Learn Hardcore Greek: Δυσκολεύομαι λίγο με τα ρήματα, αλλά στο τεστ θέλω να καταφέρω να κάνω λιγότερα λάθη. - I have some difficulty with the verbs, but in the test I want to manage to make fewer mistakes.

Literally, it comes from the verb δυσκολεύω (“to make something difficult”), but in the middle/passive form (δυσκολεύομαι) it has a more reflexive meaning:

δυσκολεύομαι με τα ρήματα ≈ “I have difficulty with verbs / I struggle with verbs.”

It does not mean “I am difficult” (in character); for that you’d say something like είμαι δύσκολος άνθρωπος (“I am a difficult person”).

You could paraphrase it more “formally” as:

Έχω δυσκολία με τα ρήματα. – “I have difficulty with verbs.” But δυσκολεύομαι is more natural and very commonly used in everyday Greek for this idea of “struggling with X”.

Why is the verb in the middle/passive form (δυσκολεύομαι) and not active (δυσκολεύω)?

Greek often uses the middle/passive voice for what in English feels like a reflexive or intransitive meaning.

δυσκολεύω (active): “I make (someone/something) have difficulty,” “I make things hard.”
- Αυτή η άσκηση με δυσκολεύει. – “This exercise makes it hard for me / I find this exercise hard.”
δυσκολεύομαι (middle/passive): “I have difficulty,” “I struggle.”
- Δυσκολεύομαι με τα ρήματα. – “I struggle with verbs.”

So δυσκολεύομαι focuses on my experience of difficulty, without saying who or what is “causing” the difficulty in a grammatical subject/object way. That’s why it’s the natural choice here.

Why is there no εγώ (“I”) at the beginning? Is it optional?

Yes, εγώ is optional here.

In Greek, the person and number are built into the verb ending, so the subject pronoun is usually dropped unless:

you want to emphasize it (e.g. contrast: I do, but they don’t),
or there might be ambiguity.

Here:

Δυσκολεύομαι – first person singular (“I struggle”)
θέλω – first person singular (“I want”)
να καταφέρω – first person singular (“that I manage”)
να κάνω – first person singular (“that I do/make”)

Because all verbs clearly show “I”, adding εγώ would sound like extra emphasis:

Εγώ δυσκολεύομαι λίγο με τα ρήματα… – “I (as for me) struggle a bit with verbs…”

So it’s not wrong, just more emphatic. The neutral version usually omits εγώ.

What does με τα ρήματα literally mean, and could you use a different preposition?

με τα ρήματα literally means “with the verbs”.

Here με works very much like English “with” in expressions like:

“I have trouble with verbs.”
“I struggle with pronunciation.”

So:

Δυσκολεύομαι με τα ρήματα. – “I struggle with verbs.”

You could sometimes see alternatives like:

Στα ρήματα δυσκολεύομαι. – literally “In verbs I struggle.” – This sounds a bit more like “As for verbs, that’s where I struggle.”

But in this sentence, με τα ρήματα is the most natural and direct way to say “with verbs” in the sense of “in that area / regarding verbs.”

What role does λίγο play in Δυσκολεύομαι λίγο με τα ρήματα? Could it go in another position?

λίγο is an adverb meaning “a little / a bit / slightly.”

Here it softens the statement:

Δυσκολεύομαι με τα ρήματα. – “I struggle with verbs.”
Δυσκολεύομαι λίγο με τα ρήματα. – “I struggle a bit with verbs.” (less strong, more modest)

Typical positions:

Δυσκολεύομαι λίγο με τα ρήματα. (most common)
Λίγο δυσκολεύομαι με τα ρήματα. (also possible; gives a slightly stronger emphasis on λίγο)

Putting it at the very end:

Δυσκολεύομαι με τα ρήματα λίγο. is understandable but sounds less natural in this specific sentence; Greek tends to put λίγο close to the verb it’s modifying.

What exactly is στο τεστ? Why στο and not just σε τεστ?

στο is a contraction of σε + το:

σε = “in / at / on”
το = “the” (neuter singular article)
σε + το → στο

So:

στο τεστ = “in the test / on the test.”

The noun τεστ in Greek is usually:

neuter,
indeclinable (it doesn’t change form in different cases).

You could technically say σε τεστ (“in a test”) if you meant it in a very general sense, without a specific test in mind. But στο τεστ in this sentence clearly refers to a particular test the speaker has in mind (e.g. the upcoming exam).

What does θέλω να mean here? Is να like the English “to” before a verb?

Θέλω να is the standard way in Greek to say “I want to …”.

θέλω = “I want”
να
- verb = introduces a subjunctive clause, which in this context functions like an infinitive in English.

Greek does not have an infinitive form the way English does (“to do,” “to see,” etc.). Instead, it uses:

να
- verb (subjunctive) after verbs like:
  - θέλω (I want),
  - πρέπει (I must / should),
  - μπορώ (I can),
  - προσπαθώ (I try), etc.

So:

θέλω να καταφέρω ≈ “I want to manage (to…)”
θέλω να κάνω ≈ “I want to do / make”

να is not exactly “to”; grammatically it’s a particle marking subjunctive mood, but functionally in many cases it corresponds to English “to + verb.”

Why are there two να’s in θέλω να καταφέρω να κάνω λιγότερα λάθη? Is that necessary?

The structure is:

θέλω [να καταφέρω [να κάνω λιγότερα λάθη]]

So there are two nested “να”-clauses:

να καταφέρω – “(for me) to manage / succeed”
να κάνω λιγότερα λάθη – “(for me) to make fewer mistakes”

Together:
Θέλω να καταφέρω να κάνω λιγότερα λάθη.
≈ “I want to manage to make fewer mistakes.”

Each να introduces its own verb phrase, so both are grammatically needed in this exact structure.

You could simplify the sentence and say:

Στο τεστ θέλω να κάνω λιγότερα λάθη. – “In the test I want to make fewer mistakes.”

This is perfectly correct and a bit simpler.
Adding να καταφέρω adds the nuance of “succeed / manage to do it,” emphasizing the achievement, not just the intention.

What is the difference between καταφέρω and καταφέρνω?

They are different aspects (viewpoints on the action), not different tenses in English terms.

καταφέρνω (present, imperfective aspect)
– ongoing, repeated, or general: “I (usually) manage / I succeed (regularly)”
- Πάντα καταφέρνω να τελειώνω στην ώρα μου.
  “I always manage to finish on time.”
καταφέρω (subjunctive of the aorist / perfective aspect)
– a single, completed act of success: “(that) I manage (this time) / (that) I succeed”
- Ελπίζω να καταφέρω να περάσω το τεστ.
  “I hope (that) I manage to pass the test (this time).”

In our sentence:

Θέλω να καταφέρω να κάνω λιγότερα λάθη.

The speaker is talking about one specific future test, and wants to achieve the goal once, so the perfective form καταφέρω is the natural choice.

Why is it λιγότερα λάθη and not something like λίγα λάθη or λιγότερο λάθη?

Several points here:

Meaning (few vs fewer)
- λίγα λάθη = “few mistakes” (small number, but no explicit comparison)
- λιγότερα λάθη = “fewer mistakes” (explicit comparison: fewer than before / than now / than usual)
The sentence talks about reducing the number of mistakes in the test, so “fewer mistakes” fits best → λιγότερα λάθη.
Grammar: agreement
- λάθη is plural neuter (from το λάθος → τα λάθη).
- The comparative adjective λιγότερος (“fewer”) must agree in gender, number, and case:
  - masculine: λιγότερος / -οι
  - feminine: λιγότερη / -ες
  - neuter: λιγότερο / -α
For neuter plural (λάθη), we need λιγότερα:
- λιγότερα λάθη = “fewer mistakes” (neuter plural + neuter plural)
Why not λιγότερο λάθη?
Because λάθη is plural, the adjective must also be plural → λιγότερα, not λιγότερο (singular).

What is the form λάθη? How does the noun λάθος work in Greek?

Λάθη is the plural of λάθος (“mistake / error”).

The noun is neuter and a bit irregular:

Singular:
- το λάθος – the mistake
- του λάθους – of the mistake
Plural:
- τα λάθη – the mistakes
- των λαθών – of the mistakes

In the sentence:

λιγότερα λάθη uses:
- λάθη = neuter plural (accusative, object of κάνω),
- λιγότερα = neuter plural comparative adjective agreeing with λάθη.

There is no article (τα) because we are talking about “mistakes” in general, not the specific mistakes:

να κάνω λιγότερα λάθη – “to make fewer mistakes (in general, on that test)”

Could the word order be changed, for example: Στο τεστ θέλω να κάνω λιγότερα λάθη or Θέλω στο τεστ να καταφέρω να κάνω λιγότερα λάθη?

Yes, Greek word order is relatively flexible, especially with adverbials like στο τεστ.

All of these are grammatical:

Στο τεστ θέλω να καταφέρω να κάνω λιγότερα λάθη.
– Puts “in the test” first for emphasis: As for the test, I want to manage to make fewer mistakes.
Στο τεστ θέλω να κάνω λιγότερα λάθη.
– Slightly simpler; very natural.
Θέλω στο τεστ να καταφέρω να κάνω λιγότερα λάθη.
– Also fine; στο τεστ is framed as part of what you want.

The original:

… αλλά στο τεστ θέλω να καταφέρω να κάνω λιγότερα λάθη. feels very natural and nicely balanced: it first sets the context (στο τεστ), then the desire (θέλω), then the goal (να καταφέρω να κάνω λιγότερα λάθη).

Is there any difference in meaning between Θα καταφέρω να κάνω λιγότερα λάθη and Θέλω να καταφέρω να κάνω λιγότερα λάθη?

Yes, there is a difference in attitude:

Θα καταφέρω να κάνω λιγότερα λάθη.
- θα = future marker → “I will manage to make fewer mistakes.”
- Sounds more like a prediction or a confident statement about the future.
Θέλω να καταφέρω να κάνω λιγότερα λάθη.
- θέλω = “I want” → “I want to manage to make fewer mistakes.”
- Emphasizes desire / intention, not certainty.

In the original sentence, the speaker is talking about what they want to achieve in the test, not guaranteeing that they will succeed, so θέλω να καταφέρω is the appropriate choice.