Κατά τη γνώμη μου, θα έπρεπε να μειώσω λίγο τον καφέ για να έχω λιγότερο άγχος.

In my opinion, I should reduce coffee a bit so that I have less stress.

Breakdown of Κατά τη γνώμη μου, θα έπρεπε να μειώσω λίγο τον καφέ για να έχω λιγότερο άγχος.

• ο καφές: the coffee
• λίγο: a little
• έχω: to have
• να: to
• πρέπει: to have to
• θα: will
• για να: so that
• το άγχος: the stress
• λιγότερος: less
• κατά τη γνώμη μου: in my opinion
• μειώνω: to reduce

Questions & Answers about Κατά τη γνώμη μου, θα έπρεπε να μειώσω λίγο τον καφέ για να έχω λιγότερο άγχος.

What does Κατά τη γνώμη μου literally mean, and how is this expression built?

Κατά τη γνώμη μου literally means “according to my opinion” and is a fixed, very common way to say “in my opinion”.

• κατά
  • accusative can mean “according to”.
• τη γνώμη = the opinion (accusative, because of κατά).
• μου = my (weak/genitive pronoun used after the noun).

So the structure is: κατά + definite article + noun + μου → κατά τη γνώμη μου = according to the opinion of me → in my opinion.

Why is it τη γνώμη and not την γνώμη?

Both forms exist in theory (την γνώμη is the “full” form), but in modern spoken and written Greek, the ν of the feminine article την is very often dropped before consonants like γ, μ, ν, etc.

So:

• Full form: την γνώμη
• Common everyday form: τη γνώμη

You will almost always see and hear τη γνώμη in this phrase. The same happens with τον → το in many contexts.

Why is γνώμη in the accusative (τη γνώμη) instead of the genitive, since in English we say “in my opinion” (with my)?

There are two different things happening:

1. κατά governs the accusative, so γνώμη must be in the accusative: (κατά) τη γνώμη.
2. Possession is shown by the little pronoun μου, which is genitive: τη γνώμη μου = the opinion of me.

So Greek doesn’t say “in the opinion of me” with cases like English prepositions; it says:

• κατά (according to) + τη γνώμη (the opinion – accusative because of κατά) + μου (of me – genitive weak pronoun).

What is the difference between πρέπει να μειώσω and θα έπρεπε να μειώσω?

Both express obligation, but with different strength and nuance:

• πρέπει να μειώσω τον καφέ = I must / I have to reduce coffee.
  Stronger, more direct obligation or necessity.

• θα έπρεπε να μειώσω τον καφέ = I should (really) cut down on coffee.
  Softer, often self-criticism, suggestion, or something that would be a good idea but maybe isn’t happening.

In your sentence, θα έπρεπε sounds like reflective advice to oneself: I really ought to cut down…

Is έπρεπε here a past tense? How does θα έπρεπε work?

On its own, έπρεπε is the past of πρέπει:

• πρέπει = it is necessary / I must
• έπρεπε = it was necessary / I had to

When you combine θα + έπρεπε, you get a conditional / “modal” meaning:

• θα έπρεπε να μειώσω ≈ I should / ought to reduce (now / generally), not literally “I would have to reduce.”

So in this construction, έπρεπε doesn’t point clearly to the past; θα έπρεπε together functions as “should / ought to” in many contexts.

Why is it να μειώσω and not να μειώνω? What’s the difference?

This is about aspect (single whole action vs ongoing/habitual):

• να μειώσω = aorist subjunctive → focus on the result or one overall change (cut down your coffee intake).
• να μειώνω = present subjunctive → focus on an ongoing process / repeated action (to be in the process of reducing, repeatedly lowering).

In θα έπρεπε να μειώσω λίγο τον καφέ, the speaker is thinking of the overall change (“I should cut down (in general)”), so the aorist μειώσω is natural.
If you used να μειώνω, it would sound more like “I should be reducing coffee (as an ongoing practice).”

Why is τον καφέ in the accusative with a definite article, when in English we just say “cut down on coffee” without “the”?

Greek often uses the definite article in general statements where English omits it:

• πίνω τον καφέ μου = I drink my coffee
• Δεν τρώω το κρέας = I don’t eat meat (in general)

Here, τον καφέ means coffee as a substance / my coffee intake in a generic way. English expresses this generically without the, but Greek prefers the definite article:

• να μειώσω λίγο τον καφέ ≈ to cut down on coffee (my coffee consumption).

It is also accusative because it’s the direct object of μειώσω (reduce what? → τον καφέ).

What exactly does λίγο do here, and where can it appear in the sentence?

In this sentence λίγο is an adverb meaning “a bit / a little / somewhat”, softening the verb μειώσω:

• να μειώσω τον καφέ = to reduce coffee
• να μειώσω λίγο τον καφέ = to reduce coffee a bit / somewhat

Common positions:

• να μειώσω λίγο τον καφέ (very common)
• να μειώσω τον καφέ λίγο (also possible, more spoken feel)
• λίγο να μειώσω τον καφέ (less common here, but possible with a different emphasis)

As an adjective, λίγος / λίγη / λίγο means “few / little (amount)” and would agree with a noun, e.g. λίγος καφές (a little coffee). In your sentence, it’s not describing a noun, it’s modifying the verb, so it stays in the invariable adverb form λίγο.

What does για να mean, and is the για really necessary before να έχω?

Για να is a very common way to introduce a purpose clause, meaning “in order to / so that”:

• …να μειώσω λίγο τον καφέ για να έχω λιγότερο άγχος.
  = …to cut down on coffee in order to have less stress.

Here:

• για = for
• να
  • verb (subjunctive) = to + verb / so that I verb.

You can sometimes hear just να used in a purpose-like way, but για να is the default, clear way to express purpose. In this sentence, dropping για (…να έχω λιγότερο άγχος) would still be understandable but sounds less clearly like “for the purpose of” and more like just a follow-up result clause.

Why do we say έχω λιγότερο άγχος instead of something like “I feel less anxious”?

Greek often expresses states like stress, fear, hunger etc. with έχω + noun:

• έχω άγχος = I’m stressed / I feel anxiety
• έχω φόβο (less common) = I have fear
• έχω όρεξη = I feel like (eating/doing something)
• έχω πονοκέφαλο = I have a headache

So:

• να έχω λιγότερο άγχος = to have less anxiety / to be less stressed.

You could also say να αγχώνομαι λιγότερο = to get stressed less / to be less anxious, but έχω άγχος is extremely common and natural.

How do λιγότερο and άγχος agree here? Why is it λιγότερο and not another form?

Άγχος is a neuter singular noun.
Λιγότερο here is the comparative of λίγο / λίγος and is used as an adjective agreeing with άγχος:

• λίγο άγχος = a little (amount of) stress
• λιγότερο άγχος = less stress

Neuter singular agreement:

• το άγχος → λιγότερο άγχος
• το νερό → λιγότερο νερό
• το φαγητό → λιγότερο φαγητό

So λιγότερο matches άγχος in gender (neuter) and number (singular).

Could I move Κατά τη γνώμη μου to another place in the sentence?

Yes. Greek word order is relatively flexible, especially for adverbial phrases like Κατά τη γνώμη μου. Common options:

• Κατά τη γνώμη μου, θα έπρεπε να μειώσω λίγο τον καφέ… (as you have it)
• Θα έπρεπε, κατά τη γνώμη μου, να μειώσω λίγο τον καφέ…
• Θα έπρεπε να μειώσω, κατά τη γνώμη μου, λίγο τον καφέ… (possible, but more marked)

Placing Κατά τη γνώμη μου at the very beginning is very natural and emphasizes that what follows is just your personal view.

Is this sentence formal or informal? Are there more colloquial or more formal alternatives?

The sentence is neutral, perfectly fine in both spoken and written Greek.

Some alternatives:

• More colloquial:

  • Νομίζω ότι πρέπει να κόψω λίγο τον καφέ για να έχω λιγότερο άγχος.
  • Λέω να μειώσω λίγο τον καφέ για να έχω λιγότερο άγχος.

• Slightly more formal:

  • Κατά την άποψή μου, θα έπρεπε να μειώσω την κατανάλωση καφέ, ώστε να έχω λιγότερο άγχος.

But your original sentence is natural, idiomatic, and widely usable as is.