Breakdown of Ο καφές σήμερα είναι πολύ δυνατός, αλλά μου αρέσει.
Questions & Answers about Ο καφές σήμερα είναι πολύ δυνατός, αλλά μου αρέσει.
In Greek, singular countable nouns very often need the definite article ο / η / το, even when English would drop “the”.
- Ο καφές = “the coffee”, but it can also mean “the coffee (I’m drinking now)” or even “coffee in general”, depending on context.
- Saying Καφές σήμερα είναι πολύ δυνατός (without ο) sounds incomplete or unnatural in standard Greek. You would typically need:
- Ο καφές σήμερα είναι… (natural), or
- Σήμερα ο καφές είναι… (also natural; just a different word order).
Bare καφές is normally used in fixed expressions (e.g. menu items, headlines, short notes), or in the accusative when ordering: Θέλω έναν καφέ (“I want a coffee”).
In Greek, every noun has a grammatical gender. Καφές (coffee) is:
- Gender: masculine
- Article: ο καφές (nominative singular)
The adjective δυνατός (strong) must agree with the noun in:
- gender (masculine),
- number (singular),
- case (nominative, because it is the subject complement with είναι).
So we get:
- Ο καφές – masculine singular nominative
- δυνατός – masculine singular nominative
If the noun changed, the adjective would change:
- Η μπύρα είναι δυνατή. – The beer is strong. (feminine)
- Το τσάι είναι δυνατό. – The tea is strong. (neuter)
Δυνατός is a general word meaning:
- strong (physically, in taste, etc.)
- powerful
- able / capable (in some contexts)
In this sentence, with καφές, it specifically means:
- “strong coffee” (high in caffeine or intense in flavor)
Other uses:
- Ένας δυνατός άντρας – a strong man (physically).
- Μια δυνατή μηχανή – a powerful engine.
- Ένας δυνατός μαθητής – a capable/strong student (good at school).
So the exact nuance depends on the noun it describes. With drinks like coffee, δυνατός almost always means “strong (in taste / caffeine)”.
Πολύ in this sentence is an adverb meaning “very”. As an adverb, it is invariable (doesn’t change for gender, number, or case):
- πολύ δυνατός – very strong (masculine)
- πολύ δυνατή – very strong (feminine)
- πολύ δυνατό – very strong (neuter)
When πολύς / πολλή / πολύ is an adjective meaning “much / many”, it does change:
- πολύς καφές – much coffee (masculine)
- πολλή ζάχαρη – much sugar (feminine)
- πολλά ποτήρια – many glasses (neuter plural)
In πολύ δυνατός, it’s modifying the adjective δυνατός, telling you the degree (“how strong”), so it’s an adverb and stays πολύ.
Both word orders are correct; Greek is flexible with adverbs like σήμερα (“today”).
You can say:
- Ο καφές σήμερα είναι πολύ δυνατός…
- Σήμερα ο καφές είναι πολύ δυνατός…
The difference is mostly about emphasis and rhythm:
- Σήμερα ο καφές… slightly emphasizes “today”: “Today, the coffee is very strong…”
- Ο καφές σήμερα… is more neutral, like “The coffee (that we have) today is very strong…”
Neither is wrong; both are natural. Moving σήμερα around (σήμερα, σήμερα ο καφές, ο καφές σήμερα) is common and understood from context and stress in speech.
Yes, in standard Greek punctuation, αλλά (“but”) normally takes a comma before it when it links two clauses, just like “but” in English:
- Ο καφές σήμερα είναι πολύ δυνατός, αλλά μου αρέσει.
→ Two clauses:- Ο καφές σήμερα είναι πολύ δυνατός
- μου αρέσει
Other examples:
- Θέλω να έρθω, αλλά δεν μπορώ. – I want to come, but I can’t.
- Είναι ακριβό, αλλά αξίζει. – It’s expensive, but it’s worth it.
So using a comma before αλλά is the normal, correct way when it joins two statements.
Μου αρέσει literally means something like “it pleases me”. Grammatically:
- αρέσει – 3rd person singular of the verb αρέσω (to be pleasing)
- μου – weak pronoun in the indirect object (dative-like) role = “to me”
So the underlying idea is:
- (Ο καφές) μου αρέσει.
→ “The coffee is pleasing to me.”
→ “I like (the) coffee.”
Key points:
- The thing you like (e.g. ο καφές) is logically the subject of αρέσει.
- The person who likes it is expressed with a pronoun like μου = to me, σου = to you, του = to him, etc.
More examples:
- Μου αρέσει ο καφές. – I like coffee.
- Της αρέσει το τσάι. – She likes tea. (Tea is pleasing to her.)
- Μας αρέσει η μουσική. – We like music.
The subject (ο καφές) has already been mentioned in the first part of the sentence:
- Ο καφές σήμερα είναι πολύ δυνατός, αλλά μου αρέσει.
In Greek (as in English), when it’s completely clear what you’re talking about, you don’t have to repeat the noun:
- Ο καφές είναι δυνατός, αλλά μου αρέσει.
→ “The coffee is strong, but I like (it).”
The understood subject of αρέσει is still ο καφές, from the previous clause. You could repeat it:
- Ο καφές σήμερα είναι πολύ δυνατός, αλλά ο καφές μου αρέσει.
but it sounds heavy and unnecessary in normal conversation.
With αρέσει, the weak pronoun like μου almost always goes before the verb:
- Μου αρέσει. – I like it.
- Σου αρέσει; – Do you like it?
- Του/Της/Τους/Της αρέσει. – He/She/They like it.
You cannot say αρέσει μου in standard modern Greek; that sounds wrong. The weak pronoun has a fixed position: usually before the verb in simple tenses.
Negation:
- Δεν μου αρέσει. – I don’t like it.
(Here δεν comes first, then μου, then αρέσει.)
You can use a strong pronoun for emphasis along with the weak one:
- Εμένα μου αρέσει. – I like it (even if others don’t).
You only need to add the negation δεν before μου:
- Ο καφές σήμερα είναι πολύ δυνατός, αλλά δεν μου αρέσει.
= “The coffee today is very strong, but I don’t like it.”
Word order with negation and pronoun:
- δεν (not)
- μου (to me)
- αρέσει (is pleasing)
So the pattern is: δεν + pronoun + verb.