Το απόγευμα το ίδιο λεωφορείο είναι γεμάτο και είναι δύσκολο να βρω θέση.

In the afternoon the same bus is full and it is difficult to find a seat.

Breakdown of Το απόγευμα το ίδιο λεωφορείο είναι γεμάτο και είναι δύσκολο να βρω θέση.

• είμαι: to be
• και: and
• να: to
• το λεωφορείο: the bus
• βρίσκω: to find
• δύσκολος: difficult
• ίδιος: same
• το απόγευμα: in the afternoon
• η θέση: the seat
• γεμάτος: full

Questions & Answers about Το απόγευμα το ίδιο λεωφορείο είναι γεμάτο και είναι δύσκολο να βρω θέση.

Why do we say Το απόγευμα with the article το? Could I omit it and just say Απόγευμα?

In Greek, times of day and many time expressions usually take the definite article:

• το πρωί – in the morning
• το μεσημέρι – at noon
• το βράδυ – in the evening
• το απόγευμα – in the afternoon

Here Το απόγευμα naturally means In the afternoon (in general / habitually).

You can omit the article in some contexts, but the meaning feels a bit different:

• Απόγευμα πήγα βόλτα. – One afternoon / In the afternoon I went for a walk (more like a narrative, “on an afternoon, I went…”).

So in a neutral, general statement like your sentence, Το απόγευμα with the article is the normal, natural choice.

Is the word order Το απόγευμα το ίδιο λεωφορείο… fixed, or can I move things around?

Greek word order is relatively flexible. Your version:

• Το απόγευμα το ίδιο λεωφορείο είναι γεμάτο…

is very natural: As for the afternoon, the same bus is full… – it first sets the time, then the subject.

You could also say:

• Το ίδιο λεωφορείο το απόγευμα είναι γεμάτο…
  (focusing first on “the same bus” and then specifying in the afternoon.)
• Το ίδιο λεωφορείο είναι γεμάτο το απόγευμα…
  (more like: The same bus is full in the afternoon.)

All are grammatically correct. The differences are mainly in emphasis and rhythm, not in basic meaning. The original order is the most neutral and common for this kind of sentence.

Why is it το ίδιο λεωφορείο and not ο ίδιος λεωφορείος or something else?

The noun λεωφορείο is:

• gender: neuter
• number: singular
• basic form: (το) λεωφορείο

In Greek, adjectives agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. The adjective ίδιος (same) has these main nominative forms:

• masculine: ίδιος – ο ίδιος φίλος (the same male friend)
• feminine: ίδια – η ίδια φίλη (the same female friend)
• neuter: ίδιο – το ίδιο λεωφορείο (the same bus)

So το ίδιο λεωφορείο is the correct combination:
article το (neuter) + adjective ίδιο (neuter) + noun λεωφορείο (neuter).

You’ll never see ο ίδιος λεωφορείος because:

• λεωφορείο is neuter, not masculine; and
• the correct masculine article is ο, but it must match a masculine noun.

Could I say το λεωφορείο το ίδιο instead of το ίδιο λεωφορείο? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say το λεωφορείο το ίδιο, but there is a nuance:

• το ίδιο λεωφορείο is the neutral, default way to say the same bus.
• το λεωφορείο το ίδιο usually adds contrastive emphasis, a bit like the bus itself / the bus in particular.

In your sentence, το ίδιο λεωφορείο is the natural, unmarked choice. Using το λεωφορείο το ίδιο would sound a bit heavier and more contrastive, as if you were contrasting that bus with something else already mentioned.

Why is it γεμάτο and not γεμάτος or γεμάτη?

The adjective γεμάτος (full) has three basic nominative singular forms:

• masculine: γεμάτος – ο δρόμος είναι γεμάτος
• feminine: γεμάτη – η τσάντα είναι γεμάτη
• neuter: γεμάτο – το λεωφορείο είναι γεμάτο

Since λεωφορείο is neuter, the adjective must also be neuter: γεμάτο.

So:

• Το λεωφορείο είναι γεμάτο. – The bus is full.

It’s exactly the same agreement pattern as in English with he / she / it is full, but here the adjective itself changes form to match the gender.

Does είναι γεμάτο mean “is full right now” or “gets full in the afternoons”? What kind of time meaning does it have?

The present tense είναι can express both:

1. A situation right now:

   • Το λεωφορείο είναι γεμάτο. – The bus is full (at this moment).

2. A general / habitual situation, especially with a time expression like το απόγευμα:

   • Το απόγευμα το ίδιο λεωφορείο είναι γεμάτο.
     → In the afternoon, the same bus is (usually) full.

In your sentence, because of Το απόγευμα, the natural interpretation is habitual/general: it describes what normally happens in the afternoons, not a single specific afternoon. Greek doesn’t need a separate form like English gets full or is usually full; context gives that nuance.

How does είναι δύσκολο να βρω θέση work grammatically? Where is the “it” and where is “for me”?

The structure is:

• είναι δύσκολο – it is difficult (impersonal)
• να βρω – to find (that I find)
• θέση – a seat

In Greek:

• είναι δύσκολο is an impersonal expression; there is no word for it.
• The subject of βρω (I find) is understood from the verb ending; Greek omits εγώ unless you want extra emphasis.

So:

• είναι δύσκολο να βρω θέση literally: is difficult that I find a seat → it is difficult (for me) to find a seat.

If you want to make for me explicit, you can say:

• Για μένα είναι δύσκολο να βρω θέση.
• Είναι δύσκολο για μένα να βρω θέση.

But it’s usually not necessary; it’s already clear from βρω being first person singular.

Why is it να βρω and not να βρίσκω? What’s the difference?

Greek uses two different aspects in the subjunctive with να:

• να βρω – aorist subjunctive (single, complete event)
• να βρίσκω – present subjunctive (ongoing/repeated process)

In your sentence:

• είναι δύσκολο να βρω θέση
  = it is difficult for me to find a seat (at all / get hold of one)

This talks about the result (managing to get a seat), so the aorist aspect βρω is correct.

If you said:

• είναι δύσκολο να βρίσκω θέση

it would sound like you’re talking about an ongoing repeated activity of finding seats all the time, and it’s unusual here. It would usually only make sense in a more abstract/habitual context, and even then να βρω is strongly preferred.

So:
for “it’s hard to manage to do X (even once in each situation)”, Greek normally uses να + aorist (να βρω).

Why is there no article before θέση? Why not να βρω μια θέση?

Both are possible, but there is a nuance:

• να βρω θέση – to find (any) seat, seat in general
• να βρω μια θέση – to find a seat (more clearly one seat, a bit more concrete)

In everyday speech, when you mean a seat in a general way, Greeks often drop the article for singular objects after certain verbs, especially βρίσκω:

• Δεν μπορώ να βρω δουλειά. – I can’t find (a) job.
• Πρέπει να βρω σπίτι. – I have to find (a) place to live.
• Είναι δύσκολο να βρω θέση. – It’s hard to find (a) seat.

If you say να βρω μια θέση, you’re still correct; it just sounds a bit more explicitly like “one specific seat”. In this sentence, να βρω θέση is very natural and idiomatic.

What’s the difference between θέση and κάθισμα when talking about a seat on the bus?

Both can refer to a seat, but they are used a bit differently:

• θέση – literally “position, place”; very common for:

  • a seat on a bus, train, plane:
    
    • Δεν βρήκα θέση στο λεωφορείο. – I didn’t find a seat on the bus.
  • a place in a queue, ranking, job position, viewpoint, etc.

• κάθισμα – literally “seat (the physical object you sit on)”:

  • το κάθισμα του οδηγού – the driver’s seat
  • παιδικό κάθισμα αυτοκινήτου – child car seat

On public transport, θέση is much more common for “a seat”. Your sentence is exactly what a native would say.

How do I pronounce tricky words like απόγευμα, λεωφορείο, γεμάτο, δύσκολο, βρω, θέση?

Approximate pronunciations (stress in bold):

• απόγευμα → a-PO-yev-ma
• λεωφορείο → le-o-fo-RI-o (often spoken like le-fo-RI-o, the o in λεω- is very light)
• γεμάτο → ye-MA-to
• δύσκολο → THIS-ko-lo (TH as in this)
• βρω → vro (like vro in Avro, one syllable)
• θέση → THE-see (TH as in the)

Remember that each word has only one stressed syllable, shown by the written accent in Greek.

Where is the “I” in να βρω? Why don’t we see εγώ?

Greek usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the person:

• βρω is 1st person singular subjunctive → that I find
• βρεις → that you find
• βρει → that he/she/it finds, etc.

So να βρω already means that I find / to find (I). Adding εγώ would be for emphasis:

• Εγώ είναι δύσκολο να βρω θέση. – I find it difficult to find a seat (as opposed to others).

In your neutral sentence, omitting εγώ is standard and natural.