Learn Hardcore Greek: Δεν έχω τόσο χρόνο σήμερα.

Δεν έχω τόσο χρόνο σήμερα.

I don't have so much time today.

Breakdown of Δεν έχω τόσο χρόνο σήμερα.

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Questions & Answers about Δεν έχω τόσο χρόνο σήμερα.

What is the literal meaning of Δεν έχω τόσο χρόνο σήμερα and how would I translate it naturally into English?

Word-for-word, it is:

Δεν – not
έχω – I have
τόσο – so much / that much
χρόνο – time (accusative case)
σήμερα – today

Literal: “I do not have so much time today.”

Natural English:

“I don’t have that much time today.”
or “I don’t have much time today.”

What does δεν do, and where does it go in the sentence?

Δεν is the basic word for negation in Greek; it means “not”.

It normally goes directly before the verb it negates.

So:

Έχω χρόνο. – I have time.
Δεν έχω χρόνο. – I don’t have time.

You can put other words before δεν for emphasis or context, but δεν itself stays right in front of the verb:

Σήμερα δεν έχω τόσο χρόνο. – Today I don’t have that much time.

Why is it έχω (“I have”) and not something like “I am” (είμαι), as in “I am short of time”?

Greek expresses this idea with the verb έχω (to have), not with είμαι (to be).

Δεν έχω χρόνο. literally: I don’t have time.

Using είμαι here would sound wrong or at least very odd. The idiomatic way to say you lack time is always with έχω:

Δεν έχω καθόλου χρόνο. – I don’t have any time at all.
Έχω λίγο χρόνο. – I have a little time.

So you should think of it exactly like English “I don’t have time”, not “I am without time.”

What exactly does τόσο mean here, and how is it different from πολύ?

Τόσο means “so much / that much”, usually referring to:

a specific amount that was mentioned before, or
an expected amount in the context.

In Δεν έχω τόσο χρόνο σήμερα, it means:

“I don’t have that much time today (as much as you’re asking for / as much as we’d like).”

Πολύ, on the other hand, means “a lot / much” more generally.

Compare:

Δεν έχω πολύ χρόνο σήμερα.
– I don’t have much time today (in general, just not a lot).
Δεν έχω τόσο χρόνο σήμερα.
– I don’t have that much time today (not as much as is being assumed or needed).

So τόσο often implies comparison to some idea of how much is needed or expected.

Why is it τόσο χρόνο and not something like τόση χρόνο or τόσον χρόνο?

Τόσος is an adjective that agrees in gender, number, and case with the noun it modifies.

The noun χρόνος (time) is masculine, singular.
In this sentence it’s the direct object, so it’s accusative: χρόνο.

So you need the masculine accusative singular form of τόσος:

Masculine nominative: τόσος χρόνος – so much time (subject)
Masculine accusative: τόσο χρόνο – so much time (object)

That’s why it’s τόσο χρόνο, not τόση χρόνο (feminine form) or τόσον χρόνο (an older or very formal variant you may see in writing, but not in everyday speech).

Why is there no article? Why not Δεν έχω τον χρόνο σήμερα?

In Greek, just like in English, “time” can be:

indefinite / uncountable (“I don’t have time”), or
definite / specific (“I don’t have the time (for this task)”).

In Δεν έχω τόσο χρόνο σήμερα, we are talking about time in general, an amount of time, so no article is natural:

Δεν έχω χρόνο. – I don’t have (any) time.
Δεν έχω τόσο χρόνο. – I don’t have that much time.

If you say:

Δεν έχω τον χρόνο σήμερα.

this sounds like “I don’t have the time today” for some particular, understood activity. It’s possible, but more specific and less neutral than the version without the article.

What is the role of σήμερα and can it appear in other positions in the sentence?

Σήμερα means “today” and works as an adverb of time.

Greek word order is fairly flexible, so you can move σήμερα around without changing the basic meaning; only the emphasis changes. All of these are correct:

Δεν έχω τόσο χρόνο σήμερα. – Neutral: “I don’t have that much time today.”
Σήμερα δεν έχω τόσο χρόνο. – Emphasis on today: “Today I don’t have that much time (but maybe on other days I do).”
Δεν έχω σήμερα τόσο χρόνο. – Slight emphasis on σήμερα in the middle, still fine.

The most common versions in everyday speech would probably be either:

Δεν έχω τόσο χρόνο σήμερα.
Σήμερα δεν έχω τόσο χρόνο.

Why is it χρόνο and not χρόνος? What case is this?

Χρόνος is a masculine noun:

Nominative singular: χρόνος (used for the subject)
Accusative singular: χρόνο (used for the direct object)

In Δεν έχω τόσο χρόνο σήμερα, χρόνο is the direct object of the verb έχω (“I have”), so it must be in the accusative case.

Ο χρόνος περνάει. – Time passes. (subject → nominative)
Δεν έχω χρόνο. – I don’t have time. (object → accusative)

What is the difference between χρόνος and ώρα for “time”? Which one should I use here?

Both can be translated as “time”, but they’re used differently:

χρόνος – time in general, duration, the abstract concept of time.
- Δεν έχω χρόνο. – I don’t have time.
- Χρειάζομαι χρόνο. – I need time.
ώρα – primarily “hour” or “clock time”.
- Τι ώρα είναι; – What time is it?
- Έχω μία ώρα. – I have one hour.

In Δεν έχω τόσο χρόνο σήμερα, you’re talking about a general amount of time, not a specific number of hours or a clock time, so χρόνο is the correct word.

Does the Greek present tense έχω here mean “I don’t have time right now” or “I never have time today”?

The present tense in Greek (έχω) is similar to English “I have / I am having” in this context. It usually refers to:

the current situation or
the situation over a short time frame (like today).

Δεν έχω τόσο χρόνο σήμερα is best understood as:

“I don’t have that much time available today.”

It doesn’t mean “I never have time in my life today” (that doesn’t even make sense); it’s about today’s schedule / availability, similar to English. Context will tell you whether it’s “right now” or “throughout the day today.”

Could I also say Δεν έχω πολύ χρόνο σήμερα? Is there a difference in meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Δεν έχω πολύ χρόνο σήμερα. – I don’t have much time today.

The difference is subtle:

πολύ χρόνο – “a lot of time” (general quantity).
- You’re just saying you don’t have a lot of time.
τόσο χρόνο – “so much / that much time” (relative to something).
- You’re saying you don’t have as much as is being expected or needed.

Example nuance:

Someone suggests a 3-hour meeting. You might respond:
- Δεν έχω τόσο χρόνο σήμερα. – I don’t have that much time today (3 hours is too much).

If you just want to say you’re quite busy and generally short on time, πολύ is often more neutral.

How do you pronounce Δεν έχω τόσο χρόνο σήμερα correctly?

Approximate pronunciation (using English sounds):

Δεν – then (like “then” in English, but with a softer th).
έχω – EH-ho
- χ is like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch, a voiceless throaty sound.
τόσο – TOH-so (stress on τό).
χρόνο – HRO-no
- Again χρ at the beginning: that same throaty ch
  - rolled or tapped r.
σήμερα – SEE-meh-ra (stress on σί).

Putting it together, with main stressed syllables in caps:

THEN É-ho TÓ-so HRÓ-no SÍ-me-ra

Remember in Greek each word has one main stress, marked in writing with the accent (έ, ό, ή, etc.).

Is there any contraction or change to δεν before έχω or χρόνο, like δε?

In standard writing, you use δεν before both vowels and consonants:

Δεν έχω χρόνο.

In informal speech, especially fast speech, people often pronounce it more like “δε”:

You might hear: Δε(n) έχω χρόνο.
But you usually write: Δεν έχω χρόνο.

There is no special rule like in some languages where the form always changes before vowels; it’s mostly a matter of spoken reduction and style. In correct written Modern Greek, δεν is the normal form here.