Breakdown of Έχω ένα μικρό μυστικό, αλλά δεν είμαι βέβαιος αν θέλω να σου το πω.
Questions & Answers about Έχω ένα μικρό μυστικό, αλλά δεν είμαι βέβαιος αν θέλω να σου το πω.
In Greek, the normal position for an adjective with a noun that has an article is:
article – adjective – noun
ένα μικρό μυστικό = a small secret
You will most often see:
- ένα μικρό μυστικό ✅ (natural and standard)
- το παλιό σπίτι ✅ (the old house)
You can sometimes see other orders, but they sound marked or poetic, or change the nuance:
- ένα μυστικό μικρό – sounds unusual or poetic.
- μικρό ένα μυστικό – sounds very odd in modern everyday Greek.
So for everyday speech and writing, keep: article – adjective – noun.
Both are possible depending on context, but in this sentence it’s metaphorical, just like English “I have a little secret”:
- μικρό μυστικό ≈ a small / little / not-too-important secret
It does not suggest the secret is physically small (that would be nonsensical); it describes the importance / seriousness of the secret, like English little secret.
In Greek, as in English, αλλά (“but”) often connects two clauses:
- Έχω ένα μικρό μυστικό (main clause 1)
- (αλλά) δεν είμαι βέβαιος αν θέλω να σου το πω (main clause 2)
When you join two full clauses with αλλά, you typically put a comma before it:
- Θέλω να έρθω, αλλά είμαι κουρασμένος.
- Σε πήρα τηλέφωνο, αλλά δεν απάντησες.
So the comma here is completely standard.
The negative particle δεν almost always goes directly before the verb it negates:
- δεν είμαι (I am not)
- δεν θέλω (I don’t want)
- δεν έχω (I don’t have)
The pattern is:
subject (often omitted) – δεν – verb – rest
So:
- (Εγώ) δεν είμαι βέβαιος… ✅
- είμαι δεν βέβαιος ❌ (ungrammatical in modern Greek)
If there are pronoun clitics, δεν still comes before the verb, and the clitics come after the verb:
- δεν σου το λέω (I’m not telling it to you)
Yes, you could absolutely say:
- …αλλά δεν είμαι σίγουρος αν θέλω να σου το πω.
βέβαιος and σίγουρος are very close in meaning:
- βέβαιος = certain, sure (a bit more formal / “neutral”)
- σίγουρος = sure, confident (very common in everyday speech)
In practice:
- Δεν είμαι σίγουρος. = I’m not sure. (very common)
- Δεν είμαι βέβαιος. = I am not certain. (sounds slightly more formal or careful)
Both are correct here; it’s a style choice.
The adjective βέβαιος must agree in gender, number, and case with the subject εγώ (I).
Greek is gendered; the speaker’s gender determines the form:
- If the speaker is male:
- Δεν είμαι βέβαιος. (masculine)
- If the speaker is female:
- Δεν είμαι βέβαιη. (feminine)
- Neuter form βέβαιο is used with neuter subjects, e.g. το παιδί δεν είναι βέβαιο (the child is not sure).
So in your sentence, βέβαιος implies that the speaker is male.
Here αν introduces an indirect question / doubt, and it works like English “if” = “whether”:
- Δεν ξέρω αν θα έρθω. = I don’t know if / whether I will come.
- Αναρωτιέμαι αν έχεις χρόνο. = I wonder if / whether you have time.
In your sentence:
- Δεν είμαι βέβαιος αν θέλω να σου το πω.
= I’m not sure if / whether I want to tell it to you.
So yes, αν here is like “if/whether” in this indirect-question sense, not the conditional “if… then” structure.
να typically introduces a subjunctive-like clause in modern Greek. Many verbs, such as θέλω (I want), are followed by να + verb:
- Θέλω να πάω. = I want to go.
- Θέλω να φάω. = I want to eat.
- Θέλω να σου μιλήσω. = I want to talk to you.
So:
- θέλω να σου το πω = I want to tell it to you.
You cannot say:
- θέλω σου το πω ❌ (missing να)
You must use θέλω + να + verb.
πω is the aorist subjunctive form of the verb λέω (to say / to tell).
Modern Greek often uses two stems for many verbs:
- Present stem: λέω (I say / I tell)
- Aorist stem (for completed actions, often after να): πώ / πω
Examples:
- Θέλω να σου πω κάτι. = I want to tell you something.
- Μπορώ να σου πω την αλήθεια; = Can I tell you the truth?
So:
- να πω = (to) say / tell (once, as a complete act)
- να λέω = (to) be saying, to keep saying (progressive / habitual)
In this sentence, να σου το πω focuses on the single act of revealing the secret.
They are object pronouns:
- σου = to you (indirect object; “to whom?”)
- το = it (direct object; “what?”)
So:
- να σου το πω literally = “to say it to you”
- το = the secret
- σου = to you
Greek clitic pronouns usually go before the verb in this construction, and when you have two, their usual order is:
indirect object (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους)
- direct object (τον, την, το, τους, τις, τα)
So:
- να σου το πω ✅
- να το σου πω ❌
Yes, you can say:
- …αν θέλω να το πω σε σένα.
The difference is:
- σου = unstressed clitic form, very common, “neutral”: να σου το πω
- σε σένα = stressed form, used for emphasis or contrast:
- να το πω σε σένα, όχι σε εκείνον. = to tell it to you, not to him.
In your sentence, with no contrast implied, να σου το πω is the most natural choice.
Greek is a “pro-drop” language: subject pronouns (εγώ, εσύ, αυτός…) are usually omitted when they are clear from the verb ending.
- Έχω = I have
- Είμαι = I am
Because the verb endings already encode the subject, Greek speakers don’t usually say εγώ unless they want to emphasize it:
- Έχω ένα μικρό μυστικό. = I have a little secret.
- Εγώ έχω ένα μικρό μυστικό. = I have a little secret (as opposed to someone else).
So it’s normal and more natural not to say εγώ here.
It would not mean the same thing.
- να σου το πω (aorist) = (to) tell it to you once / as a complete act
- να σου το λέω (present) = (to) be telling it to you / to keep telling it to you (repeated or ongoing)
In the context of revealing a secret, you normally think of it as one act:
- …αν θέλω να σου το πω. ✅ (if I want to tell it to you)
Saying να σου το λέω would sound like: “if I want to keep telling it to you (over and over)”, which doesn’t fit the idea of a secret.