Learn Hardcore Greek: Έχω ένα μικρό όνειρο για το μέλλον μου.

Έχω – I have.
- Verb, 1st person singular, present tense of έχω (to have).
ένα – a / one.
- Indefinite article (also the number one), neuter, singular, accusative.
μικρό – small / little.
- Adjective, neuter, singular, accusative, agreeing with όνειρο.
όνειρο – dream.
- Noun, neuter, singular, accusative; object of έχω.
για – for / about.
- Preposition, here meaning roughly about / concerning.
το – the.
- Definite article, neuter, singular, accusative, agreeing with μέλλον.
μέλλον – future.
- Noun, neuter, singular, accusative; object of για.
μου – my.
- Possessive pronoun (clitic), invariable; attached to μέλλον and placed after it: το μέλλον μου = my future.

Why do we need ένα? Could we just say Έχω μικρό όνειρο?

In everyday Greek, Έχω μικρό όνειρο sounds incomplete or unnatural; you almost always use the article here.

Έχω ένα μικρό όνειρο = I have a small dream.
This is the normal, natural phrasing.

You could drop ένα only in some poetic or very stylised language, or if μικρό όνειρο was already clearly defined from earlier context, but that’s unusual. So for standard speech/writing, keep ένα.

Why is the adjective μικρό in the middle (ένα μικρό όνειρο) and not before or after everything?

The neutral, most common position for an adjective in Greek is:

article – adjective – noun
(ένα μικρό όνειρο)

Here:

ένα (article)
μικρό (adjective)
όνειρο (noun)

All three agree in gender, number, and case (neuter, singular, accusative).

Other orders are possible but change emphasis:

μικρό όνειρο (no article) – tends to sound like a generic description, less natural here.
ένα όνειρο μικρό – possible in more literary/poetic styles, placing extra emphasis on small as a kind of afterthought.

Why are ένα, μικρό, όνειρο all in neuter? How do I know όνειρο is neuter?

In Greek, adjectives and articles must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

όνειρο ends in -ο, which is a common neuter ending (especially in nominative/accusative singular).
In dictionaries you’ll see το όνειρο – the article το also tells you it’s neuter.

So:

Noun: όνειρο – neuter, singular
Article: ένα – neuter, singular, accusative (because it’s the direct object of έχω)
Adjective: μικρό – neuter, singular, accusative to match όνειρο

They all line up with each other.

What exactly does για mean here? Is it for or about my future?

για is a very flexible preposition, often translated as:

for (purpose, benefit)
about / regarding (topic)

In για το μέλλον μου, the sense is closer to about / regarding my future, but in English we naturally say for my future in this kind of sentence.

So you can think of it as:

όνειρο για το μέλλον μου ≈ a dream about my future / a dream for my future.

Grammatically, για normally takes the accusative: το μέλλον μου is in the accusative case.

Why is it για το μέλλον μου and not something like του μέλλοντός μου?

Modern Greek prefers prepositions plus the accusative for this kind of meaning:

για το μέλλον μου – preposition για
- accusative; very natural, everyday Greek.

Forms like του μέλλοντός μου (genitive) are:

more formal or old-fashioned,
more typical of written, literary, or very formal contexts,
and usually used in slightly different structures.

So:

όνειρο για το μέλλον μου – normal, modern, spoken style.
όνειρο του μέλλοντός μου – possible, but feels very formal or literary.

Why is the possessive μου after μέλλον and not before, like in English (my future)?

In Greek, weak possessive pronouns (my/your/his…) usually go after the noun:

το μέλλον μου – my future
το σπίτι σου – your house
η ζωή του – his life

So the pattern is:

article – noun – possessive pronoun

Not like English, where my comes first. Saying something like μου το μέλλον would be unusual and would need a special emphatic structure; it’s not the normal way to say my future.

Can I change the word order, for example: Για το μέλλον μου έχω ένα μικρό όνειρο? Does it sound natural?

Yes, Greek word order is quite flexible, and both are grammatically correct:

Έχω ένα μικρό όνειρο για το μέλλον μου.
Neutral, default order.
Για το μέλλον μου έχω ένα μικρό όνειρο.
Slight emphasis on για το μέλλον μου – like As for my future, I have a small dream.

The second version can sound slightly more expressive or rhetorical, but it’s still natural.

What’s the difference between όνειρο as a dream while sleeping and as an ambition? Is this sentence about sleep or goals?

όνειρο covers both meanings:

Dream during sleep:
- Είδα ένα περίεργο όνειρο. – I had a strange dream (while sleeping).
Dream/hope/ambition:
- Έχω ένα όνειρο να γίνω γιατρός. – I have a dream to become a doctor.

In your sentence Έχω ένα μικρό όνειρο για το μέλλον μου, the phrase για το μέλλον μου strongly points to the ambition/hope meaning, not a sleep dream.

Why is it μικρό and not λίγο? Both can mean little in English, right?

In Greek:

μικρός / μικρή / μικρό = small, little in size, amount, importance, intensity, etc.
- μικρό όνειρο = a small / modest dream.
λίγος / λίγη / λίγο = few, little in the sense of quantity (not much / not many).
You use λίγος mainly with uncountable nouns or to say a few:
- λίγο νερό – a little water
- λίγα όνειρα – few dreams

So:

μικρό όνειρο is correct and natural.
λίγο όνειρο is not normal Greek.

How do you pronounce Έχω ένα μικρό όνειρο για το μέλλον μου and where are the stresses?

Stressed syllables are in capitals here:

Έχω – É-cho (É-ho)
ένα – É-na
μικρό – mi-KRÓ
όνειρο – Ó-ni-ro
για – ya
το – to (like toh)
μέλλον – MÉ-lon
μου – mu (like moo)

Put together (roughly, in Latin letters):

É-ho É-na mi-KRÓ Ó-ni-ro ya to MÉ-lon mu

Each word keeps its own stress; Greek is not strongly reduced like English, so all vowels are clearly pronounced.