Learn Hardcore Greek: Πρόσφατα άρχισα να γράφω ημερολόγιο κάθε βράδυ πριν κοιμηθώ. - Recently I started to write a diary every night before I sleep.

Τελευταία can also mean recently, but it often has an idea of lately / these days / in the period up to now, sometimes including the present and suggesting a more ongoing situation or trend.

Τελευταία γράφω ημερολόγιο κάθε βράδυ.
= Lately I’ve been keeping a diary every night. (focus on a continuing habit)

In your sentence, Πρόσφατα is natural because it refers to the time when the action of starting happened.

Why is it άρχισα (past tense) and not αρχίζω or έχω αρχίσει?

Άρχισα is the simple past (aorist) of αρχίζω and refers to a completed starting point in the past:

Πρόσφατα άρχισα…
= I started recently… (the act of starting is seen as one completed event)

Alternatives and nuances:

Πρόσφατα αρχίζω να γράφω ημερολόγιο…
Sounds odd in modern Greek; you wouldn’t normally use present here for recently started.
Πρόσφατα έχω αρχίσει να γράφω ημερολόγιο…
Grammatically possible, but less common and can sound a bit influenced by English. Greeks more often just say Πρόσφατα άρχισα… or Τελευταία γράφω….

So άρχισα is the most natural way to express I started here.

Why do we say να γράφω and not να γράψω after άρχισα?

Greek verbs have aspect:

γράφω = imperfective aspect (ongoing, repeated, habitual)
γράψω = perfective aspect (one whole, single, completed action)

After verbs like αρχίζω, when you want to express an activity or habit that continues or is repeated, you normally use the imperfective:

άρχισα να γράφω ημερολόγιο
= I started writing / keeping a diary (as an ongoing habit).

If you said:

άρχισα να γράψω το ημερολόγιο

it would sound like you started to write (and presumably finish) a specific diary entry / text, not that you began the habit of keeping a diary.

So να γράφω is used because it presents writing a diary as a repeated, ongoing activity.

What is the role of να in να γράφω and να κοιμηθώ?

Να introduces a subjunctive clause in modern Greek. It usually appears after verbs like:

θέλω (I want)
πρέπει (I must / should)
μπορώ (I can)
αρχίζω (I start)
and after some linking words like πριν (before), για να (in order to), etc.

In your sentence:

άρχισα να γράφω
= I started (to) write / I started writing
πριν κοιμηθώ
= before I sleep / go to sleep

So να (explicit in να γράφω, implicit after πριν) marks the verb as subjunctive, which is the normal form in these kinds of structures.

Why is it ημερολόγιο without an article? Why not το ημερολόγιο?

In Greek, the object doesn’t always need an article. Here, γράφω ημερολόγιο expresses a general activity / practice, not a specific diary.

Compare:

γράφω ημερολόγιο
= I keep a diary (as an activity / habit)
γράφω το ημερολόγιο
= I write the diary (a specific diary that is known in the context – less natural in this generic meaning)

Like English I drink coffee (no article), Greek often drops the article when the noun expresses a general, repeated activity or category:

Πίνω καφέ. = I drink coffee.
Παίζω ποδόσφαιρο. = I play football.
Γράφω ημερολόγιο. = I keep a diary.

Does γράφω ημερολόγιο literally mean write a diary, or is it an idiomatic way to say keep a diary?

Literally, γράφω ημερολόγιο is I write a diary, but in practice it is the normal way to say I keep a diary.

You might also hear:

κρατάω ημερολόγιο
= I keep / maintain a diary (even closer to English keep a diary)

In everyday speech, both γράφω ημερολόγιο and κρατάω ημερολόγιο are natural. Your sentence with γράφω is perfectly idiomatic.

Why is it κάθε βράδυ without an article? Do we ever say κάθε το βράδυ?

With κάθε (each / every), Greek does not use the article:

κάθε βράδυ = every night
κάθε μέρα = every day
κάθε εβδομάδα = every week

Κάθε το βράδυ is incorrect.

So κάθε + noun is the normal pattern when talking about repeated times or items, just like every + noun in English.

What is the difference between βράδυ and νύχτα?

Both relate to night, but are used a bit differently:

βράδυ = evening / night-time, usually from early evening (after sunset) until you go to bed.
- κάθε βράδυ = every evening / every night (before sleeping)
νύχτα = night as the darker, later part of the night; can sound later / deeper into the night, or used in more literal, sometimes stronger contexts:
- Μέσα στη νύχτα = in the middle of the night
- Οδήγησα όλη τη νύχτα. = I drove all night.

In your sentence, κάθε βράδυ is natural because it’s about the time before you go to sleep.

Why is it πριν κοιμηθώ and not πριν κοιμάμαι?

Κοιμηθώ is the aorist subjunctive of κοιμάμαι / κοιμούμαι (to sleep), used for a single, complete event: the act of falling asleep / sleeping.

With πριν (before), when we talk about a single future / repeated event in time, Greek normally uses the perfective subjunctive:

πριν κοιμηθώ = before I (go to) sleep

Πριν κοιμάμαι would sound wrong here. Κοιμάμαι is present (imperfective) and describes a state or ongoing action, not a single point in time.

So πριν + (να) + aorist subjunctive is the standard pattern:

πριν φύγω = before I leave
πριν φάω = before I eat
πριν κοιμηθώ = before I sleep

Can we say πριν να κοιμηθώ, or is να wrong after πριν?

In modern standard Greek, after πριν we usually omit να:

πριν κοιμηθώ (preferred, standard)
πριν φύγω, πριν φάω, etc.

You might hear πριν να in some dialects or informal speech, but in standard usage:

πριν + subjunctive (without να) is the norm.

So for correct, neutral Greek, stick with πριν κοιμηθώ.

Could the word order be Άρχισα πρόσφατα να γράφω ημερολόγιο…? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Πρόσφατα άρχισα να γράφω ημερολόγιο…
Άρχισα πρόσφατα να γράφω ημερολόγιο…

Both are grammatically correct and mean the same thing: I recently started keeping a diary…

The difference is only slight in emphasis:

Πρόσφατα άρχισα… → small emphasis on recently at the start.
Άρχισα πρόσφατα… → slightly more focus on the fact that you started, with πρόσφατα tied more closely to άρχισα.

In everyday speech, both word orders are perfectly natural.

How would I say I have recently started keeping a diary in Greek? Is the sentence given equivalent to that?

Your sentence:

Πρόσφατα άρχισα να γράφω ημερολόγιο…

corresponds to both:

I recently started keeping a diary, and
I have recently started keeping a diary

Greek does not use a separate present perfect form here the way English does. The aorist (άρχισα) with an adverb like πρόσφατα covers both simple past and present perfect meanings, depending on context.

If you want to emphasize the ongoing habit, you can also say:

Τελευταία γράφω ημερολόγιο κάθε βράδυ.
= Lately I’ve been keeping a diary every night.