Σήμερα πονάει λίγο το δόντι μου και σκέφτομαι να πάω στον οδοντίατρο.

Today my tooth hurts a bit and I am thinking of going to the dentist.

Breakdown of Σήμερα πονάει λίγο το δόντι μου και σκέφτομαι να πάω στον οδοντίατρο.

• και: and
• πάω: to go
• λίγο: a little
• να: to
• σήμερα: today
• μου: my
• σε: to
• σκέφτομαι: to think
• πονάω: to hurt
• το δόντι: the tooth
• ο οδοντίατρος: the dentist

Questions & Answers about Σήμερα πονάει λίγο το δόντι μου και σκέφτομαι να πάω στον οδοντίατρο.

Why does the sentence start with Σήμερα? Could it go somewhere else?

Σήμερα means today and it’s very common in Greek to put time expressions at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis or clarity.

You can also say:

• Το δόντι μου πονάει λίγο σήμερα.
• Πονάει λίγο το δόντι μου σήμερα.

All are grammatically correct.
Putting Σήμερα first simply highlights today as the setting: Today, my tooth hurts a bit…

Why is it πονάει and not something like “είναι πονεμένο” for “hurts”?

Greek usually expresses “X hurts” with the verb πονάω (colloquial) / πονώ (more formal), not with “to be + adjective” as in English.

• Πονάει το δόντι μου. = My tooth hurts.
• Literally: My tooth is hurting / hurts.

Πονάει is the 3rd person singular (he/she/it) form in the present tense:

• εγώ πονάω / πονώ – I hurt
• εσύ πονάς – you hurt
• αυτός/αυτή/αυτό πονάει – he/she/it hurts

You can say είναι πονεμένο το δόντι μου (my tooth is sore), but πονάει is the most natural everyday way to say “it hurts.”

Why is το δόντι μου after the verb instead of before it?

Greek word order is flexible. Both are correct:

• Πονάει λίγο το δόντι μου.
• Το δόντι μου πονάει λίγο.

In neutral, everyday speech, it’s very common to put the subject after the verb, especially when the subject is already known or not the focus.

Placing το δόντι μου first (Το δόντι μου πονάει λίγο) can slightly emphasize my tooth (as opposed to something else) rather than the fact that it hurts today.

Why do we say το δόντι μου with both το and μου? Isn’t μου already “my”?

Yes, μου means my, but in Greek the pattern for saying “my X” is normally:

το/η/ο + noun + μου
literally: the + noun + of-me

So:

• το δόντι μου = my tooth (literally: the tooth of-me)
• το σπίτι σου = your house
• η μητέρα του = his mother

You do not say μου δόντι or δόντι μου without the article here in standard modern Greek. The article is a normal part of the possessive noun phrase.

Why is it λίγο and not another form like λίγη or λίγος?

Λίγο here functions as an adverb meaning a bit / a little and in this adverbial use it stays in the form λίγο.

• Πονάει λίγο το δόντι μου. = My tooth hurts a bit.

When λίγος / λίγη / λίγο is an adjective, it agrees with a noun:

• λίγος καφές – a little coffee (masculine)
• λίγη ζάχαρη – a little sugar (feminine)
• λίγο νερό – a little water (neuter)

In the sentence, λίγο is not describing a noun; it is modifying the verb πονάει, so it’s used as an adverb and stays λίγο.

Why is there no word for “I” in σκέφτομαι? Where is the subject?

In Greek, the subject pronoun (εγώ = I) is usually dropped because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• σκέφτομαι = I am thinking
  
  • εγώ σκέφτομαι – I think
  • εσύ σκέφτεσαι – you think
  • αυτός/αυτή σκέφτεται – he/she thinks

So σκέφτομαι να πάω already contains the idea I am thinking of going.
You can say Εγώ σκέφτομαι… for emphasis, but it’s not necessary.

What exactly does σκέφτομαι mean here, and why does it end in -μαι?

Σκέφτομαι means I think / I am thinking / I’m considering. In this sentence it’s “I’m thinking of / considering going to the dentist.”

The ending -μαι is the 1st person singular of the middle / “reflexive” form in Greek. Some verbs are normally used in this -μαι form and don’t really have a common active form in modern usage:

• σκέφτομαι – I think
• θυμάμαι – I remember
• κοιμάμαι – I sleep

So don’t try to form an active σκέφτω in everyday Greek; just learn σκέφτομαι as “to think.”

Why do we need να before πάω? What is να πάω?

Να is a particle that introduces the subjunctive in Greek. After many verbs expressing wishes, plans, thoughts, ability, obligation, etc., Greek uses να + subjunctive where English would use to + verb or that + clause.

• σκέφτομαι να πάω
  = I’m thinking of going / I’m thinking that I will go

Other examples:

• θέλω να πάω – I want to go
• πρέπει να πάω – I must go
• μπορώ να πάω – I can go

So να πάω is the subjunctive “(that I) go.”

What’s the difference between πάω and πηγαίνω?

Both can mean to go.

• πάω – very common, everyday form
• πηγαίνω – slightly more formal / “full” form

In many present-tense sentences, they’re interchangeable:

• Πάω στη δουλειά.
• Πηγαίνω στη δουλειά.
  = I go / I am going to work.

In the να + subjunctive construction, να πάω is by far the most usual:

• σκέφτομαι να πάω στον οδοντίατρο. – I’m thinking of going to the dentist.

Να πηγαίνω exists, but usually suggests an ongoing or repeated action (e.g. “to be going (regularly)” rather than one specific visit):

• Σκέφτομαι να πηγαίνω πιο συχνά στον οδοντίατρο.
  = I’m thinking of going more often to the dentist (regular habit).

Why is it στον οδοντίατρο and not just σε οδοντίατρο?

Σε is the basic preposition “to / at / in”, but in practice, σε + definite article is very common and it contracts:

• σε + τον → στον
• σε + την → στην
• σε + το → στο

So:

• σε + τον οδοντίατρο → στον οδοντίατρο
  = to the dentist

Using the definite article with professions in this context is normal in Greek:

• πάω στον γιατρό – I’m going to the doctor
• πάω στον δάσκαλο – I’m going to the teacher

Saying σε οδοντίατρο without the article is possible but sounds more like “to a (some) dentist,” which is less typical in this everyday “going to the dentist” context.

Why is it οδοντίατρο (in στον οδοντίατρο) and not οδοντίατρος?

Οδοντίατρος is the nominative form (used for the subject):

• Ο οδοντίατρος είναι καλός. – The dentist is good.

After the preposition σε, the noun is in the accusative case:

• (σε) τον οδοντίατρο – to the dentist

So we have:

• Nominative: ο οδοντίατρος (subject)
• Accusative: τον οδοντίατρο (object / after σε)

In στον οδοντίατρο, στον = σε + τον and οδοντίατρο is in the accusative.

Is οδοντίατρος specifically a male dentist? What about a female dentist?

Οδοντίατρος is a common gender noun. It can refer to both male and female dentists; the article usually shows the gender:

• ο οδοντίατρος – the (male) dentist
• η οδοντίατρος – the (female) dentist

In the phrase στον οδοντίατρο, the form is masculine (στον) and can be understood as either “to the (male) dentist” or simply “to the dentist” in general, unless the context clearly specifies a woman and you choose στην οδοντίατρο.

In everyday speech, many people use the masculine article στον generically here.

Does πονάει λίγο το δόντι μου mean it hurts right now or more generally “these days”?

With σήμερα and the simple present πονάει, it normally means right now / today, similar to English “My tooth hurts a bit today.”

Greek present tense can cover both:

• general states or habits:
  
  • Μετά το παγωτό, πάντα πονάει το δόντι μου.
    – After ice cream, my tooth always hurts.
• current, temporary situations:
  
  • Σήμερα πονάει λίγο το δόντι μου.
    – Today my tooth hurts a bit (today, at present).

Context (the word σήμερα) makes it clearly about the current situation here.