Breakdown of Όταν ήμουν παιδί, ονειρευόμουν να ταξιδεύω και να έχω μια μικρή επιτυχία κάθε μέρα.
Questions & Answers about Όταν ήμουν παιδί, ονειρευόμουν να ταξιδεύω και να έχω μια μικρή επιτυχία κάθε μέρα.
Όταν means when.
In Greek, when you talk about a repeated or continuous situation in the past (like a general period of your life), you use the imperfect tense.
- ήμουν = I was (imperfect, past, continuous/background)
- Present would be είμαι = I am
So Όταν ήμουν παιδί literally means When I was a child, describing a whole period in the past, not just a single moment.
With Όταν:
- For general, repeated situations in the past:
Όταν ήμουν παιδί, έπαιζα έξω. – When I was a child, I used to play outside. - For present general truths:
Όταν είμαι κουρασμένος, κοιμάμαι νωρίς. – When I am tired, I sleep early.
So here the imperfect ήμουν is exactly what you want for a “when I was a child” background situation.
Both are grammatically possible, but they feel different:
Όταν ήμουν παιδί = When I was a child (in general, in my childhood)
This is the normal, idiomatic way to say it in Greek. Here παιδί functions almost like an abstract stage of life: “in my childhood years”.Όταν ήμουν ένα παιδί = When I was a (single) child
This is grammatically fine, but it sounds more specific or “countable”, and in this context it’s less natural. You’d use it if you were contrasting with other phases or emphasizing “one child among others”, etc.
So, Greek usually drops the article in this fixed-type expression ήμουν παιδί, similar to English “when I was young” (not “the young”).
ονειρευόμουν is the imperfect (past continuous) of ονειρεύομαι (to dream).
- ονειρευόμουν = I was dreaming / I used to dream (repeated/ongoing in the past)
- ονειρεύτηκα = I dreamed / I had a dream (one specific event)
In the sentence:
Όταν ήμουν παιδί, ονειρευόμουν…
the speaker talks about a habitual state in childhood – “I used to dream (regularly, often)”. That’s why the imperfect ονειρευόμουν is chosen.
If you said:
- Χτες το βράδυ ονειρεύτηκα κάτι παράξενο.
Last night I dreamed something strange. (one specific dream)
So here ονειρευόμουν matches the idea of an ongoing, repeated mental activity during childhood.
ονειρεύομαι is one of those Greek verbs that appear in the so‑called middle/passive form but have an active meaning. This is very common in Modern Greek.
Present tense of ονειρεύομαι:
- εγώ ονειρεύομαι – I dream
- εσύ ονειρεύεσαι – you dream
- αυτός/αυτή/αυτό ονειρεύεται – he/she/it dreams
Imperfect (past continuous):
- εγώ ονειρευόμουν – I was dreaming / I used to dream
Even though it looks like a passive verb morphologically, you just treat ονειρεύομαι as “I dream (of something)”. You can:
- Dream of a noun: ονειρεύομαι ταξίδια – I dream of trips
- Dream of doing something: ονειρεύομαι να ταξιδεύω – I dream of traveling
να introduces the subjunctive in Greek. It often corresponds to English “to” (as in “to travel”) or “that I …”, depending on context.
After verbs of desire, intention, or thought, Greek uses να + verb:
- θέλω να ταξιδεύω – I want to travel
- ελπίζω να έχω χρόνο – I hope (to) have time
- ονειρεύομαι να ταξιδεύω – I dream of traveling
So in:
ονειρευόμουν να ταξιδεύω και να έχω…
the να marks that these are things you dream of doing / having. In English we translate it naturally as “to travel and to have…”.
This is an aspect difference: continuous (imperfective) vs one-off (perfective).
να ταξιδεύω (imperfective subjunctive)
– “to be traveling / to travel regularly, as an ongoing activity”
Focus: the process or repeated action.να ταξιδέψω (perfective subjunctive)
– “to travel (once / to complete a trip)”
Focus: the completion or a single event.
In childhood dreams, you usually imagine a lifestyle of traveling, not just one trip:
- ονειρευόμουν να ταξιδεύω ≈ I dreamed of (a life of) traveling / of traveling in general
If you said:
- ονειρευόμουν να ταξιδέψω στην Ιαπωνία.
I dreamed of making a trip to Japan (at least once).
Here the single or total event is in focus, so να ταξιδέψω is more natural.
You must repeat να here. The natural pattern is:
- να ταξιδεύω και να έχω…
Greek normally keeps να before each verb in a coordinated pair or list when both are in the subjunctive:
- Θέλω να διαβάσω και να γράψω. – I want to read and write.
- Ονειρεύομαι να ταξιδεύω και να έχω χρόνο. – I dream of traveling and having time.
να ταξιδεύω και έχω sounds wrong to a native speaker; it breaks the clear marking of the subjunctive for the second verb.
In Greek, the article and adjective must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun.
- επιτυχία (success) is feminine, singular, nominative/accusative.
- Feminine singular forms:
- article: μια
- adjective: μικρή
So:
- μια μικρή επιτυχία
= a small success (literally: a-one feminine / small feminine / success feminine)
ένα μικρό επιτυχία would be wrong because ένα and μικρό are neuter forms, while επιτυχία is feminine. Everything has to match:
- Feminine: μια μικρή επιτυχία
- Neuter: ένα μικρό παιδί (a small child)
- Masculine: ένας μικρός σκύλος (a small dog)
It can be understood both ways, but in this context it’s very close to English “a small win / a little success” – some modest achievement or positive result each day.
- μικρή can describe:
- small in size
- small in degree / importance
Here it’s clearly degree / importance: not a huge achievement, but something that makes the day feel productive or meaningful.
This is a natural and idiomatic way in Greek to express the idea of a little success every day.
Two points:
κάθε + singular noun
In Greek, after κάθε (every), the noun stays in the singular:
- κάθε μέρα – every day
- κάθε εβδομάδα – every week
- κάθε χρόνο – every year
So κάθε μέρες would be wrong. The singular already gives the “every X” meaning.
μέρα vs ημέρα
- μέρα is the everyday, informal word for day.
- ημέρα is more formal or used in fixed expressions (e.g. Ημέρα της Γυναίκας – Women’s Day).
In normal conversational Greek, κάθε μέρα is exactly what you say for every day.
Yes, Greek word order is fairly flexible, and your example is fine, with slightly different emphasis.
Original:
- Όταν ήμουν παιδί, ονειρευόμουν να ταξιδεύω και να έχω μια μικρή επιτυχία κάθε μέρα.
The focus at the end is on κάθε μέρα as the time when these small successes happen.
Variant:
- Όταν ήμουν παιδί, ονειρευόμουν κάθε μέρα να ταξιδεύω και να έχω μια μικρή επιτυχία.
Now κάθε μέρα is closer to ονειρευόμουν and can be heard as:- “Every day I used to dream of traveling and having a small success.”
Both are grammatical. Greek often puts time expressions (like κάθε μέρα) either:
- At the end of the clause, or
- Right after the verb
The meaning stays essentially the same; it’s just a matter of rhythm and slight emphasis.
These pairs are mainly a matter of style and register, not meaning.
- ήμουν vs ήμουνα – both mean I was
- ονειρευόμουν vs ονειρευόμουνα – both mean I was dreaming / I used to dream
Differences:
Short forms (ήμουν, ονειρευόμουν)
– more neutral, common in writing and in standard speech.Long forms (ήμουνα, ονειρευόμουνα)
– slightly more colloquial or emphatic, often heard in everyday spoken Greek.
In your sentence, using ήμουν and ονειρευόμουν is the default, neutral choice.