Μερικές φορές διστάζω να μιλήσω ελληνικά μπροστά σε πολλούς ανθρώπους.

Sometimes I hesitate to speak Greek in front of many people.

Breakdown of Μερικές φορές διστάζω να μιλήσω ελληνικά μπροστά σε πολλούς ανθρώπους.

• μιλάω: to speak
• ελληνικά: in Greek
• να: to
• πολύς: many
• ο άνθρωπος: the person
• μερικές φορές: sometimes
• μπροστά σε: in front of
• διστάζω: to hesitate

Questions & Answers about Μερικές φορές διστάζω να μιλήσω ελληνικά μπροστά σε πολλούς ανθρώπους.

What does Μερικές φορές literally mean, and is it the same as sometimes in English?

Μερικές φορές literally means some times (in the sense of a few times).

In practice, it is used just like English sometimes and is the most common way to say that in Greek:

• Μερικές φορές αργώ. = Sometimes I am late.

Can Μερικές φορές go in a different place in the sentence?

Yes. The most neutral position is at the beginning, as in the example, but you can move it:

• Διστάζω μερικές φορές να μιλήσω ελληνικά μπροστά σε πολλούς ανθρώπους.
• Διστάζω να μιλήσω ελληνικά μερικές φορές μπροστά σε πολλούς ανθρώπους. (possible, but less natural here)

Beginning or just after the verb is most common. Putting it at the very end would usually sound awkward in this sentence.

What does διστάζω mean exactly, and how is it conjugated?

Διστάζω means I hesitate or I am hesitant.

It is a regular verb in the present tense:

• εγώ διστάζω – I hesitate
• εσύ διστάζεις – you hesitate
• αυτός/αυτή/αυτό διστάζει – he/she/it hesitates
• εμείς διστάζουμε – we hesitate
• εσείς διστάζετε – you (pl./formal) hesitate
• αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά διστάζουν(ε) – they hesitate

In this sentence, διστάζω is in the present simple, describing a general tendency or habit.

Why is it να μιλήσω and not να μιλάω?

Greek has two aspects for verbs:

• imperfective (ongoing, repeated), e.g. μιλάω
• perfective (single, complete event), e.g. μιλήσω

After verbs like διστάζω (I hesitate), Greek usually prefers the perfective form, because we are talking about the act of speaking as a single action:

• διστάζω να μιλήσω = I hesitate (to go ahead and) speak.

Διστάζω να μιλάω could appear in some contexts, but would sound more like I hesitate about being in a state of speaking / speaking in general, which is unusual. For this meaning, να μιλήσω is the natural choice.

What is the tense/aspect of να μιλήσω?

Μιλήσω is the perfective subjunctive of μιλάω (to speak).

• μιλάω – I speak / I am speaking (imperfective)
• να μιλήσω – (that) I speak / for me to speak (perfective subjunctive)

The perfective here focuses on the act as a single event (speak once, in that situation), not on ongoing speaking.

What does να do in να μιλήσω? Is it like English to?

Να is a particle that marks the subjunctive in Greek. It often corresponds to English to when to introduces a verb (to speak, to go, etc.), but grammatically it is not the same.

Common uses of να + subjunctive:

• after verbs like θέλω, μπορώ, πρέπει, διστάζω
• in many types of subordinate clauses (that, so that, in order to)

So διστάζω να μιλήσω is literally I hesitate that-I-speak, but in English we say I hesitate to speak.

Why is there nothing like to before speak Greek? Why just να μιλήσω ελληνικά?

In Greek, the να before μιλήσω already plays the role of introducing the verb (like to or that in English). You do not use an additional word for to.

So:

• να μιλήσω ελληνικά = to speak Greek

The structure is:

• διστάζω (I hesitate) + να μιλήσω (to speak) + ελληνικά (Greek, as an adverbial object).

Why is there no article before ελληνικά? Why not τα ελληνικά?

When ελληνικά means the Greek language as a general object of speaking, it is usually used without an article after verbs like μιλάω:

• Μιλάω ελληνικά. = I speak Greek.
• Μαθαίνω ελληνικά. = I am learning Greek.

You would normally say τα ελληνικά when you talk about the language as a school subject or set of skills:

• Τα ελληνικά μου είναι καλύτερα. = My Greek (skills) are better.
• Διδάσκω τα ελληνικά. = I teach Greek (as a subject).

In the sentence να μιλήσω ελληνικά, we talk about using the language, so no article is needed.

Could we say να μιλήσω στα ελληνικά instead of να μιλήσω ελληνικά?

Yes, να μιλήσω στα ελληνικά is also correct and common.

Nuance:

• να μιλήσω ελληνικά = to speak Greek (as a language I use)
• να μιλήσω στα ελληνικά = to speak in Greek (explicitly contrasting with another language)

In many contexts they are interchangeable. If you are choosing between languages (Greek vs English), στα ελληνικά is often preferred.

What does μπροστά σε mean, and how is it used?

Μπροστά σε literally means in front of.

• μπροστά = in front
• σε = to / at / in (a general preposition, here part of the phrase)

It can refer to:

• physical position:
  
  • Μπροστά στο σπίτι. = In front of the house.
• or, as here, in the presence of / before someone:
  • Μπροστά σε πολλούς ανθρώπους. = In front of many people.

In the sentence, it expresses the idea of having an audience.

Why is it σε πολλούς ανθρώπους and not something like με πολλούς ανθρώπους?

Με means with (together with), while σε is the general preposition used in many combinations, including μπροστά σε (in front of).

• μπροστά σε πολλούς ανθρώπους = in front of many people (as your audience)
• με πολλούς ανθρώπους = with many people (together with them, on the same side)

So only μπροστά σε gives the meaning of performing in front of them.

Why do we say πολλούς ανθρώπους with those endings?

Πολλούς ανθρώπους is masculine plural accusative:

• πολύς άνθρωπος – much / a lot man (singular, nominative – dictionary form: άνθρωπος)
• πολλοί άνθρωποι – many people (nominative plural)
• πολλούς ανθρώπους – many people (accusative plural)

We use the accusative here because they are the complement of the preposition σε (μπροστά σε ποιον; – μπροστά σε πολλούς ανθρώπους).

So the endings:

• πολλ-ούς (masc. acc. pl.)
• ανθρώπ-ους (masc. acc. pl.)

Why is there no word for people like κόσμος instead of άνθρωποι? Could we say that?

Yes, you could also say:

• Μερικές φορές διστάζω να μιλήσω ελληνικά μπροστά σε πολύ κόσμο.

Κόσμος here means people / crowd in a collective sense, not world.

Differences:

• πολλούς ανθρώπους – many individuals (more literal)
• πολύ κόσμο – a lot of people / a crowd (more colloquial and very natural in speech)

Both are fine; πολύ κόσμο is very common in everyday Greek.

Why is there no εγώ in διστάζω? How do we know it means I hesitate?

In Greek, the verb ending usually shows the subject, so subject pronouns (εγώ, εσύ, αυτός etc.) are often dropped unless needed for emphasis or contrast.

The -ω ending in διστάζω tells us the subject is I:

• διστάζω = I hesitate
• διστάζεις = you hesitate
• διστάζει = he/she/it hesitates

You would add εγώ only if you wanted to stress I in contrast to others:

• Εγώ διστάζω να μιλήσω ελληνικά, αλλά οι φίλοι μου όχι.
  = I hesitate to speak Greek, but my friends do not.

Can the word order be changed? For example, can ελληνικά move?

Greek word order is relatively flexible, but not all options sound equally natural.

Very natural:

• Μερικές φορές διστάζω να μιλήσω ελληνικά μπροστά σε πολλούς ανθρώπους.
• Μερικές φορές διστάζω να μιλήσω μπροστά σε πολλούς ανθρώπους ελληνικά. (possible, but less usual)

Putting ελληνικά right after μιλήσω is the clearest and smoothest. Moving it far away from the verb often sounds marked or awkward in this type of sentence, even if it is not strictly ungrammatical.

Are there any more natural or common variations of this sentence?

Yes, some very natural alternatives a native might use:

• Μερικές φορές διστάζω να μιλήσω ελληνικά μπροστά σε πολύ κόσμο.
  (using πολύ κόσμο instead of πολλούς ανθρώπους)

• Καμιά φορά διστάζω να μιλήσω στα ελληνικά μπροστά σε πολύ κόσμο.
  (Καμιά φορά = sometimes; στα ελληνικά = in Greek)

All of these keep the same basic meaning:
Sometimes I hesitate to speak Greek in front of many people.