Μπορείς να χαμηλώσεις λίγο τη μουσική, σε παρακαλώ;

Can you turn the music down a bit, please?

Breakdown of Μπορείς να χαμηλώσεις λίγο τη μουσική, σε παρακαλώ;

• λίγο: a little
• μπορώ: to be able
• να: to
• σε παρακαλώ: please
• η μουσική: the music
• χαμηλώνω: to lower

Questions & Answers about Μπορείς να χαμηλώσεις λίγο τη μουσική, σε παρακαλώ;

What does μπορείς mean here, and is it always translated as can you?

Μπορείς is the 2nd person singular of μπορώ (I can / to be able to), so μπορείς literally means you can.

In this sentence, Μπορείς να χαμηλώσεις…; corresponds very naturally to Can you turn…?

It can also sometimes be translated as:

• Are you able to…?
• Could you…? (in polite requests)

So:

• Μπορείς να χαμηλώσεις λίγο τη μουσική;
  → Can you / Could you turn the music down a bit?

Why do we say να χαμηλώσεις and not simply χαμηλώνεις?

Modern Greek no longer really uses an infinitive. Instead, it uses να + subjunctive to express actions that are:

• desired,
• requested,
• planned,
• possible, etc.

So:

• να χαμηλώσεις = to turn down / (that you) turn down (one‑time action)

If you said μπορείς χαμηλώνεις τη μουσική; it would be wrong grammatically.
You need μπορείς να + subjunctive:

• μπορείς να χαμηλώσεις … = can you turn down …

Χαμηλώνεις is simple present indicative (you lower / you are lowering), used for statements:

• Χαμηλώνεις τη μουσική κάθε φορά που μιλάω.
  You turn the music down every time I speak.

Why specifically the form χαμηλώσεις (aorist subjunctive) and not να χαμηλώνεις?

Greek subjunctive has two aspects:

• Aorist subjunctive (here: να χαμηλώσεις)
  → one complete action, “do it once”
• Present/imperfective subjunctive (να χαμηλώνεις)
  → ongoing, repeated, or habitual action

In a request like this, you want a single action:

• Μπορείς να χαμηλώσεις λίγο τη μουσική;
  Can you turn the music down (this time)?

If you said:

• Μπορείς να χαμηλώνεις λίγο τη μουσική;
  it would sound like “Can you be (in general) turning the music down / Can you keep turning it down (habitually)?”, which doesn’t fit a normal one‑off request.

Why do we need να after μπορείς? Could we drop it?

Να is required here because it introduces the subjunctive:

• μπορείς (you can) + να χαμηλώσεις (turn down)
  → can you turn down

The structure is:

• μπορώ + να + subjunctive
  just like English can / be able + to + verb.

You cannot say:

• ✗ Μπορείς χαμηλώσεις λίγο τη μουσική; (incorrect)

You must use:

• Μπορείς να χαμηλώσεις λίγο τη μουσική;

What does χαμηλώνω mean exactly, and is it used only for music?

Χαμηλώνω means:

• to lower (physically or metaphorically)
• to turn down / reduce (volume, intensity, etc.)

Common uses:

• χαμηλώνω τη μουσική – I turn the music down
• χαμηλώνω την τηλεόραση – I turn the TV down
• χαμηλώνω τη φωνή μου – I lower my voice
• χαμήλωσε το φως – turn the light down / dim the light

So it’s not only for music; it’s a general verb for “lowering” or “reducing” something.

Why is it λίγο and not λίγη? What part of speech is λίγο here?

In this sentence, λίγο is an adverb meaning a little / a bit / slightly.

• να χαμηλώσεις λίγο τη μουσική
  → literally to lower a bit the music
  → to turn the music down a bit

Λίγο can also be:

• an adjective (agreeing with a noun: λίγη ζάχαρη – a little sugar)
• a pronoun / adverbial on its own: Θέλεις λίγο; – Do you want a little (some)?

Here it modifies the verb χαμηλώσεις, so it stays in the neutral adverbial form λίγο, not λίγη.

Why do we say τη μουσική with the article? Could we just say χαμηλώσεις μουσική?

In Greek, the definite article is used much more than in English.

Τη μουσική here means the music, referring to the specific music that’s currently playing. You normally need the article with countable and many uncountable nouns in such contexts.

• Μπορείς να χαμηλώσεις λίγο τη μουσική;
  is the natural and correct form.

✗ Μπορείς να χαμηλώσεις λίγο μουσική;
sounds wrong/unnatural in standard Greek.

So in most everyday situations, when you talk about the music that’s on, you will say τη μουσική with the article.

What does σε παρακαλώ literally mean, and how polite is it?

Literally:

• σε = you (object pronoun, singular)
• παρακαλώ = I beg / I request / I ask (politely)

So σε παρακαλώ = I beg you / I’m asking you, please.

In practice, it is just the normal, everyday please in Greek. It’s polite but not overly formal.

You can also just say:

• παρακαλώ on its own, also meaning please (or you’re welcome, depending on context).

Putting σε παρακαλώ at the end softens the request:

• Μπορείς να χαμηλώσεις λίγο τη μουσική, σε παρακαλώ;
  → a bit more polite than without it.

Is the comma before σε παρακαλώ necessary, and can σε παρακαλώ go elsewhere in the sentence?

The comma is stylistically appropriate because σε παρακαλώ is a kind of “tag” or extra phrase, like English please at the end.

You will see it written both with and without a comma; with a comma is a bit clearer:

• Μπορείς να χαμηλώσεις λίγο τη μουσική, σε παρακαλώ;

You can also move σε παρακαλώ:

• Σε παρακαλώ, μπορείς να χαμηλώσεις λίγο τη μουσική;
• Μπορείς, σε παρακαλώ, να χαμηλώσεις λίγο τη μουσική;

All are correct; changing the position affects only rhythm and emphasis, not meaning.

Why does the question end with ; instead of ? in Greek?

In Greek typography, the question mark is written as ; (the same symbol that is a semicolon in English).

So:

• Μπορείς να χαμηλώσεις λίγο τη μουσική, σε παρακαλώ;
  is a question, not something like “semicolon”.

The . and , work as in English; only the ? is replaced by ; in Greek.

Can I change the position of λίγο? For example, say Μπορείς να χαμηλώσεις τη μουσική λίγο;

Yes, λίγο is fairly mobile, and several positions are natural:

• Μπορείς να χαμηλώσεις λίγο τη μουσική; (very common)
• Μπορείς να χαμηλώσεις τη μουσική λίγο;
• Μπορείς λίγο να χαμηλώσεις τη μουσική; (also acceptable)

All mean Can you turn the music down a bit?

The most common everyday version is probably the original:

• Μπορείς να χαμηλώσεις λίγο τη μουσική;

How would I make this more formal or plural, e.g. addressing more than one person or being polite?

Use the 2nd person plural for formal or plural you:

• Μπορείτε να χαμηλώσετε λίγο τη μουσική, σας παρακαλώ;

Changes:

• μπορείς → μπορείτε (you can: singular → plural/formal)
• να χαμηλώσεις → να χαμηλώσετε (2nd person plural subjunctive)
• σε παρακαλώ → σας παρακαλώ (I beg you singular → plural/formal)

This works when:

• you’re speaking politely (e.g. to a stranger, waiter, receptionist),
• or speaking to more than one person.

Could I just say Χαμήλωσε λίγο τη μουσική, σε παρακαλώ instead of Μπορείς να…;? What’s the difference?

Yes, grammatically it’s fine:

• Χαμήλωσε λίγο τη μουσική, σε παρακαλώ.
  (Imperative: Lower the music a bit, please.)

Difference in tone:

• Μπορείς να χαμηλώσεις…;
  sounds like a polite request phrased as a question, similar to Can you / Could you…?
• Χαμήλωσε λίγο τη μουσική…
  is a direct imperative, more like Turn the music down a bit, please.

Both can be polite (especially with σε παρακαλώ), but the μπορείς να…; form usually feels a bit softer in everyday speech.