Learn Hardcore Greek: Είμαι κλεισμένος στο σπίτι όλη μέρα, γιατί έξω βρέχει. - I am shut in at home all day, because it is raining outside.

Είμαι στο σπίτι = I am at home.
Neutral statement of location, no emotional or situational nuance.
Είμαι κλεισμένος στο σπίτι = I’m shut in / stuck at home.
κλεισμένος adds the idea that:
- you are not free to go out, and
- there is usually something unpleasant or restrictive about it (e.g., bad weather, illness, obligation).

So the original sentence suggests a slightly negative, “trapped” feeling, not just a neutral “I’m home.”

What exactly is κλεισμένος grammatically, and why is it used with είμαι?

κλεισμένος is the passive participle (a kind of verbal adjective) of the verb κλείνω (to close, to shut).

κλείνω → κλεισμένος (closed, shut in).
With είμαι it forms a kind of “resulting state”:
- είμαι κλεισμένος = I am (in the state of being) shut in.

So είμαι κλεισμένος literally means “I am closed/shut (in),” but idiomatically it means “I’m stuck inside.”

Does κλεισμένος change with gender and number?

Yes, it behaves like a normal adjective and agrees with the subject:

Masculine singular: κλεισμένος – Είμαι κλεισμένος. (said by a man)
Feminine singular: κλεισμένη – Είμαι κλεισμένη. (said by a woman)
Neuter singular: κλεισμένο – e.g. Το παιδί είναι κλεισμένο.
Masculine plural: κλεισμένοι – Είμαστε κλεισμένοι.
Feminine plural: κλεισμένες – Είμαστε κλεισμένες.
Neuter plural: κλεισμένα – e.g. Τα παράθυρα είναι κλεισμένα.

In the given sentence, we assume a male speaker (or default masculine form): Είμαι κλεισμένος.

Why is there a comma before γιατί? Is it necessary?

Yes, in Greek it is normal and correct to put a comma before γιατί when it means “because” and introduces a reason:

Είμαι κλεισμένος στο σπίτι όλη μέρα, γιατί έξω βρέχει.
I’m stuck at home all day, because it’s raining outside.

The comma separates the main clause from the subordinate reason clause. You will often see:

Main clause , γιατί + reason

What does γιατί mean here? Is it always “why”?

γιατί has two main uses:

As a question word: why
- Γιατί δεν ήρθες; – Why didn’t you come?
As a conjunction: because
- Δεν ήρθα, γιατί ήμουν άρρωστος. – I didn’t come because I was sick.

In the sentence … γιατί έξω βρέχει, γιατί clearly means “because”.

Why do we say στο σπίτι instead of something like εις το σπίτι?

Historically, Greek used the preposition εις + accusative. In modern Greek, εις has almost completely disappeared in everyday speech and has contracted into:

σε + το → στο
σε + την → στην
σε + τους → στους, etc.

So:

σε (to/at/in) + το σπίτι → στο σπίτι.

You will almost never see εις το σπίτι in modern everyday language; it sounds archaic or very formal.

Is βρέχει “it rains” or “it is raining”? Which one is correct?

In Greek, βρέχει (present tense) covers both:

It rains (general/habitual)
It is raining (right now)

Context decides which one is meant.
In this sentence, combined with όλη μέρα (all day), it’s best understood as “it has been raining / it is raining (all day)”, so a continuous situation.

Why do we add έξω before βρέχει? Does βρέχει already imply outside?

Yes, raining obviously happens outside, but έξω adds an explicit contrast:

Έξω βρέχει – Outside, it’s raining.
Earlier: Είμαι κλεισμένος στο σπίτι – I am shut in at home.

So the structure contrasts:

inside (στο σπίτι) vs. outside (έξω).

Grammatically, έξω is an adverb of place (“outside”) that modifies the verb βρέχει.

What is the nuance of όλη μέρα? Is it different from όλη την ημέρα?

Both mean “all day”, but:

όλη μέρα – more colloquial, shorter, very common in speech.
όλη την ημέρα – a bit more formal/literary or just slightly more emphatic and explicit.

In everyday conversation, όλη μέρα is what you’ll hear most of the time.

Could you rephrase Είμαι κλεισμένος στο σπίτι όλη μέρα, γιατί έξω βρέχει in a more neutral way without the “trapped” feeling?

Yes, you could say:

Είμαι στο σπίτι όλη μέρα, γιατί έξω βρέχει.
I am at home all day because it’s raining outside. (more neutral, just factual)

Or, focusing on the weather:

Μένω στο σπίτι όλη μέρα, γιατί έξω βρέχει.
I stay at home all day because it’s raining outside.
(still a bit of cause-effect, but less “trapped” than κλεισμένος)

Why is there no subject pronoun εγώ? Shouldn’t it be Εγώ είμαι κλεισμένος...?

Greek usually drops subject pronouns, because the verb ending already shows the person:

είμαι → first person singular = I am.

So Είμαι κλεισμένος στο σπίτι is perfectly normal and actually more natural than Εγώ είμαι κλεισμένος στο σπίτι.

You would use εγώ only for emphasis or contrast, e.g.:

Εγώ είμαι κλεισμένος στο σπίτι, εσύ βγαίνεις έξω.
I am stuck at home, you go out.

Is στο σπίτι here more like “at home” or “in the house”?

In this context, στο σπίτι is best translated as “at home”, because we’re talking about where the person is spending the day in contrast to going outside.

Literally it can mean in the house, but idiomatically:
- Είμαι στο σπίτι. = I’m at home.

English often uses home instead of house in such situations, and Greek στο σπίτι usually matches that.

Is κλεισμένος here literal (like locked in) or can it be metaphorical?

It can be both, depending on context:

Literal: someone actually locked in a room or building.
Metaphorical: someone simply feels stuck indoors, even if they aren’t literally locked.

In the sentence with γιατί έξω βρέχει, it’s clearly metaphorical: the rain is the reason you feel shut in, not that someone locked you in.