Learn Hardcore Greek: Σήμερα είμαι αρκετά κουρασμένος, αλλά συνεχίζω το μάθημα. - Today I am quite tired, but I continue the lesson.

So the whole sentence is: Today I am quite tired, but I continue the lesson (more natural English: but I’m continuing the lesson or but I’m carrying on with the lesson).

Why is there no word for I? Why is it just είμαι and not εγώ είμαι?

Greek usually drops subject pronouns (like I, you, he) because the verb ending already shows the subject.

είμαι is first person singular → it can only mean I am in this sentence.
εγώ είμαι also exists, but it’s used when you want to emphasize I (e.g. Εγώ είμαι κουρασμένος, όχι εσύ = I am tired, not you).

In neutral statements, just είμαι is normal and natural.

Why is κουρασμένος in the masculine form? How would it change for a woman?

κουρασμένος is an adjective meaning tired. In Greek, adjectives agree with the gender and number of the noun (or pronoun) they describe.

Here, the implied subject is εγώ (I). We assume the speaker is male, so:

Masculine: κουρασμένος
Feminine: κουρασμένη
Neuter (for a neuter noun): κουρασμένο

So if a woman were speaking, she would say:

Σήμερα είμαι αρκετά κουρασμένη, αλλά συνεχίζω το μάθημα.
= Today I am quite tired, but I’m continuing the lesson.

What exactly does αρκετά mean here? Is it quite, enough, or very?

αρκετά can have a few related meanings, depending on context:

Enough (quantity / sufficiency)
- Έχω αρκετά χρήματα. = I have enough money.
Quite / fairly / rather (intensity of an adjective/adverb)
- Είναι αρκετά δύσκολο. = It’s quite difficult.

In this sentence:

είμαι αρκετά κουρασμένος
→ I am quite tired / rather tired / fairly tired

It does not mean very tired (that would normally be πολύ κουρασμένος). It suggests a noticeable but not extreme degree of tiredness.

Can I say πολύ κουρασμένος instead of αρκετά κουρασμένος? What’s the difference?

Yes, both are correct, but they don’t feel the same:

πολύ κουρασμένος = very tired, really tired
Stronger, more intense.
αρκετά κουρασμένος = quite / rather tired
Still clearly tired, but not as strong as πολύ. It feels a bit softer or more moderate.

So:

Σήμερα είμαι πολύ κουρασμένος → I’m very tired today.
Σήμερα είμαι αρκετά κουρασμένος → I’m quite tired today.

Why is σήμερα (today) at the beginning? Could I say Είμαι σήμερα αρκετά κουρασμένος?

Yes, σήμερα is flexible in position, but the most common, natural spot is at the beginning:

Σήμερα είμαι αρκετά κουρασμένος… (most natural)
Είμαι σήμερα αρκετά κουρασμένος… (also possible, slightly more marked)
Less typical but still possible in speech: Είμαι αρκετά κουρασμένος σήμερα.

Greek word order is relatively flexible. Placing σήμερα at the start emphasizes Today as the frame of the statement, much like English: Today I’m quite tired…

What tense is είμαι and what tense is συνεχίζω? Are they like English am and am continuing?

Both είμαι and συνεχίζω are in the present tense, simple (non‑past) in Greek:

είμαι = I am
συνεχίζω = I continue / I am continuing / I keep going

Greek present tense covers both:

I continue the lesson (habitually) and
I am continuing the lesson (right now)

Context decides the best English translation. Here, συνεχίζω το μάθημα is best as I’m continuing / carrying on with the lesson.

Why is there a comma before αλλά? Do I always need a comma before αλλά?

In Greek, αλλά means but, and it usually introduces a contrasting clause. A comma is typically used before αλλά when it connects two clauses:

Σήμερα είμαι αρκετά κουρασμένος, αλλά συνεχίζω το μάθημα.
Two clauses: (I’m quite tired) and (I continue the lesson) → comma is normal.

If αλλά is connecting shorter phrases rather than full clauses, the comma may be omitted:

Είμαι κουρασμένος αλλά χαρούμενος.
= I’m tired but happy.

So: comma before αλλά is very common, especially when joining full sentences.

Why is it συνεχίζω το μάθημα and not something like συνεχίζω με το μάθημα (“continue with the lesson”)?

In Greek, συνεχίζω usually takes a direct object (accusative) without a preposition:

συνεχίζω το μάθημα = I continue the lesson / I keep doing the lesson
συνεχίζουμε τη δουλειά = We continue the work

In English, we often say continue with X, but in Greek you usually just use συνεχίζω + direct object.

συνεχίζω με το μάθημα can appear in some contexts, but it sounds less direct and is not the standard, simple way to say continue the lesson.

Why is the article το used before μάθημα? Could I omit it?

Greek almost always uses the definite article (ο, η, το) with nouns much more than English does.

το μάθημα = the lesson / the class

In this sentence, το μάθημα refers to a specific lesson both speaker and listener know (for example, today’s class), so the definite article το is natural and expected.

Omitting it (συνεχίζω μάθημα) would sound incomplete or ungrammatical in standard Greek in this context. You should say συνεχίζω το μάθημα.

What gender and case is το μάθημα, and how do we know?

μάθημα is a neuter noun.
το is the definite article, neuter singular.
Here, το μάθημα is the direct object of συνεχίζω, so it is in the accusative case.

Neuter definite article:

Nominative: το μάθημα (subject)
Accusative: το μάθημα (object)

For neuter singular, nominative and accusative have the same form (το μάθημα), but we know it’s the object because it follows the verb συνεχίζω and is the thing being continued.

How is κουρασμένος formed? Is it related to a verb?

Yes. κουρασμένος is the past/passive participle (used as an adjective) of the verb κουράζω / κουράζομαι:

κουράζω = I tire (someone)
κουράζομαι (middle/passive) = I get tired / I become tired

From this verb we get the adjective:

κουρασμένος (m.), κουρασμένη (f.), κουρασμένο (n.) = tired

So literally, είμαι κουρασμένος is like saying I am (in a tired state / I have become tired), similar to English I am tired.

Could this sentence also mean I’m quite tired today, but I will continue the lesson (later), or is it strictly present/now?

Grammatically, it is present tense and most naturally refers to now:

Σήμερα είμαι αρκετά κουρασμένος, αλλά συνεχίζω το μάθημα.
→ Today I’m quite tired, but I’m continuing the lesson (now / anyway).

However, Greek present tense can sometimes have a near‑future meaning if the context clearly points to future time (for example with αύριο = tomorrow). In this specific sentence with σήμερα, the default understanding is that you are tired now and you are nevertheless continuing the current lesson, not some distant future one.