι πολύ ενθουσιασμένος, γιατί πήρα καλό βαθμό.
= “I am very excited, because I got a good grade.”
- Είμαι πολύ ενθουσιασμένος, γιατί πήρα καλό βαθμό.
In your sentence, γιατί clearly means “because”.
You can replace it with επειδή:
- Σήμερα είμαι πολύ ενθουσιασμένος, επειδή πήρα καλό βαθμό στην εξέταση.
Both are correct. Επειδή is a bit more neutral/formal; γιατί is very common in everyday speech. The meaning here is the same.
Βαθμός (“grade / mark”) is a masculine noun. Like many Greek nouns, it changes its ending depending on its role in the sentence.
Singular forms of βαθμός:
- ο βαθμός = the grade (subject, nominative)
- τον βαθμό = the grade (object, accusative)
In your sentence:
- πήρα καλό βαθμό = “I got a good grade.”
Here “grade” is the direct object of the verb πήρα (“I got”), so it must be in the accusative form: βαθμό, not βαθμός (which is nominative, used for the subject).
The adjective καλός (“good”) also changes to agree with the noun it describes.
Basic forms:
- masculine: καλός
- feminine: καλή
- neuter: καλό
And in the masculine singular:
- nominative (subject): καλός
- accusative (object): καλό
Since βαθμό is masculine, singular, accusative, the adjective must match it:
- καλό βαθμό = good grade (object)
- ο καλός βαθμός = the good grade (subject)
So καλό is the masculine accusative singular form, agreeing with βαθμό.
Greek has an indefinite article (like “a/an”) and a definite article (“the”), but the indefinite article is often optional, especially with direct objects.
In your sentence:
- πήρα καλό βαθμό
⇒ “I got a good grade.”
You could also say:
- πήρα έναν καλό βαθμό.
Here έναν is the indefinite article (masculine accusative singular). Both versions are natural.
Without έναν, it still means “a good grade” in context.
Using the definite article:
- πήρα τον καλό βαθμό = “I got the good grade.”
This would usually refer to some specific grade already known in the conversation (e.g., “the good one, not the bad one”). As a first mention, speakers normally wouldn’t use τον here.
So:
- πήρα καλό βαθμό / πήρα έναν καλό βαθμό = “I got a good grade.”
- πήρα τον καλό βαθμό = “I got the good grade” (specific, context-dependent).
Στην is a contraction:
- σε (preposition “in / at / to”)
- την (feminine accusative singular article “the”)
= στην
- την (feminine accusative singular article “the”)
So:
- στην εξέταση = σε + την εξέταση = “in the exam / in the test.”
We use:
- σε + article + noun to talk about location, time, or participation in an event:
- στο σχολείο = at school (σε + το σχολείο, neuter)
- στη δουλειά = at work (σε + τη δουλειά, feminine)
- στην εξέταση = in/at the exam (σε + την εξέταση, feminine)
Εξέταση is feminine, so the article is την, and with σε it contracts to στην.
Yes, you can change the word order quite freely in Greek. All of these are natural:
- Σήμερα είμαι πολύ ενθουσιασμένος, γιατί πήρα καλό βαθμό στην εξέταση.
- Είμαι πολύ ενθουσιασμένος σήμερα, γιατί πήρα καλό βαθμό στην εξέταση.
- Είμαι σήμερα πολύ ενθουσιασμένος, γιατί πήρα καλό βαθμό στην εξέταση.
The basic meaning stays the same. The differences are mainly about emphasis:
- Starting with Σήμερα makes “today” the topic: “Today, I’m very excited...”
- Placing σήμερα later (Είμαι πολύ ενθουσιασμένος σήμερα) slightly emphasises the state (“I am very excited today (not just generally)”).
For everyday conversation, you can treat them as equivalent in meaning.
There are two related words:
πολύ as an adverb = “very”
- does not change form
- used before adjectives and other adverbs
- πολύ ενθουσιασμένος = “very excited”
- πολύ καλός = “very good”
- πολύ καλά = “very well”
πολύς, πολλή, πολύ as an adjective = “much / many / a lot of”
- changes for gender, number, case
- πολύς κόσμος = many people
- πολλή δουλειά = a lot of work
- πολύ νερό = much water
In πολύ ενθουσιασμένος, πολύ is an adverb (“very”), so it stays πολύ regardless of the gender or case of the adjective that follows. That’s why we don’t say πολλή ενθουσιασμένος.
The sentence:
- Σήμερα είμαι πολύ ενθουσιασμένος, γιατί πήρα καλό βαθμό στην εξέταση.
Approximate pronunciation (stress in CAPS):
- Σήμερα → SEE-me-ra
- είμαι → EE-me
- πολύ → po-LEE
- ενθουσιασμένος → en-thoo-siaz-ME-nos
- γιατί → ya-TEE
- πήρα → PEE-ra
- καλό → ka-LO
- βαθμό → vath-MO (th as in “think”)
- στην → steen
- εξέταση → ek-SE-ta-see
Said together:
- SEE-me-ra EE-me po-LEE en-thoo-siaz-ME-nos, ya-TEE PEE-ra ka-LO vath-MO steen ek-SE-ta-see.
The accent mark (´) in Greek shows which syllable is stressed, i.e., pronounced more strongly and a bit longer, similar to English stress:
- Σήμερα (accent on Σή → first syllable)
- πολύ (accent on λύ → last syllable)
- ενθουσιασμένος (accent on μέ → fourth syllable)
- εξέταση (accent on ξέ → second syllable)
Each multi‑syllable content word normally has one such written accent showing the stressed vowel.
In modern Greek punctuation, a comma is usually placed before a subordinate clause introduced by words like γιατί, επειδή, όταν, etc., when that clause follows the main clause.
Here:
- Σήμερα είμαι πολύ ενθουσιασμένος, (main clause)
- γιατί πήρα καλό βαθμό στην εξέταση. (subordinate clause explaining the reason)
So the comma separates the main statement from the reason clause. This is normal and correct in Greek, similar to writing:
- “Today I am very excited, because I got a good grade on the exam.”
You can say it, but the nuance is a bit different.
είμαι πολύ ενθουσιασμένος
- literally: “I am very excited”
- focuses on your current state as a result of something (here: getting the good grade).
- This is the most natural way to say “I’m (feeling) very excited” in this context.
ενθουσιάζομαι πολύ
- literally: “I get very excited / I am becoming very excited”
- as a simple present, it often suggests a process or a general tendency (“I get excited easily”, “I get very excited (in these situations)”).
Σήμερα ενθουσιάζομαι πολύ could be understood as:
- “Today I get very excited (about things),” or
- “Today I’m getting very excited” (focusing on the process of becoming excited).
To clearly describe your resulting state because of the grade, Σήμερα είμαι πολύ ενθουσιασμένος, γιατί πήρα καλό βαθμό στην εξέταση is the most straightforward, idiomatic choice.