Breakdown of Σήμερα το βράδυ μιλάμε χαλαρά στο σαλόνι.
σήμερα
today
το βράδυ
in the evening
μιλάω
to talk
σε
in
Questions & Answers about Σήμερα το βράδυ μιλάμε χαλαρά στο σαλόνι.
Why does the sentence use μιλάμε (present tense) when in English we would say “we’re going to talk tonight” or “we’ll talk tonight”?
In Greek, the present tense is very often used to talk about the near future, especially for plans and arrangements.
- Σήμερα το βράδυ μιλάμε χαλαρά στο σαλόνι.
= Tonight we’re (going to be) chatting/We’re chatting tonight in the living room.
Using μιλάμε here suggests something like a planned / agreed activity, said in a casual, friendly way.
If you say:
- Σήμερα το βράδυ θα μιλήσουμε χαλαρά στο σαλόνι.
this is a bit more neutral or slightly more formal/decisive: we will talk tonight. Both are correct; the original just sounds more relaxed and conversational.
Why is there no word for “are” in “we are talking”? Why don’t we say something like εμείς είμαστε μιλάμε?
Greek does not form the present continuous with a separate verb like “to be” plus a participle.
The simple present form μιλάμε already means both:
- we talk
- we are talking
So:
- Μιλάμε. = We talk. / We are talking.
Adding είμαστε would be ungrammatical here. Greek expresses this continuous idea through the imperfective aspect of the verb (the present form), not by using an auxiliary verb like English does.
Where is the subject “we” in the Greek sentence? Why don’t we see εμείς?