Η μείωση στον καφέ το βράδυ βοηθάει την υγεία μου.

The reduction in coffee in the evening helps my health.

Breakdown of Η μείωση στον καφέ το βράδυ βοηθάει την υγεία μου.

• ο καφές: the coffee
• μου: my
• το βράδυ: in the evening
• σε: in
• βοηθάω: to help
• η υγεία: the health
• η μείωση: the reduction

Questions & Answers about Η μείωση στον καφέ το βράδυ βοηθάει την υγεία μου.

In English I might say “Reducing coffee at night…” with a verb. Why does Greek use μείωση, which looks like a noun?

In this sentence, μείωση is indeed a noun, meaning reduction / decrease.

• English often uses a -ing form as a noun (reducing coffee…), but that form is also a verb form.
• Greek prefers a clear noun here: η μείωση = the reduction.

So:

• Η μείωση στον καφέ το βράδυ…
  literally: The reduction in coffee in the evening…

If you wanted something closer to an English verb phrase, you could say, for example:

• Το να μειώνω τον καφέ το βράδυ βοηθάει την υγεία μου.
  (The act of me reducing coffee at night helps my health.)

But the version with the noun η μείωση is very natural and common in Greek.

Why is there a definite article Η before μείωση? In English I’d usually say just “reduction”, not “the reduction”.

Greek uses the definite article much more than English, especially:

• with abstract nouns (like υγεία, αγάπη, μείωση) when we talk about them in a general way,
• and when a noun is the subject and we’re making a general statement.

Here, η μείωση does not point to one specific, already-mentioned reduction; it means reduction in general (as a general habit or principle). Greek still tends to use η in this kind of generalizing statement:

• Η μείωση στον καφέ το βράδυ…
  = (The) reduction in coffee in the evening…

Leaving out the article (Μείωση στον καφέ…) would sound incomplete or like a headline/title, not like a normal sentence.

What case, gender, and number is μείωση, and why that form?

μείωση here is:

• Gender: feminine
• Number: singular
• Case: nominative

You can see it from the article:

• η μείωση → η is the feminine singular nominative article.

It’s in the nominative because η μείωση is the subject of the sentence – it is the thing that “helps”:

• Η μείωση … βοηθάει την υγεία μου.
  The reduction … helps my health.

What exactly is στον in στον καφέ, and why not σε καφέ or just τον καφέ?

στον is a contraction of:

• σε (preposition: in, at, to, regarding)
• τον (masculine singular accusative article: the)

So:

• σε + τον = στον

About your alternatives:

1. σε καφέ
   
   • Preposition σε
     • noun καφέ without article
   • Usually means “at a café / at some café” (place), or “in coffee (in general)” but less specific.
2. τον καφέ (without σε)
   
   • Just the article and noun in the accusative, used as a direct object:
     
     • Πίνω τον καφέ. = I drink the coffee.
   • It doesn’t express “in / regarding / about”.
3. στον καφέ
   
   • Literally “in the coffee / in (the amount of) coffee”
   • With μείωση it means “reduction in coffee”, i.e. in the amount of coffee you drink.

So η μείωση στον καφέ = the reduction in (my) coffee intake, not “the reduction drinks the coffee” or “reduction at a café”.

Why is it καφέ and not καφές?

καφές is a masculine noun:

• Nominative singular (subject form): ο καφές
• Accusative singular (object / after many prepositions): τον καφέ

In στον καφέ, both the article and the noun are in the accusative:

• στον = σε + τον (accusative article)
• καφέ = accusative form of καφές

So you get:

• στον καφέ = in/with the coffee (drink)

ο καφές (with -ς) would only appear if it were in the nominative, as a subject, e.g.:

• Ο καφές το βράδυ δεν βοηθάει την υγεία μου.
  (Coffee in the evening doesn’t help my health.)

Could στον καφέ also mean “at the café” instead of “in coffee”? How do I tell?

No, στον καφέ almost always refers to coffee (the drink), not the place.

Greek distinguishes:

• ο καφές (masculine) = coffee (drink)
  → στον καφέ (σε + τον καφέ)
• το καφέ (neuter, indeclinable) = café / coffee shop (place)
  → στο καφέ (σε + το καφέ)

So:

• Πάμε στο καφέ; = Shall we go to the café? (place)
• Η μείωση στον καφέ… = The reduction in coffee… (drink)

The form στον καφέ clearly points to the masculine ο καφές (drink), not το καφέ (place).

Why does το βράδυ mean “in the evening / at night”? What is happening grammatically, and why is there το?

το βράδυ literally is:

• το = neuter singular article, accusative (also nominative form)
• βράδυ = evening / night

Grammatically, it’s an accusative of time, which Greek uses a lot:

• (την) Κυριακή = on Sunday
• κάθε μέρα το πρωί = every day in the morning
• το βράδυ = in the evening / at night

So το βράδυ acts like an adverbial time phrase, answering “when?”:

• Η μείωση στον καφέ το βράδυ…
  → The reduction in coffee in the evening…

The article το is part of this fixed, natural-sounding expression; you almost always say το βράδυ, not just βράδυ by itself in this sense.

What form of the verb is βοηθάει, and how is it different from βοηθά and βοηθώ?

All three forms belong to the same verb βοηθώ / βοηθάω = to help.

• βοηθώ
  
  • 1st person singular, present: I help
• βοηθάει
  
  • 3rd person singular, present: he / she / it helps
  • This is the “full” form (βοηθάει).
• βοηθά
  
  • Also 3rd person singular, present: he / she / it helps
  • A shorter, very common colloquial form.

So in your sentence:

• βοηθάει = helps

You could also say:

• Η μείωση στον καφέ το βράδυ βοηθά την υγεία μου.

with βοηθά instead of βοηθάει. The meaning is exactly the same; βοηθά can feel slightly more informal or just shorter, but both are standard.

Why is την υγεία μου in the accusative case, and could I say just υγεία μου without την?

την υγεία μου is the direct object of βοηθάει:

• βοηθάει (τι;) την υγεία μου.
  (helps what?) my health.

Direct objects in Greek take the accusative case, so:

• Feminine accusative singular article: την
• Noun: υγεία (same form nominative/accusative)
• Plus possessive clitic: μου

Together: την υγεία μου

About dropping την:

• υγεία μου by itself is normally not how Greek expresses “my health” in a full sentence like this.
• The usual pattern is: article + noun + possessive → η/την υγεία μου.
• Without την, it either sounds wrong or very marked/emphatic, and not like normal modern Greek.

So you should keep the article:

• …βοηθάει την υγεία μου. ✅
  …helps my health.

Why does μου come after υγεία and not before it, like in English “my health”?

Greek possessive pronouns in their clitic form (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) normally come after the noun, not before it.

The standard pattern is:

• [article] + [noun] + [possessive clitic]

Examples:

• η μητέρα μου = my mother
• το σπίτι σου = your house
• την υγεία μου = my health

So:

• English: my health → [possessive] + [noun]
• Greek: η υγεία μου / την υγεία μου → [article] + [noun] + [possessive]

You can put a stressed form in front for emphasis (η δική μου υγεία = my health, not someone else’s), but the normal neutral form is noun + μου.

Could I say Η μείωση του καφέ το βράδυ… instead of Η μείωση στον καφέ το βράδυ…? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

• Η μείωση του καφέ το βράδυ βοηθάει την υγεία μου.

Both:

• η μείωση στον καφέ
• η μείωση του καφέ

are possible and natural, but they feel slightly different:

1. η μείωση του καφέ (genitive = “of the coffee”)

   • Focuses more on the quantity of coffee itself.
   • Literally: the reduction of the coffee (you drink).

2. η μείωση στον καφέ (σε + accusative = “in coffee”)

   • Sounds more like “a reduction in coffee consumption”, i.e. in that area/aspect of your habits.
   • This pattern (μείωση σε…) is very common with abstract things:
     • μείωση στα έξοδα = reduction in expenses
     • μείωση στη ζάχαρη = reduction in sugar

In everyday speech, many speakers would use them almost interchangeably here. …στον καφέ may sound a bit more colloquial/natural when talking about lifestyle habits.

Can I move parts of the sentence around, like Το βράδυ η μείωση στον καφέ βοηθάει την υγεία μου? Does the meaning change?

Greek word order is fairly flexible, and you can move elements around mainly for emphasis or focus. Some common variants:

1. Η μείωση στον καφέ το βράδυ βοηθάει την υγεία μου.
   – Neutral: “The reduction in coffee at night helps my health.”

2. Το βράδυ η μείωση στον καφέ βοηθάει την υγεία μου.
   – Puts emphasis on “In the evening”:
   “In the evening, the reduction in coffee helps my health.”

3. Η μείωση στον καφέ βοηθάει την υγεία μου το βράδυ.
   – Now το βράδυ is closer to βοηθάει, so it can sound more like
   “The reduction in coffee helps my health in the evening,”
   as if the benefit is specifically at that time, not the reduction itself happening at night.

So, small changes in position can slightly shift what is being modified:

• το βράδυ near μείωση → when you reduce coffee (at night)
• το βράδυ near βοηθάει → when the helping/benefit happens (in the evening)

Context usually makes it clear, but the original order is the clearest for “cutting down on coffee at night is good for my health.”