Breakdown of Σήμερα έχω να τελειώσω την άσκηση, να διαβάσω λίγο γραμματική και μετά να δω μια ταινία.
Questions & Answers about Σήμερα έχω να τελειώσω την άσκηση, να διαβάσω λίγο γραμματική και μετά να δω μια ταινία.
In this sentence, Σήμερα έχω να τελειώσω…, the phrase έχω να means something like:
- “I have to / I’ve got to”
- or “I have [things] to do”
It implies that these actions are on your to‑do list for today.
Compared with πρέπει να:
- πρέπει να τελειώσω την άσκηση = I must / I have to finish the exercise (more about obligation, necessity, duty).
- έχω να τελειώσω την άσκηση = I have finishing the exercise to do / I’ve got finishing the exercise on my list (more about tasks you need to get through).
In everyday speech, έχω να here is very close in meaning to πρέπει να, but it sounds a bit more like you’re talking about your plan / schedule than about an impersonal rule or duty.
Modern Greek doesn’t really use an infinitive (“to finish”, “to read”, “to see”) the way English does. Instead, it uses να + verb to form what’s often called the subjunctive.
Here, να:
- connects the verb to something that comes before (here: έχω να = I have to / I have [something] to do)
- marks the verb that follows as a kind of non‑finite or “to do” form:
- να τελειώσω ≈ “to finish”
- να διαβάσω ≈ “to read / to study”
- να δω ≈ “to see / to watch”
So where English has “I have to finish, to study, and to watch…”, Greek has έχω να τελειώσω, να διαβάσω… να δω… with να introducing each verb.
Greek verbs have two main aspects:
- Imperfective (ongoing / repeated) → τελειώνω, διαβάζω, βλέπω
- Aorist (single, complete event) → τελειώσω, διαβάσω, δω
In να τελειώσω την άσκηση, να διαβάσω λίγο γραμματική, να δω μια ταινία, the speaker is listing whole, complete tasks they want to get done today. So the aorist is used:
- να τελειώσω = to finish (the exercise completely)
- να διαβάσω = to do some reading (treating it as one completed study session)
- να δω = to watch (a movie from beginning to end)
If you used the imperfective (e.g. να τελειώνω, να διαβάζω, να βλέπω), you’d focus more on the process / ongoing nature rather than on completing the tasks, which wouldn’t sound natural in a simple to‑do list like this.
- την άσκηση = the exercise (definite article, feminine)
- μια ταινία = a movie / a film (indefinite article, feminine)
In Greek, you use the definite article (ο, η, το and their forms like την) when:
- the thing is known / specific in the context
→ e.g. την άσκηση likely means “the exercise (I have as homework / that we talked about)”.
You use the indefinite article (ένας, μια, ένα) when:
- the thing is non‑specific / any one of that kind
→ μια ταινία = “a movie (not a particular one that’s already identified)”.
So in this sentence:
- The exercise is probably a specific one you already have.
- The movie is just some movie you plan to watch, not necessarily a particular, previously mentioned one.
Greek uses articles more often than English does.
- την άσκηση is natural Greek if you have some specific exercise in mind (homework, a textbook exercise, etc.).
- Saying simply τελειώσω άσκηση is usually wrong or sounds very odd.
In English, “finish exercise” can be generic (e.g., “I need to finish exercise” as an activity). In Greek, you’d typically either:
- talk about a specific exercise:
- να τελειώσω την άσκηση
- or mention it more generically as a type of work, but then you’d usually phrase it differently (e.g. να τελειώσω τις ασκήσεις μου = finish my exercises).
So here the article την is expected and natural.
Both are possible, but they’re slightly different grammatically:
λίγη γραμματική
- λίγη is an adjective meaning “a little (amount of)”
- It agrees with γραμματική (feminine singular).
- More literally: “a little grammar” (a small amount of grammar content).
λίγο γραμματική (as in the sentence)
- λίγο here is an adverb, meaning “a little / a bit”.
- It modifies the verb διαβάσω, not the noun.
- Implied meaning: “study a bit (of) grammar”, i.e., “study a little”.
So:
- να διαβάσω λίγη γραμματική = to read a small amount of grammar.
- να διαβάσω λίγο γραμματική = to read grammar a bit (study grammar for a bit of time).
In everyday speech, both are acceptable and close in meaning; the version with λίγο as an adverb is very common.
Here, γραμματική is used in a more general / abstract sense:
- να διαβάσω λίγο γραμματική = “to study a bit of grammar (as a subject)”.
In Greek, when you talk about a field of study, a language, or an abstract concept in a general way, you often drop the article:
- να διαβάσω ιστορία = to study history
- να μάθω ελληνικά = to learn Greek
- να διαβάσω γραμματική = to study grammar
You would say τη γραμματική if you meant a specific grammar book / specific material already known in the context (e.g. να διαβάσω τη γραμματική που μας έδωσε ο καθηγητής = to study the grammar [section] the teacher gave us).
Standard, natural Greek normally repeats να with each verb in a list:
- να τελειώσω, να διαβάσω, να δω
This keeps the structure clear and symmetric.
Your alternative:
- …έχω να τελειώσω την άσκηση, διαβάσω λίγο γραμματική και μετά δω μια ταινία
might be heard in fast, informal speech, but it sounds elliptical / less standard, and many speakers would feel it needs the repeated να.
So the original:
- Σήμερα έχω να τελειώσω την άσκηση, να διαβάσω λίγο γραμματική και μετά να δω μια ταινία.
is the most natural and correct form.
μετά can be used in two main ways:
As a preposition:
- μετά από το μάθημα = after the lesson
As an adverb meaning “afterwards / then / later”:
- και μετά να δω μια ταινία = and then (after that) to watch a movie
In this sentence, μετά is an adverb describing the order of actions in time:
- first: finish the exercise
- then: study some grammar
- and after that / then: watch a movie
So μετά alone is correct here, and μετά από would be wrong in this exact spot, because nothing follows it to complete a prepositional phrase.
Yes, you can move σήμερα around without changing the basic meaning. All of these are possible:
- Σήμερα έχω να τελειώσω την άσκηση… (original)
- Έχω σήμερα να τελειώσω την άσκηση…
- Έχω να τελειώσω σήμερα την άσκηση… (a bit more emphasis: “finish the exercise today”)
Greek word order is fairly flexible, and σήμερα (an adverb of time) can appear in several places. What can change slightly is the emphasis:
- Σήμερα έχω να… emphasizes today as the day with all these tasks.
- Έχω να τελειώσω σήμερα την άσκηση can put a bit more focus on the fact that the exercise in particular must be done today.
This is again about aspect:
- να δω is the aorist subjunctive of βλέπω → one complete act of seeing/watching.
- να βλέπω is the imperfective subjunctive → a process, ongoing or repeated watching.
In να δω μια ταινία, you mean:
- “to watch a (whole) movie” = a single, complete action.
If you said να βλέπω μια ταινία, it would sound strange here, as if you’re focusing on the ongoing activity of watching, without the idea of finishing it as one event. For a simple plan / to‑do item, Greek wants the aorist: να δω.
έχω να + να + verb doesn’t itself form a future tense; it expresses obligation / planned tasks.
Compare:
- Σήμερα έχω να τελειώσω την άσκηση…
= Today I have (these things) to do. - Σήμερα θα τελειώσω την άσκηση…
= Today I will finish the exercise. (simple future statement)
Both refer to the future (later today), but:
- έχω να emphasizes “I have these things on my list; they’re pending tasks.”
- θα + verb emphasizes that these things will indeed happen (a future event).
In practice, both often imply future time, but in this sentence the speaker is clearly listing tasks rather than just making a future prediction, so έχω να is very natural.