Learn Hardcore Greek: Θα έπρεπε να θυμάμαι ότι κάθε μικρό βήμα είναι ιδιαίτερα πρακτικό για το μέλλον μου στα ελληνικά. - I should remember that every small step is especially practical for my future in Greek.

Θα έπρεπε να means “I should / I ought to” and often carries a nuance of advice, obligation, or even mild regret (“I should have…” depending on context).

πρέπει να θυμάμαι = I must / I have to remember (stronger, more objective necessity).
θα έπρεπε να θυμάμαι = I should remember (softer, more subjective; can also imply “it would be better if I remembered” or “I really ought to remember”).

So θα έπρεπε is like a conditional/softer version of πρέπει.

What tense or mood is θυμάμαι here, and why isn’t it θυμηθώ?

In να θυμάμαι, θυμάμαι is in the present subjunctive form of the verb θυμάμαι (a deponent verb).

Modern Greek distinguishes aspect rather than tense in the subjunctive:

να θυμάμαι (present subjunctive) → ongoing / repeated remembering
→ “to remember (generally, consistently)”
να θυμηθώ (aorist subjunctive) → single, completed act of remembering
→ “to remember (once, at some specific moment)”

In the sentence, the idea is “I should keep in mind / always remember”, so the present aspect (να θυμάμαι) is more appropriate than να θυμηθώ.

How does Θα έπρεπε να θυμάμαι translate more precisely in English?

Literally, it’s:

Θα έπρεπε να θυμάμαι → “I would have to remember” or “I should remember.”

In natural English, you would usually say:

“I should remember that…”
or, in some contexts,
“I ought to remember that…”

Depending on the wider context, it can also carry a slight nuance of self-criticism or regret: “I really should remember that…”

What is the role of ότι in this sentence?

ότι is a conjunction meaning “that” (introducing a subordinate clause).

The structure is:

Θα έπρεπε να θυμάμαι ότι…
→ “I should remember that…”

Everything after ότι is the content of what you remember:

ότι κάθε μικρό βήμα είναι ιδιαίτερα πρακτικό για το μέλλον μου στα ελληνικά
→ “that every small step is especially practical for my future in Greek.”

Why is κάθε μικρό βήμα in the singular when in English we say “every small step / all small steps”?

In Greek, κάθε (“every / each”) is followed by a singular noun:

κάθε μικρό βήμα = every small step / each small step

This is the normal pattern:

κάθε άνθρωπος = every person
κάθε μέρα = every day

So κάθε μικρό βήμα literally is “each small step”, but it conveys the idea of all small steps in general, just like English every small step.

Why is βήμα neuter, and how does agreement work in κάθε μικρό βήμα?

βήμα (step) is a neuter noun in Greek:

το βήμα (the step)
του βήματος (of the step)

Adjectives must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case:

μικρό (neuter, singular, nominative/accusative)
matches βήμα (neuter, singular, nominative here)

So you get:

κάθε μικρό βήμα
- κάθε – invariable form (does not change)
- μικρό – neuter adjective
- βήμα – neuter noun

What does ιδιαίτερα πρακτικό mean, and how is it different from πολύ πρακτικό?

πρακτικό = practical / useful (neuter singular, agreeing with βήμα)
ιδιαίτερα = especially / particularly

So:

ιδιαίτερα πρακτικό = especially practical, particularly useful
πολύ πρακτικό = very practical

Both express a high degree, but:

πολύ πρακτικό → focuses on degree (“very practical”).
ιδιαίτερα πρακτικό → has a nuance of “especially in this context it is practical/useful.”

Why do we say για το μέλλον μου and not just το μέλλον μου?

The preposition για means “for” and shows benefit, purpose, or relevance:

για το μέλλον μου = for my future

Without για, το μέλλον μου simply means “my future” as a noun phrase.
With για, the phrase expresses that something is useful / important in relation to your future:

είναι ιδιαίτερα πρακτικό για το μέλλον μου
→ “it is especially practical/useful for my future.”

What does μου do in το μέλλον μου, and why is it placed after the noun?

μου is the weak (clitic) form of the pronoun εγώ (I), functioning here as a possessive:

το μέλλον μου = my future (literally “the future of-me”)

In Greek, possessive pronouns normally follow the noun:

το βιβλίο μου = my book
η μητέρα μου = my mother
το μέλλον μου = my future

So the position after the noun is the standard way to express possession with clitics like μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους.

What does στα ελληνικά mean exactly, and why is it in the plural?

στα ελληνικά literally is:

σε
- τα = στα (in the)
ελληνικά = Greek (language), neuter plural

In everyday Greek:

τα ελληνικά = the Greek language (used in plural form, like τα Γερμανικά, German; τα Ισπανικά, Spanish)

So:

στα ελληνικά = “in Greek” (meaning in the Greek language).

The plural is just the standard way Greek refers to many languages:

τα ελληνικά – Greek
τα αγγλικά – English
τα ιταλικά – Italian

So για το μέλλον μου στα ελληνικά = for my future *in Greek (with the Greek language)*.

Why is στα ελληνικά at the end of the sentence? Could it go somewhere else?

Word order in Greek is relatively flexible. Here:

…είναι ιδιαίτερα πρακτικό για το μέλλον μου στα ελληνικά.

Placing στα ελληνικά at the end sounds very natural and puts a slight emphasis on “in Greek” as the domain where your future is meant.

You could also say:

…είναι ιδιαίτερα πρακτικό στα ελληνικά για το μέλλον μου.

This is still correct, but the original order feels smoother and more idiomatic in this context.

The key point: στα ελληνικά modifies το μέλλον μου (your future in Greek), not πρακτικό alone.

Is the whole sentence natural in Greek, or would a native speaker say it differently?

The sentence is grammatically correct and understandable. A native speaker might also say, for example:

Θα έπρεπε να θυμάμαι ότι κάθε μικρό βήμα είναι πολύ σημαντικό για το μέλλον μου στα ελληνικά.
(I should remember that every small step is very important for my future in Greek.)

But your original:

Θα έπρεπε να θυμάμαι ότι κάθε μικρό βήμα είναι ιδιαίτερα πρακτικό για το μέλλον μου στα ελληνικά.

is perfectly acceptable and sounds natural, especially if you want to stress that each step is practically useful, not just “important” in a more abstract way.