Learn Hardcore Greek: Το βράδυ φτιάχνω απλό βραδινό και βλέπω ταινία. - In the evening I make a simple dinner and watch a movie.

In Greek, times of day like πρωί, μεσημέρι, απόγευμα, βράδυ are very often used with just the definite article to mean in the morning / at noon / in the afternoon / in the evening, without any preposition:

Το πρωί = in the morning
Το μεσημέρι = at noon
Το βράδυ = in the evening

So Το βράδυ φτιάχνω… literally looks like The evening I make…, but idiomatically it means In the evening, I make….

Στο βράδυ is not used in this meaning; it would sound wrong in this context. For time expressions like this, Greek usually doesn’t use a preposition.

Is Το βράδυ the subject of the sentence, or something else grammatically?

Grammatically, Το βράδυ is not the subject; it is an adverbial expression of time.

It is in the accusative case: το βράδυ (not το βράδι in nominative vs accusative—the form is the same in neuter, but its function is adverbial).
This use of the accusative to express when something happens is very common in Greek:
- Κάθε μέρα διαβάζω. = I study every day.
- Κάθε Κυριακή πηγαίνω στην εκκλησία. = I go to church every Sunday.

So Το βράδυ = (On) the evening / In the evening (a time setting), while the subject is understood as I from the verb ending in φτιάχνω and βλέπω.

Why is there no I (εγώ) in the sentence? How do we know it means I make and not he/she makes?

Greek is a pro-drop language, which means subject pronouns (like εγώ, εσύ, αυτός) are usually omitted unless you want to emphasize or clarify something.

φτιάχνω is the 1st person singular form: I make / I prepare
βλέπω is also 1st person singular: I watch / I see

Because the verb endings already show the person, you normally don’t say εγώ unless you want emphasis:

Φτιάχνω απλό βραδινό. = I make a simple dinner.
Εγώ φτιάχνω απλό βραδινό. = I (as opposed to someone else) make a simple dinner.

In your sentence, I is clearly understood from the verb forms, so the pronoun is left out.

Why is το used before βράδυ, but there is no article before απλό βραδινό or ταινία?

Greek article use doesn’t map exactly to English.

Το βράδυ – here the article is part of a fixed time expression (το πρωί / το βράδυ / το μεσημέρι). Think of it as a set phrase meaning in the evening.
(Φτιάχνω) απλό βραδινό – no article here makes the phrase sound general / indefinite:
- Φτιάχνω απλό βραδινό. ≈ I make simple dinners / a simple kind of dinner (as a general habit).
- Φτιάχνω ένα απλό βραδινό. = I make a simple dinner (one specific dinner, e.g. tonight).
- Φτιάχνω το απλό βραδινό. = I make the simple dinner (a particular one that we already know about).
(Βλέπω) ταινία – again, no article makes it general:
- Βλέπω ταινία. = I watch a movie / movies (as a general activity in the evening).
- Βλέπω μια ταινία. = I am watching a (single, specific) movie.
- Βλέπω την ταινία. = I am watching the movie (a known, specific one).

So the absence or presence of ένα / μια / το / την adds shades of meaning (general vs specific), not just grammatical correctness.

What exactly is απλό βραδινό? Is βραδινό an adjective or a noun here?

In απλό βραδινό, βραδινό is functioning as a noun, not an adjective.

The base adjective is βραδινός, -ή, -ό = evening (as an adjective), e.g. βραδινό φόρεμα = evening dress.
Greek often turns adjectives into nouns to mean the thing related to that time/activity, especially in the neuter:
- το πρωινό = breakfast (literally the morning (thing))
- το βραδινό = dinner / the evening meal

So:

το βραδινό = the (evening) dinner
απλό βραδινό (with no article) = simple dinner / a simple kind of dinner

Here βραδινό is a neuter noun, and απλό is a neuter adjective agreeing with it.

Why is it απλό βραδινό and not απλός βραδινός or απλή βραδινή?

This is about adjective agreement in gender, number, and case.

βραδινό here is a neuter singular noun.
The adjective απλός (simple) has forms:
- masculine: απλός
- feminine: απλή
- neuter: απλό

Because βραδινό is neuter singular, the adjective must also be neuter singular:

απλό βραδινό (correct)
απλός βραδινός would be masculine–masculine and would sound like two adjectives, not like a noun phrase meaning simple dinner.
απλή βραδινή would be feminine–feminine; again, that does not match the noun intended here.

So the correct agreement is απλό + βραδινό (both neuter singular).

What is the difference between βράδυ, βραδινό, and βραδιά?

These three are related but not identical:

το βράδυ
- Literally the evening (time period after late afternoon, before night).
- Used mainly as a time word:
  - Το βράδυ φτιάχνω… = In the evening I make…
το βραδινό
- A noun meaning the evening meal, dinner.
- Similar to το πρωινό = breakfast, το μεσημεριανό = lunch.
η βραδιά
- A feminine noun for evening, but often with a more event / atmosphere feel:
  - Περάσαμε ωραία βραδιά. = We had a nice evening (as an experience).
- More about the occasion than just the time.

So in your sentence:

Το βράδυ = in the evening (time)
απλό βραδινό = simple dinner (the evening meal)

Why use φτιάχνω here? Could I say κάνω απλό βραδινό or μαγειρεύω βραδινό instead?

All three verbs are possible, but they have different nuances:

φτιάχνω = make, prepare, fix, put together
- Φτιάχνω απλό βραδινό. = I prepare/make a simple dinner (sounds very natural and common).
κάνω = do, make (very general verb)
- Κάνω απλό βραδινό. is understandable and not wrong, but φτιάχνω or μαγειρεύω are usually nicer for food.
μαγειρεύω = cook
- Μαγειρεύω απλό βραδινό. = I cook a simple dinner (focus on the cooking process).

So φτιάχνω απλό βραδινό is perfectly idiomatic and common, and it implies putting together/preparing the dinner (could include cooking or something simple like making a sandwich).

What tense are φτιάχνω and βλέπω in, and why are they translated as a habitual action (I make / I watch) rather than something happening right now?

Both φτιάχνω and βλέπω are in the present simple (ενεστώτας).

In Greek, the present tense can express:

An action happening right now
- Τώρα φτιάχνω απλό βραδινό. = I am preparing a simple dinner now.
A regular / habitual action
- Το βράδυ φτιάχνω απλό βραδινό. = In the evenings, I (usually) make a simple dinner.

The time phrase Το βράδυ plus the lack of something like τώρα (now) makes this sentence naturally understood as a habitual or regular routine, so in English we translate it as I (usually) make… and (I) watch….

Why is it βλέπω ταινία with no article? Would βλέπω μια ταινία or βλέπω την ταινία change the meaning?

Yes, the article changes the nuance:

Βλέπω ταινία.
- Literally: I watch movie.
- Idiomatically: I watch a movie / movies.
- Sounds like a general activity: “In the evenings, I (tend to) watch a movie.”
Βλέπω μια ταινία.
- I’m watching a movie (one specific movie, but not defined which one).
- More specific than the bare ταινία, less general/habitual.
Βλέπω την ταινία.
- I’m watching the movie (a particular one we both know: “the one we talked about / rented / saw the trailer for”).

So in your sentence, βλέπω ταινία matches the habitual feeling: it describes what you typically do in the evenings, not one particular evening and one specific movie.

Can I change the word order, like putting βλέπω ταινία before φτιάχνω απλό βραδινό? Does that sound natural?

Yes, Greek word order is relatively flexible, and both of these are grammatical:

Το βράδυ φτιάχνω απλό βραδινό και βλέπω ταινία.
Το βράδυ βλέπω ταινία και φτιάχνω απλό βραδινό.

Both mean essentially the same thing: In the evening I make a simple dinner and watch a movie.

Small nuance:

The order can suggest what feels more important or what you think of first, but it doesn’t force a time sequence.
If you wanted to strongly emphasize the order of actions (first dinner, then movie), you might add time words:
- Πρώτα φτιάχνω απλό βραδινό και μετά βλέπω ταινία.
  = First I make a simple dinner and then I watch a movie.

What gender is ταινία, and how would its article and adjective agreement look?

Ταινία is a feminine noun.

Singular: η ταινία (nom.), την ταινία (acc.)
Plural: οι ταινίες (nom.), τις ταινίες (acc.)

Adjectives agreeing with it must be feminine:

καλή ταινία = a good movie
την καλή ταινία = the good movie

So you could say, for example:

Το βράδυ βλέπω καλή ταινία. = In the evening I watch a good movie.
Το βράδυ βλέπω μια καινούρια ταινία. = In the evening I watch a new movie.

How is the sentence pronounced, and where is the stress in each word?

Here is the sentence with stress indicated (the accent mark already shows it):

Το – /to/ (unstressed, short)
βράδυ – vrá-di (stress on βρά)
φτιάχνω – ftiáh-no (stress on φτιά)
απλό – a-pló (stress on πλό)
βραδινό – vra-di-nó (stress on νό)
και – /ce/ (like ke in ketchup, but shorter)
βλέπω – vlé-po (stress on βλέ)
ταινία – te-ee-NÍ-a (practically te-ní-a, stress on νί)

Rough phonetic guide in one line:

Το βράδυ φτιάχνω απλό βραδινό και βλέπω ταινία.
≈ to VRÁ-thi FTIÁH-no a-PLÓ vra-thi-NÓ ke VLÉ-po te-NÍ-a

(Here δ in βράδυ / βραδινό is like the th in this, not like d in dog.)