Breakdown of Συνήθως τρώμε το βραδινό μας στην κουζίνα, αλλά σήμερα θα φάμε στο σαλόνι.
Questions & Answers about Συνήθως τρώμε το βραδινό μας στην κουζίνα, αλλά σήμερα θα φάμε στο σαλόνι.
Τρώμε is present tense, 1st person plural: we eat / we are eating.
Here it expresses a habitual action: we usually eat.
Θα φάμε is future simple (aoristic future), also 1st person plural: we will eat.
In aspect terms:
- τρώμε = imperfective aspect (ongoing / repeated / habitual)
- θα φάμε = perfective aspect (a single, complete event in the future)
So the sentence contrasts:
- Συνήθως τρώμε = We usually eat (habit)
- σήμερα θα φάμε = today we will eat (this one specific time)
In Greek, subject pronouns (like εγώ, εσύ, αυτός, εμείς) are usually omitted because the verb ending already shows the person and number.
- τρώμε and θα φάμε both end in -με, which marks 1st person plural (we).
You would only add εμείς for emphasis or contrast, for example:
- Εμείς συνήθως τρώμε στην κουζίνα, αλλά σήμερα θα φάμε στο σαλόνι.
= We (as opposed to others) usually eat in the kitchen, but today we’ll eat in the living room.
Το βραδινό μας literally means our evening (meal) and is used as our dinner.
Details:
- βραδινό is an adjective meaning evening (related to βράδυ = evening).
- In Greek, adjectives can be used as nouns when you add a definite article.
- το βραδινό = the evening meal → dinner
- μας is the unstressed possessive pronoun our.
So:
- το βραδινό μας = our dinner
The article το is normal here: Greek almost always uses an article with meals seen as specific things (the breakfast, the lunch, the dinner), whereas English often omits it.
Greek unstressed possessives (like μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) normally come after the noun:
- το βιβλίο μου = my book
- το βραδινό μας = our dinner
So the normal pattern is:
- article + noun (or adjective used as noun) + possessive clitic
You could also express possession more strongly with δικός, but that changes the structure and adds emphasis:
- το δικό μας βραδινό = our own dinner (emphasizing “ours, not someone else’s”)
They are related but not identical:
βράδυ = evening, night (time of day)
- Το βράδυ τρώμε. = We eat in the evening.
βραδινό (as a noun with article) = evening meal, so effectively dinner
- το βραδινό = the dinner
δείπνο = dinner, supper, a more formal or somewhat bookish word
- το δείπνο = the dinner (sounds more formal or “proper”)
In everyday spoken Greek, το βραδινό is very common for dinner.
You could say:
- Συνήθως τρώμε το δείπνο μας στην κουζίνα,
but it sounds a bit more formal than το βραδινό μας.
Στην and στο are contractions of the preposition σε + definite article:
- σε + την = στην (before feminine singular, accusative)
- στην κουζίνα = in the kitchen
- σε + το = στο (before neuter singular, accusative)
- στο σαλόνι = in the living room
So:
- κουζίνα is feminine → την κουζίνα → στην κουζίνα
- σαλόνι is neuter → το σαλόνι → στο σαλόνι
The preposition σε covers meanings like in, at, to depending on context.
Here, both στην κουζίνα and στο σαλόνι mean in the kitchen / in the living room.
Modern Greek no longer has a distinct dative case; it mostly uses σε + accusative instead.
So:
- στην κουζίνα = σε + την κουζίνα (accusative)
- Functionally, this covers meanings that older Greek expressed with the dative, such as in / at / to the kitchen.
So even though in English “in the kitchen” sounds like a locative use, in Modern Greek it is formed as:
- σε + accusative → στην κουζίνα
Yes, συνήθως (usually) is fairly flexible in position. All of these are possible:
- Συνήθως τρώμε το βραδινό μας στην κουζίνα.
- Τρώμε συνήθως το βραδινό μας στην κουζίνα.
- Τρώμε το βραδινό μας συνήθως στην κουζίνα.
They all mean roughly the same: we usually eat our dinner in the kitchen.
Subtle differences:
- At the beginning (Συνήθως τρώμε...) it sounds like you are setting up a general habit right away.
- In the middle, it may slightly emphasize the verb or the phrase it’s closest to, but in everyday speech the difference is minimal.
Both are possible:
- ...αλλά σήμερα θα φάμε στο σαλόνι.
- ...αλλά θα φάμε σήμερα στο σαλόνι.
The main meaning is the same: but today we will eat in the living room.
Nuances:
- σήμερα θα φάμε: slightly stronger emphasis on “today” as the contrast to what usually happens.
- θα φάμε σήμερα: more neutral; σήμερα just specifies when you will eat in the living room.
Greek word order is quite flexible. Time adverbs like σήμερα can move around without changing the basic meaning.
In Greek, αλλά (but) is usually preceded by a comma when it introduces a new clause with its own verb, similar to English:
- Συνήθως τρώμε το βραδινό μας στην κουζίνα, αλλά σήμερα θα φάμε στο σαλόνι.
Two clauses:
- Συνήθως τρώμε το βραδινό μας στην κουζίνα
- σήμερα θα φάμε στο σαλόνι
The comma separates them, and αλλά connects them with the sense of contrast.
Both exist but they express different aspects:
θα φάμε = future simple / aoristic future (perfective aspect)
→ one complete action in the future: we will (have) a meal / we’ll eat (once).θα τρώμε = future continuous (imperfective aspect)
→ an ongoing or repeated action in the future: we will be eating / we will habitually eat.
In this sentence, we are talking about one special instance (“today”), so Greek naturally uses:
- σήμερα θα φάμε = today we will (have) dinner (once, in the living room).
Κουζίνα in Greek can mean both:
The physical room:
- Τρώμε στην κουζίνα. = We eat in the kitchen.
Cuisine / style of cooking:
- μου αρέσει η ιταλική κουζίνα = I like Italian cuisine.
In this sentence, with στην κουζίνα, it clearly means the room.
Yes, that word order is also correct:
- Συνήθως τρώμε στην κουζίνα το βραδινό μας.
Greek allows flexibility. The original:
- Συνήθως τρώμε το βραδινό μας στην κουζίνα
and your version both mean:
- We usually eat our dinner in the kitchen.
Small nuance: placing στην κουζίνα earlier can slightly emphasize the place, but in everyday speech the difference is minor, and both are natural.