Αυτό το ρήμα είναι δύσκολο για εμένα στα ελληνικά.

This verb is difficult for me in Greek.

Breakdown of Αυτό το ρήμα είναι δύσκολο για εμένα στα ελληνικά.

• είμαι: to be
• αυτός: this
• για: for
• δύσκολος: difficult
• εμένα: me
• στα ελληνικά: in Greek
• το ρήμα: the verb

Questions & Answers about Αυτό το ρήμα είναι δύσκολο για εμένα στα ελληνικά.

Why do we say «Αυτό το ρήμα» and not just «Αυτό ρήμα»?

In Greek, when you use a demonstrative like αυτό (this) before a noun, you normally also use the definite article:

• αυτό το ρήμα = this verb
• αυτή η λέξη = this word
• αυτά τα γράμματα = these letters

Leaving out the article (αυτό ρήμα) is ungrammatical in standard Greek.

So the normal pattern is:

[demonstrative] + [definite article] + [noun]
αυτό το ρήμα, εκείνο το σπίτι, αυτή η μέρα, etc.

You can also put the demonstrative after the noun + article:

• το ρήμα αυτό = this verb
• η λέξη αυτή = this word

Why is the article το used with ρήμα?

Ρήμα (verb) is a neuter noun in Greek. Its definite article in the nominative singular is το:

• το ρήμα (the verb)
• το βιβλίο (the book)
• το παιδί (the child)

So in αυτό το ρήμα, το is:

• definite article
• neuter
• singular
• nominative (because it’s the subject)

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

• το ρήμα (neuter singular)
• ο κανόνας (masculine singular)
• η λέξη (feminine singular)

Why is the adjective δύσκολο in the neuter form?

The adjective δύσκολος (difficult) has different forms depending on the gender of the noun:

• masculine: δύσκολος
• feminine: δύσκολη
• neuter: δύσκολο

Because ρήμα is neuter, the adjective must also be neuter:

• το ρήμα είναι δύσκολο (the verb is difficult)
• ο κανόνας είναι δύσκολος (the rule is difficult)
• η γραμματική είναι δύσκολη (the grammar is difficult)

So δύσκολο is neuter singular nominative, agreeing with το ρήμα.

Why is it για εμένα and not something like σε εμένα or just μου?

Greek expresses “difficult for someone” most naturally with για:

• δύσκολο για εμένα = difficult for me
• δύσκολο για σένα = difficult for you

Using σε here (σε εμένα) would not be idiomatic in this structure. You would normally use για + pronoun with adjectives like δύσκολος:

• Είναι εύκολο για εμάς. = It’s easy for us.
• Είναι περίεργο για εκείνους. = It’s strange for them.

You can also say:

• Μου είναι δύσκολο. = It is difficult for me.

Here μου is a weak (clitic) pronoun meaning to me / for me, but it’s part of a different structure: [pronoun in genitive] + είναι + adjective.

What’s the difference between εμένα, μένα, and μου?

All three relate to “me”, but they are used differently:

1. εμένα – strong form (emphatic), usually after prepositions:

   • για εμένα = for me
   • με εμένα = with me
     It can also be used for emphasis:
   • Εμένα δεν μου αρέσει. = I don’t like it.

2. μένα – a shorter, very common spoken form of εμένα:

   • για μένα (everyday speech; same meaning as για εμένα)

3. μου – weak (clitic) genitive pronoun:

   • Μου είναι δύσκολο. = It is difficult for me.
   • Είναι δύσκολο για μένα / εμένα. = It is difficult for me.

In your sentence, για εμένα is perfectly correct and a bit more “careful”/neutral. In casual speech, you’ll hear για μένα very often.

Why is it στα ελληνικά and not just σε ελληνικά or σε ελληνική?

Στα is σε + τα (“in/on/to the”), and ελληνικά here is the neuter plural form used for the Greek language:

• μιλάω ελληνικά = I speak Greek
• στα ελληνικά = in Greek

Languages in Greek are very often treated as neuter plural nouns with an article:

• τα ελληνικά (Greek)
• τα αγγλικά (English)
• τα γαλλικά (French)

So:

• στα ελληνικά = literally “in the Greek (language)”

You can also say a more formal version:

• στην ελληνική (γλώσσα) = in the Greek language

But in everyday speech, στα ελληνικά is the standard way to say “in Greek”.

Why is ελληνικά in the plural?

Historically, words for languages in Greek often come from adjectives used in a neuter plural form, referring to “the Greek things”, “the English things”, etc. Over time they became fixed as language names:

• τα ελληνικά = Greek (language)
• τα αγγλικά = English
• τα ισπανικά = Spanish

So grammatically, it is neuter plural, but semantically it means the language as a whole. That’s why you see:

• Μαθαίνω ελληνικά. = I am learning Greek.
• Αυτό είναι δύσκολο στα ελληνικά. = This is difficult in Greek.

Can the word order change? For example, can I say «Αυτό το ρήμα είναι για εμένα δύσκολο στα ελληνικά»?

Yes, Greek word order is fairly flexible. Your original sentence:

• Αυτό το ρήμα είναι δύσκολο για εμένα στα ελληνικά.

is the most neutral order: subject – verb – adjective – extra information.

You can move για εμένα around for emphasis:

• Αυτό το ρήμα είναι για εμένα δύσκολο στα ελληνικά.
  (slightly emphasizes for me.)

• Για εμένα, αυτό το ρήμα είναι δύσκολο στα ελληνικά.
  (fronted for stronger emphasis: As for me, this verb is difficult in Greek.)

All of these are grammatical. The basic constraint is that agreement and prepositions stay attached to their phrases; the rest can move for nuance or emphasis.

Can I omit στα ελληνικά if it’s obvious we’re talking about Greek?

Yes. Grammatically you can say:

• Αυτό το ρήμα είναι δύσκολο για εμένα.
  = This verb is difficult for me.

Adding στα ελληνικά simply specifies in the Greek language (as opposed to, for example, its use in another language, or compared to your native language). If the context already makes it clear we’re talking about Greek verbs, dropping στα ελληνικά is natural and common.

How is the whole sentence pronounced and where is the stress?

The stress in Greek is always written on the stressed vowel. In your sentence:

• Αυτό – stress on τό: aυτό
• ρήμα – stress on ρή: ρήμα
• είναι – stress on εί: είναι
• δύσκολο – stress on δύσ: δύσκολο
• εμένα – stress on μέ: εμένα
• ελληνικά – stress on κά: ελληνικά

Approximate pronunciation (stress in CAPS):

• aFTO to RIma INe THISkolo gia eMEna sta elliniKA

(Where TH represents the English th in “this”, and g in gia is like “y” in “yes”.)